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sunfan03's avatar
sunfan03
Explorer
Oct 07, 2020

PacNorthwest to Tennessee in January?

Jumping back into RV-ing after a 6 year hiatus and just found out the DD's classes in Tennessee will start Jan. 25...so need opinions on feasibility of road-tripping her down from Western Washington state (Bremerton), maybe go to Florida for a week and then returning home....maybe a 1 month road trip...mid-Jan through mid-Feb?

We've never traveled in the winter before, so we'll dive into the advice on other posts, but right now trying to decide if this is do-able/reasonable :h

Recommended routes? thoughts/advice?

Thanks in advance!
  • Just watch the weather for snowstorms and any ice and plan on some downtime if it shows. I think once you get east of the Rockies, youll be fine. +1 on the warm route if conditions warrant.
  • Sounds like a great trip. Water freeze precautions, chains/cables, extra blankets etc.
  • Sunfan, I know it will take a heck of a lot longer, but we would follow the "warm zone" heading east across the continent. First head south toward southern Calif., then head east across the bottom of Texas on I-10. Once almost to the east coast, you can turn north toward Tenn. All that trip time, you can utilize the RV without winterizing. When you are about 300 miles from Tenn., check your weather forecast to determine if you need to winterize before crossing the Tenn. border.
  • Almost assuredly it will be very cold. Depending on your RV you may or may not be able to use your water system. And almost just as sure, there will be winter weather systems. And many RV parks will be closed. You would need to allow plenty of time for a flexible travel schedule. You might get lucky with few if any delays. And you might end up taking a week or more longer than you had planned just to get to Tennessee.

    Doable? Reasonable? Sure with careful advance planning.
  • I don't see an issue with traveling. People travel in the Winter all the time. I would probably buy tire chains from Les Schwab (just in case) as you can return them if you don't use them. Sounds like fun trip.

    Just remember that camping in freezing weather can create issues (resolvable with planning) - should be lots of threads on that subject (use the forum search feature).

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