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Towing in snow?

el_jefe1
Explorer
Explorer
Not that I would ptobably make a habit of it, but does anybody ever pull their trailer in the snow? I'm planning a trip over Thanksgiving, and in Michigan and Ohio there's always the potential for snowy weather that late in November.
For those who have done it, I'd love to hear what you've learned about towing when there is snow on the ground.
Certainly the goal would be to stay on clear pavement, but what happens when you are out late in the season and wake up to snow cover?
2018 Keystone Passport 3290bh
2007 Chevy Express 3500
Me, the Wife, and a whole bunch of kids
39 REPLIES 39

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
What some don't realize either, is there's a HUGE difference in traction between warm, wet, greasy early and late season snow (or all winter on the W side of the Cascades! Lol) and cold dry snow when the thermometer dips.
Below about +10F, snow and ice are much stickyer. Below zero, it's almost like driving on a gravel road. But between like +20-35F, traction gets perceptibly worse with every couple degrees of warming.
Up in the interior of AK, you can rip around most all winter in 2wd on bald tires, because 30below temps make the snow packed roads pretty grippy.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

drsteve
Explorer
Explorer
millerak49 wrote:
I agree with Drsteve, around here lots of people out towing when it snows with heavy snowmobile trailers. Drive smooth and careful. Easy on the gas, easy on the brakes. You would think everyone would be used to it her in Alaska, but first big snow there are always lots of ditch divers. Watch out for other vehicles driving too fast, especially 4x4.


Same here in Michigan. The first dusting of an inch or two, and people are sliding off the road left and right.
2006 Silverado 1500HD Crew Cab 2WD 6.0L 3.73 8600 GVWR
2018 Coachmen Catalina Legacy Edition 223RBS
1991 Palomino Filly PUP

millerak49
Explorer
Explorer
I agree with Drsteve, around here lots of people out towing when it snows with heavy snowmobile trailers. Drive smooth and careful. Easy on the gas, easy on the brakes. You would think everyone would be used to it her in Alaska, but first big snow there are always lots of ditch divers. Watch out for other vehicles driving too fast, especially 4x4.

Frostbitte
Explorer
Explorer
I try to avoid it as much as possible. Driving in icy, snowy weather is hard enough without anything behind me at times.
I've been caught in one freak snow storm years ago in May. Drove slowly and cautiously. Visibility was horrible as well. Stopped at every small town to have a break and clear snow and ice off.
Oddly enough though, the added weight in the rear due to the trailer seemed to give me more traction.

We've had to camp out in our trailer as early as late March and late as early November here in Canada due to certain circumstances, not just vacationing and we've been able to miss bad weather those times. Days were warm but the nights are chilly so be prepared to use sleeping bags and heaters. Don't put water in the lines in the trailer until you can keep it consistently warm.

If you really have to do this, I'd watch the weather and wait until late morning to get going. Let the road crews clear out the roads and let the sun melt off any ice and stuff. Wait until the weather breaks to travel. Avoid freezing rain, blowing snow types of situations and be ready to camp out in a hotel/motel in communities on the way to your destination.
2011 RAM 3500 Laramie 4x4 6.7 Cummins 6-speed Auto 4.10
2004 Prowler 275 CKS (Sold)
2014 Sabre 36QBOK-7 5th wheel
2016 Forest River 8 x 20 Cargo Trailer

spoon059
Explorer II
Explorer II
Drive slow and plan WELL in advance. Several years in a row we've had to tow in 4WD for a little while to get out of Maryland en route to Florida in February.
2015 Ram CTD
2015 Jayco 29QBS

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
drsteve wrote:
Snowmobilers tow on snowy roads all the time, some with large, heavy enclosed trailers. They seem to do just fine.


Yup, every time, and ideally it's in the worst road conditions getting to the best powder!
My trailer is suspiciously closely resembling a 30' TT. Current one anyway, but have ranged from little 2 place open trailers to 20' cargo trailers to the current 32' enclosed.

