Every RVer has a type of road they dislike driving the most. Some of us can’t stand to drive through a big city, others can’t stand driving through long stretches of boring, flat road. Others of us don’t mind dirt roads, while others would rather drive out of their way to avoid them. Plenty of RVers say their least favorite roads are interstate highways, where battling trucks is often the norm.
And if you grew up driving in snow or ice, perhaps you don’t dread those roads as much as those who grew up in places like Southern California, where icy roads are about as common as igloos.
In the poll below, select up to three types of roads that you dread driving the most. If we missed one, please leave a comment and tell us what it is. Thanks!
Almost any road that has no shoulder or a drop off shoulder. I mean, blacktop, whiteline, grass (all touching each other).
Some country roads don’t even give you a white line🙂
Bumpy roads, especially when they’re high speed thruway type roads
I agree, bumpy roads should be on the list.
Icy roads, not because of my driving, its the other guy who has to speed and brake, speed and brake and slide off the road or into me.
N the cities, commuters drive crazy especially when they’re late getting somewhere. Once driving through Wilkes Barre, PA in a semi a woman in a Saturn with two small children in car seats cut across 3 lanes of traffic and went down the exit ramp. She was so close in front of me I couldn’t even see her trunk lid, all I saw was those two little kids heads sitting in their car seats. She was as stupid as stupid can get.
I agree with the bumpy road comment. Roads with pot holes are very bad for suspension, tires, and driving comfort. These roads also have the tendency to make me talk to myself.. out loud!
I selected “Dirt Roads”, but not just any dirt roads, but the ones that have been graded (cheese grated?) and are just a constant series of rattle, rattle, rattle. Had to do 20 miles on one of those one time, hated every jaw-jarring second of it.
Chip Seal Roads. (Gravel over asphalt) Many a chipped windshield.
Non-maintained Interstate highways, especially toll roads. Too many of our highways have not been maintained and have pot holes, chipped out seams, worn out bridge approaches, and worst of all the “pot holes” on the outside next to the shoulder. Traffic in left lane – can’t move over to avoid – suspension/tire killers.
Agree! Hit an Ohio interstate road that kept me at 30 mph . . .and that was fast!
I4, I 75/275 & I95 in Florida are a special kind of hell People routinely drive 90 mph, even in frog strangling rains and heading directly into the rising/setting sun. Plus most cities are installing “noise walls” to keep highway noise and emissions from bothering homeowners along these routes and believe me they are very boring.
I’m not the driver so I chose from those that make ME a nervous wreck. Cities, interstates and icy/snowy roads.
I enjoy driving through the mountains however, narrow curvy roads or roads have a tendency to bring on motion sickness, as do roads with sporadic trees (think disco ball or strobe lights)!
Really hate the GPS sending the motorhome & tow car on dirt logging roads as shortcuts!
Fog
Ah yes…FOG! I forgot that one. FOG is BAD
X3
Roads with “highway hop”, a condition caused when the rebar is broken between sections, and they become cupped at the edges by the semi trucks. Beats you to death and shakes your rig to pieces. We have Newmar DP and it is not immune. A good example is US-31 north of South Bend, IN. Lost expensive wheel center covers. That bad…!!!!. Also, US-69 south of Big Cabin, OK is another one. I would love to see a “Bad Road Data Base” developed to help RVers prepare for alternate route or slowing down to near 30 mph to preserve their rigs.
You can recognize where highway hop has been repaired. Notice, what looks like band-aids in concrete between the sections. Also they “mill down” the concrete to reduce the cups or depressions to even out the surface.
Yes, forgot about that type road. I imagine, screws falling out of cabinets, dishes all over, closet bars breaking, etc. Lol
Concrete roads should have been a choice. They are horrible to drive on when you’re towing a trailer or 5th wheel, unless the surface has been shaved & grooved, which most aren’t. We’ve travelled 200K miles, fulltime, over 12 years, & concrete roads have been our biggest nightmare. Any bureaucrat who decides to pave a road with concrete should be tarred & feathered.
I have trouble with porpoising on some concrete interstate roads in Pa.
Or maybe cemented and feathered? 😉 Have a great day, Fred! 😀 -Diane
Construction Zones….
