Driving from Nashville to Phoenix: I-40 or I-10?
4Getting ready to move my mother across the country. Sometime in the next few weeks I’ll be picking up a Uhaul in Nashville, heading back to Phoenix loaded with a bunch of her stuff.
Which route would you choose? This will be a turnaround trip. No time for sightseeing. Just trying to avoid delays of construction and traffic. I doubt weather will be a factor this late in the season.
I-10 adds a few miles, and there’s the challenge of getting to it through the DFW mayhem.
The last time I drove I-40, ALL of Arkansas was one giant construction zone.
Anyone who’s traveled either of these routes recently, please opine.
- 11 comments, 61 replies
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I10 goes thru Houston and San Antonio, not DFW.
I20 and I30 go thru DFW.
The roads thru DFW are only awful during extended rush hours. Usually.
I20 and I30 join just west of FW and become I20.
I20 and I10 join somewhere in West Texas and become I10.
Does that help?
@f00l Getting from Nashville to I-10 using the most direct route (pickup I-30 in Little Rock) goes though DFW (to I-20) before hooking up to I-10 near Pecos.
Most scheduled construction on i-40 in Arkansas is set for night time. Google says i-40 all the way, 24 hours drive time.
Good luck and glad you’re bringing your mom to be close by.
@djslack She’s not wanting to tolerate another cold winter in TN, and FFS, the farm is WAY too much for her to take care of. She’s in her 70s after all.
RE: nighttime construction, since I’m on a short timeline, I’m planning on driving until late into the night on the Friday I’m traveling. A few hours sleep in the truck Friday night, then back at it early Saturday night. If all goes as planned, I should be home by 10PM that Saturday. Depending on how early I can hit the road, I might be through AR before dark though.
@djslack @ruouttaurmind Is your mom riding with you?
@lseeber No, not yet. This is the first of at least 3 such trips where I go there, pick up a Uhaul truck, load it up with stuff, bring the stuff to Phx and into storage.
Once most of the stuff is moved, she will have a realtor begin aggressively marketing the farm for sale. Once it’s sold I’ll make the last trip to collect her and and bring her to Phx in her RV, where she’ll stay while we find her a new house.
@lseeber @ruouttaurmind Shoot, then take both routes and report back. And make sure to pack some good audiobooks.
@ruouttaurmind Ah… ok. I think I’d get a bigger truck!!
@lseeber
@Limewater
It is by the grace of audiobooks that I’ll manage that drive multiple times! I’ll likely go through two per trip X three or four trips… that’s a lot of books.
@lseeber @ruouttaurmind Have you looked at U-Pack? You rent feet in a large moving trailer. They drop it off and then you have three days or so to load it yourself, or have professionals do it, then you put up a lockable divider.
They then use the remaining space in the trailer, and it may take a circuitous route to your destination, but it arrives and you have three days or so to unload it yourself or get professionals to do it.
We used it during an interstate move in 2016, and it was substantially cheaper than other options we explored, and was either comparable to or cheaper than U-Haul. I was pretty happy with it, and will likely use them again if my family and I have another interstate move.
In addition to the base price, I had to buy or rent my own moving blankets, which were pretty cheap, boxes, and had to buy about $15 worth of ratcheting straps to secure stuff in the trailer.
I also hired pros for loading and unloading. It was ~$300 on either end, but this was completely optional and was not a hard upsell at all. I didn’t want to load and unload a 4-bedroom house all by myself.
I’d wager they’ll be cheaper than three separate U-Haul trips and airfare…
@ruouttaurmind I totally understand. My husband passed away unexpectedly about a yr and half ago. He was a hoarder! When we got married I sold my home and moved into his (and his ex wife’s) house. The house was too far removed from everything for me on my own as we lived very remote in a Nat’l forest and the house needed to much work. So moving and going thru everything was a nightmare for me and quite stressful. Although, it wasn’t too much of a problem getting rid of stuff. I had been begging him for yrs to thin out the herd. But it was quite an ordeal and I"m younger than your mom. I can only imagine her stress. Has she got help on her end going thru stuff and packing?
@ruouttaurmind Have you checked places like U-Pack for a price quote? It would be a lot of work to pack the whole house at once, but it would then only require one trip and no U-Haul rental.
I’m going to be moving in the next year, and that’s what I plan to do, but I’m ridding myself of most of the furniture/appliances beforehand, so I won’t have a massive amount to pack.
Added: What @Limewater said!
I plan to use individual cubes rather than a trailer, but I have less stuff to move.
