Florida to Pennsylvania: Truck-friendly and 55 friendly routes

[briantroutman]

In a few weeks, I'll be relocating once again, this time from Florida back to my native Pennsylvania. And for this northward move, I'll be driving as large a vehicle as a non-CDL holder is allowed: a 26,000 lb. 26-foot box truck.

I may also be pulling a car carrier–I'm deciding whether the savings of time, money, and depreciation on my car are worth foregoing the opportunity to make another 1,100-mile solo road trip. If I do rent the car carrier, I'll be piloting a combination that's over 50 feet in length and probably underpowered, too. Additionally, the car carrier is rated for a maximum speed of only 55 MPH.

The obvious route from Tampa to Philadelphia is I-75 > US 301 > I-10 > I-295 > I-95 with various beltways as needed. But I am somewhat tired of driving I-95, and I don't relish the thought of driving it at 20 MPH or better below prevailing traffic speeds.

Another nearly all-Interstate alternative would be to exit I-95 in SC and get on I-26, then I-77, I-81, and I-76. It would add about 100 miles and 90 minutes to the trip, but I've never driven much of that stretch of I-26 and I-77, and I haven't been on I-81 in Virginia in a number of years. I always enjoyed that I-81 drive visiting my brother at Virginia Tech. The hilly terrain makes that route more scenic and pleasant than I-95, although that also makes it more challenging for a underpowered truck. I'd still be something of a moving obstacle driving this route at 55, but I think that the somewhat lower traffic volumes and higher proportion of trucks would make it just slightly more tolerable.

Do you have any other suggestions for routes, perhaps even non-Interstate routes that would be more compatible with 55 MPH travel? The availability of truck-sized diesel pumps, hotels and restaurants with truck parking, etc. is important.

[SP Cook]

IMHO,  you might want to avoid the alternate route you describe, the northern part of I-77 in NC and, vastly more so, I-77 in VA is a very steep grade, and there is also a steep grade on I-81 in the Christiansburg to well past Roanoke area, and then quite rolling hills north of that, which even if you are in the slow lane, might cause a very underpowered truck to draw the ire of not only car motorists, but of the commercial truckers. 

Have you considered US 17 and 13?

[jeffandnicole]

In a few weeks, I'll be relocating once again, this time from Florida back to my native Pennsylvania. And for this northward move, I'll be driving as large a vehicle as a non-CDL holder is allowed: a 26,000 lb. 26-foot box truck.

I may also be pulling a car carrier–I'm deciding whether the savings of time, money, and depreciation on my car are worth foregoing the opportunity to make another 1,100-mile solo road trip. If I do rent the car carrier, I'll be piloting a combination that's over 50 feet in length and probably underpowered, too. Additionally, the car carrier is rated for a maximum speed of only 55 MPH.

The obvious route from Tampa to Philadelphia is I-75 > US 301 > I-10 > I-295 > I-95 with various beltways as needed. But I am somewhat tired of driving I-95, and I don't relish the thought of driving it at 20 MPH or better below prevailing traffic speeds.

Another nearly all-Interstate alternative would be to exit I-95 in SC and get on I-26, then I-77, I-81, and I-76. It would add about 100 miles and 90 minutes to the trip, but I've never driven much of that stretch of I-26 and I-77, and I haven't been on I-81 in Virginia in a number of years. I always enjoyed that I-81 drive visiting my brother at Virginia Tech. The hilly terrain makes that route more scenic and pleasant than I-95, although that also makes it more challenging for a underpowered truck. I'd still be something of a moving obstacle driving this route at 55, but I think that the somewhat lower traffic volumes and higher proportion of trucks would make it just slightly more tolerable.

Do you have any other suggestions for routes, perhaps even non-Interstate routes that would be more compatible with 55 MPH travel? The availability of truck-sized diesel pumps, hotels and restaurants with truck parking, etc. is important.

First off, depreciation on a 1,100 mile route is pennies.  It's the equivalent of driving (or not driving) a car for a month just to save on some random resale value. Would you not buy a used car because it had 87,000 miles on it vs. 86,000 miles?

