I'm heading out of Athens, GA in the morning :3gears: on my way to look at and hopefully purchase a 54 Buick Roadmaster in Bayonne NJ. I don't really care for the traffic on 85,95 around Richmond, DC and Philly. I'm thinking of taking the more inland route of 85,77,81,78 thru not so many big cities. MapQuest shows it to be only about 30 more miles. So my only real concern is the road conditions and possibly the mountains of Virginia in that I hope to be pulling a 4400 lb Roadmaster (not incl trailer) back. Anyone have experience on these routes. Any suggestions.o No: Thanks guys hey I like these smilies y'all have over here:laugh:
Gee.................I thought Athens was the inspiration behind the saying, "you can't get there from here":laugh: How bout them dawgs:TU:
I stay east of 95 and don't really travel it that often. But I can suggest through towing experience,take the more inland route on the way there while you are towing empty and then if it is bad you can come back 85 and 95.
You'll have smooth travels coming up 81 in Va. and Pa.. There are some hill climbing on 81 in Va. but it isnt anything like what they have over there in west Va.. 78 in Pa. isn't that bad but towards the eastern part of Pa., there are some good hill climbs. As long as you have a good pull vehicle and good brakes, you'll have no problems in towing the car home. The biggest thing is timing yourself to get into NJ. at the right time. From 7 am til 10 am NJ. can be bumper to bumper traffic. The last time I was over in Jersey, they had a nice construction site going on which added to the traffic jam.
Driving truck through those routes, I-77 is the most mountainous and I-81 is hilly too. Whatever vehicle you're towing with is the biggest factor on how much a pain it'll be driving through there. When going through the hilly areas take it slow and stab the brakes when going downhill, instead of riding them. I learned that when driving through the rockies across I-70 in a 80,000 lb tractor trailer.
If you have a 1/2 ton truck or larger and good trailer brakes, I think you will be good to go. Hills aren't too bad, but mountains require some gearing down. Hope it's a nice car! Safe trip.
Thanks everybody!!! 85,77,81,78 it is then, all the way to exit 14A and down to Bayonne and the Buick. I think my 96 Chevy 5.7 Vortec can handle it,it's handled much worse. I'll let you know how I make out.
