| Author |
Message |
kristine starr (Kbunnystarr)
Registered Member
Username: Kbunnystarr
Post Number: 54
Registered: 6-2006
Posted From: 4.242.57.183
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 1:00 am: | |
:-\ ok, so i LOVVVVVE the coast, and love to drive HWY 1 but I need expert advice on taking it from Olympia, wa to SO CAL and then to Lake Havasu City. I want to be safe, and not scared as much as possible, but I LOVE the ocean, and my favorite place is on that coastal drive, .........I am just concerned about how much additional gas it will be and about windy roads. BUT Im thinking there may be more places , more plesant, to stay on HWY 1 than on 5....Im torn. I was thinking maybe I-5 to like watsonville area and then over to the coast on HWY 1 and down on coast and take 10 over to AZ. ANyone framiliar with 10 as opposed to 40....anyone have any thoughts? Just trying to get a wide range of ideas and thoughts, fun, beautiful and safest for newbie :o) |
Larry & Lynne Dixon (Larry_d)
Registered Member
Username: Larry_d
Post Number: 66
Registered: 7-2005
Posted From: 216.228.199.143
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 4:20 am: | |
If I were going on that trip I would go south to
I 84 then east droping into Salt Lake City and then into Lake Havasu. Less hills and not so much desert. |
Bob Greenwood
Unregistered guest
Posted From: 63.233.85.157
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 6:35 am: | |
a new bus driver & sending her down CABBAGE ???
hiway one has MANY towns,you won't make good time,but ,it is a pretty drive, I-5 better time if you can maintain 65, Cabbage hill isn't bad if you think you can keep the bus slow ,25/30 mph...it's on 84 BEFORE LaGrande |
sylverstone (Sylverstone_pd4501864)
Registered Member
Username: Sylverstone_pd4501864
Post Number: 183
Registered: 7-2005
Posted From: 216.173.223.253
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 6:53 am: | |
i think you'd better get yourself some mileage under your belt in that bus before you even consider the trip at all. cut south and take highway 12 to yakima and back first or something. a transit bus is nothing at all like a car, a van, or even a u-haul.
(it'll make a 29 foot u-haul feel like a ferrari in comparison)
the last thing you want is to cut a turn too sharp and rip your bus open on a rock wall or worse, be wide on a turn and hit someone coming the other way.
does your rig have air brakes, and if so, have you been taught the proper way to use them?
-dd |
Dallas Farnworth (Dal300)
Registered Member
Username: Dal300
Post Number: 99
Registered: 3-2006
Posted From: 172.144.184.252
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 7:09 am: | |
Bob,
She would be going UP Cabbage, not down.
A long slow climb!
A really good way to find out how good the radiator is working! LOL |
Bob Greenwood
Unregistered guest
Posted From: 63.233.85.157
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 7:29 am: | |
wrong!!! she would be going DOWN cabbage,here is the route she should take ,I-5 to exit 403 in California, hiway 152 to 99, to Bakersfield,then 58 to I-40, you guys are trying to kill a newbie.
And get the WAL-MART batteries,you are trying to complecate your life ,they will last 3 or 4 years,ang LEARN to change your own fuel filters, NOT getting somebody to do it for you AND ALWAYS have a spare set of fuel filters,you have much to learn,& trying to complecate everything,you need to 'try' to listen & not try to keep complecating everything |
pat young
Unregistered guest
Posted From: 71.130.76.20
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 9:28 am: | |
Highway 1 up in the northern part of California is a very nice drive, but twisty and slow, a lot of 20 mph curves, for hours.
Patrick, who drove it from Fresno to Seattle |
Jim Stewart (H3jim)
Registered Member
Username: H3jim
Post Number: 250
Registered: 10-2004
Posted From: 68.6.177.90
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 10:03 am: | |
Hiway 1 is really pretty. Do you have the time? yes its further too and will cost more in fuel, is that an issue? If you are in a hurry, all the twisties will really get to you, if not, and you just enjoy each one, its worth it. Not many places to stay with a 40 footer, but enough if you plan ahead a little.