Wow, I could pick them all depending on where we are on a trip. We drive a 42 foot class A and will never drive it in the snow, dislike hard driving rain and will never take it down a dirt road unless I am 100% certain of the destination. What always concerns me the most is driving through busy cities on the highway as I have less control of all the idiots that race to get around me only to cut me off, do not yield when coming onto the highway thinking I can move over and not knowing what is on my left side and a whole host of other issues.
I could have picked several, but my worse nightmare is an isolated road, away from civilization, flat tire on a dead end. Yikes!!. I want to comment on the indoor “glamping”. STUPIDITY manifested ! Someone stole our idea of “real” camping and turned it into a big joke. That is only my opinion. I’m sticking to it.
While there are a lot of roads and highways in poor condition, the one I avoid is an AAA Scenic Road.
Living in Alaska the roads we drive on include all that you listed except for the ones I dislike the most. Roads with frost heaves, in my opinion, are the worst. You are cruising along fat, dumb, and happy when bam! You are airborne and everything is flying around inside the RV. Most of the roads with the frost heaves are marked, but it’s the numerous unmarked ones that can ruin your day.
Totally agree.. Been there and lived through that. Hard to appreciate the scenery when you’re airborne.
I don’t like narrow roads in mountains with no guard rails and steep drop offs.
I don’t like fast, busy, narrow, undivided roads with cars and big rigs roaring by inches away.
I don’t like potholes and bad pavement anywhere.
I don’t like dusty dirt and gravel roads
I don’t like crowded city boulevards and jammed, frantic freeways
I don’t like driving in rain or snow anytime
I don’t like towing at night anywhere
And never in FOG!
Busy roads of any kind.
I didn’t vote for snowy/icy roads because it’s just not going to happen.
Good point. I did vote for them but not likely to happen.
Gravel roads well maintained are okay, dirt roads are not okay. Wife hates mountain curves, I really don’t mind at all.
I chose snowy and icy roads. Even though I have 45+ years of experience driving on them, it’s the other guy I can’t trust.
I don’t like bumpy, torn up road construction-like roads. I always hate to think what kind of damage they are doing to my old truck and trailer.
Worst for me are single lane Interstate hiway construction zones – there is no where to go, no escape in the event of…… Of course ice is a no no even in a car these days – and I have about 70 years of ice driving! Narrow hiways without shoulders also, except there usually isn’t too much traffic on them – vs interstates.
Hmmm. Never gave type of road much thot. I guess I just consider it a part of the travel adventure. I’m just glad there are roads, or owning an RV would be kinda silly.
Long bumpy rutted dirt roads are things that we avoid. Snow and ice are not as concerning as we carry chains. A bit of a must as we traverse the Sierras often, and you never know when the weather changes rapidly.
Interstates because they are so poorly maintained.
It depends on the state. Colorado’s Interstates are horrible. Kansas and Oklahoma are much better.
Scariest thing I ever drove was a shelf road carved into a mountainside in France. Barely one lane wide. Never again.
I used to always prefer interstates. But besides poor maintenance, they often get so chocker-blocked. On the last few trips I have taken big sections on US Highways. US 19 from Spring Hill where we live, up to I-10 just E of Tallahassee. US 98/49 from Mobile, AL to Jackons, MS. Also US 287 from DFW area up to I-40 in Amarillo, TX. Often they are well maintained, relatively lightly traveled. And the slow down in towns is really not very much, considering all the open highway miles you drive on these routes.
Very narrow road in construction zone with concrete barriers
I said dirt roads, but I don’t travel on them unless I have to. Driving through big cities can be a nightmare because of our size and idiot drivers. Icy roads are scary but you need to follow the DBS rule. (Don’t be stupid). If the roads are icy I just pull off and wait for the road crews to get it cleared.
Voting didn’t allow me to make 3 choices. Said up already voted.
Sorry, Bill. I just checked the poll’s setup, and it is set to allow 3 choices, so I don’t know what happened when you tried to choose 3. We have no way of tracking the individual results so there’s no way I can try to figure it out. Our apologies. Have a good night. 😀 –Diane
This happened to me as well.
We hate washboard dirt roads. Smooth dirt roads are OK. We also dislike just bad pothole roads. When you said long boring road you should’ve said long straight flat boring roads.
I was going to say I 10 thru Louisiana unless it’s gotten better. Most memorable road I’ve been on and not in a good way!
paved roads with a lot I mean a lot of holes what I dislike the most