Every RVer has a type of road they dread driving down the most. Some of us can’t stand to drive through the 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. And if you grew up driving in snow or ice, perhaps you don’t dread those roads as much as those who didn’t grow up with any cold weather.
In the poll below, select up to two types of roads that you dread driving down the most. If we missed one, please leave a comment and tell us what it is. Thanks!
I wish there were road maps with topographical charts for elevations and grades. Maybe even road maps for RV owners to drive these roads not those roads.
There is an APP called Mountain Directory that not only shows where the steep grades are but describes them in detail so you know how long they are and what comes before and after them. I’m the navigator and have used it often in the mountains. As for elevation, another APP called US TOPO MAPS.
A commercial carriers road atlas will tell you more than you realize. If you’re driving a large RV it will tell you where you shouldn’t drive. Mostly for truck drivers but it’s good for the large RVs also. If it says a big truck shouldn’t go there you can rest assured your 45’ motorhome and toad shouldn’t go there too.
City streets are the worst, you have issues with congestion, low branches in the neighborhood’s, vandalized signs, poor parking narrow streets. Snow & Ice can be avoided by waiting for the storm to pass, Mountains can be driven slow.
Actually, I would add Interstates to the road list – that’s my least favorite.
Heavy high-speed traffic stresses me out. I’ll drive a sheet of ice all day long as cool and relaxed as can be, but put me on I-5 within a hundred miles of Seattle and I’ll be looking for the “Mental Hospital Next Exit” signs within a few minutes.
One type of road missing from your choices which I absolutely HATE is one riddled with pot holes, seams every 10 feet and huge chunks missing.
That is what I had in mind before I saw the choices.
Roads that dead end without warning
Me too!
I don’t fear icy/snowy roads when pulling my trailer. I DON’T DRIVE ON THEM! And since I retired, I rarely drive on them at all.
Yep
Narrow roads with no shoulders. Many in TN, NC, SC to name a few.
I don’t use the MH in cold winter conditions, so that is a non issue but I’m sure I have PTSD issues after driving thru Atlanta during rush hour which happened due to a delay with our planning, Note I learned how to drive in the city with the busiest stretch of Highway in North America, Toronto.
Icy/snowy roads are two different categories. Snow is okay but ice is a totally different can of worms. Where I live we just ended ten days straight where the temperature did not get above minus 49 degrees F.
I picked Icy/Snowy roads because large DP Class A coaches are not a good idea. We have been on some very taxing situations on some really out of the way back roads. But probably the most memorable is the “TOP OF THE WORLD HIGHWAY”, a 90 mile harrowing drive between Dawson City, Yukon and Tok,Alaska. This mostly dirt, stone and gravel road has hair pin turns, sheer drop offs with no guard rails, 11% inclines and down grades, silt washboard sections, is about as wide as a two car driveway for two lane apposing traffic and has semi trailer coal buckets traveling back and forth. When I saw another vehicle coming toward me I stopped by turning the front of our coach to the right as far as I dared. I was lucky that our windshield did not get cracked by flying rocks. Others we know had cracked windshields on their coach and their toad. Took 9 hours but we did it, If you want adventure on your trip to Alaska go on the “TOP OF THE WORLD HIGHWAY”. Not recommended for the faint of heart.
We did the Top of the World from Canada to Alaska. Scarey!!!! Not planning on doing it again but if we did, it would be Alaska to Canada. Why? Against the mountainside and not on the very edge looking way down! Came to one place,about a block long, only wide enough for one RV. No backing up with a Toad. No damage to vehicle.
Anne, Thanks for your reply. Yes Alaska to Canada on the Top of the World Highway was Scary but a great story to tell. We saw trailers with broken frames, Class A’s with busted radiators. But we also saw Bicyclists on that road pulling a small trailer with their camping supplies going from Alaska to Canada. We also had no damage and took our time. Those in a hurry did not fare too well. Stay safe, Stay well, Save travels
Could be skewed as I do not drive on icy snowy roads. I can avoid it in Florida.
Another type of road you didn’t include in the survey is concrete pavement. Most concrete roads cause chucking & porpoising because of the way the concrete is poured when building the roads. It is beyond insane that today’s road engineers cannot build smooth concrete roads. The only concrete roads that are smooth are those that have been shaved & grooved, a very expensive process. I believe the problem occurs when the concrete is poured & then dividers are inserted in the concrete to create the expansion joints. I believe this causes the concrete on either side of the divider to rise slightly & cure as a bump. Many of the concrete roads today are a bone jarring, experience if you’re towing a trailer.
The poll didn’t load for me, but I thought I would chuck in my 2 cents worth. City Streets! About a year and a half ago we were driving through El Paso, TX, and they closed 10 through town. So we had to exit and drive a very circuitous route through downtown, narrow streets, etc. Thank god we were only able to go about 10mph in traffic. Swinging a 41 foot fifth wheel around sharp corners on narrow streets and on hills was the stuff nightmares are made of. We survived though and plan to avoid that type of driving at all costs.
City because that’s where you can get hit by someone else through no fault of your own. I’ll take a lonely mountain pass any day…
What kind of roads do you dread driving down the most?
Didn’t choose icy/snowy roads because we do everything in our power/ability to AVOID roads and areas where the potential for icy roads is greatest
Yup!
After more than 50 years driving tractor trailer, travel trailer, 5th wheels, and motor homes, I find narrow roads in construction zones the most nerve racking.
Add into the equation 18 wheelers either passing me in these narrow lanes, or oncoming and my anxiety level goes way up.
Yes, those construction zones terrify me.
