Rt 50 E of Parkersburg, WV - any good?
 

I'm picking up a load in the morning that goes from Columbus, OH to Fredericksburg, VA. It's going to max out my truck weight-wise. It might even put me a little over the 26k that my straight truck is allowed.

Here's what google recommends for routes:

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&s...&ved=0CKEBELYD

I-70 would be good but too many weigh stations (is it true they allow 1-2% overweight?). Also, I'm not familiar with the Cumberland, MD to Winchester, VA road they picked. I've driven Berkley Springs to Winchester a few times and that's an ok road.

Rt 50 must be a bugger. That's some pretty hilly terrain and my Streets & Trips map shows a lot of small towns.

So how bad is it? Is it traffic light hell? Are there dedicated lanes for slow moving trucks when needed? Or am I looking at a nice peaceful scenic drive in the country? :)

What say the sages? Wise trucking dudes and dudettes, what should I do?



Edit: Oh well, the link won't show the route, you'll have to copy and paste " Fredericksburg, VA " to get google to give the routes.

US 50, between Clarksburg, WV and Winchester, VA is a BEAST of a road. We're talking 10mph turns (for a car), where you can check your tail lights as you make the turns. There are also quite a bit of steep climbs/descents.

To be 100% honest, your best bet out of Columbus would be to take I-70e, I-79s, I-68e and finally US-522s. Going that route, you have 1 scale in Ohio, one in WV on I-70 (but none on I-470 if you take the bypass around Wheeling), 2 possible in PA (1 on I-70, 1 on I-79) and finally one on I-68 just outside of Cumberland. The only one you REALLY have to worry about is the one in MD on I-68. They give you zero flexibility on your weights. If you're overweight, you're paying a fine.

If you take US-50, you're looking easily at an extra 4-5 hours worth of driving time for pretty much the same miles.

US-50 is a great road - if you're riding a motorcycle or have a convertible with a gorgeous blonde beside you. For a truck - hell no. Even in a straight truck (unless it's the length of a Ford F-150).

Edit: I just pulled up that route in Google Maps. While the distances may be correct, there's no way that the times for the US-50 route is correct, no matter what you're driving. You simply can't run average speeds through most of the drive between Clarksburg & Winchester. Also, Google looks like it's running MD-53 into Paw Paw, WV, then WV-29 and working your way to US-522 just south of Berkeley Springs. That road isn't too bad and I've taken it with a 53' trailer multiple times.

But, if you *DO* have plenty of time available on the load, want to see some beautiful scenery and have a lot of power (both stopping and pulling), then by all means, take US-50. Just be DAMN careful. Also, if you do take that route, east of Grafton, WV, at the base of the first mountain you'll go down, is a small country store. This place has everything in it and they even have some old steam powered equipment on the property that you can check out. They also have a diner inside. The place is called "Cool Springs". By the time you get there, you'll be ready to get out of the truck anyway so you can kick yourself in the ass and wonder why you're on that road, but really too late to turn back. Remember, that's at the base of the first REAL descent, with plenty more ahead of you.

forgot to mention: if you do take the US-50 drive, you'll have 4-lane highway between Columbus and Clarksburg, WV. You'll pick up US-50 in Athens, OH. When you get to Clarksburg, it would be worth it to you to take I-79 north a few miles to WV-279, just north of the rest area that's under construction. When you get off the ramp for that road, you'll be turning right, which I guess would be east. Run that 2 or 3 miles to US-50. That'll bypass going through downtown Bridgeport, which is a traffic mess.

After you get past that, there's not much traffic in the lines of cars, but keep your eyes open for the log/chip/coal trucks. They KNOW those roads and run them HARD.

yea specialy our american kw make of log truck haha .why havnt 1 of your outfits over there done a proper gps map for trucks .they not done it here either ,see trucks going to maps and nek minite crane following haha .no serious it happens a lot

Wow! Thanks a ton Mal, I was hoping you'd help out.

You talked me out of 50. I'll scale after I get loaded and decide what to do about the weight stations along the way. Hopefully I'm close if not spot on. If I take the PA Turnpike to Rt 30 and get to Berkeley Springs that way, I'll get weighed as I enter the toll areas won't I? I would think they're checking weights and counting axles. If I'm over, what happens? I get an invoice in the mail?

For that, I don't know. If a bill has ever came for an overweight at a toll plaza, I've never seen one. But, I drive company trucks.

Running the turnpike over to US-522 will definitely be an easier drive. Not as many hard pulls as there is on I-68.

If you're over weight, you pay a fine, and in some cases you're asked to park, until you get another truck to take some weight off.
Or you sit there, burn off fuel, and whatever it takes to get that weight down, and cross the scales again.

One time I was overweight running to St. Louis. I paid the fine and was asked to park, but the guard hinted to me, he would be off duty at say 12 mid-night, and the next guard wouldn't check in until 2am. That's all he had to say.... after I saw him leave, I was rolling.

I don't know how much fuel you carry, but figure 8 lbs. per gallon. (60 gal. is about 500lbs.)
Maybe throw some extra gear off as well, if you need to shed some weight. (extra pallet)

The thing about those secondary roads, you will beat the hell out of your brakes, chassis, steering and suspension, and put a huge knot in your shoulders.
You will get 1/2 chance to pass someone, and collect branches in your mirrors. Some areas keep getting smaller, and panic sets in.
The cops are fatter and dumber too, like Sheriff Buford T. Justice.

i will be on route 50 tomorrow around 8 am. i have been going Cumberland to Bridegeport Wv once a week since the first of the year and its a tough road with a 48 foot trailer. I usually have about 25,000 lbs of freight not bad. IDK the turns are very crazy but it can be done. If the weather rolls in i always backoff route 50. Let us know what u do and becareful.

Us 50 is ok as a shortcut from I 77 to I 79, never had the guts to take it further than that. Looks, uhm, interesting