Route Planning

[cumminsdad08]

i travel all -over central pa with overloaded pickup's. as stated before, i would stick to the main roads when you start getting towards the pa line. down in that parts i can think of at least 3 creek crossing's, with out a bridge, that just show up on the GPS. when i am uncertain where i am going, i usually mapquest it, then bing map it, then study the map on bing with the satalight feature to see any landmarks at my turns, and also to see if i can see a potantial disaster. i use my GPS as soon as i jump in my work truck, but i go to a lot of people's houses and mapquest sucks for that. alot of times i just use it to see what roads are coming up, so i don't have to be that contractor, i know you all got behind at somepoint, that slows down to a crawl at every intersection, then speeds back up for 2 miles and repeats.
as far as the fuel, any truck stop along the highway should suit your needs. i am not sure how you are coming into pa, but if you do RT 15 there is usuall some sort of fuel station every 10-15 miles. as stated when i do road trips, i always drag a fuel can along with a bunch of fuel in it, and alot of people have thanked me for it too. they don't usually take up a whole lot of space, and you can use them at any point. just watch when you start to get tired, thats when the fuel gauge always seems to drop like a rock. good luck to you, and i hope you get to enjoy everything that lovely PA has to offer you,

PS. watch out for the buggie's, they are always just over that hill.;)

[DTJ9610]

Thank you for all the input. As I am coming in from the Buffalo area to Gettysburg I have the option of taking the 219 through Johnsonburg, Clearfield, huntingdon and so forth. The other option is to cut across more to the 15. Anyone have iput on which would be better.

Bob, where did you get the transfer flow tank from and where did you install it.

[cumminsdad08]

you can pretty much get a transfer tank from any farm supply store, or online. not to answer someone else's question tho. they are the tanks on the back of pickups that sit in the bed, kinda like a tool box, but it holds fuel. i am not sure if they come with pumps on them, or if you have to buy them, and i am not sure how much of a head ach they are to remove and install. i thought about them before. most of the time they are used for diesel, but i guess you could have gasoline in them too.

[wozzukes]

We're in eastern PA, so I'm not familiar with the 219 route so I can't really comment on that. We have done 15 a few times though, and were on 15 last weekend on our trip to Wellsboro. It's not a bad route, however it does get a bit tricky through Williamsport. It's not terrible, but we found that going 180 around Williamsport was a lot easier than previous trips we have taken through town, but we always pick up 15N at I80 so it's a bit easier to take that alternate. Once you get south of Williamsport 15 gets smaller and goes through lots of towns.

I'm assuming 219 is probably similar in that there are many towns you will go through, so a lot of stop and go. I'm not very familiar with 15 once you get south of the Lewisburg area, but believe it could be a fairly scenic drive along the Susquehanna River. Unfortunately there aren't really many big highways in the direction you are going without going way out of your way.

[chuck&gail]

I guess we are weird. We use the gas guage. When it gets to 1/4 of a tank left we buy gas. No problems with that method yet in over 190,000 miles.

[wozzukes]

That's a fine method if you are driving the interstates and not off the beaten path. Not all stations have diesel and not all stations can accommodate a large RV when you are on the back country roads, so a little pre-planning is key and gives us some peace of mind knowing we won't be getting desperate for fuel. We try to find truck stops close to where we will be exiting the highways since then diesel and the ability to handle a large RV aren't an issue.

Unfortunately there aren't any interstates that take you from Buffalo to Gettysburg as the OP will be traveling, so it is even more important to do a bit of pre-planning and knowing what your options will be that can accommodate your setup as to avoid any tricky situations.

[DTJ9610]

wozzukes - yep it takes us right through Williamsport. I'll weigh my options and go from there. The 219 trip is shorter and quicker, but as I mentioned don't really know much about either route.

[hankaye]

DTJ9610, Howdy;

Something you MIGHTwant to explore is this; Find a PA. rest area, preferably one near the State line (Welcome Center), look at the map rack and grab the one that is for TRUCKERS.... It has a detailed view of the State (Commomwealth), and will SHOW ALL EXTRA STEEP GRADES, LOW CLEARENCES, RESTRICTED ROADS. Places they DO NOT want BIG TRUCKS. Quite a few apply to RV's as well....
It also showes length and width restrictions..

When I drove over the road I wouldn't go into PA. without it...Got a new one each year... Kinda wish other States (and Commonwealths), would do the same...

hankaye

PS. http://www.dot.state.pa.us/internet/bureaus/pdPlanRes.nsf/infoBPRCartoTruck?OpenForm

Gives a phone # to call Maybe they'll mail ya one....

[cumminsdad08]

rt 15 south of lewisbury, is pretty much a stright drive with few lights and stops. it follows the river down for the most part. once you get down to, i can't remember the name of the area, but it is north of harrisburg a bunch, jump over to 22/322 and follow that down. 11/15 just north of harrisburg is stop and go and i think it might be two lane till you get down to I81. 22/322 is four lane and you can cruise right down. it looks a little bit longer and out of the way on a map but it really isn't. DON'T TAKE 11/15 THRU HARRISBURG, IT IS NOT FUN AT ALL!!!! once you get down to I81, take it north around the "burg" and take rt 581, stay off of rt 83, they both tie around to each other, but 83 is a lot tighter and busier during the day. then it will run into 15 just on the south side of camphill and you should be good to go. in dillsburg there is a sheets on the right with a rather large parking lot, that serves as a very good "reststop". i hope that helps any. i usually use 15 all the time when i got to get south, and stay off the the 83 as much as possible.