WA-OR-CA - Hwy 101 or I-5 in winter?
I'm new to trailering - we have a 30' TT, pulled by an F-250. I've now hauled for maybe 500 miles or so, but have done a variety of mountain passes, rain, miserable roads and night (sometimes with eac...
Forum Discussion
almost_retired wrote:
I'm new to trailering - we have a 30' TT, pulled by an F-250. I've now hauled for maybe 500 miles or so, but have done a variety of mountain passes, rain, miserable roads and night (sometimes with each of the other conditions). I'm learning how the rig handles, slowly.
We'd like to head from Vancouver down to California, likely sometime between December and March. I understand that the weather can vary from wet and rainy to heavy snow, depending on elevation and location.
Can anyone provide some guidance as to whether either of the two routes is preferable for a new trailer driver (or even smart to do at that time of year), or if there is an alternative route that might be preferable?
Thanks -
Almost Retired!
There's more than rain and snow... there is black ice to consider. On a wet cold rainy day... the bottoms of the hills can be wet but depending on elevation and wind speed and direction... you could hit patches of black ice.
Between December and March... is a big span of time. There could be a whole week of dry air ... maybe even with sunlight, somewhere along there. This past winter was a little crazier than normal. 13 deg in the middle of Feb for about 4 days with about 10 inches of snow in Rainier, Oregon.
If you get good weather (temps above 40 at night and above 55 during the day) with very little rain or just patches of rain... you will love the drive from Astoria south on hwy 101. Less fog in the winter on the coast.
If a wind storm comes on shore and you are in a campground on hwy 101... oh, brother. Not good. But you can predict those storms at least 3 days out or more. It's not like the old days of not knowing what's coming on shore.
If the weather is going to be yukky when you decide to travel and I-5 is the making the most sense... travel between 10am and 3pm only. Try to go over the passes between the middle of Oregon and the northern part of California between 11am and 2pm....when you know the temps will be their warmest... I-5 Road cams are great... and will show you in real time what is going on at the tops of the passes
