Route tips: Bay Area Ca to San Antonio Tx (Winter)

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Bluelow

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Dec 7, 2017
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Hello All!
I'm planning a Christmas trip to San Antonio from the Bay Area.
I am hauling a 32 foot 5th wheel with wife and 3 kids.

I'd like your advice on taking I-10 or I-40?  Any watchouts?  Recommended stops/campgrounds along the way?  I'm budgeting 4 days to get there (I'm not rushing and my youngest is 15months) - does this sound right?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Jose
 
We go to Santa Cruz almost every year.The way I would recommend is---101 to 46 east (Paso Robles) to 99 then south to 58 (Bakersfield) to Barstow.  Catch I-40 to Needles then south on 95 to Blythe.  Then you can catch I-10 all the way to San Antonio. We've been this way several time going both east and west.  This way you miss the whole LA area.  The only problem you could have is running into snow east of Bakersfield in the Tehachapis. Check the weather forecast.
 
Yes, look at the weather forecast. San Antonia can get quite bad weather wise. We lived there for 7 years. One year in February it was 100 degrees and another year we had the worst ice storm ever.
 
I would recommend I-10 as suggested by Wackymac.  I-40 has some pretty good altitude around 6000-7000 feet from around Kingman past Flagstaff.  If a winter storm comes down you could be delayed several days.  Your odds of having snow on I-10 are pretty slim, however it does happen.  Yesterday and today Texas is only about 1-4 degrees from having snow and ice accumulate on I-10 NW of San Antonio near Kerrville. 

I have lived in San Antonio for over 50 years and usually the weather is pretty decent to great in Dec-Feb.  However there are times it gets nasty.  Our biggest problem is when the temp hits 30-32 degrees and we have a light rain.  We close the freeways mostly because the bridges get ice.  We don't have good facilities for melting the ice.  This usually only happens about once every 5-8 years. 
 
Wackymac's route keeps you at lower elevations except for Tehachapi.  It doesn't go near Flagstaff.  That's the way I would go.

ArdraF
 
Thank you all for your replies!  Very helpful.

I will aim to break it up into 3 legs:  I will plan to travel to Needles, then to Lordsburg, then down to San Antonio...  pending if I find decent campgrounds and certainly if our baby let's us make it...

Thanks again for your help!
 
From Lordsburg to San Antonio is 700 miles.  That's a pretty long driving day.  I figure 50 mph as an average speed with traffic slow downs, road repairs and bad winds. 
 
Arch Hoagland said:
From Lordsburg to San Antonio is 700 miles.  That's a pretty long driving day.  I figure 50 mph as an average speed with traffic slow downs, road repairs and bad winds.
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On I-10 starting some 75-100 miles east of El Paso, the speed limit jumps to 80mph for about 400 miles to Kerrville.  ;D  Not that I would drive faster than my usual speed of 55-63mph, nor do I suggest that anyone drive with an RV faster than the low 60mph. 
 
AStravelers said:
..........I have lived in San Antonio for over 50 years and usually the weather is pretty decent to great in Dec-Feb.  However there are times it gets nasty.  Our biggest problem is when the temp hits 30-32 degrees and we have a light rain.  We close the freeways mostly because the bridges get ice.  We don't have good facilities for melting the ice.  This usually only happens about once every 5-8 years.
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Well,  between the time I wrote this and about 7pm it started snowing in San Antonio!  We had an accumulation of about 2 inches at my house in NE SA.  For the most part the freeways were not closed.  The temps stay at about 33 degrees through the night.  On I-10 NW of SA they did have some ice on bridges. 

This is the first significant snow in about 32 years, since Jan 1985. 

 

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Your right, it's a long shot on the 3rd leg.

I should've said I will be making a stop in Uvalde (still 600 miles)...
I did hear about the snow... I'll keep an eye on Weather
Thanks!
 
If you want(willing) to boondock I recommend the Deming NM Walmart.  La Cruises NM OK too if you get that far.  Not sure what is available in Lordsburg except truckstops.

There are also RV parks plus a state park in Deming.

There is also a route around El Paso if you desire, and road construction was completed last time we went that way.  (404 to 213 merge with 54, ~1mile, to 375.)  If you take 375 from I10 you go through elevation.

Jennifer
 
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