I-10 is the, if not one of the busiest freeways in the world. take any shortcuts / cutoffs to get further east before getting on it. I would definitely take 99 to I-40 over I-10. spend a little time around Yosemite its incredible, but you have to have reservations ahead of time. or take 120 all the way past Yosemite over the mountains to 395, thats also very pretty and doable.
The I-84 to salt lake is ok, not pretty at all. down I-15, you would pass Bryce canyon, extremely pretty, if you have time to stop. Make reservations ahead of time.
If you go the inland route, there are hundred of miles between anything, so be very very sure you bus runs well before attempting it. Do you have towing insurance? less than $100 and god send if you need it. That desert crossing you better have plenty of water, and hopefully you have a generator and air-conditioning so if the bus dies, you can stay cool until help arrives. That heat could be life threatening if you are not prepared.
Rte 101 goes through downtown San Francisco too, so be prepared for that if you go that route.
Best of luck and keep us posted what you decide. |
Bob Greenwood
Unregistered guest
Posted From: 63.233.85.164
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 11:29 am: | |
well., I tried,you guys go ahead and kill her, I won't say another word on it |
mel 4104
Unregistered guest
Posted From: 208.181.100.49
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 11:33 am: | |
ask your self how much driving time do you have and see if you think that it is enough to be able to handle driving in very heavy traffic. rember if it is the bus that you are thinking of taking you better have lots of time behind the wheel as it is not a van conversion that you driving that 40 feet of rolling metal weighing 0ver 12 tons takes up a lot of room and does not stop on a dime. we came home up the 101 to Port Angles and there are very few easy places to turn off to the beach that are easy to turn into and turn out of . driving anywhere at this time if year with the roads so busy it will play heck with your nervous systm and could sour you from the bus. also there are a lot of drivers out here that would like to know which way you headed and on what road so that we can be behind you or parked off the road in a safe area.having said that i would like to see you get a bunch of time behind the wheel on some quiet roads to get to know how to handle all that massive rig and there are a lot of drivers out here that would be willing to help you to learn, just ask some of the drivers of heavy rigs or other people that drive buses and rember there are some very good lady drivers too that will help you and of coourse the are the driving schoolwhich would money well spent. you will really enjoy the bus as time goes on, just drive it safly. |
Brian Brown (Blue_velvet)
Registered Member
Username: Blue_velvet
Post Number: 350
Registered: 6-2005
Posted From: 67.174.112.202
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 12:08 pm: | |
I-84 heading EB over Cabbage/Emigrant/Deadman's/Meacham is certainly a CLIMB. About 2000' of it... pulling out of the Columbia plains and into the Elkhorn Mtns.
Kristine, you should purchase a Mountain Directory, a printed softcover book that lists every major pass in either the Western or Eastern US. I never plan a trip w/o mine: http://www.mountaindirectory.com/
I'd also second the "taking it slow" and learning how your bus responds to climbs and descents... and turns and stops, before embarking on a long trip. Especially on the crowded roads of CA.
Good luck (and BE CAREFUL),
Brian Brown
GMC4108-216
Longmont, CO |
Michael Lewis (Puffbus)
Registered Member
Username: Puffbus
Post Number: 68
Registered: 10-2004
Posted From: 67.170.99.228
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 12:36 pm: | |
Kristine,
We have taken the coastal route you describe many times and just completed it in reverse last week on a nine day family vacation, Seattle to Sacramento (I-5 all the way) then returning up the coast, driving a 30' motorhome with a toad.
Take a look at your map and consider Hiway 1 down, cutting East to 101 at Bodega Bay, then Hiway 37 to 80E at Novato. In Sacramento, you can choose I-5 or 99 South. After the curves and hills of Hiway 1, you may enjoy the long straight stretches of I-5. There are many more services and busnuts along 99 though, I believe.