Getting that out of the way...those car carriers rated 55 mph are the same exact ones that were rated for 45 mph during the years of the NMSL.  They simply slapped a new '55 mph' sticker over the '45 mph sticker'.  If you drove it at 65 mph, you'll be perfectly fine.  And most people do.

While the route you proposed is good for something other than what you've seen before, you gave every reason why NOT to drive that route!  Why would you want to take an underpowered truck into a hilly terrain?  Why would you want to do battle with other 80,000 pound trucks, rather than 4,000 pound cars?  Those other trucks aren't going 55 mph...they're going 75 mph...and in a hilly terrain to boot that they probably know better than you do!

Also...you said that route will add 100 miles and 90 minutes of driving.  That doesn't make sense...that equates to driving 66 mph, not 55 mph!

For driving a rental, I would stick with what you know - I-95.  If there's any issues, you're familiar with the route and you probably know where you can stop at if need be.  If the truck requires diesel (most rental trucks don't and just take regular fuel), nearly every exit that has gas stations will have diesel pumps as well.

[hbelkins]

If you're going to the Philly area and want to avoid I-95, how about finding some routing that will allow you to use portions of US 29 in Virginia? Say, take I-95 as far north as Florence, then US 52 and US 1 into North Carolina. From there US 220 (I-73/I-74) to Greensboro and then US 29 to the DC area.

[briantroutman]

...which even if you are in the slow lane, might cause a very underpowered truck to draw the ire of not only car motorists, but of the commercial truckers.

The wildcard in the equation is just how underpowered the truck proves to be and what speeds I'll be able to maintain on grades. Perhaps I'm making too dire an assumption. The rental trucks are International Durastars, and according to a quick look at International's specs, the engine commonly ordered by Penske is rated at 300 hp and 900 lb.-ft. of torque. These power output numbers appear to be roughly half what you'd see on a typical Class 8 over-the-road tractor. And if I'm pulling a load less than half as heavy, the rental truck might be able to at least hold its own.

Have you considered US 17 and 13?

That might be a possibility. I was about to say that US 17 and 13 look like they traverse too many small towns, but scanning over the route quickly on Google Maps, that doesn't seem to be the case. My limited experience with US 17 is from the time I spent in Wilmington, NC, south of which the road goes through some small-town and exurban Walmart-type commercial strips with a few traffic lights here and there.

First off, depreciation on a 1,100 mile route is pennies.

The depreciation may be minor, but it's more than pennies...and worth considering along with the other costs. According to a Kelley Blue Book calculation on my specific vehicle, the depreciation amounts to roughly $90. Obviously that's not a tremendous sum, but when added to the other costs of a second trip, the total more than equals the cost of renting a car carrier. I just need to decide whether the loss of a potentially enjoyable road trip is worth more to me than the savings of cost and time.

...those car carriers rated 55 mph are the same exact ones that were rated for 45 mph during the years of the NMSL.  They simply slapped a new '55 mph' sticker over the '45 mph sticker'.  If you drove it at 65 mph, you'll be perfectly fine.  And most people do.

Regardless of the carrier's ability to withstand speeds over 55, I would follow the rules to the letter. In the event of an accident (even where I'm not at fault) all the rental agency would need to do is demonstrate that I was driving over the speed posted on the car carrier, and they could claim that their equipment was "being used in a manner that violates the terms of the rental agreement."  That would remove any protections I had under the loss damage waver and allow them to sue me for the value of the truck, lost revenues, etc. Yes, I in turn could sue the other driver to recoup my losses... The bottom line is that I don't think a few hours shaved off a two-day trip is worth the risk.

Why would you want to take an underpowered truck into a hilly terrain?  Why would you want to do battle with other 80,000 pound trucks, rather than 4,000 pound cars?

If the truck can maintain 45 on the steepest allowable Interstate grades, I think that's acceptable. On past I-81 drives through the Shenandoah Mountains, I've seen scores of tractor trailers traveling at similar speeds on upgrades–some slower.

But without question, I would absolutely prefer driving a truck with other trucks instead of cars. Say what you will about the professionalism of today's truck drivers, but as a group, I find that they still drive much more courteously and predictably than do car drivers.

