Winter Trip

Yes, stay flexible. You are driving into an unusual (El Ninp) year weather wise. Last time on supposedly occurred I stay as far south as possible at every opportunity. Didn't have a prob, but further north got pounded. Keep an eye on the weather and especially the artic lows as they drop south.

Thanks for the advice everyone

Plan your route then stay flexible. I'40 thru the Texas panhandle and on to Albuquerque and Kingman AZ can close at an eye blink or it can be a lovely ride. Last winter West Texas was glare ice on I-10 from just west of San Antonio all the way to just east of El Paso around New Years. New Mexico I-10 was snowy, but runable as long as you watched out for slippery parts. I-20 was terrible, worse than I-10 in the ice. We've traveled I-10 every year for the last 10 years and this was the worst year.

Just keep on the radio and Internet watching for storms, temps and road conditions. I-10 doesn't have as high altitudes as some other routes and is usually OK but you just have to watch it. We hit a rest area on I-10 in West Texas that was so slick that DW had to run the toad pickup in 4WD pushing the rig to help me get out. Slope was about 1% and people were all over the place.

The way you have planned is the way I would go. Could it get snow or/and ice ? yea, it sure could but probably wont. I 10 to Ca is a lot flatter and if the weather is good that's the route to make real good time on.

Chuck,

Believe those that say the weather can go bad. Just be ready and don't rush. It flying land, it is heard that someone died of "get-home-itis". Basically, trying to push through bad weather is an easy way to get dead.

We used to travel on our own in the late fall and early spring and still had to go a 2Kmi haul to the grandparents for Christmas. It was never good.

Free advice:
- Stay flexible as long as you can.
- Collect good weather as often as you can. If you carry internet, this is pretty easy now. I used to use radio a lot.
- Keep the fuel and propane full as much as you can.
- Carry three days of provisions.
- Do not be afraid to call and tell people you are stuck on the road.
- Keep the phone charged and the cameras ready.

Matt

I wouldn't recommend taking I-40. Stay with your I-10 plans for winter driving in a RV.

You may be able to stay on I-40 all the way to I-15 at Barstow, CA Just watch the weather on I-10 and I-40 and decide when it is time to leave which route is better. I have seen ice on I-10 when I-40 was clear. El Nino will be cranking up by then so be prepared for wet weather in CA and possibly across southern NM and AZ.

Darsben I was in the same storm at Fort Stockton but turned south to US 90 and was able to keep moving east. 2 days later returning from E. TX, I had to hole up for the night in El Dorado, TX. I was in my car and was able to keep moving after waiting for the snow/ice to turn slushy the next morning.

My advice is stay flexible on the route till time to leave. Dallas to New Mexico can sometimes have bad Ice storms that make the snow of a more northern route seem like heaven. I was stuck 3 days in Fort Stockton last year waiting for ice storm to finish at the end of November beginning of December.