Winter Travel

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

We plan to head to the Fort at the end of January. I am concerned about pulling back to Indiana and camping on the way home. Any advice?

[DaveInTN 3,247]

We plan to head to the Fort at the end of January. I am concerned about pulling back to Indiana and camping on the way home. Any advice?

 

When I was a kid, my Dad dragged our travel trailer home from the Fort in early January to our farm outside of Buffalo.  The last several hours of the drive was through a terrible lake effect snow storm.  When we got close to the farm, I remember him picking up speed with the truck and then veering off the road into our barnyard, which was drifted over by several feet of snow.  He picked up speed to have enough momentum to get the entire truck and trailer off the road and into the barnyard before becoming bogged down in the snow.  So...my advice is to do that if necessary.  :D

 

And also....don't let your gas tank drop below 1/2 tank if the weather looks iffy.  Keep a close eye on the weather and road conditions.  Allow an extra couple of days for travel home in the event you need to ride out some weather somewhere unexpectedly.  

 

Also, if the temps at home are below freezing when you are heading home, consider winterizing the trailer before you leave Florida, and stopping in a motel for rest on the way home.  

[rtguy007 74]

Agree with Dave. We used to do earyly ro mid february and hitting snow was horrible. We hit black ice one year on Jelico and slid into the ditch pretty close to a dropoff on the side of the mountain.

If you do it, be careful.

[keith_h 420]

Besides poor road conditions it might be hard to get a campsite on your way home. It is not uncommon for campgrounds to close down for the winter. More so the further north you go so be sure to make a fixed schedule of overnight stays.

 

We use our trailer in colder weather (30's at night, 40's during the day) as our water lines are not in heated space we don't hookup or fill the water tank and just work with water jugs. As I'm sure you've noticed trailers aren't very well insulated. It can use a lot of gas to keep them warm. What we do is take an electric heater that we use for our heat. It does a better job than the gas furnace since we can place at the end of the trailer to get the heat the full length of the trailer. You might need two for a larger trailer.  

[tim5055 120]

I will point out that if you normally carry bikes on the outside of the camper either travel with them inside or clean them extremely well when you get back home.  I towed back from the Fort one winter to Maryland and got caught in snow as I entered Virginia.  Hours of driving on salted roads damaged the bikes over time as I apparently didn't clean them well enough.  That salt spray gets everywhere on the outside of the vehicle/camper.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

All good advice, Thanks. I am hoping we all have a very mild winter. My main concern is traveling through TN and KY. That time of year ice can be a real problem and my guess is that all the campgrounds will be closed so hotels or rest stops will be are only options. Thankfully there are many bodies to heat the camper so I am not too worried about that. I always carry a space heater just in case. I thought about bringing our portable generator as well.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

When we tow home to NH in cold weather, DH usually at least vacuums out the water lines, if he doesn't just flat out winterize it before we leave. 

 

When that's been the case we just carry a few gallons of water in jugs for drinking/washing/flushing on the ride home. If it's supposed to be really cold for the trip, we might even put some RV antifreeze in the gray/black tanks if we know we're going to use them before we get home.

 

When I was a kid, my Dad dragged our travel trailer home from the Fort in early January to our farm outside of Buffalo.  The last several hours of the drive was through a terrible lake effect snow storm.  When we got close to the farm, I remember him picking up speed with the truck and then veering off the road into our barnyard, which was drifted over by several feet of snow.  He picked up speed to have enough momentum to get the entire truck and trailer off the road and into the barnyard before becoming bogged down in the snow.  So...my advice is to do that if necessary.   :D

 

LOL!!  We actually came home a few years ago after there had been a pretty significant snow/ice storm while we were away, and were wondering if we were going to have to do something similar.  Luckily our wonderful neighbor cleared out the banking on our side yard where we park the camper, and we were able to get in.

[BR60103 5]

A lot of what you do will depend on weather. We follow the national weather in the papers and try to see if our next night will be below freezing or not.

Usually we winterize in a campground in southern Kentucky (0ff I75).  Sometimes we've done it farther south, like Chattanooga or even in Georgia. On one trip I neglected to do it in Nashville and the drains were frozen in Detroit. The waste tank heaters don't melt all the way to the valves.

After you winterize, you can use the toilet if you follow it with a wash of anti-freeze.

We've found a campground just outside Detroit that is open all year, except for water. (won't do you much good, though)  The last winter trip we made, we'd driven from Ky and my wife just kept going from the border to the Toronto area because she didn't trust going off the highway to change drivers.

