U-Haul, Canon City CO to San Francisco: Routing & lodging suggestions wanted
 

Hi,

I'm driving a u-haul 17' truck from Canon City to San Francisco. Anyone have suggestions on routes? Do I do highway 50 or highway 80? I'll need an overnight stay somewhere along the way. Thanks for any suggestions. Leaving July 6th.

First, while doing it in two days is certainly possible, it will be a tiring drive wrestling that size truck; you'll also be stopping more for gas than if you were in a car. I'd recommend two overnights, where might depend on what time of day you're hoping to leave. If you're going into San Francisco proper with that size truck, you may be in for some scary driving in the city. If that's so, I'd plan to be coming into town between 11am and 2pm to try to hit the least (although that's very relative) traffic.

You basically have two routes as you note, U.S. 50 or I-70/I-80. .

Both have their advantages and drawbacks.

U.S. 50 all the way: The Canon City-Salida portion on the Arkansas River canyon is a bit hairy is spots for a big truck. The approach to Monarch Pass west of Salida can be slow and steep. U.S. 50 west from Salt Lake all the way to almost Reno is magnificently empty (there's a reason it's called the Loneliest Road in America). Everyone should do it once. Whether in a U-Haul is up to you.

Canon City to I-70 to I-80. CO 9 to I-70 is pretty easy and their are slow-moving pullouts. I-70 to Green River is fine. The cut-off from Green River to Provo has a lot of steep and curvy roads, and then the Provo/SLC traffic is awful. I-80 west of out Salt Lake is fine and you'd certainly have more traffic in case there were problems compared to U.S. 50

In either case, take plenty of extra water just in case!

As for stops, I'd probably plan about 400 miles per day and a short day coming into San Francisco.

I have a slightly different route....

DAY 1 DRIVE us 50 TO Montrose THEN TO GRAND jUNCTION
day 2 Drive I-70 then US 50 in Nevada and stay at Ely
Day 3 drive to SF via US 50 then I-80. US 50 in the Sierras is a truck route so the grade isn't going to be as bad as other roads you could take.

I recommend taking the route highlighted in blue in the Google Maps snippet in cblaisd's post: I-70 as far west as Salina, UT; US-50 from there to Fallon, NV; the US-50 Alt spur to I-80 at Fernley, NV; and then I-80 to San Francisco.

Coming over the Sierras, I-80 will be much easier than US-50. Yes, there are trucks on 50, but it's a two-lane road in many places and it has steeper grades and sharper curves than I-80. You're a truck renter, not a CDL pro (presumably). Press the "easy" button here. And it's not like going via 80 adds hours to your itinerary. In fact 80 should be faster.

Also, I agree with recommendations above this route is better done in 3 days than 2. Plan it so that you're not hitting commuter traffic in/near SF. Or Sac, for that matter.