Driving in the winter in snow

I have never done it. I have towed a trailer in snow but not the Pod. I find that if you tow like a sane person there is not problem with towing in the snow but if you make sudden moves you risk losing the trailer.  There is a group that winter camps in Pennsylvania I am sure they will chime in here with an opinion. 

Welcome.  I'm one of those that does the annual winter trip to PA.  This past January we received a heavy snowfall on the way to the campground.  If I had been using my prior TV (tow vehicle), a front-wheel-drive Sienna, I would have been stuck either a mile from home or a mile from the campground since the back streets were unplowed with inches of snow on them.  Even the highway was mostly unplowed.   I didn't have a single problem and attribute it entirely to having the right TV for the job.  So make sure your TV can handle the road conditions with the extra 3000 pounds hooked to the rear.

Second issue is camping in freezing conditions.  You must leave it winterized, it just isn't designed to keep the water and waste systems unfrozen no matter how warm you keep it inside.  I used a dish pan in the sink to capture waste water from brushing teeth, etc and dumped it outside.  I took a few jugs of fresh water for use inside.  I used a heated bathhouse for almost everything else, but I did take a jug of RV antifreeze so I could use the pod's toilet in the middle of the night, flushing it with some of the antifreeze.  I didn't have a problem using the fridge even though it got down to 10 F.

pshermanpt:

I'm assuming you are going to Mt. Rainier or one of the other Washington mountains.

Some of those roads in Winter have slush, ice and snow.  I'm assuming that is what you will be dealing with in your travels.

Most of the newer RPods have risers already installed on the axles.  We have a 2011 171HRE.  It also has mud tires and risers which raise it even a little further.  If you purchase an older one, a riser is recommended.

However, driving in snow and ice can mess stuff underneath quickly as well as rocks can.  Ice can do damage also.  Towed trailers are not meant to be bulldozers either.  For your purposes, I recommend measuring the depth of the snow you will be driving in and its density first.

Prudence might dictate not making a trip if you are forced to go only if driving in ice ruts and chunks.

The last thing you want to do if camping is to tear off a tank, or a fitting just because you think it is safe to drive over a mogul or a large chunk of ice/slush.

After all, they are not high rise 4WD vehicles, but towed trailers.  Many folks on this site have scraped their tail ends just going over a driveway.  The result for them has been to add the risers.

Meanwhile, back to your needs.  A Pod will keep you warm in the cold and dry in the rain.

You sound like a common sense guy, so if my message is a bit frosty, it's only to help you understand that even a car can get disabled by a rock or ice.

Good travels and happy Podding.

Burt


 

I have some real good friends in the Seattle area, and they take their trailer (not a Pod) up to the mountains there all the time during the winter to hit ski resorts ... mainly White Pass, Snoqualmie and Stevens resorts.  I asked them about it and they said the following: