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Best route from Southern Oregon to TN?


sakthorp

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My husband and I will be leaving Southern Oregon to pick up our Ollie in early May.  We are native West Coasters who have only flown east, never driven.

 

There are several routes to get to the Oliver Plant but I was warned that the northern route may pose difficult due to weather.

 

Any suggestions?  We don't care about site-seeing on the way there, hoping to get there in 5...... 6 days max.  We're older but we share driving, stop every 2 hours and only drive a max of 6-9 hours per day not counting stops.

 

We'll be attending the rally and then take our time getting home.

 

Would appreciate hearing from those who have travelled to pick up their Ollie from the West Coast during the time of year when snow is still hanging around the mountains and passes.

 

 

 

 

Steph and Steve Kimball

2019 Oliver Elite II ~ Twin

Hull No. 463

 

 

 

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It may depend on your comfort level. A may trip will be ok as far as weather, most of the snow and ice will be gone. You will always have good and bad weather days. As far as travel,  Gps is always a sure way to get there direct, but mostly hi way driving. If you have the time. Most of the trip my wife and I took from Florida around the country was to ask people and campgrounds what routes to take between states great advice on scenic routes, back roads and secondary hi ways. And most of the time, the time frames came out the same. As long as you arrive safe and in good spirits that's all that matters.  Safe travels.

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Grant  2022 GMC Denali 2500 HD 2019  Elite 11😎

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I do everything possible to avoid huge metro areas like Denver and especially SLC which has nightmare 85 mph traffic.  This is the route I would select, it is the same distance as the more direct northerly route through SLC but is only a couple of hours longer....

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Jacksonville,+Oregon+97530/Las+Vegas,+NV/Hohenwald,+TN/@38.5453303,-105.2595069,4z/data=!4m11!4m10!1m2!1m1!1s0x54cf9c601d18ecf1:0xe8c70a05ce75c30!1m2!1m1!1s0x80beb782a4f57dd1:0x3accd5e6d5b379a3!1m2!1m1!1s0x887cb566fbeef5f3:0xc7adb44e4de67696!3e0

 

When you come back with your new Ollie it will be less snowy up high and you can do some exploring on your way back, I suggest western CO and southern UT especially. If you will tell us what you like to do, we can offer suggestions.

 

Have fun and take lots of pictures.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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Steve and Steph:

 

Welcome to the Oliver Family!

 

I travel the northern path to get to Ruch, OR for the "Rat Race/Applegate Open" +/- Early/Mid June.  I have done both routes and find that the "Southern Route" is pretty.  Also slow in California, but really pretty up in the NE corner.  The "Northern Route" has less drama and can be a a lot faster if you want to reduce stress and travel time.

 

I would recommend going the Norther route via SLC  to get TO OTT, then doing the Southern Route when going back to Oregon.   Be sure to plan on a couple of days in the area of the factory so that you can take advantage of the great talents and info.

 

Please tell Phil howdy from Geronimo!

 

 

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TV:  2019 F-150 SuperCrew Lariat, 3.5L EcoBoost, Max Tow, FX-4, Rear Locker      OLLIE:  2018 OE2 Hull 342, Twin Bed.    OLLIE DYI’s:  BB LiFePO4's, Victron 712 Smart, 350 Amp Master Switch, Houghton 3400, Victron Orion DC - DC, 3000-Watt Renogy Inverter, P.D. 60-amp Converter, Frig Dual Exhaust Fans, Kitchen Drawer Straps.    TV DYI’s:  2 5/16" Anderson System, Timken Bearings, Nitto recon’s, Firestone Rear Air Bags, Bilstein 5100’s, Mud Flaps & Weather Tech all.

  image.jpeg.9633acdfb75740f0fd358e1a5118f105.jpeg

 

 

 

 

 

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Steph and Steve, I suggest you plan both the northern and southern Routes, and make final decisions based on weather forecasts. It sounds like your plan is to travel to TN as quickly as possible, and that means Interstates. The Interstates do have the best snow clearance after a storm.

 

I do have another suggestion for you. We just traveled back to Utah from Southern California, and we were facing an impending snow storm. I searched for the Utah highway conditions, and found that the Utah Department of Transportation has a good Road Conditions website. They had a link to a smartphone app. We used this app on our drive, and it was AWESOME. (In my experience,  iPhone apps are usually inferior to the web site, but in this case the phone app was much better.) The Map/Traffic view has links to all of the traffic cameras in the state, so you can get a live view whether the road has been plowed. The Map view has separate tabs for Traffic, Construction, Road Conditions, and Fx (Forecast, I think). We found the Fx/Forecast view to be extremely helpful, as it showed a forecast for road conditions in 3 hour blocks, presumably based on weather forecasts and anticipated snow plow activity. For example, midnight to 3 AM and 3 AM to 6 AM said driving conditions extremely difficult, 6 AM to 9 AM slushy road conditions, 9 AM to noon, road largely clear with occasional packed ice, and for the afternoon it said the road would be clear but wet. This information helped us tremendously on our drive.

 

I figured other states might have similar apps, and I looked just now. I found apps for Idaho, Washington, Nevada, California, and Wyoming. I don't know if these apps are as good as the Utah one, but I am going to put all of them on my phone. Colorado DOT does not have an app any longer, but has a web site. Similarly, Oregon DOT no longer has an app, but there is a $2 third party app, and a rather clunky web site from the state DOT.

 

Safe Travels!

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David Stillman, Salt Lake City, Utah

2016 Oliver Elite II  Hull 164    |    2017 Audi Q7 tow vehicle. 

Travel and Photography Blog: http://davidstravels.net

 

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