We saw many large coaches and a few conversions on the Northerly route. Remember, US 1 carries many logging trucks, so a 40' vehicle is not a problem. I have never ever regretted the few extra miles or fuel expended along the west coast of California and Oregon.
Despite the alarmists, neither you or your bus will die simply from taking this route! There are very few terrifying sections with drop-offs similar to Big Sur in California.
BTW, my first experience driving the coast route was in 1977 when we first moved north from Palo Alto, CA to Seattle, driving a 35' GMC diesel schoolbus loaded with our posessions and family, towing a '62 VW bus with all my tools.
Good luck on your trip.
Michael |
Larry & Lynne Dixon (Larry_d)
Registered Member
Username: Larry_d
Post Number: 67
Registered: 7-2005
Posted From: 216.228.199.143
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 4:57 pm: | |
Bob Greenwood
I live in La Grande and traveling east from Portland on I 84 you would be traveling (UP) Cabage hill not down. Your are going slow enough and keep up RPM's it works. 4905 larry |
Jerry Liebler (Jerry_liebler)
Registered Member
Username: Jerry_liebler
Post Number: 222
Registered: 3-2005
Posted From: 67.140.170.135
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 6:17 pm: | |
Frankly I 84 through the Columbia gorge is every bit as challenging (lots of twisting road) as US 1 down the coast. It is even worse if its, as it often is, very windy. My preference is the costal route, I think it offers more interesting senery and much more modest grades.
Regards
Jerry 4107 1120 |
james dean boggs (Jd_boggs)
Registered Member
Username: Jd_boggs
Post Number: 95
Registered: 11-2004
Posted From: 68.70.70.253
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 8:48 pm: | |
Stay on Interstate 5 for practical reasons. 1. safety 2. repair garages 3. More places to stop and rest etc.
Take I-5 to 152 west. You can stay overnight at an RV park at the foot of lake San Luis resivoir. There's also a fuel stop one block away. Then you will climb Pacheco pass to highway 156 going to Holister. Then turn right on highway 25 to Gilroy. Turn left on highway 101 and drive south. If you want to see the sea then turn left on 156 (yes the same 156 as before) this road will take you the the city of Monterey same place where John Steinbeck wrote his novels. If you stop then you must see Monterey Bay Aquarium. When done go back to 101 where you will drive past Avila Beach, Shell Beach and finaly Pismo Beach. Very pretty through there. Another hour of driving then you will clim a very steep pass then descend. Watch your breaks! Don't over use them downshift instead. Once again more ocean at Gaviota State Beach! Enjoy this drive. Then turn left on 126 going to Santa Clarita this will take you back to the I-5 where you can stop a place called Camping World to empty your tanks etc. 126 has a great fuel stop about 60 miles in. Drive north on the I-5 for about 3-5 miles and take 14 north to Mojave. Mojave is HOT! Turn right on 58 going east towards Barstow. Turn right on 395 and stop at Kraemer junction for fuel etc. Turn left on 18 and stay on 18 until it turns into hwy 247. Take 247 all the way to Yucca Valley. At Yucca Valley you can stop and rest in my home if you like. Refuel in Yucca Valley. Then turn left hwy 62 east. This road will take you to Earp, Parker and Lake Havasu.
Have a nice ride. |
Mike (Busone)
Registered Member
Username: Busone
Post Number: 304
Registered: 11-2004
Posted From: 71.33.24.110
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 12:22 pm: | |
If you take I-84 to salt lake diesel is $2.95 at the Twin Falls Flying J. If you need a place to park for the night we are just east of Twin Falls.
Going up Cabbage was a real slow drive for us. I got stuck behind a semi that was fully loaded. We both went up the hill at about 30 MPH.
As was stated before it is almost always windy in the gorge. The wind is usually blowing from the west so you would have a tail wind. When we went to Portland the head wind killed our mileage. Heading out of Portland we did much better.
Good luck |
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