@Limewater
Yup, that was one of the first options I looked into. There are various iterations of that model, and I tried three or four of them.
Specifically, the U-Pack quote was $6,799 for 23’ of trailer space. We would most likely need the full 28 feet of one trailer, bumping the price to $7,783 plus taxes and fees. This is about 35% more per cubic cargo foot than the Uhaul method. PODS, Uhaul’s UBox and Go-Mini were also similarly priced. Even Mayflower was slightly less costly, which surprised me!
@ruouttaurmind Wow!
I guess most of the freight between Nashville and Phoenix is primarily by train or something. My quote for a ~740-mile move from the Mid-Atlantic to the Southeast was about $1500 for 23’.
@lseeber Mom is also in a remote location. Very rural Tennessee. She has a 168 acre farm. Although she’s now leasing out much of the crop land, there’s still way, way too much to take care of. Large 4BR house, and the associated 20 acre property, outbuildings, roads, fences… it’s too much for her.
Fortunately a couple of her neighbors (“neighbors” being relative in a rural community) are helping out. A few of the ladies are helping her sort and pack, and the lads are moving boxes and furniture to the shop to keep the house clear for more sorting and packing. The day I arrive with the truck she anticipates about half a dozen farm boys should be there to help load. With that kind of manpower we will likely be fully loaded in less than an hour.
@Limewater
Wow! That’s significantly less! Her move is about 1,700 miles, but I’m surprised at the huge difference in cost. Maybe fuel was cheaper when you used them, or perhaps it’s a matter of logistics, and certain areas of the country are just less costly to move cargo through. Also, she’s many miles from any city, so I have no doubt this adds to the cost.
@lseeber @ruouttaurmind She doesn’t happen to own a titled, 1988 or later Suzuki Samurai she’s looking to unload, does she?
@Limewater Nope, no such vehicle there. She does have a '98 Ford PU she’ll need to get rid of. And three or four tractors and a zero-turn mower.
@ruouttaurmind Good…glad she has lots of help! My brother was invaluable to me during all that. Hope it all goes smoothly for you both!
@lseeber TY! This is the first of a few identical voyages, so once this one is out of the way, I’m sure the remaining trips will be less of an adventure and more organized.
I-17 south from Flagstaff to Phoenix can be tricky from Sunset Point to Black Canyon City. Sometimes I feel like I’m about to get run off the road. Lots of blind corners and frequent accidents. I was in one about 20 years ago. traffic was stopped for an accident and a truck came around the corner and plowed into about a dozen stopped cars. If I had the choice, I would take the 10.
@toycardriver I usually bypass Flagstaff and I-17 by heading south in Holbrook. It’s like the SR-277 or something. It hooks up with 260 in Heber. In Payson I grab the 60 into town.
EDIT: just looked it up, it’s SR377 out of Holbrook.
@ruouttaurmind I agree. I do that too. I would have added that, but I was too lazy to look up the highway numbers.
I would take the 40
10 through Houston only sucks during rush hour. At 10pm it is empty. During rush hour - well add at least an hour getting through the greater Houston area.
You’re probably going to be on I-40 halfway through Arkansas, regardless of which route you are thinking about taking, unless you are getting down to I-10 via Alabama and Mississippi. And you’re not considering that because it’s a terrible idea.
I have not driven the norther route in a long time, and never taken your proposed southern route.
Between the two, I would probably take the southern route to avoid road construction. Going through DFW is a big variable, depending on what time of day you hit it, but I find that being stuck in traffic in a major metropolitan area is a little more interesting than being stuck in traffic due to road work in between cities. And if you hit it in the middle of the night, it’s fun to cruise on through at speed.
Whichever one Google maps says is faster just before you start out.
@cinoclav
I would love it if Google Maps was a bit more intelligent. For example, if a given route would hit a major metroplex during a morning or afternoon commute, Maps should weigh that in it’s “Best Route” calculation. It seems Maps is more focused on miles than traffic and construction areas.
@ruouttaurmind Hmm… Mine definitely will give me an alternate option when initially routing if it’s seeing a long delay due to traffic. Of course your problem is the long duration of your trip. I’d run it through Maps in advance, around the time you plan on leaving. It might help you decide which way you want to go.
@cinoclav Maps seems to accommodate traffic for local travel, but doesn’t appear smart enough to look ahead for more than an hour, or 50ish miles.
You make an excellent suggestion. I might do well to estimate the time I will pass through various cities and check the typical traffic impact during that time on an average day.
Kudos for doing this.