AGREE!
Nail biting!
I voted for icy, snowy, and windy and mountainous. However, I make every effort to travel where there is no snow or ice. Last week we had occassion to camp at a state park and were caught by a winter storm. Fortunately, the roads were clear by the time of our departure. Windy roads with little/no shoulder are my greatest bugaboo because we often encounter them. Perhaps with even greater exposure to them I will gain confidence in navigating them. I do not do dirt roads unless it is to enter a campground (and then I make a mental note to not return) because I don’t like getting my RV dirty. 😉
We ran into 5 miles of oily gravel construction in the middle of Kansas a few years ago, sure made our camper a mess. Had to scrub with soap and sponge, car wash sprayer wouldnt get it off.
I forgot all about freshly oiled roads. Those are bad for any vehicles, and an RV or trailer presents even more areas to clean!
I feel the very same way.
The roads I dislike are paved roads in such disrepair that we must slow down to 45 MPH or slower to prevent damage to the RV.
Snowy icy mountain roads are, to me, the most difficult, as you must add the road conditions to the people in front of you behind you as well as oncoming traffic. With ice and or black ice, In a fraction of a second you can completely lose control.
At the top of my list is poorly maintained interstates. A recent trip through Illinois was so bad that everything in cabinets were shaken loose, mats stored on bunks were on the floor.
I need to add to the poll, I hate and avoid interstates as much as possible.
Agree with Patti. Interstates should have been at the top of the list.
I-5 in California’s Central Valley is pretty awful.
Should have added “gravel roads” to the poll. I’ve pulled a catamaran trailer in the early 70s 85 miles one way to a lovely remote beach in Sonora Mexico with a 15 mile stretch graveled. Our 4×4 camper lost a flap on one side and the damage to the catamaran on that side during the gravel section damaged our CAT to the point it couldn’t be sailed until repaired.
I did not mark Mountain roads but can’t say I was too fond of highway 19 in Utah. It was beautiful but a nail biter for me, the passenger.
I answered dirt and ice roads. Generally there aren’t “dirt” roads in most areas – but many gravel roads which are dusty and throw rocks all over. We never drive on ice in our motorhome. I also agree with Barry about construction zones and this also includes roads with no shoulders! In the event – there is no place to go! I always seem to feel that uneasy pit in my stomach when thinking about “where would I go”? Sort of a throwback to flying days, I guess.
I picked city/urban because the streets tend to be narrow and I can’t control other drivers behavior. Like many here, I avoid icy/snowy roads altogether. I just don’t go there and if somehow I got caught in that situation I would pull over at the first safe stop and wait. I have everything I need to not drive. I always check weather reports when driving anywhere I might find that situation.
The worst case scenario is the winding mountain roads, especially downhill, trying to navigate narrow passes or second being the city roads and trying to navigate right hand turns. If only there was a class on respect, courteously, or common sense the world may be a better place. Since this is not the case, I for one, since I have been towing my travel trailer, have more respect for other individuals towing, especially tractor trailers. I can say I have first hand experience and know what they have to deal with.
Worst road condition for me, driving through construction zones on interstates with lane widths changing from 14 foot to 10 foot with concrete barriers for shoulders. Throw in lane shifts, rush hour, rain, snow, night time and people staring at their phones driving 15 mph over the construction zone speed limit. This is the worst for me.
Wash board roads suck right along with snow/ice and skip the cities. If visiting check in to an RV park close by and use the truck in and out spend the night and move on. Idaho has some I wouldn’t do again looking over the edge 800 ft down and no guard rail. Slow and easy but I’m all good with that. But I guess it’s all part of the adventure.
I wish there was an Other category, I hate driving roads with other drivers on them. 🤣 Also poorly maintained roads of any type.
Poorly maintained roads are definitely the worst. Even dirt roads are better because you’re going slower on them. But it’s always great to be the only one on the road! 😀
Of course, I wouldn’t even consider driving on a road that I knew was icy. Snow, maybe, for a short distance and going slowly.
OK. Icy roads, I will park the TT and will also avoid snow pcked due to drivers that trust the 4WD beyond the line. Worst are probably the narrow lane construction or bridges that are 1950s lane width. Example try the twin bridges over the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers at Cairo ILL. These are narrow enough to swap mirrors with oncoming traffic.Been over them many times and have seen mirror parts scattered on the road surface.
Before I looked at the choices, I knew it had to be coming down those long windy mountain roads, but then I seen “long boring flat roads” and I-10 near Van Horn, TX came to mind. Bores me to death everytime we’re there.
Dave I know what you mean bump bump bump now I look for another route so we dont have to drive r 10.
Not enough detail in the categories to bring on my dread. Muddy and twisty dirt roads with hills would qualify. Also windy windy roads , mountainous or not. What? You might get the Tiger effect. perhaps “windy” is not a great word to use in this question. Most people seem to take it as referring the twists and turns of the road, not the weather conditions. But, can one be sure?
I hate driving on damaged roads. Roads with a patchwork of poor repair jobs, roads with miles of potholes, roads that are uneven and bumpy. It is exhausting.
Roads I dread:
Freeways in big cities like Phoenix with barriers that narrow the lanes and/or make lane changes challenging and dangerous
I hate to drive city streets. Especially “boutique” planned communities. None of the streets are wide enough for turns and heaven forbid you try any of the parking lots. At least with snow and ice you can just park your “huge” 24 ft motor home for awhile. 😁
Windy roads not, but curvy roads, yes.
Find relaxing and challenging at the same time.
Just take my time, and enjoy the views.