If you're going to the Philly area and want to avoid I-95, how about finding some routing that will allow you to use portions of US 29 in Virginia? Say, take I-95 as far north as Florence, then US 52 and US 1 into North Carolina. From there US 220 (I-73/I-74) to Greensboro and then US 29 to the DC area.

I've never driven it, but US 29 looks (on a map) just like the type of non-Interstate alternative that I had in mind: Freeway bypasses around cities and (hopefully) free flowing divided four-lane surface highways in between. The negative of this routing is that it logically leads back to Washington and Baltimore–which an alternative routing ideally would avoid. Of course timing will play a major role in traffic troubles, and I don't yet know the specifics of when I'll be able to depart, where I'll be stopping, and so on.

[corco]

In my frequent moves, I've had to drive both rent-a-trucks and trailers all over the west. I'd say a couple things:

1) If a loaded gas U-Haul with trailer in tow can handle I-17 in Arizona, Lolo Pass, Monida Pass, Raton Pass, and various other passes (which it can at speeds generally >50!), it can handle I-81 or whatever shorter (and lower elevation) grades, I wouldn't be too worried about your Penske's ability to handle those steep hills, especially since those have a proper diesel.

2) Re: Posted trailer speeds - I have never had an issue disregarding them, to a degree. I try to keep it to 65 or so and not any faster from a fuel consumption standpoint - because that's where those rent-a-trucks can kill you, speeding up only to pass vehicles. But in brief instances speeding up to 75 or 80, it hasn't been a problem. As with anything, check the tires - if the tires are balding and it's a hot day, you may not want to do that. The idea of following the rules to the letter is a nice concept - in practice, you try keeping your vehicle to the posted 55 MPH speed for 400 miles across New Mexico or whatever - maybe it's easier back east.

[Rothman]

First off, depreciation on a 1,100 mile route is pennies.

The depreciation may be minor, but it's more than pennies...and worth considering along with the other costs. According to a Kelley Blue Book calculation on my specific vehicle, the depreciation amounts to roughly $90. Obviously that's not a tremendous sum, but when added to the other costs of a second trip, the total more than equals the cost of renting a car carrier. I just need to decide whether the loss of a potentially enjoyable road trip is worth more to me than the savings of cost and time.

I'm missing something here:  How would you get both the truck and car to Pennsylvania without a car carrier?  Do you have second driver?

Other than that, worrying about $90 seems cheeseparing to me if you're truly considering taking the car on a separate trip.  If you are worrying about $90, my main concern would be cash out-of-pocket spent on the trip or trips rather than taking depreciation and whatever other esoteric factor into account.  Seems to me renting the carrier would win hands-down in that match-up, since two separate trips would be obviously more expensive than one.

[briantroutman]

I'm missing something here:  How would you get both the truck and car to Pennsylvania without a car carrier?  Do you have second driver?

No matter what, I'll be driving the rental truck from Florida to Pennsylvania. Since I don't think my one-year-old daughter would do well on a 18+ hour road trip, my wife will fly with her straight to the destination.

Now as far as my car is concerned, I have two options:

• Rent a car carrier from Penske for approximately $200. I'm also assuming a 10% reduction in fuel economy which would add about $30 in fuel costs. Total cost is roughly $230.
• Drive the truck to Philadelphia, then fly back to Tampa (still doable for about $50) and make a second road trip back ($90 in depreciation, $70 in fuel, and an $80 hotel night). Total cost is about $290 (or $200 if you don't want to count depreciation).

In purely economic terms, renting the car carrier would tend to make more sense. I'm self employed and don't yet know what my work schedule will be for that week, so there could be an opportunity cost associated with spending two additional days on the road, but I won't get into the complexities of that. Bottom line: There's little question that renting the car carrier would cost less overall and be more convenient.

On the other hand, I'm a roadgeek, and I love driving–particularly my own fun-to-drive car. And being married with an baby in the house, my opportunities to make thousand-mile drives on my own are close to nil. I'd be turning down a rare opportunity. Additionally, while I think I'm up to the challenge of driving a 35-foot long truck, adding another free-swinging 15+ feet will complicate maneuvers and could cause other logistical problems.