I know it will hurt for her to finally give up the farm. But … Changes come to all of us.
I hope she really likes AZ after she gets used to it.
@f00l Thanks! I know she will complain about the summer heat, but compared to the cold where she’s at now, the heat might be easier for her to contend with. I’ve been after her to move here since before my step dad passed (has it already been two years???) Her pet cows didn’t make it through the winter there, and I think maybe that was the last handhold she had to the farm. She’s willing to move. I will stop short of saying she’s ready to move, but she’s willing.
@f00l @ruouttaurmind And she’s in the Nashville area? I’m in N. Alabama and we’ve had a pretty good winter here. Mild for the most part. I moved where I am now to be closer to my parents (and other stuff) who are in their 80s and doing great but…ya know. I have one daughter and family in MN and another in GA. God knows where I’ll end up. Prob in GA. Hoping/praying the other daughter ends up in GA also.
@ruouttaurmind
Tell her to watch what other people do to deal with the heat and the intensity of the sun.
Esp watch how people who are outdoors a lot dress and act (gardeners and landscape persons, fitness persons, people who just like being outside)
And I hope she takes it easy. That’s a pretty big jump in climate.
/giphy Hats!
@f00l
Arizona won’t be a totally new experience for her. She and my step dad stayed with me for four winters before he passed. Prior to moving to TN, she lived 20 years in AZ. So she knows what it’s like here, I’m just not sure if she remembers what it’s like here. Certainly fall/winter/spring will be joyous for her, but even the few months of excruciating heat can quickly beat down one’s will to do anything. I would imagine it’s much like folks who live in the far north east during the winter. Arizona has it’s own version of cabin fever during the summertime.
@lseeber
No, she’s actually about a hundred miles north-west of Nashville, but I have to fly into BNA to start my journey to her place. She’s in a very rural farming area about half way between Nashville and Memphis, not far from the KY border.
@ruouttaurmind
I once heard some retail florists from the Phoenix area describe what they went thru to get flowers delivered with any kind of decent visual presentability during summer.
Extensive cargo van mods toward extreme cooling were only the beginning.
(The cargo vans already had front and rear separate a/c systems.)
@f00l Most florists here use windowless minivans. Some install top-mounted refrigeration units, and most install extra insulation inside the vehicle walls and roof.
Well, I’ve done some calculations based on the suggestions proffered. Looking like I-40 will be the route of choice.
Now I’m trying to select a stopping point to rest for the night. I’ll be about half way between OKC and Amarillo around midnight. There sure isn’t much on that stretch, is there. I guess I’ll have to hope for a safe looking rest stop somewhere along there and hope nobody bothers with the truck or trailer. I’ll have to plan ahead and get a bag of fast food in OKC so I can have a pitiful supper before sleep.
@ruouttaurmind
Search Google maps for all the bigger truck stop names.
Love’s, Pilot, Flying J, Travel America, Petro, and more.
And also search maps in the designated Geo area for “truck stop”.
Those will let you stop and park. Just stay out of the way when you park. They always have some cars parking at night so that drivers can rest.
Also larger Racetracs and Quiktrips on the interstates (near the city edges and in rural areas) will let you stop and park for some hours.
Also you might want to drive at night. The roads will be relatively empty then.
FWIW Google maps has a bias toward large numbered roads. That would be mostly what you need anyway.
But check Waze as you go thru potential problem areas. It’s a bit more creative.
Aren’t the big thru roads in OK mostly toll?
If so, then I doubt the cost would bother you, but toll roads are usually well maintained and relatively easy to drive, a big plus.
@therealjrn might have some insight into your route on I40. Perhaps there are more Okies around who can comment?
@f00l @ruouttaurmind Our Oklahoma politicians have never “paid off” a toll road to my knowledge. If you get a “PikePass” we have reciprocal agreements with Kansas and Texas I think, but it’s probably easier just to keep a change bucket nearby.
The highway patrol around here are very sneaky–they have all kinds of different cars–probably seized from the pot-smoking public. So be sure your OPSEC is up-to-snuff, so-to-speak, if need be. Safe travels!
@f00l @ruouttaurmind I forgot to say…we have 77 counties in Oklahoma, and a sheriff sitting in each one–in case you decide to go off-interstate for travel.
But in case you do have need for a lawman, they’re usually hanging out by the casinos making the tweakers nervous.
@ruouttaurmind
@ruouttaurmind @therealjrn
Re cops
Since towing: I figured not so much mad speeding.
I assume cop habits in OK are similar to those in TX.
