Any route suggestions for Minneapolis to Phoenix? (Late January)

[belfert]

I need to pick up some parts in Phoenix because the vendor wants $2,000 to ship on a flat bed.  The parts are light, but long and it would be easy to pick them up with either my bus or my mini-van.  Even if I drove the bus it would cost less than $2,000 and I get to be in Phoenix in late January instead of dealing with the cold and the Super Bowl street shutdowns in downtown Minneapolis.  The local bus drivers have also authorized a strike during Super Bowl and parking will be impossible to find in downtown Minneapolis if that happens.

What would be a good route from Minneapolis to Phoenix if I take the bus?  Google Maps wants me to take 400 or 500 miles of US highways and such across Kansas and Oklahoma.  I prefer interstates in the bus, but it would add hundreds of miles to take interstates the whole way I think.  I may end up taking my mini-van with a light aluminum trailer, but I'm not sure I save much money due to needing hotels for 10 days.

[eagle19952]

I'm not sure I save much money due to needing hotels for 10 days.

where does 10 days play into this ?

[luvrbus]

Ship it or wait, crossing Kansas the Texas, OK pan handle and across New Mexico in Jan would be a adventure for you with the ice storm and winds rolls in ? are you planning on crossing Ok at Guymon Ok 10 days of hotel expensive may not cover you on that trip  in Jan   

[belfert]

where does 10 days play into this ?

I am planning to be on the road for 10 nights so I would need to pay for 10 nights of hotels if I take my mini-van.

[belfert]

Not a chance I am paying $2,000 to ship $700 worth of steel.  The vendor won't do LTL due to damages in the past.  I have other options that would be cheaper than $2,700.

I was thinking I could kill three birds with one stone.  I could get a vacation in, pick up my steel, and be out of town during Super Bowl.  I would have to wait until May if I were to take the bus due to spring road restrictions.  It sounds like too much chance of getting stuck in a snow or ice storm in late January.

[lvmci]

Hi Brian, from I-40 at Flagstaff, to Phoenix,  on I-17 has some mighty steep grades, good freeway but the grades, fog and snow/ice is something to consider.  Flagstaff is 7000 ft, how about I-10 thru Tucson? lvmci...

[gumpy]

I would go 169 south to Sioux City, I29 south to Omaha, I80 to York, NE, 81 to Salina, KS, I70 to exit 225, hwy 156 to Great Bend, 56 to Boise City, 385 to Calhart, 54 to Tucumcari, I40 to Flagstaff, I17 to Phoenix. 1714 miles. 26 hours, according to Google Maps.

Actually, that's not exactly how I'd go, but 2 lane state highways don't bother me and are often my preferred choice.

You could go I35 to Des Moines and across I80 to York.  That adds about 16 miles.

BTW,  Most of 169 to Sioux City and 81 from York to Salina is divided 4 lane (i.e. interstate-esk). so really, the only 2 lane you'd have is from Salina to Tucumcari. About 400 miles.

[gumpy]

BTW, what kind of steel are you getting, and why is it so special it's not available here?

[belfert]

BTW, what kind of steel are you getting, and why is it so special it's not available here?

It is a ground mount system for solar panels.  It isn't just raw steel.  There is only one other company I know of in the USA selling this type of mount and they only sell in large quantities to commercial customers.  The other company makes a different type of mount that would cost me around $2250 shipped.  I really like the mounts the company in Phoenix sells.

I hate two lane roads in the bus because they are lot more tiring to drive on.  There is often zero margin for error.

[B_K]

Brian I say take Craig's route and drive the bus, while yer at it take a couple extra days and visit Quartsite while yer there.
  BK 

[Melbo]

I would not plan on I40 from Albuquerque to Flagstaff in January.  I would go south from Albuquerque and take the Hatch cut off and Take I 10 over to Phoenix unless you like mountains WITH snow.  It seems like we always drive home from Mexico in the winter and hit snow before we get to albuquerque.  Heck we even drove through snow two years ago coming home from the dam rally in November.

Everyone has their own comfort level but farther south that time of year is MUCH better.

Melbo

[Skykingrob]

I would take I35 to OKC then I40 to the Hatch cutoff to I10 to Phoenix. There are several places you can drop further straight south along that route if it looks like you're going to get into freezing precip such as at KC you can go south on I29 down to I40 in AR or drop south to I10 from there if OK is gummed up. At OKC you can drop all the way to DFW if you need to. It just gives you options.
BTW , I just recently shipped awnings for my coach and the trucking companies all quoted $1K or more from Chicago to Springfield MO. I then went to uship.com and got a quote for $425. Took two days longer but saved a bunch of cash.
Rob
Missouri

[belfert]

I just bought a large snow blower attachment and the seller got a price of $700 to ship it to me.  I arranged shipping through an online LTL broker and paid $370.  I'm not sure if I could do so well for this shipment since the vendor doesn't recommend LTL.  If I could get the shipment done for around $1,000 I might just go that route.

Minneapolis to Oklahoma City to Hatch, NM to Phoenix puts me at 1916 miles each way and I will easily be at 4,000 miles for the trip.  That is really more than I want to spend on fuel.  I could take my mini-van with trailer for less cost, but I really don't want to put 4,000 miles on the mini-van.  An extra 4,000 miles on the bus is nothing.

[B_K]

4000 miles on a minivan is only 1 oil change. That's nothing! We have 3 minivans with over 300,000 miles on them still going strong and one w/127,000 miles on it.
I change the oil religiously every 5000 miles on every one of them and anytime something acts like it needs replaced it gets it.
These vans get used daily and hardly ever give me a problem.

If you really want the best route to avoid bad weather/road conditions consider I-29 down to Joplin, MO I-44 over to  OKC, I-35 down to Dallas 1-20 down to I-10 all the way to Phoenix an back.
  BK 

[luvrbus]

We travel from AZ to Texas often you don't use 1 40 in the winter time unless you like being stranded for a few days