Route recommendations- Maine to Virginia?

[ixlr8]

I am looking for a good route to take to get my 27OB from Maine to Virginia. I DO NOT want to go through NYC!!
I was thinking 84---> 87---> ???---> Jersey TPKE---> 95. I was not sure how to get truck/trailer from 87 to the Jersey TPKE as I understand it they are not allowed on the Garden State Pkwy. I know others have made this trip several times, I'm open to any suggestions.
TIA

 

[FWTMD]

I make the trek from northern CT to MD all the time. With no trailer.

I can't speak to trailer limitations on the Garden State that you reference. I wasn't aware of it. But OK.

Since you are looking at connecting to I-84 let's stick with that. From there you have a couple of choices.
1) Take 84 all the way to 87 as you mention. Down 87, and then take I-287 that loops wide of NYC but through the outer suburbs of the city. Then down to the NJ Turnpike.

[Note: if you are a diner kind of guy like me, a great spot to stop and dine is just across / west of the Hudson River in Newburg. Alexis Diner. Good food. Big portions. Modest priced. Obviously popular with the locals. Decent parking lot you can go to the back of with your trailer. Look it up.]

2) You can duck down 684 to pick up I-287, and cross the Hudson at the Tappan Zee Bridge. Then swing around I-287 to pick up the NJ Turnpike. Or, if you find you can use the Garden State, get off of I-287 there, to the NJ Turnpike.

The fastest route is 84 to 684 to 287 to Garden State.

Next fastest would be 84 to 684 to 287 and around to the Turnpike.

Least fast is 84 to 87 to 287 and down.

The shortest routes are the most white-knuckle, and longest routes are the most relaxed. Its a trade of time vs. tension. You pick.

You will hit stop and go traffic for the last 10-15 miles of 84 as it approaches 87.

You will hit stop and go traffic once you get off of 684 and before the Tappan Zee.

Time of day and day of the week means everything around NYC. You will see the same things at Hartford and Waterbury in rush hour.

Where are you going in VA? The routes south of the NJ Turnpike can make a big difference too.

 

[ixlr8]

Where are you going in VA? The routes south of the NJ Turnpike can make a big difference too.

Thanks for the route suggestions, I will check them out.
I have made the trip from Maine to North Carolina many times and I am all too familiar with NYC and DC traffic, commuted for years across 84 so I know what that can be like.
Final destination will actually be near Exmore on the Delmarva Penninsula. Once I get on the Jersey Tpk, it will be fairly clear going.

 

[FWTMD]

Final destination will actually be near Exmore on the Delmarva Penninsula. Once I get on the Jersey Tpk, it will be fairly clear going.

Absolutely.

Note though there is a new leg on the highway that opened up maybe 6 months ago. If you have not updated your Garmin / GPS it won't be there. You CAN see it on google maps.

As soon as you get off the Delaware Memorial Bridge that you will remember, also remember the highway is a tangled mess for about 5 miles between there and I-95. Maybe 5 miles onto I-95 you want to take SR-1 South. So as soon as you merge onto 95, which puts you in the left lanes, you want to start moving to the right lanes to pick up that exit. You won't have a ton of time to do it and hauling a trailer you can't bob and weave as well as in a normal vehicle.

On SR-1 you want to pick up the Rt 301 exit, the second exit on the other side of the bridge over the C&D canal. That leg is brand new, wide, and empty. And takes you into MD.

BE SURE you are not exceeding 65 in MD. Speed limit is 55. The State seems to balance its budget by stopping people 1 mile over 65, especially with out of state tags. Lots of radar traps throughout the MD part of your trip.

301 of course takes you to 50, and you know it from there.

Exmore is a hike down the Delmarva. Gods Country. Nice part of the world. Enjoy.

 

[FWTMD]

Or are you going down through DE, via 13 or 113?

In which case ignore my comment about the new 301 leg.

 

[FlyMeAway]

Despite my current location I spent my entire life in NYC and suburbs until about 10 years ago.

