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Driving from midwest to florida


Razman

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We are planning to drive next month from the midwest to florida , has anyone done it before , and any tips on safety or or other ideas ? Thanks

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Anything i could offer about the drive wouldnt help , in the 80s i flew to vegas to buy a car and drive it home cannonball run style, it wasnt a complete disaster but close.

Was born in jacksonville, lived 46 years in orlando then came to Eustis so i might can help with related questions.

 

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5 hours ago, razman said:

We are planning to drive next month from the midwest to florida , has anyone done it before , and any tips on safety or or other ideas ? Thanks

You say your driving from the Mid-West, what city. I have driven from St. Louis to Jacksonville a number of times, so maybe I can help.

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A drive for what reason? Fun, moving, work, ect? 

Make sure your car insurance is up, and you know where your current papers are in your car. Your spare tire is in good shape and inflated. Small gas can in the trunk and also know where gas stations/stops are along the way. 

Depending where in the midwest you are, a full drive-through could be done, especially if you have a second driver. But more likely you will need at least one overnight- plan/reserve your hotel/campsite/ect before you go. 

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12 hours ago, razman said:

We are planning to drive next month from the midwest to florida , has anyone done it before , and any tips on safety or or other ideas ? Thanks

I drove part of that though I was going from Albuquerque to Delaware, I took I40 until OKC where I got on I70.  There was a lot of construction on I70 all the way to Pennsylvania.   I think the Love's gas station rest stops are the best.   This was last year so the construction should be done on I70.   You could go south to I40 and go through the south, the roads are fine, some states the speed limits are just suggestions others they are strict for out of state license plates.  

I recommend the KOA campgrounds, easy in and out usually and inexpensive.   I only found one that wasn't clean (can't remember what state).

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I would suggest closing your eyes while driving through Big cities !  :wacko:.   Or go aroung them.   

Have a good ,safe, fun trip razman.

  

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Stay hydrated, have plenty of snacks on hand, get out to stretch every 4 hours for at least 10 minutes. 

As rashore mentioned, make sure car is in order. I always did an oil change and checked all fluids before an long drive...tire check is a must.

I have driven from Ohio to Nashville more times than I care to remember, kind of a boring drive really.

Ohio to NC has always been a pleasant drive

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19 hours ago, the13bats said:

Anything i could offer about the drive wouldnt help , in the 80s i flew to vegas to buy a car and drive it home cannonball run style, it wasnt a complete disaster but close.

Was born in jacksonville, lived 46 years in orlando then came to Eustis so i might can help with related questions.

 

Thats where were going , Orlando

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18 hours ago, Manwon Lender said:

You say your driving from the Mid-West, what city. I have driven from St. Louis to Jacksonville a number of times, so maybe I can help.

From  outside the Milwaukee area to Orlando.

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It looks like we are gonna take our time a bit on the way down at least , maybe 7 hours a day or so , maybe less , from Milwaukee to louisville ,KY first day, then from Louisville to Macon , GA , the second , and then down into Orlando from there. 3 days at universal Orlando , (can you believe they want 300 dollars a day for an express pass per person at the park) , thats more than the park entrance  and hotel resort. Then one day on the coast , probably Ormond beach or ST Augustine. Then on way back we will try to swing it from there to Nashville ( this could be 10 hours i think on that stretch) , then back up the next day.

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It looks like we would go around Chicago , down I believe I65 through Indiana. And at some point it goes to I75 , maybe before Atlanta.

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Just now, razman said:

From Milwaukee to Orlando.

I have Been thinking about the route, and the biggest problem you may encounter are the Mountains. Outside of that it's a pretty straight shot. Whether  you leave from St.Louis or from Milwaukee your Ultimate goal will be to catch Highway 75, in Nashville and from there it is a straight shot to your destination, in fact Highway 75 ends in Orlando. If I rember correctly there is beautiful scenery along way. 

Hope this help man and enjoy the ride.

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3 minutes ago, Manwon Lender said:

I have Been thinking about the route, and the biggest problem you may encounter are the Mountains. Outside of that it's a pretty straight shot. Whether  you leave from St.Louis or from Milwaukee your Ultimate goal will be to catch Highway 75, in Nashville and from there it is a straight shot to your destination, in fact Highway 75 ends in Orlando. If I rember correctly there is beautiful scenery along way. 

