Goin' on a road trip

[hargreaves]

Hi all ! My lovely wife and I are heading out on a road trip April 2nd to Kalamazoo Michigan. We are moving our daughter and her family to Vancouver Washington. We plan on heading down to Vancouver  to scout out some rental houses for them and then head east to load them up and head back.

We plan on heading east on I 84 down to I 80 all the way to Michigan.

Has anyone traveled that route recently and if so I would appreciate some info on road conditions, things to see, places to go along the way.

We will be towing a 24 ft car trailer so I won't be able to get off the beaten track to much.

Cheers, Gerry.

[lvmci]

Hi Hargreaves, I84 south and east of Pendelton, Oregon, is a terribly long climb, I think its called dead mans pass, even worse going down the pass in the winter, lvmci....

[hargreaves]

Thanks lvmci  I guess you can still call this winter LOL .  Cheers Gerry

[John316]

Gerry,

If you take the pass really slow, you will be fine. I have driven that pass more times then almost any other one in country. I agree with LV. It is long, but very doable. Otherwise, that is the route I would take. Enjoy the trip. That is one of my favorite routes across the country.

John

[luvrbus]

I 84 down through Boise and to Utah is not going to be much of a problem we have driven it all times of the years, I 80 can be a bitch across Wyoming, Elk Mountain always get me closed because of snow and ice 1 time on Memorial day 

[hargreaves]

Geez guys, I thought going I 80 would be a lot better than I 90 at this time of the year  due to it being a couple of hundred miles south. Now I'm beginning to wonder.  I have travelled I 90 but not I 80. I know I 90 has some good hills.  Cheers Gerry

[niles500]

Those Pronghorns through Wyoming are like jack rabbits in west Texas at dawn or dusk   

[skihor]

Hi Hargreaves, I84 south and east of Pendelton, Oregon, is a terribly long climb, I think its called dead mans pass, even worse going down the pass in the winter, lvmci....

The West side of that pass is/can be really scary. In the winter/slick conditions you don't dare use the Jakes. Gear down and keep it slow. The East side isn't nearly as bad. I 80 across Wyoming can be really bad for winter weather. It's elevation stays around 7000'. Usually the wind blows east to west. It gets closed often because of really bad winds. 50+MPH winds are common. Blowing snow can be an issue as well. I was just on a trip to Tahoe from Denver and got 12 MPG from Cheyenne to Evanston. I got 25 MPG on the way back. When the wind is up no empty trailers !!! EITHER WAY.
Another other way across is I 70. Cut off near Provo down to it. (@ Denver it's 100 miles south of I 80). One bonus of I 70 is Moab/Arches N.P. Then you have Vail and Eisenhower passes to deal with in Colorado. Vail pass is 10,600 and Eisenhower is 11,000 Stunning views of the rockies... really scary in winter with big rigs. Unless it is storming, it is very well plowed and Mag Chloride keeps the road wet. Regardless of which route bring chains and practice/know how to install them.
Don & Sheila

[saddleup]

I have ran them all, where your starting point is i would go i90..

[hargreaves]

Thanks Don, I went over Granite pass on hwy 14 alt. from west to east a couple of years ago, in the summer of course ! That was nasty. Do you think going I 90 would be any better, would the winds be less?  I don't have winter tires but I do have chains have had practice putting them on.  Cheers Gerry

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Like Matt, i would also go I-90.

[belfert]

My philosophy has always been I would wait it out in the bus if chains were ever required.  We hit a nasty snow/ice storm (chains not required) in Utah/Wyoming the first week of October 2009 on I-80.  We were doing about 25 MPH for a good six hours or more and passed several semis rolled over in the left lane.  It was absolute white knuckle driving.

For some reason nobody uses tire chains in Minnesota when it snows.  They would probably prevent some of the huge chain reaction crashes from this winter.

[saddleup]

when you get east of livingston montana you have ran out of mountains,get on 94 at billings and go east , the only real climb i can think of is east of wallace id. when you cross the rockys west of livingston you hardly know you went over them, YOU HAVE THE WIND PUSHIN you east, now 80 whole differnt story , cross the rocky like 4 -5 times and wind could be from anywhere,..

[gumpy]

I-84 to I-80 is quite a ways out of way, and a fair amount of mountains.

I'd do I-94 or I-90. You'll probably have a bit of snow in the mountains of MT, but I wouldn't expect it to be difficult. Doesn't bother me,
but I run lug tires and have a lifetime of experience in that kind of stuff.

I-94 is a good road across North Dakota and Minnesota.

You can drop down through South Dakota from MT through WY on I-90. Always windy across SD. I-90 is rough across SD.

I'd go through Rockford and straight down to 80 to avoid Chicago. Never liked Chicago. 
If you're on I-90, you could drop down from Sioux Falls to Omaha on I-29. That's a pretty rough road, though.
Or you could drop down from Albert Lea on I-35 and cut over through Cedar Rapids on 27 from Clear Lake. That's a good road.

[Scott & Heather]

And you could stop by on your way to Kazoo and see us We are in Berrien Springs, MI right off of US-31