I would take 84 to 684 to 87, then 287 to cross the Hudson at the Tappen Zee, then continue on 287 all the way to the New Jersey Turnpike.

You could also switch to 91 in Hartford to 95 then to 287 in Rye and take the same route. It's fewer miles, and a little faster without traffic.

This avoids NYC but not the suburbs.

Traffic is going to depend entirely on when you go. There is timing you can take which will avoid traffic on the route entirely: I've driven Boston to Philly via the TZ without ever hitting stop and go (the trick is to be going around NYC in the late morning or very early afternoon).

Do you know how to use Google Maps to see "typical" traffic at a given time, and not just live traffic?

 

[ixlr8]

Traffic is going to depend entirely on when you go. There is timing you can take which will avoid traffic on the route entirely: I've driven Boston to Philly via the TZ without ever hitting stop and go (the trick is to be going around NYC in the late morning or very early afternoon).

Do you know how to use Google Maps to see "typical" traffic at a given time, and not just live traffic?

If I am going in/around NYC, I leave Maine at 8pm which gets me into NYC about 1am, not much traffic then. But the roads around NYC are terrible and I don't want to subject truck/boat/passengers to that mess.
Didn't know Google had anything but 'live' traffic, I will look into that.

 

[ixlr8]

Or are you going down through DE, via 13 or 113?

In which case ignore my comment about the new 301 leg.

Usually I take 13 down, but last trip home I took 113 and there seemed to be less small towns slowing things down so I will probably take that in the future.
When driving my car, I use the cruise control most of the time, not because I am lazy, but because I find myself driving too fast otherwise. I suspect it is not just Exmore, but 48% of Exmore's town revenue comes from traffic violations!! :x I am betting the numbers are the same for most of the peninsula.

 

[CAPTCRUNCH]

If passing NYC around 0100, I84 west thru CT to I87 (NY Thruway) south to Exit 15 (I287 and NJ17) then NJ17 south to I80 east (toward GW Bridge) to I95/NJTP south. NJ17 is 6 lanes until the last bit, has 2 southbound truck stops in Mahwah, no traffic lights, plenty of fast food. I287 is longer, no smoother, and has no services that I know of. The NJ17 route gets you a few nice views of NYC and one of Lady Liberty’s backside just before Newark Airport. My advice comes from 100’s of trips from Annapolis to Albany (and back), several with my R27 in tow. BUT, avoid NJ17 Monday thru Saturday business hours. Sunday is OK due to blue laws keeping shopper traffic down.

 

[knotflying]

Done it from Rhode Island several times. Going through NYC early morning on Saturday or Sunday is a breeze. However I have gone down 95 then Cross Westchester Expressway over Tapanzee ( Now Cuomo bridge) go north then 278 and that loops around to the Jersey turnpike. I get off after the Delaware Memorial Bridge and pick up 301 south. You will hit some lights etc. on 301 but IMO it is worth going 301 rather than 95. The trip on 301, IMO, winds up being same time and there are plenty of places to get fuel etc.

 

[FlyMeAway]

If I am going in/around NYC, I leave Maine at 8pm which gets me into NYC about 1am, not much traffic then. But the roads around NYC are terrible and I don't want to subject truck/boat/passengers to that mess.

You have to be careful with this approach. 1 AM can be prime road construction time in and around NYC, including on the New Jersey Turnpike, and traffic delays at 1 AM can be worse than those at rush hour if the road is getting worked on (they'll take a 3 lane highway and reduce it to one lane, this happened for years on the Cross-Bronx Expressway portion of I-95). 9 or 10 PM is usually safer than 1 AM.

Didn't know Google had anything but 'live' traffic, I will look into that.

They launched this way back in 2008, but as far as I know it is still only available in a web browser and not in the mobile app.
If you follow this link: https://www.google.com/maps/dir///@40.8 ... e0!5m1!1e1

You can click "live traffic" at the bottom of the screen and you should see a dropdown option for "typical traffic." Then you get a slider which lets you pick a day of the week and time.