WI, WA, CO, WY, MT, ID, AK, NM, AZ BC and a couple other states. Only have ever chained up for unplowed parking lots or forest roads.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

BizmarksMom
Explorer
Explorer
I chance towing in the snow every November when coming home from Thanksgiving. Like everybody else said, take it slow and easy. No fast moves. 4x is absolutely your friend. Be ready to wait it out if the conditions are awful.
2019 F350 towing a Nash 22H

Edd505
Explorer
Explorer
Wolf Creek Pass E/B about six miles to the summit last weekend pulling a 35ft 5W. Thanks for shift on the fly 4x4.



2015 F350 FX4 SRW 6.7 Crew, longbed - 2017 Durango Gold 353RKT
2006 F350 SRW 6.0 crew longbed sold
2000 F250 SRW 7.3 extended longbed airbags sold
2001 Western Star 4900EX sold
Jayco Eagle 30.5BHLT sold, Layton 24.5LT sold

drsteve
Explorer
Explorer
Snowmobilers tow on snowy roads all the time, some with large, heavy enclosed trailers. They seem to do just fine.
2006 Silverado 1500HD Crew Cab 2WD 6.0L 3.73 8600 GVWR
2018 Coachmen Catalina Legacy Edition 223RBS
1991 Palomino Filly PUP

blt2ski
Moderator
Moderator
Every weekend from December to early April using trailer as a ski hut. Included getting stuck at top of pass due to extreme snow fall, avalanche danger etc.
Not dead yet!

Marty
92 Navistar dump truck, 7.3L 7 sp, 4.33 gears with a Detroit no spin
2014 Chevy 1500 Dual cab 4x4
92 Red-e-haul 12K equipment trailer

allen8106
Explorer
Explorer
I've towed my 5ver in snow once. We live in Kansas and were headed to Arizona in March. Got up the morning of departure to find 3-4 inches of snow on the ground and still snowing.

We pulled out as planned and just took it easy. We drove well below the normal 65 mph, gave plenty of distance between vehicles for stopping. About 4 hours out we ran out of the snow completely.
2010 Eagle Super Lite 315RLDS
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thomas201
Explorer
Explorer
When you travel with chains, you need chain pliers in case you break a cross chain. In fact carry 2 or 3 cross chains, and a handful of cold shuts and or lap links. That way you can fix or repair as you go. Takes a lot less space than a extra set of chains. Sometimes you can make the fix without taking the chains off. Oh forgot, need a good hammer.
I carry this junk, with the chains in a 5 gallon bucket, or an old canvas mail sack (out of a dumpster not stolen).

Bedlam
Moderator
Moderator
I have crossbar chains for my tow vehicle and cable chains for my trailer. If I was going to do the front of my tow vehicle, I would probably use cables whether it is 4wd or not - I could use chains up front, but prefer the lower profile and weight on the steers.

Host Mammoth 11.5 on Ram 5500 HD

carringb
Explorer
Explorer
Lots of good advise.

I carry 2 sets of chains for the van. I've broken a set before towing, so now I like having a spare set. And if it turns to heavy freezing rain, like the Columbia River Gorge gets (inches of ice, always topped with a layer of rain water, with gusty winds) then chaining up the steers is the best way to maintain a reasonable speed.

I've found premium cables work best on the trailer. The trailer is pretty easy on them (3 seasons so far, and they look new still) but the nicest part is the tensioning ring-bungee means I don't have to stop to re-tighten them after install. They are also Super-z rated, meaning they only need 1/8" clearance at the sidewall, which is good because the trailer shocks are fairly tight to the tires.

Engine braking can help hold your speed, reducing the need for service brakes, but beware that can also exceed available grip, and cause a jackknife. It's very counter-intuitive to get out of that situation when it happens, because you have to give it a little throttle to get the slipping tires back up to road speed.

Also, I didn't see it mentioned yet, but traction is the worst near freezing! I'll take towing at 0-degrees any day vs 30 degrees! Once it drops below 20 chains are rarely even needed.

I leave my trailer brakes set as-is. Never had an issue there, but I do sometimes give it a little extra manual braking on steep downgrades.
2000 Ford E450 V10 VAN! 450,000+ miles
2014 ORV really big trailer
2015 Ford Focus ST