Hope this help man and enjoy the ride.

Yea , it should be cool . So thats where 75 comes in. 

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47 minutes ago, Overdueleaf said:

Stay hydrated, have plenty of snacks on hand, get out to stretch every 4 hours for at least 10 minutes. 

As rashore mentioned, make sure car is in order. I always did an oil change and checked all fluids before an long drive...tire check is a must.

I have driven from Ohio to Nashville more times than I care to remember, kind of a boring drive really.

Ohio to NC has always been a pleasant drive

Yea we're getting new tires this weekend , will do an oil change and probably radiator flush. 

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5 minutes ago, razman said:

Yea , it should be cool . So thats where 75 comes in. 

Yes Sir, that's where you will catch 75 and from there it is a straight shot to Orlando.

Godspeed to you and your family, I miss all the driving I use to do when I was still in the military:tu:

 

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9 hours ago, razman said:

It looks like we would go around Chicago , down I believe I65 through Indiana. And at some point it goes to I75 , maybe before Atlanta.

If you are leaving from Milwaukee and going around Chicago... that means 294 and the tollways around Chicago. Be aware that Illinois stopped with manual cash booths last year and has gone all electronic with their tolls. 

You will either need to get a transponder, or you will want to register your car with the IPass system for a per-plate for your trip before you take your trip if you can. Don't forget and just drive through- they don't send a bill till much later and much higher charges. You will have up to 14 days to register your car into the system after you drive through- but IDOT can take up to a month randomly to take the toll money out of your account. Easier if you register before you go.

If you don't want to pay tolls and don't mind driving through Chicago, just take the 41 split at the border instead of taking the 94 split. 

Your two options are go through Chicago and no tolls, or take the toll route around Chicago- otherwise other routes take way longer and way more out of your way to get around Chicago. 

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11 hours ago, razman said:

It looks like we are gonna take our time a bit on the way down at least , maybe 7 hours a day or so , maybe less , from Milwaukee to louisville ,KY first day, then from Louisville to Macon , GA , the second , and then down into Orlando from there. 3 days at universal Orlando , (can you believe they want 300 dollars a day for an express pass per person at the park) , thats more than the park entrance  and hotel resort. Then one day on the coast , probably Ormond beach or ST Augustine. Then on way back we will try to swing it from there to Nashville ( this could be 10 hours i think on that stretch) , then back up the next day.

I really liked St. Augustine when I visited that city.  (in the 70's so it may be different now).   And Nashville is a really good place to visit, also close to Memphis which is fun to visit.

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On 5/5/2021 at 7:04 AM, rashore said:

If you are leaving from Milwaukee and going around Chicago... that means 294 and the tollways around Chicago. Be aware that Illinois stopped with manual cash booths last year and has gone all electronic with their tolls. 

You will either need to get a transponder, or you will want to register your car with the IPass system for a per-plate for your trip before you take your trip if you can. Don't forget and just drive through- they don't send a bill till much later and much higher charges. You will have up to 14 days to register your car into the system after you drive through- but IDOT can take up to a month randomly to take the toll money out of your account. Easier if you register before you go.

If you don't want to pay tolls and don't mind driving through Chicago, just take the 41 split at the border instead of taking the 94 split. 

Your two options are go through Chicago and no tolls, or take the toll route around Chicago- otherwise other routes take way longer and way more out of your way to get around Chicago. 

Well i guess i would rather go around chicago and just pay the tolls . Do i actually have to get an Ipass for my window , or can i just register and then it reads the plate and sends me a bill?

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On 5/5/2021 at 6:04 AM, rashore said:

If you are leaving from Milwaukee and going around Chicago... that means 294 and the tollways around Chicago. Be aware that Illinois stopped with manual cash booths last year and has gone all electronic with their tolls. 

You will either need to get a transponder, or you will want to register your car with the IPass system for a per-plate for your trip before you take your trip if you can. Don't forget and just drive through- they don't send a bill till much later and much higher charges. You will have up to 14 days to register your car into the system after you drive through- but IDOT can take up to a month randomly to take the toll money out of your account. Easier if you register before you go.

If you don't want to pay tolls and don't mind driving through Chicago, just take the 41 split at the border instead of taking the 94 split. 

Your two options are go through Chicago and no tolls, or take the toll route around Chicago- otherwise other routes take way longer and way more out of your way to get around Chicago. 

