Leaving Michigan in Jan. to head south to Arizona.

[mjb0908]

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!

[obgraham]

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.

[Homeless_by_Cho]

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

[midnightsadie]

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