Leaving Michigan in Jan. to head south to Arizona.

drop down south and go thru ky thru texas much flatter and better weather.

I don't know where you plan to travel but you will probably have freezing weather most of the time until you get to southern Arizona. I winter in Salome, about 100 miles west of Phoenix. It froze at least a dozen times hard enough that the water hoses and some park water lines were froze in the morning. It even froze and snowed in Phoenix last winter during January.

I typically leave Wisconsin during the third week of October. I sometimes run into snow along I40 in the Albuquerque thru Flagstaff areas even then. I definitely did last October. In the south, they do have some snow plows but I have never seen a salt truck so you either lay over until it melts or you just have to drive thru snow and slush.

If you take what I call the southern route (I30, I20, and I10), then you run the chance of heavy ice storms.

LeRoy

I've had freezing rain and sleet in Texas in January. The important issue is the road conditions.

Everything depends on the weather. Your plan to water up at St Louis may work well, but be prepared to change the plan as needed.

We've driven the RV at 10 below with no real problem, though I wouldn't be happy in a heavy snowstorm. We delayed watering up till things warmed up, used jugged water, and dumped some antifreeze in the holding tanks.

you will have freezing weather much further south then St Louis.Missouri. we just used RV antifreeze to flush the toilet.

I live in Lexington,KY and Dec seems to be our bad month. Last Jan it was a pretty mild winter and for the most part winter was pretty calm. Like you said it's a roll of the dice as to what weather will be in January in AZ and TX and all the good points you'll pass thru. Say your prayers and hope for the best at this point. St Louis is always freezing in Jan .. my brother in law lives just outside there and when we visit we always expect the worst..

Don

Thank you all for the quick posts!! all good sound advice. never thought about using the antifreeze for flushing toilets. And we typically use jug water for drinking anyways, and showers at the parks! probably won't have to refresh before we hit Arizona. ( Sierra Vista ) Feel better already about the trip. thanks again all!

Mount a snow shovel on the front of the truck. Drive south unti someone asks you 'what is that thing', then dewinterize.

You never know what to expect. The general plan is to get south before you go west. I-30 to I-20 to I-10 is going to be good in most years. I-40 is a much dicier proposition involving plains snow or ice storms, and mountains in winter. You have to make a game time decision based on the forecast for the next several days. If it's not a warm spell in the plains, just take your medicine and go south. There is no need for reservations on the way down at that time, in our experience.

You might find that you can put water in by St. Louis. Or not. :)
Usually by the morning of departure at your second stop, you'll have a warm enough forecast for that day's travels and destination that you'll be able to put some water in.

I agree with the "straight south, then west" advise. You could always find a freeze anywhere along the route, but you might also find it in the 60's most of the way as well. The further south you get, the less likely the chance of freezing.
We also use red pop (anti-freeze) for flushing, and take a few gallons of fresh water for drinking and coffee. The showers in the park are what we use too, but make sure that you check the parks first. Many of them, even down into KY or MO shut off ALL the water to the park for the winter......including the washrooms. We always took I-57 and stayed at the Motel Marion RV Park (I don't know why the "motel" in the name, since there's no motel there, but it's a nice RV park) at exit 53. Full hookups, open all winter, SPOTLESS showers, restrooms, and laundry. Pretty reasonably priced too at about $25. By the time we hit Marion in southern Illinois, the weather was usually warm enough to de-winterize. If still cold, we'd wait till the next night in Arkansas, Louisiana, or east Texas. As you head west through Oklahoma or Texas, watch for snow and ice storms, because that's the area that seems to get hit the worst. Keep a weather radio handy, and use it. They're pretty good about giving you enough warning to find a place to sit down for a day or two until it thaws.

If you are holding off until January so you can be home for Christmas, consider leaving around Nov. 1, and then fly back and forth to Michigan just for the holidays. The first time you do winter travel it is an adventure. The second time it just sucks. JMHO