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Lucy815 · 01-16-2011, 08:58 PM

My husband and I would like to travel I-80 West from Illinois about the end of February or so through the end of April; we hope to visit friends in the Lake Tahoe area. One of our concerns, besides bears, is traversing the terrain pulling our 34' AS; our TV is a Ford F250 gas. She's in tip top shape, but we have heard some horror stories about mountain trips without a diesel TV. Any input would be appreciated; thank you.

ddstech · 01-16-2011, 09:03 PM

As far as the sierra Nevada's, You should be fine after you hit utah and beyond. I have driven that road in dozens of vehicles and towed a few different trailers without issue. Its a fairly easy drive. Take your time, and watch the forecast. Us californians like to shut everything down as soon as the snow flies, we never really caught on to winter weather.

Airslide · 01-16-2011, 09:19 PM

You would be fine. The trucks are pulling that grade at 40 mph.. just hang behind them and take your time on the downside. Its a beautiful drive.

Vinnie

Beaker63 · 01-16-2011, 09:27 PM

Lucy,
In February, I would stay south of I80, some nasty storms coming out of the gulf and aacross the plains'
Tim

Condoluminum · 01-16-2011, 09:32 PM

Have driven road more than 20 times, between school and Airstream and other excuses, from SF Bay Area to Pennsylvania or beyond... Only "mountains" you'll notice are descent into Salt Lake (which is long but not too bad) and rise from Reno up about 3,000' to Donner Summit.. As Vinnie said, keep speeds down going downhill and accept that for 5 mile climb west of Reno you may not be able to drive faster than 50 or 55.. In many parts, road widens to 3 lanes with truck lanes, and Calif has a number of large yellow advisory signs for trucks that are useful (like "Let her roll" or "Downshift now-5% downgrade ahead for 2 miles")

Bigger problem might be snow.. Ski season around Lake Tahoe normally runs past Easter, and with all the snow this year it could go until Memorial Day. It has snowed in April and May, and Calif has no flexibility about requiring tire chains if snow or ice on road surface, and includes trailers. It's also possible to see snow on I-80 between Green River Utah and Salt Lake in April.. I believe 1 or 2 campgrounds near South Lake Tahoe (the City..) remain open in winter, but most open in May.. Road around west side of the Lake (US Hwy 89) also opens sometime in April or May, as too narrow and steep to plow in winter south of Tahoe City...

Airslide · 01-16-2011, 09:41 PM

Good point.. and if there are chain requirements while your traveling towards the pass they (the caltrans Gods) will require that all braking axles require chains... yikes! I would wait that one out until chain requirements are lifted which happens throughout the day typically.

Vinnie

Lothlorian · 01-16-2011, 09:42 PM

Lucy:

What part of Joliet are you from (East or West side)? I grew up in Joliet and my wife grew up in the area. Both of our families still live there. We were there last summer visiting family. We stayed the first couple of days at Kankakee state park. It was empty and loaded with Mosquitoes. We decided to camp at Martin's campground. Martins was great! We did not care about I-80 being there. We had a dump, electric, and water. It worked out because we were minutes from family.

Kanakakee and Martins were the only places near Joliet. The Empress Casino campgrounds we have not tried. Both our families are on the East side of town.

I don't know which way you want to head west but I have taken 55 through St. Louis when I went west. It was a good drive. Back in the day my buddy and I at the age of 19 drove from L.A. Back to Joliet. It was a good ride and it was farther south.

Brian

Mike Leary · 01-17-2011, 08:50 AM

I-80 can be nasty that time of year all the way through Nevada and over the Donner.
We've been stuck in Reno not able to go east or west! We check this site often when traveling...happy trails.

National Traffic and Road Closure Information

Lucy815 · 01-17-2011, 12:59 PM

Thank you all for the excellent suggestions! We are more than excited about the trip, but now have the luxury of time to postpone through to end of March also. I've dealt with a broken foot and cast all winter, so this trip will be way after final cast removed and therapy finished.

Although I have lived in Colorado, chains brought up a new concern we had not considered, and we don't want to need them!! The idea conjures up way too much climate for me to deal with...particularly post-cast =).

@Lothlorian: My husband and I live West of the river in the cathedral area of Joliet; & @Mike: we will "fave" your NTRCI.

The invaluable experience of this website members and their readiness to share is a blessing. Thank you.

