Camping In Snow

Thank you all for your information and sharing experiences. Since we have until next year to make a decision, we will be considering all advice.

In the meantime, we'll see y'all out there on the trails down here in the south. Happy Camping!

Dont go anywhere. The zombies are coming! Everybody stay home, better camping for me. This is all crazy.

OP must be stuck frozen in the snow. Someone send a search party :B

PAThwacker wrote:
We had a 14,000lb concession trailer bumper pull behind a chevy p600 walkin 8.2 Detroit/Allison 19280lb gvw. We towed it through all types of weather. Worst scare occurred when we lost traction on a snowy grade and the 25,000lb train slid backwards.

ANYTIME one loses traction on snow and ice is not fun.....
Although if on an empty parking lot, trying to do donuts etc can be phun too. A friend takes winter driving classes in Colorado put on by the Audi owners group. Usually on a frozen zamboni'd lake surface.

Marty

We had a 14,000lb concession trailer bumper pull behind a chevy p600 walkin 8.2 Detroit/Allison 19280lb gvw. We towed it through all types of weather. Worst scare occurred when we lost traction on a snowy grade and the 25,000lb train slid backwards.

Bottom line, be as prepared as you can, plan for the worst if you can. When we are ready to use our TT in winter, we will have chains for both truck and trailer. I usually have a bucket of sand and shovel along with tow strap and other items.

Speed will amplify problems, so take it easy, allow plenty of time. Enjoy!

I'll take a 4we over a red too but, just because as one stated, if overconfident etc you are going to cause trouble.it does not take but 5-10 minutes to chain up a rig once you have done it a few times. That is how long it took to do my truck and rv trailer.

Driving in snow as also mentioned, should not be a white knuckle sweaty Palm issue if one keeps there head on.

Using an rv in snow and cold conditions is not that hard either. Try to anticipate or ask people's could go wrong.g, does etc. Then have a plan to get out of the issue.

One needs to know, there is not usually full boom ups, ie water, sewer electric etc. You are dry camping in a parking lot.

If you go to thecoal area enough, the kid know who is there es weekend, ski together, raid the other TV's, impromptu BBQ potlucks in parking lot. As much fun as summer camping on the beach. But sometimes a bit more thought into surviving a harsher condition weather wise

Red Rocket

Certainly not!!

My point was, if you live in an area you are going have to drive in that area. If you are a Midwesterner you drive in this stuff all the time. If I was from the desert South West, driving into Elkhart Indiana in the snow to pick up my TT, it would be a different story. Unusually it is the other way round. People are driving away from the snow and wind.

I towed over some roads in the Rockies on my way to Glacier Park this summer that I would not think of driving in foul weather even without the TT. Of course the road block arms and the chains required signs were kind of a hint.

I definitely was not picking on anybody but I did want to point out that winter campers and those towing in the snow were not crazy people. They are people who are willing to trust their experience and tow in bad weather to get to their destination.

blt2ski wrote:
A friend of mine pulled a 35' triple slide 5w the same weekends I pulled my TT up to the same ski area with a rwd F250. In the mtns around here 4wd is NOT always your friend.

I got in a wreck in my 86 S10 one mid January weekend. The two WSP officers at the seen, realized I was a rwd rig. Pushed a 4wd subaru into the snow bank. They both had been working that part of the hwy for 3 winters. I was the FIRST rwd to knock out a 4wd. Every OTHER wreck was caused be a 4wd! i've seen Audi quattros in the median after going so fast, the slid into it, ALL 4 tires including the lugs and nuts were off the car from the speed and impact. More 4wd Suburbans, pickups, Jeeps etc on the side, tops, rolling over etc than I can think of in 35+ years of driving up to the local areas. VERY few if any rwd rigs!

The folks with AWD and 4wd seem to think they are invincible. Reality is, they can get going, go real fast, but stopping....hah! no better than the rwd rig on 4 tires. WAY the heck worst than a rwd with chains on, when the chains required sign is up. Oh, if you cause a wreck with the chains required sign, while the WSP will let you be the chain check, you will still get a hefty fine for no chains, along with paying, well insurance company will pay for the wreck.

Along with, this person may get there on a sunny day, no snow on the roads, have a great few spring sunny days, leave, without EVER seeing a trace of snow on the road! Done that a few times too!

Anyone remember the days when 4wd was few and far between? How did we all get around with rear drive only cars. Much less part time 4wd, awd or fwd or radial tires with better designs for snow and ice than the old bias ply tires that were available........

Marty

I have to heartily disagree with the statement that "4wd is NOT always your friend". I drive to ski areas every weekend on (sometimes) snowy mountain roads. Sure, I see 4WD vehicles smashed into the side of the mountain all the time- but that's simply because the 2WD vehicles get stuck (FWD) or do a 180 degree turn into the ditch (RWD) and never have the opportunity to get halfway up the mountain. The crashes you see involving 4WD vehicles are generally due to operator overconfidence, incompetence, excessive speed, and the assumption that 4 wheel drive means 8 wheel brakes, and certainly have nothing to do with the vehicle being driven.

I run snow tires on my 4x4 vehicles and can't remember the last time I've had to chain up, while cheerily passing dozens of sidelined 2wd vehicles. A chained 2wd vehicle can slowly navigate most of the same road, but it's not a pleasant experience.

Lots of things to consider when driving in the mountains and snow and ice: tires (snow tires vs "all season radials"), drivetrain (4WD vs 2WD), chains, skill level, speed. All else being equal, I'll take a 4WD vehicle any day...

rbpru wrote:
Come on guys let’s get real.

Since were keeping it real...just want to make sure that driving down Vail Pass and Eisenhower Tunnel (Loveland Pass area) in a snow storm is the same as driving in a snow storm from Indiana to Kentucky. ;)

Maybe your comment wasn't directed at any of my comments. Carry-on. :)