I can see both practical and emotional reasons to do either option. It's not going to be an easy decision.

[kphoger]

I've driven a 26-foot Penske box truck before, and my route at that time included US-60 across the Ozarks of southern Missouri before it was four-laned the whole way.  I never had any problems with power, and I was able to keep up with traffic on the hills just fine.  You're renting a truck from one one of the companies with the best fleets, so don't worry about how the truck will perform.

As for the car carrier, I say go for it, as long as you're halfway comfortable driving with a trailer in general.  If you're not super-confident towing, then simply avoid gas stations and restaurants that might require backing out.  For what it's worth, I regularly see people towing 55-rated car carriers at 70 to 75 mph around here, and I've seen them towing at 65 mph more often than at 55 mph.

[NE2]

Just drive 55. Fuck the haters.

[briantroutman]

I never had any problems with power, and I was able to keep up with traffic on the hills just fine.  You're renting a truck from one one of the companies with the best fleets, so don't worry about how the truck will perform.

The more I think about how relatively light my cargo load will be, the less I worry about the truck being underpowered. And certainly, the quality of Penske's fleet is a key reason I'm renting from them.

But just to be clear, the sole reason I want to keep my speed at 55 is liability. I have no doubt I could drive at a higher speed and be perfectly safe.

For instance: I'm driving down the highway safely at 65 and some careless motorist sideswipes the truck–I'm not at fault in the least. Penske checks GPS tracking or black box data and sees that I was driving over 55. They then claim I was "...operating Penske equipment in a manner that violates the terms of the rental agreement..."  and thereby remove the protection I purchased through the loss damage waiver. Penske sues me for the cost of damage to the truck, lost rental revenue, etc. Yes, I in turn could sue the driver who sideswiped me, but I don't want to put myself in that position in the first place.

Just drive 55. Fuck the haters.

Yeah–I'm inclined to agree.

[CtrlAltDel]

• Rent a car carrier from Penske for approximately $200. I'm also assuming a 10% reduction in fuel economy which would add about $30 in fuel costs. Total cost is roughly $230.
• Drive the truck to Philadelphia, then fly back to Tampa (still doable for about $50) and make a second road trip back ($90 in depreciation, $70 in fuel, and an $80 hotel night). Total cost is about $290 (or $200 if you don't want to count depreciation).

Given that the difference is about 60$, as you've described it, I would probably take the separate road trip. I don't know how much you make in a day, but given your family situation, I would probably go for it. Consider it a gift to yourself for having to make the move.

[jeffandnicole]

Personally for me, the thought process would center around: Do I want to make a 2nd trip, especially as that would involve leaving my wife and kid home alone for a few days.   That involves another flight and the time associated with that, along with the time and expense needed to travel back home.

I've routinely done NJ - FL and back trips for the past several years to visit friends, and have just slept in rest areas.  But my wife is with me and can drive too, which takes some hassle out of driving the whole way by myself.  We actually take the bigger of our two cars, and thus the worse gas mileage, due to it having fewer miles on it.  Gas is relatively cheap.  Depreciation - well, as I hinted before, you can't really start thinking about every penny here.  On my trips down to Florida, I'm not thinking of the resulting difference in value years down the road.  Every time I drive to work, I'm not thinking what the 80 miles will represent for the resale value each time I commute. 

If it was me, I'd just rent the trailer and stick the car on it.  If there's a choice, get one you can stick the entire car on, rather than just the front or back wheels.

Also, don't forget, your toll rates will be higher when you get into Maryland and Delaware with the trailer.  Even with the truck alone, the toll rates will be slightly higher.  Many people are shocked at how much extra the toll cost is when there's a trailer involved.

[briantroutman]

In the end, I did rent the car carrier. Fortunately, Penske allowed me the flexibility to pick up the truck first, load it, and then pick up the trailer a few days later. (They allowed the same on the return: I dropped the trailer first and then unloaded the truck.)



I had another thread about parking the truck, and I have an update on that here:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=19794.msg2216705#msg2216705

We were running behind on packing and loading the truck, and rather than departing rested and ready at noon on Friday, I was instead sleep deprived and sore, having been awake and loading for the previous 36 hours straight. I finally hit the road at about 7 p.m. Since I was so tired, I didn't get far, and I stopped in Wildwood, FL for the night.