NevadaGeo · 01-17-2011, 02:20 PM

I suspect Lucy will be heading up to Tahoe on US 50 out of Carson City, its a pretty gentle road to the lake, and all around the lake.
Bears: my Silver Dragon came with a bear claw mark in the refrigerator door, got it up by Truckee. I keep a few dishes of strong Pine Sol out in the trailer, and never leave food in it. Going with the theory bears don't like heavy duty cleaning duties.

TG Twinkie · 01-17-2011, 03:04 PM

I-80 could be a problem as far east as central Nebraska in April. We live 40 miles north of it and about 50 miles east of Cheyenne, WY. The pass between Cheyenne and Laramie, WY can be a problem if there is a snow storm. It can also be very windy at times. Slick roads, wind and a 34 footer are not a good mix.
Your F-250 will do fine as long as you don't want to run up the passes at 70mph.

cclarkego · 01-17-2011, 05:17 PM

Don't worry about the bears, they are all hibernating now.
When they wake up, they come to my trailer....

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f161...eam-53997.html

Carol

thecatsandi · 01-17-2011, 05:28 PM

The truck will do it but take your time. Weather is likely to be more of an issue than the TV/trailer combo. Ditto. Chains could not hurt. Drag chains on the trailer as well.

Lucy815 · 01-17-2011, 05:31 PM

You guys have me frightened! I realize this could be perceived as "city" meets "country;" however, I don't want to come any closer to a bear than the ones I've seen (past tense) in a zoo. Our destination is Truckee, CA. @Carol, why did you have a bear claw mark on your refrigerator? Inside the AS? Where will the bears be in April? @TGT, we traveled thru the US midsection on Rt 40 @40mpg, so we have no fears of being laughed off the road. @NG, we'll tour around the lake et. al. much later in our trip. In fact, from the sounds of it, I may reroute to the Keys!!

cclarkego · 01-17-2011, 05:41 PM

Nevada Geo had the bear claw mark on the frig. My bear claw marks are high on the side of the trailer when he tried to climb on top. My back screen is still lopsided though where he bashed it in on me and then decided to climb inside too while I was exiting the front door in a great big hurry! I really wouldn't worry too much about bears though, just don't leave food or coolers around in bear country. I've never heard of anyone else that had my luck with the bear in the trailer....

Carol

Lotus72 · 01-17-2011, 07:55 PM

I grew hiking, skiing, and playing around Truckee and Tahoe City. We have taken trailers over the Donner Pass in winter and in summer. Be very cautious and aware of the weather, it can change quickly with few places to safely pull off the road. With a small amount of snow falling people drive like idiots. We were stuck in a mild snow storm because each time they opened 80 south someone tried going 55 mph + and wiped out.

I encourage you to get a weather radio that comes on with weather updates/warnings. They are not very expensive and can be set to monitor weather warnings in your area of the country.

Safe travels

NevadaGeo · 01-18-2011, 03:16 PM

My understanding is that most bear problems come from feeding the bears with garbage and convenient foods. Then the bears get used to the food source and look for more. There's a lot of states with increasing nuisance bear instances, we're just ahead of most. So far there's only a few aggressive bear reports, and those are inside houses I believe. The mountain lion problem seemed to diminish when Calif reinstated a hunt season on cats. We don't have a season on bear here in Nevada at the moment.

Mike Leary · 01-18-2011, 03:34 PM

When they finally opened the Donner one year, plowed and sanded, we went through after being stuck in Reno (we don't gamble or stay up late) for a couple of days. That pass goes forever! By the time we got to Sacramento, you could not tell it was a AS with all the mud we took on.

Ag&Au · 01-18-2011, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucy749

You guys have me frightened!.................

If you wish to be frightened, be frightened by the appropriate things:

you have much more to fear from the humans you encounter than from the bears, and you will encounter many many more of the former.

Now, sasquatches are altogether another matter.

Enjoy your trip.

Ken

Lucy815 · 01-19-2011, 09:46 AM

To: Lotus, Nevada, Mike and Ken et. al.

Too funny about the sasquatches!!

Thanks for your advice and input; the trip doesn't frighten me because I've rec'd so many suggestions; plus I miss the mountains. Keeping this all in perspective, this is travel information prior to a road trip, and LucyII never leaves the driveway w/o plans A & B.

Please remember to wave as we tottle along enroute. Safe journey all!

Kathi