For starters, make sure all the lights and blinkers are hooked up and are working properly. Wear seat belts. Don’t offer pull-over excuses.
The cops will have a variety of vehicles that look like ordinary personal autos and trucks.
Waze will notify you of accidents, slowdowns, obstructions, and some of the cops.
I like the routing and visualization on Google maps. But Waze is really good for up to date detailed route info.
If you are planning to get far off the beaten path and don’t know the roads, Waze and Google get useless when there is no cell signal.
Yeah I know about saving offline maps on your phone. Those are also close to useless.
If that is your path (off grid), and you don’t know the local roads, consider a GPS. Buydig often has v nice deals on refurb Garmins (which are great).
In Texas (on interstates and not in construction zones or highly urban areas) you almost always can get away with 10 mph over the word limit without worrying. You can get away with 15 over in many places, but you kinda have to “know”.
If you want to go faster than 10 over, you kinda have to know the area, or watch the other drivers for cues as to what you can get away with.
Never be the fastest driver in the road if you are speeding. Let someone else attract the radar attention.
Caveat:
DO NOT SPEED IN SMALL TOWNS! OR ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF SMALL TOWNS!
Those small towns would just love for you to help with their municipal budgets if you “volunteer by speeding”.
You can kinda tell that the cops a bit enjoy ticketing the truly foolish out-of-towner.
Any road that is a route between the local towns and active oil/gas field production is going to have - and ignore - a lot of speeding. Just go with the flow.
If I were you I’d get whatever Tolltags are applicable to the roads you will travel.
Makes life easier.
You don’t need the actual tag if it would not arrive in time.
Set up an account online with whomever the toll authority is in OK or TX, and the toll gates will read your vehicle license plate and charge your Tolltag balance or your Tolltag associated credit card.
You will get a discounted rate and also just not have to worry about it all.
@ruouttaurmind @therealjrn
The tollroads of my distant childhood were paid off and set free. And that was another era.
I don’t know if the OK legislature is as corrupt as the one in Austin about this sort of thing. But I fear …
Modern tollroads are designed never to be paid off. They are operated by “very profitable non-profit authorities” so to speak.
Or “so to soak” (the driver).
/giphy soak
@f00l @ruouttaurmind
/giphy yep
@therealjrn I forgot about all the casinios in OK. Wish I had time to stop in at one. I enjoy visiting new casinos and playing a few hands of video poker. On this trip, however, time is of the essence and I will barely be stopping for fuel and restroom breaks, let alone leisure.
@f00l As far as driving safety, I am wary of a high profile vehicle, loaded with a couple tons of cargo, bombing down the road at high rates of speed. I will definitely choose to give up an earlier arrival time in favour of arriving safely, a few hours later.
RE: Driving at night. Unfortunately my timeline on this trip does not afford me the luxury of scheduling when I drive. I must hit the road fast an furious (well, furious anyway) the moment I arrive in TN. Also, I have a difficult enough time sleeping, sleeping during the day is nigh impossible. Particularly when stretched across the seat of a Uhaul in a noisy truck stop or rest are. In years past I would divert off the highway onto a country road and pull into a field or vacant lot for some peaceful slumber. This time though I do not wish to tempt the fates with the potential of an off-the-beaten-path flat tire or dead battery.
(a moment of traditional Texas braggartcy)
If you wind up driving thru Texas and wind up taking rural non-controlled-entry type roads, such as state highways and local farm to market roads, these roads are usually excellent.
The rep is that these roads are as good as or better than anything similar elsewhere.
You need not fear for your suspension on these roads.
@f00l I read that we Okies have a tough time with the roads because of the wide temperature changes we have. It certainly shows on our city streets–they are embarrassingly bad–at least in Tulsa they are.
But traveling to nearby states tells a tale. When the road suddenly becomes smooth and unfucked–you have left the fine state of Oklahoma. Come back soon!
/giphy y’all come back now, y’hear?
@therealjrn
It’s all about the $$$$.
Sigh.
/giphy money
@therealjrn
This is how I felt about my last few travels through Arkansas. The roads were so bad I had to pull over and dump out my drink. My pickup was shuddering so bad my drink was jumping out of the cup holder. It was so bad the cruise control kept resetting because the brake pedal was bouncing. That’s when I started taking the long route via I-10 through Houston and up through MS and AL. The only down side to that route was the four and a half days it takes to drive through west TX.
@ruouttaurmind Just four and a half days? Whoah! Slow down there speed racer!
