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17' uhaul from seattle wa to San Antonio Texas

17' uhaul from seattle wa to San Antonio Texas

Old Dec 6th, 2016, 12:56 PM
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17' uhaul from seattle wa to San Antonio Texas

Hi there,
My son and I will be moving dec. 30th 2016 from seattle Washington to San Antonio Texas. I've never been past CALI and need help picking the best route to go We have our truck rental for 8 days but am not apposed to taking a longer route for saftey. I am experienced driving in snow but never in a big truck and im not fond of those 2 lane roads with big cliffs or drop offs. ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!! THANK YOU, SARAH
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Old Dec 6th, 2016, 01:18 PM
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Consider the Google suggestion which will not take you on any vertiginous roads. But because it cuts through the Great Basin and its mountain ranges, you may want to choose another route at the last minute, depending on the road conditions and the weather forecast. More southern would mean going down to southern California before turning east.
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Old Dec 6th, 2016, 01:37 PM
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I'd watch the weather, and if the temperatures in Ashland, Oregon or Redding, California are below freezing at night, use this route - https://goo.gl/maps/DHAPHNDGzMK2 - which goes out to the Oregon coast and south on US 101 until you're well past the Siskiyous, then cuts back to I-5 on CA 20. You'll want I-10 across the country in order to reduce the chances of wintry conditions, although I-10 climbs to over 5000 feet at points in Arizona.

If the chance of snow and ice in southern Oregon and the Siskiyous is minimal (and be conservative) then sticking with I-5 all the way to I-10 is also doable. The coast route through southern Oregon and northern California only adds a few hours (3-5) to the total drive.

Inland routes like I-84 will run a much higher risk of delays due to winter weather.
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Old Dec 6th, 2016, 02:56 PM
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I grew up in that "Great Basin" area and I would not drive anywhere near there in the winter unless I absolutely had to.

I would go as far south as I could before heading east but to each their own.
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Old Dec 6th, 2016, 04:57 PM
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Turn off I-5 onto I-210 just south of Santa Clarita CA.
Take I-10 all the way to San Antonio. It's about 2500 miles but the main snow danger is the "grapevine" on I-5 north of Castaic.
Plan on 5 or maybe 6 days of driving.
Driving through SLC to save 3 or 4 hours is not worth it.
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Old Dec 6th, 2016, 10:36 PM
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I agree with others, I would not take the inland route.

I'd take I-5 to Bakersfield, CA 58 to Mojave, US 395 to ~ Riverside, I-10 to San Antonio is 2495 miles, 37 hrs. wheels turning driving time.

The only places where you'd possibly come across snow/ice are through southern OR thence over the Siskiyous to just north of Redding CA, and again, unlikely but possible, over the Tehachapi Pass south of Bakersfield. But in those places its good 4 lane freeway well-maintained. At Bakersfield watch the weather. If inclement, continue on I-5 over the grapevine towards LA (it's lower and less subject to snow, but has MUCH more traffic ... and its grades and curves are IMHO a bit worse than the Tehachapi)

(You can possibly run into dense fog in the CA central valley on I-5 if you are unlucky ... it can get dense enough you'd stop for a night or 2 til it cleared, but with any luck it would be OK.)

Watch the weather, and if there is a lot of snow in the Siskiyous, you may want to consider going via 101 along the coast as Gardyloo suggests, but that is a narrower twisty 2 lane road for long sections, harrier to drive in rain, and it would add even more time and distance.

The I-5 route is only 4 hrs longer than going via Boise and Salt Lake, ... that inland route is very likely to have snow or ice over almost all of its length.
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Old Dec 7th, 2016, 04:17 PM
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Maybe you have a reason for wanting to drive the uhaul this distance, but I do have a completely different suggestion.

My son went to school in Seattle and when he graduated, we took his possessions and put them into a cube through UPack that was shipped back to the Bay Area. It was easy, and relatively cheap. Granted he did not have much furniture and we were able to utilize the smallest cube. However, it saved us a 14 hr drive and overnight at a hotel with a uhaul truck as all his stuff would not fit into an SUV. With your multiple day drive time and expenses, I think a packing cube would be something to look into. Then you would just need a truck at each end for a day to take the stuff to the cube in Seattle and pick it back up in San Antonio.
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