So, I did end up taking the concesus advice in a prior thread. Instead of buying truck and trailer I did rent s box truck instead. Thanks.

Now, for those experienced drivers, which will be the better route for transit with a full box truck?

I'm thinking 90 is well maintained and used by truckers. And more direct. And mostly in Washington so CCW lawful. But there is a route south to Portland and then East thru Oregon. Question. Is that route more on the WA or OR side of river? For carrying purposes.

Less Mountain passes is ideal...
Thanks!

I have down this route many times now and almost always take the southern route on 84 through Oregon Mainly it’s based off I90 pass. I90 always looks faster on GPS but depending on time off day you leave, there is almost always traffic getting there that slows me down. I also prefer the less mountainous route going south because I am generally towing. It eliminates an extra mountain pass all together. I also think the Columbia River is a good view with a much more gradual road for towing.

I drive to Spokane every Wednesday. 90 is the ONLY way to go.

I too have done the route many times in light vehicles, and also trucks.

IF you hit Snoqualmie Pass at the right time—no construction or weather or traffic—the route from Spanaway to 18 to 90 to 82 to 221 to 82 again onto 84 is a tad faster based on WA speed limits.

However. If you don’t have experience in a larger truck, or box truck, particularly if the one you rented is all “over axle” aka anything except a U Haul, you may not feel confident enough to do 60-65 in it. Chances of it being able to go any faster than about 68 is rare, they don’t usually have a lot of horses in the barn and are gear bound.

That said going up most hills will not be at the speed limit, you’ll be in the right lane playing follow the leader with some of the big rigs on all the passes, which there are many more of on the 18-90-82–221-84 route than across the northern OR side of the Columbia Gorge. BUT.... going down 5 all the way to Portland then taking 84 across leaves you in the wind, always a wind in the Gorge—side, head, swirling, tailwind maybe, never fun in a big rolling barn rocking around—and you’re stuck with the Oregon 55mph truck speed limit pretty much all the way. Plus Portland traffic.

Keep in mind part of the standard map route from 90 to 82 cuts off around Prosser and heads S-SE down state route 221 through basically nowhere. You’ll be away from standard services pretty much until you connect with 82 again near McNary Dam crossing over into OR by Umatilla.

I’d drive spanahood-18-90-82-221-82-84 without question but some people find it less stressful to stay on 82 all the way around thru the Tri Cities and take the time and mile penalty to stay on the interstate.

I would also avoid any southern WA route through the Columbia Gorge as those roads are “scenic routes” aka spaghetti 2 lanes that your loaded box truck will not be appreciative of. Same said for White Pass (US12).

For CCW purposes you can go all the way to Moses Lake and down through Pullman/Lewiston and take that Idaho route south to Boise and avoid Oregon nearly all together but it adds hours to the drive. YMMV.

This drive will be hard enough without complicating it for carry purposes. Unload the gun and take it off for the day, and drive the route that’s easiest.

THIS

Just go with which ever way Waze tells you is the fastest. I'm not going to take a longer route just to carry a damn gun

Agreed. The only area of concern will be the Blue Mountains. Just take it easy going through there, and don't ride the brakes. Do what the truckers do.

Agreed, it's just a small consideration if two routes were otherwise identical. But not a primary consideration.

Thanks all. Appreciate it.

Take lots of pictures of your journey.

Just got back from St George Utah, via Boise.

The route over Snoqualamie and through Yakima contains a shit ton of hills especially from Ellensberg to Yakima.. The pass from Pendelton is IIRC 6% but I drove a 2020 Nissan full size...it was a breeze.

Any of the three routes will include passes....

The one from Portland has a pretty good climb past Mt Hood but its tame....but then again I haven't driven from Bend to Boise.

Never done the Spokane South route.

dan hit the nail....

between snoq. to boise or i-5 to portland to boise your only talking 1.5hr difference


what you need to do is find out what approximate kind of gas miles your gonna get and map it out

Do not drive over White Pass. I live on White Pass which is a slow hilly twisty road and you can come around a shaded corner and be on black ice or snow with the rest of the road bare. You will be driving a box van with no chains and tires that will not be traction rated. The de iceing truck has been spraying for a month now on White.

I drove the Seattle-TriCities route monthly for nearly eighteen years, with the occasional venture into Boise if that mgr needed back up.
18-90-82-84.
Have also taken my 34 ft motorhome that route to Boise. It's a long one, and not especially fast in a box truck or motorhome, but you can get there in a day. If I knew I had to go to Boise, I usually left at about 4:00 am, so I could get into Boise before nightfall. Food stops, bathroom breaks, gas stops...they all add up...cost of traveling.
As was mentioned, DO NOT go over White Pass.
Best of luck to you!

Anything that involves SR18 (Tiger mountain) to I90 eastbound, do yourself a favor, leave super early. Eastbound over Tiger mountain is a complete cluster any day of the week unless you hit it early (4-5am). Also, eastbound I90 has lane closures (on west side).