I took the truck through a CAT Scale (out of curiosity) and found it to be much more heavily loaded than I anticipated. Total weight was over 25,000 lbs.–about 850 lbs. from exceeding the truck's GVWR and landing in CDL territory.



After a sound sleep, I continued along the typical route (US 301, I-10, I-295) under low traffic and ideal conditions. Not long after I got onto I-95, though, traffic was an on-again, off-again crawl from Jacksonville well into South Carolina. Based on the extraordinarily heavy volume of rental trucks, trailers, RVs, and northern plates traveling the same direction, it would have appeared to be the snowbirds' official day to head home.

I exited onto I-26 and then I-77 as I had originally been considering, and traffic was essentially a non-issue from that point forward. But with all of the stop-and-go on I-95, plus my 55 MPH top speed with the trailer, I didn't make great time. I stopped Saturday night north of Charlotte.

That allowed me to hit the hills of the Piedmont and Blue Ridge on Sunday morning while I was wide awake and had the benefit of daylight. For the most part, the truck was able to maintain at least 45 MPH on even steep grades, although for a few brief moments, my speed dipped as low as about 40. There were generally other heavy trucks going about the same speed, so I wasn't the lone obstacle.

I did encounter some truck trouble, however. Many diesel engines use diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) to control certain pollutants in the exhaust, but Navistar (International) decided to use an alternative setup where the pollutants are caught in a filer and then burned off by exhaust heat. These Navistar engines have been the source of numerous customer lawsuits. In short, I had trouble with the emissions system; the engine sometimes ran roughly, lost power, refused to start, and in some cases, stalled.

The scariest moment occurred that night in Carlisle. I had just refueled at the Petro and was waiting for the light to turn green so I could pull out onto US 11 and enter the PA Turnpike. When the light changed and I stepped onto the accelerator, the truck slowly crept out into the intersection before the engine shuddered and died–with the truck blocking both directions of traffic. I frantically turned the key–the engine cranked and cranked but wouldn't start. Meanwhile, the light had changed again and tractor trailers lined up on both sides with truckers angrily blowing their air horns. (Aside: To do what? Clearly I've stalled out; it's not as if I've absent mindedly gone into a daze and will snap to attention at their honking.)

While dialing emergency road service with one hand, I kept turning the key with the other, and finally, the engine sputtered to a rough idle. I managed to coax the truck onto the right shoulder and eventually built up a bit of speed: 5...10...20.... By the time I neared the Turnpike on-ramp, I was going about 35, so I thought I'd take my chances and continue toward Philadelphia. I did make it–at about midnight Sunday night.

I plan to write a letter to Penske about the truck trouble. The return location was actually a Hertz rental counter, and unfortunately the staff knew nothing about trucks and didn't seem to have any authority to act. Ironically, I was absolutely insistent about renting with Penske specifically to avoid the decrepit, unreliable equipment in U-Haul's fleet. In fairness, though, the customer service was generally excellent and I'm inclined to accept this as an isolated problem. The truck I received was an 2012 International Durastar with about 150,000 miles, and I think this truck would have to be among the oldest in Penske's fleet. Hopefully this isn't a sign that Penske is no longer the gold standard of truck rental they historically have been.

[jeffandnicole]

Glad to see you made it.  Just wondering...does it cost anything to go on the CAT scale?

[vdeane]

Not long after I got onto I-95, though, traffic was an on-again, off-again crawl from Jacksonville well into South Carolina. Based on the extraordinarily heavy volume of rental trucks, trailers, RVs, and northern plates traveling the same direction, it would have appeared to be the snowbirds' official day to head home.

