George,

I live just North of Charlotte, NC ( Mooresville), so consider a pit stop if needed. I grew up in Buffalo, NY and just made a round trip. We headed up on I-77 up to Beckley, WV and then hit Rt 19 off to I-79... not on your route there. I-77 in WV is pretty hilly with some LONG 5% grades up and down. Several have mulitple truck run-offs. But each is at least 2 lanes and sometimes 3 for the hills so there is plenty of room. Virginia speed limits are lower and radar detectors are illegal. There are also 2 tunnels in VA, shouldn't be a problem for you but they don't allow tank semis.

I would make sure you skip Charlotte at rush hours (6:30am-9am and 4pm-7pm). Bumper to bumper, 80mph to 0mph and back to 80 mph. Everyone thinks they are the re-incarnation of Dale Ernhardt around here on the highway. There is a bunch of contruction from about mile marker 23 down to mile marker 10 in I-77 (which is where I-85 comes in).

Either I-77 to I-85 or I-77 to Columbia and then I-20 to Atlanta will work. I-85 is a bit more direct and I haven't heard of bad recent construction... but you never know.

And watch Atlanta at rush hours as well... very crazy.

Good luck with your trip. No problems with finding diesel along the routes.

Chuck