Make sure you have a stock of plumbing anti-freeze. It may be hard to find farther south.

Check your windshield washer fluid. We had a used unit and there was a major blizzard (they closed the highway behind us!) and I couldn't get it to wash. When we stopped, I found a tank full of pink slush -- summer fluid.

Use your campground guide. There are a few but very few camps open during the winter north of the Ohio River.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

A lot of what you do will depend on weather. We follow the national weather in the papers and try to see if our next night will be below freezing or not.

Usually we winterize in a campground in southern Kentucky (0ff I75). Sometimes we've done it farther south, like Chattanooga or even in Georgia. On one trip I neglected to do it in Nashville and the drains were frozen in Detroit. The waste tank heaters don't melt all the way to the valves.

After you winterize, you can use the toilet if you follow it with a wash of anti-freeze.

We've found a campground just outside Detroit that is open all year, except for water. (won't do you much good, though) The last winter trip we made, we'd driven from Ky and my wife just kept going from the border to the Toronto area because she didn't trust going off the highway to change drivers.

Make sure you have a stock of plumbing anti-freeze. It may be hard to find farther south.

Check your windshield washer fluid. We had a used unit and there was a major blizzard (they closed the highway behind us!) and I couldn't get it to wash. When we stopped, I found a tank full of pink slush -- summer fluid.

Use your campground guide. There are a few but very few camps open during the winter north of the Ohio River.

I am beginning my winter campground hunt now. Thsnks for all the tips.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

A lot of what you do will depend on weather. We follow the national weather in the papers and try to see if our next night will be below freezing or not.

Usually we winterize in a campground in southern Kentucky (0ff I75). Sometimes we've done it farther south, like Chattanooga or even in Georgia. On one trip I neglected to do it in Nashville and the drains were frozen in Detroit. The waste tank heaters don't melt all the way to the valves.

After you winterize, you can use the toilet if you follow it with a wash of anti-freeze.

We've found a campground just outside Detroit that is open all year, except for water. (won't do you much good, though) The last winter trip we made, we'd driven from Ky and my wife just kept going from the border to the Toronto area because she didn't trust going off the highway to change drivers.

Make sure you have a stock of plumbing anti-freeze. It may be hard to find farther south.

Check your windshield washer fluid. We had a used unit and there was a major blizzard (they closed the highway behind us!) and I couldn't get it to wash. When we stopped, I found a tank full of pink slush -- summer fluid.

Use your campground guide. There are a few but very few camps open during the winter north of the Ohio River.

I am beginning my winter campground hunt now. Thsnks for all the tips.

Not sure which route you take but if you come through Nashville there are campgrounds open year round, such as the KOA near Opryland. And probably some cheaper options.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

We come down 65 so I will definitely look into those. Thanks Dave!

[BR60103 5]

I haven't been on for a few weeks.

We stopped at the Nashville KOA on one return trip (we'd done the Natchez trace) and I didn'r winterize there. In Detroit the tanks were frozen -- whatever the tank heaters did didn't go down to the drain valves.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

My advice is to stay in Florida.

[LONE-STAR 370]

I don't know why you people live north of I-10.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

My advice is to stay in Florida.

In my dreams Kelly, in my dreams.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

I don't know why you people live north of I-10.

Because some stupid ancestors decided to establish family here. Sigh.... not sure either.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

I don't know why you people live north of I-10.

 

Because we're gluttons for punishment. 

 

 

 

...and some of us melt when it hits 85 for more than 3 consecutive days.

[BigTom 76]

Those of us in Florida have winter driving problems also. No snow, we have snow birds who don't know where they are going and have all day to get there.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Because we're gluttons for punishment.

...and some of us melt when it hits 85 for more than 3 consecutive days.

Very true lol.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Those of us in Florida have winter driving problems also. No snow, we have snow birds who don't know where they are going and have all day to get there.

That's why we send them down there. It makes the roads safer for us up here. ; 0)

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

That's why we send them down there. It makes the roads safer for us up here. ; 0)

 

:rofl2:

 

It's bad enough that the first time it snows every single year, tons of people that have lived here their entire lives drive like they've never seen it before. 

[keith_h 420]

Those of us in Florida have winter driving problems also. No snow, we have snow birds who don't know where they are going and have all day to get there.

 

We folks here in NC get the half-backs. Unfortunately that combines those who don't know where they are going and have all day to get there with the "I'm from up north and can drive in snow with my eyes closed" types. 

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

:rofl2:

It's bad enough that the first time it snows every single year, tons of people that have lived here their entire lives drive like they've never seen it before.

Lol so true.