This is good information to know.  Last year when I drove to Delaware on I-70 I hit toll roads and some were in the same network as my Texas EZPass but in Pennsylvania they weren't and I got a bill for about 65.00.  It was worth saving the driving time and the bill did come in a timely manner but I know Texas doesn't bill for months so that when you get the bill you have forgotten you were even in Texas.

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1 hour ago, razman said:

Well i guess i would rather go around chicago and just pay the tolls . Do i actually have to get an Ipass for my window , or can i just register and then it reads the plate and sends me a bill?

You don't have to get an IPass transponder if you aren't going to be traveling though regularly. You can indeed register your plates- and I strongly recommend you do so prior to your trip or within 14 days after passing through those tolls. If you are registered in on time, you will get charged directly to your credit card for just the tolls. It can take them up to a month to charge your card. 

If you don't register early or remember to register within that 14 day window after, and instead forget to register or wait for them to send you a bill, they charge some hefty fines/fees on top of the tolls for what they consider late payment.

A benefit of an IPass can be cheaper tolls- like a $1.50 toll on the IPass is a $3.00 toll if you just have registered plates. They used to the same when they still had cash tolls open in that the cash tolls were double the cost of the IPass tolls. 

It's been a year or two since I've been through that way and was paying cash tolls still, but it was around 20-30? bucks or so round trip through the tolls between Wisconsin and Indiana. 

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1 hour ago, rashore said:

You don't have to get an IPass transponder if you aren't going to be traveling though regularly. You can indeed register your plates- and I strongly recommend you do so prior to your trip or within 14 days after passing through those tolls. If you are registered in on time, you will get charged directly to your credit card for just the tolls. It can take them up to a month to charge your card. 

If you don't register early or remember to register within that 14 day window after, and instead forget to register or wait for them to send you a bill, they charge some hefty fines/fees on top of the tolls for what they consider late payment.

A benefit of an IPass can be cheaper tolls- like a $1.50 toll on the IPass is a $3.00 toll if you just have registered plates. They used to the same when they still had cash tolls open in that the cash tolls were double the cost of the IPass tolls. 

It's been a year or two since I've been through that way and was paying cash tolls still, but it was around 20-30? bucks or so round trip through the tolls between Wisconsin and Indiana. 

Yea i been trying to figure out if the pass works through the whole states of Illinois , Indiana , Kentucky , etc....... Or are there not more tolls after these places ? I mean , like Desertrat56 said , that his pass works some places but not all, so i would'nt be able to tell which tolls i might need to pay and which not , which could be an issue , as they might send the tanks after me for just cruising through some tolls. :)

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9 minutes ago, razman said:

Yea i been trying to figure out if the pass works through the whole states of Illinois , Indiana , Kentucky , etc....... Or are there not more tolls after these places ? I mean , like Desertrat56 said , that his pass works some places but not all, so i would'nt be able to tell which tolls i might need to pay and which not , which could be an issue , as they might send the tanks after me for just cruising through some tolls. :)

They won't, they take a picture of your license plate and then that goes to a billing program that looks up your registration and gets the address from the state and mails you a bill.  Like Rashore said, the cost is double what it would be if you had a pass.  I think sometimes if you know you are only going through once or twice it is not worth the hassle to get a pass for every entity that has toll roads.  I think my Texas pass works in Oklahoma, and Ohio.  I don't remember toll roads in Missouri or West Virginia.

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13 minutes ago, razman said:

Yea i been trying to figure out if the pass works through the whole states of Illinois , Indiana , Kentucky , etc....... Or are there not more tolls after these places ? I mean , like Desertrat56 said , that his pass works some places but not all, so i would'nt be able to tell which tolls i might need to pay and which not , which could be an issue , as they might send the tanks after me for just cruising through some tolls. :)

I can't confirm other states, just around Chicagoland. I think it might also be Indiana, but I haven't been on an Indiana tollway in ages. It would make sense since the skyway goes between Illinois and Indiana that the IPass covers both. Do NOT take the skyway- even ages ago it was frigging expensive tolls, I can't imagine how bad they are now. 

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8 minutes ago, razman said:

Maybe i can tape a piece of cardboard over the plates when i go through the tolls.:D

I suspect you would find a lot of hassle doing that.  And if you end up in Georgia it will be the end of your trip.  

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