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Leaving Michigan in Jan. to head south to Arizona.

mjb0908
Explorer
Explorer
Hello. Was hoping I could elicit some advise on winter travel with a 5th wheel. While we're not really rookies with 5th wheel travel, I still consider myself at best a sophomore. We've camped with tents, thru p/u campers, thru small trailers, thru p/u campers, onto motorhomes, and settled on 5th wheelers, as we enjoy parking the rig, then exploring with the truck. We have antique tractors in the family for decades, and I tandem up the rig for tractor shows. We've visited our daughter/grandkids while they lived in N.Carolina (son-in-law in military) pulling rig down I-77 several times from Michigan, but always in fall or spring weather. Now, they have moved to the bottom of Arizona!! I'll winterize probably in October, and we'll be leaving Michigan in late January, spending February in Arizona, returning in March. I know we're at the weather gods mercy, but hopefully we're make St. Louis the first night, and probably refresh the system there? Is the freezing temps going to be a concern the whole trip? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
17 REPLIES 17

alfredmay
Explorer
Explorer
Get an electric blanket for your bed. When you get to the CG for the night turn the blanket on maximum for a few hours prior to going to bed. The forced air heat in the RV will warm the air up quickly but the furniture and bedding will stay ice cold.
Alfred May
2005 Excursion V10 4.30 4x4
2002 Cedar Creek 30RBS TT by Forest River
Reese Dual Cam
Tekonsha Prodigy

Gemstone
Explorer
Explorer
As for cold temps....I've experienced snow in El Paso and 0 degrees in Deming NM in early February....both on I-10. Sierra Vista and Benson can both get snow at that time of year, but it won't last long.

Regards
Gemstone
'06 Elite Suites TK3, '95 KW T-600, '08 Softail Classic , '06 Softail Deuce

2gypsies1
Explorer II
Explorer II
Definitely head south to I-10 as soon as you can. I-40 can be treacherous.

Sierra Vista is a pretty little town and you're probably staying at Fort Huachuca but in January you're going to have cold nights there, too. 20s & 30s can happen. Not so that you have to stay winterized because it warms up nicely by 10 am but best to not leave your water hose turned on - better yet, fill your fresh water tank and run off that and store the hose. Also sewer hoses can get brittle in cold temps. Don't try to curl it up or move it around while it's really cold. It could crack. We just get it out when we need to dump and then store it right away.

We would also recommend that you watch Michigan's weather and your immediate route for the first day or two and if you see a nice break in weather, leave at that time. Don't plan for a specific date. (We've lived in Michigan)

That's a lot of driving for only one month in AZ. Can you leave in April instead of March? March is a gorgeous time and it's too early to return to Michigan. ๐Ÿ™‚ Have a good one!
Full-Timed for 16 Years
.... Back in S&B Again
Traveled 8 yr in a 40' 2004 Newmar Dutch Star Motorhome
& 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

mjb0908
Explorer
Explorer
@ snowman 900, thanks for your advice. the route you described sounds better already than I40. appears to be another 120 miles or so further that way, but sounds a safer way to go. thanks again

mjb0908
Explorer
Explorer
@dennis mm, thanks for the route info. and we still have other grandchildren here in Michigan also. it's a real cluster sometimes!

Dennis_M_M
Explorer
Explorer
I agree with the "get south as fast as you can" crowd. Also the idea of flying home. We did the after Christmas trip once, now we leave Thanksgiving weekend for Tucson, then fly home in late Dec for Christmas.

If the weather is holding we prefer I-55 to St Louis, I-44 to OK City, I-40 to Amarillo, then drop a short ways down I-27, to US 60 to Clovis and then US 70 to Las Cruces. US 70 across NM is good four lane all the way with very little traffic.

For what it's worth we usually stop at Trailer Village in Roswell and get a good dinner at Pepper's Grille
'99 Volvo VNL610 - 425 HP Volvo; Super 10 Spd
'13 smart CityFlame on Volvo
'05 Newmar Mountain Aire 35 BLKS
Trailer Saver; Bigfoot; Pressure-Pro.
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BarbaraOK
Explorer
Explorer
Leave earlier and spend more time in the desert! Seriously, go spend Christmas with them, better traveling weather. Head straight down I fil you get to I-20 then head west, it will run into I-10.

Barb

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe - full-timing since 2006


Figment II

(2002 Alpine 36 MDDS) ๐Ÿ™‚
2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
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JRS___B
Explorer
Explorer
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

MichDoc
Explorer
Explorer
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.

Snowman9000
Explorer
Explorer
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. ๐Ÿ™‚
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.
Currently RV-less but not done yet.

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

mjb0908
Explorer
Explorer
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!

Big_Don_53
Explorer
Explorer
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
If you think the grass is greener on the other side, then you need to water your own grass

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