Moving from SC to MA in the winter towing TT

[theheather1]

I will be moving to MA from SC early to mid December. Even though I'm lusting after a Winnebego Minnie, I have a 16' 2013 Starcraft AR-one and am pulling it with a Chevy Silverado. I'm not very experienced in driving in the snow (being from southern CA and all) and will be travelling with two young kiddos and two cats.

I'd like to save money and live out of the camper on the way up there. Driving more slowly is a given for safety but beyond that I'm here to mine your collective wisdom on tips, tricks and advice on staying safe and keeping us more comfortable on the trip.

[wbwood]

We were actually impressed with the clearing when we lived up there and according to them it was a record year back then. As soon as it started to snow, we would hear plow trucks within 30 minutes or so. They did a good job keeping the main, secondary and even the little road (no lines on it) cleared.

But to try and save a few bucks on a hotel for a couple nights, I wouldn't bother with it. Enjoy your trip up there and don't worry about the camper. Leave it in storage and get it later and make a nice vacation trip back with it in nicer weather.

[NYCgrrl]

Crowe wrote:
Most northern states give major priority to FREEWAYS so they should be clear unless it is actually snowing.

Snicker. Snort. Chortle. Funny. Priority, maybe, but that doesn't mean it's done well.

Loving the new gov't thunk of closing highways down completely when manpower and weather collide. Last winter I think the Governors of NYS, MA, and CT closed entire highways during some snow storms; sorry no idea what RI did. It was inconvenient but saved lives.

[Grit_dog]

I'm going to be rude here, but you don't sound like you have the experience or knowledge to handle a trailer in the snow, or even just a vehicle in snow, or much knowledge about camper systems.
It's totally doable.....good chance of no snow, but if there is, sounds like you'll be THAT person on the news blocking traffic spun out.
Regarding living in the camper "on the trip". It's one night, 2 day drive. Are you really asking about living in it all winter or for 2 days? 2 days, not worth in winterizing. Deal with bottled water or know how to handle winterizing, insulating, and heating.
You only need to sleep in it. $0 to sleep ok in the camper is cool whe. You're on a budget. Sounds like fun but don't plan on making a fun camper vacation out of it.

[Crowe]

Most northern states give major priority to FREEWAYS so they should be clear unless it is actually snowing.

Snicker. Snort. Chortle. Funny. Priority, maybe, but that doesn't mean it's done well.

[wa8yxm]

3 Bits of advice
First: Most northern states give major priority to FREEWAYS so they should be clear unless it is actually snowing.

Second: Watch the weather reports and
http://radar.weather.gov/ridge/Conus/index.php

Next: If the going gets white and scary.. STOP, first possible location it is safe to do so.

Finally once off the freeway SLOW DOWN, And be very careful going over hills for you do not know what is on the other side.

True story.. Drove my class A straight into a blizzard.. Followed my own advice, above, Found a rest area, By the time I'd walked 20 yards my footsteps were already filled in in the snow... Had dinner in the diner,, Breakfast in same diner.. Watched news about all the cars lining the ditches both sides of the Freeway... Went back to traveling,, Freeways plowed and clear and dry already.. Ditches exactly as the news described them car, after car, after car, starting about half a mile from where I pulled off to wait out the storm.

I lived in Southern MI,, Very used to snow... And I pulled off and parked.

[braindead0]

You didn't say if your TV is 4wd (not that I saw) OR what kind of tires you have M+S, severe M+S.....

However, I'd second the suggestion to store it and make a trip to pick it up in the summer. Inexperience and snow are a very very bad thing, add in a TT.. I have a few decades living in the snow belt of Ohio and would tow a TT if I couldn't find better options...

And +1 on don't try living in it, winterize it and leave it that way.

[mgirardo]

As has been mentioned, in the Northeast, major highways rarely stay snow covered long. If you add a couple extra days into your travel plans, you should be fine. With two kids and two cats, spend 3 days to get there. Leave two days earlier than that and you shouldn't have any trouble getting there on time.

-Michael

[PghBob]

Hi Heather. Been in the cold and snow of Western PA all my life, and now try to spend as much time as I can getting away from it.

As noted by others, whatever route you take, check ahead of time to make sure the campground(s) will be open. Even if they are open, most if not all, will not have water service. So, plan on taking some bottled water with you in your tow vehicle to keep it from freezing.

