Chance of snow

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Alpena Jeff

Alpena Jeff

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Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Posts
965
Location
Up North - Michigan
As we plan to depart on the 26th of January from Michigan to Arizona the extended forecast calls for 30% chance of snow flurries. We are looking for the best window available as we have the flexibility.
Question is....is driving my rig as described below no problem, proceed with caution, dangerous or freakin stupid in an inch or 2 of snow?
First coach, I've never driven it on snow covered roads. I have no idea what to expect.
We are also looking at forecast further south on our route to make the best decision.
All opinions welcome.
Thanks, Jeff
 
We usually leave Minnesota in Feb. to go south and most of the time drive ins some snow.  I've driven in snow most of my life living here and have no problem, but it depends on your level  of experience.  Our rig handles slippery roads and snow better than our cars since it is heavier.  Just remember to give yourself plenty of room to stop if you have to.
 
I know in NH, they always load up the roads with salt to melt the snow. I would not drive after a storm at least till the road is dry. You'll still get a dust film on the rig but it won't be as bad as it would be with slush loaded with salt.
 
I wouldn't DE-winterize it until you are in warmer weather, But that rig of yours will drive like a dream, (ok, will be fine) on a few inches of snow.  As Rene mentioned, you might have to hit a truck wash down south, but I wouldn't let a few inches alter your plans. 6+ inches, I'd give them a day to clear the roads.  Hwy are always the first and best cleared as well.
 
Cooperhawk said:
We usually leave Minnesota in Feb. to go south and most of the time drive ins some snow.  I've driven in snow most of my life living here and have no problem, but it depends on your level  of experience.  Our rig handles slippery roads and snow better than our cars since it is heavier.  Just remember to give yourself plenty of room to stop if you have to.
Click to expand...
We're in north Michigan so we have the skills, just no experience in a vehicle this size.
 
Done it many times. As mentioned, you'll need to keep some distance, and find a good truck wash when you get out of the crap.

 

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If you are an experience driver on ice and snow, you should be fine. A heavy rig should be more stable than a light passenger car. Of course, experienced drivers avoid freezing rain, black ice and similar treacherous conditions unless it absolutely cannot be avoided. You sound like a cautious person. I don't think you will have any problems dealing with snow covered roads. My big concern would be other drivers who don't have your experience and caution.
 
If you don't have a weather app on your phone I would get one before you leave. And maybe pack some extra bottled water in case you do get held up due to weather. You can always reroute if weather develops after you've departed.
 
Not sure where you're heading to in AZ, but I would avoid the northern route (I-40, hwy.60 from NM through the salt river canyon) and take the I-10 route. BTW, past yooper here now residing in central AZ, good luck and safe travels!
 
We leave WNY on 2/13 for Fl ,going on our 7 th yr at this date. Two yrs ago started out with a dusting,within 40 miles it was 4-6 " on the road.
Rig handling was no problem. Braking was no problem,but all normal braking no quick stopping. Give your self plenty of room. We drove out of that snow to bare roads in 20 miles.
We are not retired so we don't have option of leaving early to beat incoming systems.
I normally drive 50 miles to job in the snow so as used to it
Bob
 
Jeff - This video may be like you getting out of town when the time comes  :D :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvegOtoeH4o 
 
There are two things that COMBINED can be a problem so I'll tell you MY expierencer

2006 I was headed from Lost Wages to Salt Lake City for some adjustments. Drove straight into a BILZZARD.. Well when it got too white and scary for this Michigan type I found a cooporative rest stop (The statre paves it and someone runs a gas station and fast food service) and had supper... and breakfast... Well the news was on i the morning and ther reporter was talking about ditches lined with cars.. HE WAS SPEAKING ABSOLUTE TRUTH.. Me. No problem  (I was not moving while the ditches got lined) .

This in fact is the very best advice I can give you.. If it gets too white and scary. PARK for the night.

Last spring (2018) Returning to MI from SC via MD I hit a white out in Ohio... THis time there was enough vision to drive. oh about 30 mph but we continued..

That's the 2nd best advice  SLOW DOWN.

My Coach is built on a workhorse chassis. tips the scaled at 2400 pounds in both of those trips I had mitchlin XRV's.. I put new tires on last fall.

But again.  SLow down or park for the night  NO Night driving in a blizzard.  Best advice I can give.
 
One thing that can help you plan your route and timing is the National Weather Service Graphical Forecasts web site. While it comes up showing Max Temp, you can select a huge number of different parameters. The one I find the most useful is Prob of Precipitation (%), which shows the entire US graphically (you can select regions, zoom, etc.) with expected precip shown in green, with faint areas having low probabilities and areas closer to solid green having higher probabilities. You can also mouse over spots to get a numerical readout of the percentage. In addition you can select (for at least 10 days ahead) mornings at 0500 and evenings at 1700 on successive days.

There are many other selectable parameters, too, such as weather, winds, winter weather, sky cover and more.
 
  We left Alpina last year on  Valentine's Day with very wintry weather. We did not de-winterize until we were south far enough to avoid freezing. The weather was what one would expect for Mi in Feb. I just stayed to the right and let it others pass. We plan to head for Florida again this year at the same time. Happy trails
R Kane
 
We left upstate NY last week with a 40% chance of snow showers along our way going to our first stop in PA. We made it with just a couple of flurries, but the next day heading to southern VA, we ran into heavier snow about an hour out from our next stop, but the roads had been well treated with brine, so we didn't have any problems. We did stay for two days at our planned VA stop though, to get past a forecast snow, sleet, and freezing rain storm before heading down the hill through Fancy Gap on I77 towards Charlotte. The weather guessers pretty much got it right other than getting less snow than forecast, which was all right with us of course. Cleaning the ice off the coach and toad was a chore, but the water hose and nozzle made fairly quick work of it. All in all, the weather has never caused us any significant driving problems just using common sense when it comes to adjusting speed and spacing to the conditions.
 
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