I took I-95 from roughly Richmond to Newark with some clinching detours around DC, Baltimore, and Philly Sunday afternoon and Monday morning (overnight just off MD 24) on my way back from the Beckley meet.  My experience Sunday would seem to agree; Fredericksburg in particular was stop and go for a very long distance.  I ended up paying for the HOT lanes to avoid future backups up to DC (I even called them the "escape lanes"), but for some reason I-95 became free flowing again as soon as I left the free lanes (for a little while, at least; traffic looked heavy as the free lanes got into the 60/55 zones approaching DC).  I thought it was weird that I-95 was more heavily traveled on a random weekend in April than on Columbus Day when I was heading back from the Birmingham meet, but then remembered that I stayed in Richmond, not Baltimore, for that one, and so was hitting that portion of road at 8:00 AM.

[briantroutman]

Glad to see you made it.  Just wondering...does it cost anything to go on the CAT scale?

Thanks.

I'm not sure if the pricing is universal, but at least at that location, the cost is $11 for a first weighing and $2 for a re-weighing (after you've adjusted your load).

[jwolfer]

Is that a TDi?

LGMS428

[1995hoo]

Not long after I got onto I-95, though, traffic was an on-again, off-again crawl from Jacksonville well into South Carolina. Based on the extraordinarily heavy volume of rental trucks, trailers, RVs, and northern plates traveling the same direction, it would have appeared to be the snowbirds' official day to head home.

I took I-95 from roughly Richmond to Newark with some clinching detours around DC, Baltimore, and Philly Sunday afternoon and Monday morning (overnight just off MD 24) on my way back from the Beckley meet.  My experience Sunday would seem to agree; Fredericksburg in particular was stop and go for a very long distance.  I ended up paying for the HOT lanes to avoid future backups up to DC (I even called them the "escape lanes"), but for some reason I-95 became free flowing again as soon as I left the free lanes (for a little while, at least; traffic looked heavy as the free lanes got into the 60/55 zones approaching DC).  I thought it was weird that I-95 was more heavily traveled on a random weekend in April than on Columbus Day when I was heading back from the Birmingham meet, but then remembered that I stayed in Richmond, not Baltimore, for that one, and so was hitting that portion of road at 8:00 AM.

This time of year is a fairly heavy tourist season here. Lots of people come when their kids are on spring break, and other people plan ahead to come to see the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin (somewhat of a dud of a plan this year, but if you already made your reservations....).

[briantroutman]

Is that a TDi?

LGMS428

No, it's a TSI. I bought it in January 2016, just a couple of months after the stop-sale on diesels was issued, so a TDI was never an option.

[jwolfer]

I wanted a tdi.. I had an appointment to doa test drive when the whole scandal broke..  I am waiting for the Chevy cruze diesel hatchback in 2018

LGMS428

[briantroutman]

I was interested in a TDI, too–despite the fact that I likely wouldn't drive enough miles to recoup the higher purchase price.

But I can't say I was brokenhearted getting the TSI. I had a long term rental of a Volkswagen CC with a 2.0 TSI engine, and I was very impressed with its responsiveness and efficiency. The 1.8 in my Golf isn't quite as powerful, but I'm still very impressed with its performance, and I can easily top 40 MPG on the highway with little effort.

[pumpkineater2]

People often give Volkswagen a bad rap, but I've grown to really like their cars.
I would've taken the solo trip if I had that car! 

[jwolfer]

I was interested in a TDI, too–despite the fact that I likely wouldn't drive enough miles to recoup the higher purchase price.

But I can't say I was brokenhearted getting the TSI. I had a long term rental of a Volkswagen CC with a 2.0 TSI engine, and I was very impressed with its responsiveness and efficiency. The 1.8 in my Golf isn't quite as powerful, but I'm still very impressed with its performance, and I can easily top 40 MPG on the highway with little effort.

I rented a 2015 passat for a trip.. I liked driving it, not a TDI.. In the past i had a 1983 rabbitt and my ex wife and i had a 1991 vanagon, loved it even though it was underpowered.. It caught on fire though... Fuel line leak got blown back onto the hot engine

LGMS428

[CtrlAltDel]

I was instead sleep deprived and sore, having been awake and loading for the previous 36 hours straight.

36 hours seems like a long time to load a truck. But still I'm glad to hear you made it all in one piece and to know that you got to use the CAT scales. I've never done so, and it was interesting to see your ticket. Also (mildly) interesting is that I've been that exact truck stop in Wildwood. The name of the town is quite memorable.