Be flexible with your time of travel. It is madness to try and travel with an RV in snowy weather. Even if you don't have trouble, someone else will. Last winter, part of the PA turnpike was closed for a day or two because a truck jack-knifed and no one could get through. So, delay travel until the "coast is clear" weather-wise, but still carry extra food and water for all (including pets) in case of a sudden change in weather.

Winterize your RV before leaving SC. Top off your propane tank before leaving. If you have a propane furnace in your unit, it will suck up the propane quickly when running. To the degree you can, use rest stops for toilet use. Stop at a truck stop, like Flying J, to take showers if necessary.

Once you get to MA, locate a place to dump tanks, and find out where you can purchase propane. Best wishes for success.

Bob

[tatest]

If I had to do it, I would do it only if I had enough time to wait out bad road conditions. But I grew up in Michigan, learned to drive there, and had almost 15 years winter driving experience (much of it in heavy front-engine rear-drive cars) before moving to where winters are short but brutal, and few people know how to drive. I try not to drive in winter weather here now because too many other folks on the road with me lack the basic skills, and if they have four wheel drive they think they can drive as fast as they do on dry pavement.

[Crowe]

Greenfield is not in Northeast Ma. It's on the VT border, off I-91. Snow country.

X2. You are much more likely to hit snow out there than eastern MA. I think Drew has the right idea, especially if you are going to upgrade.

[DrewE]

Saving money by living out of the camper sounds doubtful to me. If you're planning on replacing the trailer with a motorhome in the not too distant future, I think you'll find it more cost-effective and much less hassle to sell it before you leave rather than try to camp on your way north. Any money you'd save on motels and restaurants would probably be more than spent in the extra gas expenses (and tolls) due to to towing.

Have you camped in cold weather in your camper before? Does the furnace work well? Is the water system enclosed and heated to be usable in sub-freezing temperatures? Is your battery up to the task of running the furnace overnight? Do you want to winterize your trailer immediately after you arrive (and have you scoped out a place near your destination where you can empty the holding tanks in winter)?

Highway driving in early winter, for the most part, isn't much different than any other time of year. They generally do a good job keeping the roads free of snow between storms. If it's actually stormy or the road conditions are bad it would be wisest to simply wait a bit before proceeding, especially as you're not very comfortable or experienced with winter driving.

[wbwood]

Live out of it along the way? Shouldn't take you much more than a couple days. We moved from SC (North Augusta) to Massachusetts (Lunenburg - west of Boston and north of Worcester) back in 2002/2003. Left on December 31st and arrived on January 2nd (only due to a breakdown of our moving truck in NYC (going across the George Washington Bridge). Arrived in 6" of snow. Had another 1.5' drop the next day.

I would stay in a hotel. Do you have a place to store the camper when you get up there? You might want to leave it in SC in some storage and make a trip back next spring or summer and get it. That's what we did with the pop up camper we had at the time.

[paulcardoza]

OK....... It's a two day trip, MAX. Myrtle Beach to SE MASS is a trip I make often in 14.5 hours, straight through. Early to mid-Dec, all you need to do is watch the forecast. While it snows up here in December, it's extremely unlikely that we'll have a blizzard that'll keep the highways snow-covered for more than one day.

You bigger concern will be the water systems in your trailer, once you get north of DC. If you can keep the furnace running for the trip, you can get by without winterizing. You'll need enough battery power to supply the furnace!

Then you'll need to winterize ASAP when you make it to MASS. Or, you could simply winterize before leaving and avoid using onboard water altogether.

[NYCgrrl]

theheather1 wrote:
I will be moving to MA from SC early to mid December. Even though I'm lusting after a Winnebego Minnie, I have a 16' 2013 Starcraft AR-one and am pulling it with a Chevy Silverado. I'm not very experienced in driving in the snow (being from southern CA and all) and will be travelling with two young kiddos and two cats.

I'd like to save money and live out of the camper on the way up there. Driving more slowly is a given for safety but beyond that I'm here to mine your collective wisdom on tips, tricks and advice on staying safe and keeping us more comfortable on the trip.

Have you found a place to store the Starcraft in MA and is there any storage cost associated with it? If you need off site storage will any be available in December? Is the cost of storing in MA higher than that in SC? These are all questions you need to answer for self in order to decide if this plan will really save you money or if you should just sell the Starcraft and use the funds as you choose at a later date. It's not like you are going to get much more use of it until the spring and you've already expressed interest in the Winebago.

Finally, most campgrounds still open up North are going to charge a minimum of 70 bucks per night. For 2 nights that will be about 160.00 including taxes. Have you compared the motel costs for your route?

HTH