Neosho, MO to Carrabelle, FL

[stengels]

Planning my trip south for the winter. Looking at taking I-40 down through Memphis, finding my way to Birmingham and on south to FL. Is this a good route? I've never been past Little Rock on I-40. Looking at overnight stops in the Forrest City, AR area and then the Montgomery, AL area. Any suggestions on campgrounds. Thanks for your input.

[Razrbk]

Left NW Ark 9/2016 for Savannah GA area and just returned 11/2016. I can't speak to your best Fl route. But, we found eastbound on I-40 from Conway to Memphis in very good shape. The trickiest part was right after crossing the MS river, you will need to take I-55 south - this exit is to the right, VERY shortly past the bridge. The entrance onto I- 55 from I-40 is also very short. Very little margin of error to making this connection. I-55 to Hwy 78 towards Birmingham is pretty good. Hwy 78 to I-22 and on to Birmingham is good. after that, we headed towards Atlanta....

We stayed coming and going at Campground at Barnes Crossing, Tupelo MS and found it to be a good park (great location).

When returning, I-40 west from Memphis for 20 to 25 miles - very rough with a lot of road construction.

Good luck. Hope to don't hit a hurricane :-)

[Starmaster]

Hi Steve,

We've made several trips from Springfield to Destin, Fl over the years and have tried several routes. We also do Springfield to Butler via Lamar/Neosho several times a year. We have figured out what works best for us with decent roads and less traffic for the most part. In fact we're headed to Destin and Port St Joe in April next year.

You do not really want to do Memphis or Birmingham. The approach to Memphis from AR going across the Mississippi is terrible, it gets the trailer to bouncing if you try to drive anywhere near the speed limit, have to slow down to about 45 to stay in the truck! Catching I55S after you cross the bridge is REAL easy to miss if you blink. Birmingham has the worst roads I have ever driven on, and I65 south to FL can be a parking lot the entire way!

If I were you, I would:
take I49 to I44
(or I49 to V @ Carthage, to MO96 to I44)
(great road and no traffic after getting to 96)
(maybe 2 miles on County Rd V to 96)
I44 to I360 (James River Expressway) @ Springfield
I360 to US60
US60 to MO53 at Poplar Bluff
MO53 then MO25 to US412 @ Kennett
US412 to Caruthersville (have stayed at the Lady Luck Casino)
(come into casino on 3rd st from MO84 off of US412)
US412 to US45 @ Jackson MS
US45 to I10 in Mobile
(have stayed a Barnes Crossing in Tupelo and)
(Benchmark Coach & RV in Meridian, MS)
(gotta eat at Squealers BBQ in Meridian!)
I10 to Tallahassee, then south on your choice

The above is obviously not the only route, but the best one we think based on making the trip more than a dozen times.

PM me if you want.

Dave

[pkbridges77]

I-49 south to I-40 east would seem to be quickest, however...Starmaster's route would avoid Memphis and that's good.

We are in Florida now after leaving Little Rock at the end of October. I have never found rougher roads than Memphis - to the point that we took a detour through Helena-West Helena to get into Mississippi this time. Unfortunately, it did slow the trip down but the road was slightly better. Once we were on Hghway 78/I-22 southeast from Memphis to Birmingham it was very good, and take it slow through Birmingham. Lots of construction there. We went south to Montgomery, US-231 southeast to I-10, east to I-75 and then south. All great road past Birmingham.

Consider southeast from Little Rock to Jackson, MS. That will likely be better road.

I wish someone had some good advice to avoid Memphis. I suspect that may be what started the crack in my Montana frame.

[stengels]

How is US 65/US 61 from Little Rock Down to Jackson? If I can get to Jackson, I can take I-55 down to Hammond and take I-10 over.

[Hogfan]

We take 65 out of LR when going to Mobile. Mostly 4 lanes haven't really had any trouble taking taking that road. We usually spend the night in Vicksburg.