@therealjrn My watch said it was about seven hours, but it sure felt like the better part of a week.
@ruouttaurmind @therealjrn
But you got to drive in Texas!
You got to be in Texas!
Lucky you!
Also, The Texas Roads Did Not Suck.
@f00l @therealjrn Heh. I call Photoshop. It’s only 600 miles from Belmont to El Paso.
@ruouttaurmind @therealjrn
Silly Rabbit!
Beaumont. Not Belmont.
That’s not quite border to border, btw.
/giphy “silly rabbit Trix are for kids”
@ruouttaurmind @therealjrn
Or, using a more likely POE, if you if you aim at going thru DFW:
And every mile pure pleasure! Right?
/giphy Texas
@f00l The longest direct route I could find in TX on my last I-10 journey: El Paso to Orange. IIRC, it was about 850 miles. But at least the scenery started to change for the last few hundred miles.
What’s with the gunk in the air in Houston? After passing through Houston, I tried washing my windows on the next fuel stop and there was this thick layer of sludge on them. On the whole truck for that matter. I had to wash the truck with Dawn detergent a couple times before I finally got most of it off.
@f00l @ruouttaurmind Oh, that’s nothing to worry about. You know when your neighbor’s dog humps your leg? This is the same thing, it’s just Texas showing how happy it is to see you!
/giphy happy to see you
@ruouttaurmind
Houston Ship Channel. (which is fascinating but has been on fire recently.)
Gas and oil refineries and processing. You’ve heard of the “oil bidness” haven’t you?
There are reasons that the well-to-do tend to live more often in the west portions of Houston.
/image “Houston Ship Channel”
/image “Baytown refinery”
You like the idea of an oceanic estuary and bay being on fire, right?
So exciting.
@therealjrn
Arkansas roads were bad. OK roads were most definitely NOT ok! At one point just before Elk City I swear I must have inadvertently driven off the pavement and was traveling through a rock quarry. Brutal. The road was bucking so bad two tie-down straps on my trailer split and I nearly lost my load (a 14’ trailer loaded onto the 21’ trailer). I was grateful for the 24 hour Walmart Supercenter in Elk City. Four new straps and $60 later I was on my way.
@ruouttaurmind On behalf of the residents and the State Legislators of this fine state, I offer my condolences and apologies. I hope at least you found the Toll road fees sufficiently high?
@therealjrn I’m sure the rough roads are a cheap plot to extract revenue from poor hapless travelers.
I stuck to I-40, so I didn’t encounter any tolls.
I’ve survived my adventure. Due to wind conditions I wound up sticking with I-40 from Nashville to Holbrook, AZ where I took a little traveled route to the Phoenix area.
I was driving a 34’ UHaul towing a 21’ trailer. Overall length was just over 55’.
Best accomplishment: Towing an unregistered trailer across six states without being stopped by law enforcement.
Worst failure: The leg between Elk City, OK and Albuquerque. Lugging up the 5000’ increase in elevation while bucking a headwind, my fuel efficiency dropped to a shameful 3.7 MPG.
Hours listened to audiobook: 19
Pictures taken: None
Cans of soda consumed: 9
Bottles of water consumed: 22
Restroom stops made: 8
Mechanical issues encountered: 3
Delay time due to mechanical issues: 6 hours
Time departed Nashville: 11AM Friday
Time arrived in Phx: 10:45PM Saturday
Hours of sleep Friday night: 2.5
Speeding tickets received: None
Desire to repeat the trip: None
Next load is scheduled for the middle of May.
@ruouttaurmind Good boy! May I adopt you as my son? I have a few things I need done around here.
@ruouttaurmind Nice debriefing! Your attention to detail is to be commended. :salute:
@Barney Sure, why not. It’s only about a five hour detour from OKC, right?
@ruouttaurmind Nah, it’s about two and a half hours straight up I-35. Piece of cake.
Edit: I forgot that you will have to go back. But maybe I will just end up keeping you.
@Barney Can’t keep me. My pups would miss me too much. When I got home Saturday the house sitter told me Miss Belle didn’t eat a thing while I was gone.
@ruouttaurmind Aww, poor babies. They love you!
@Barney You know, I’m convinced they do. I’ve read dogs don’t have a capacity to “love” as humans understand it. But I’m telling you, sometimes when Miss Belle looks at me, I swear that’s love in her eyes. Or maybe she’s just hungry.
@ruouttaurmind This is what I don’t understand about all of these so called dog/animal experts. They’ve never been one, so how do they know about all of the crap they are telling us.