Driving in the winter in snow
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Topic: Driving in the winter in snow
Posted By: pshermanpt
Subject: Driving in the winter in snow
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2013 at 9:09pm
| I am considering a R-pod and my main use would be driving to a ski area in Washington and spending the night. Does anyone have experience towing up into the snow? Thanks. |
Replies:
Posted By: Seanl
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2013 at 11:04am
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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. ------------- Sean, 2011 Rpod RP-173,2009 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition 
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Posted By: hogone
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2013 at 11:28am
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I camped several times in the snow this past winter. Had no problems pulling in snow (yep, we did get several good dumps this past year in Missouri!!!). Granted, it is not like the 'Washington Ski' areas!!! I would imagine you can get some pretty good snows their, I'm jealous. Did wake up one morning to about 5 or so inches. The only problem I had was when I brought the slide in, I brought in alot of snow. I tried to get as much off as I could prior however. Just cleaned it up on the inside. I' would think installing a canopy over the slide might help with this somewhat. ------------- Jon & Pam 2013 RP177 2010 F150 2017 HD Streetglide 2009 HD Lowrider CHEESEHEAD |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2013 at 1:33pm
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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. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2013 at 9:55pm
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I have some experience pulling trailers on ice and snow, but not the pod. I figure you probably at least quadruple the risk of an accident by towing a trailer. Most of us go thousands of miles without an accident, so if you are careful, or as Sean says, sane, and have some experience, you are probably okay. I imagine there is something like a finite limit to the depth of snow you can reasonably expect to get through. I do have experience with the pod in sub-freezing temps, and what Doug says is absolutely true. You can be warm and toasty all night in the pod -- the propane furnace will probably wake you up every time it comes on or you can be perfectly comfortable with a cheap electric heater if you have shore power. Don't risk having water in the plumbing much below 28 degrees. Make sure the CO detector is working too. And not because of the CO, but that too, but because of humidity, crack the bathroom vent or leave a window slightly open. TT |
Posted By: Burt
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2013 at 10:52pm
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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 |
Posted By: rpodcamper.com
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2013 at 11:26pm
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I'm one of the others that camp here in PA during the winter. I have also towed to private camps and girl scout camps during the winter in snow. you need to be very careful labut any sudden or quick moves as the trailer will react very differently. Have you towed before? You also need to make sure you vehicle will be able to handle the snow and be willing o leave the camper behind if the weather changes on you. ( i have left mine a few times to go back when road conditions were better. you also need to protect under the pod and don't plan to use the water or plumbing system in the camper. I love taking the camper out in the winter as many times I'm the only one in the camp ground. |
Posted By: P&M
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2013 at 9:47am
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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:
Take it slow and easy. Leave a lot of room between yourself and the vehicle in front of you. Make wider turns. Make sure you have a TV that will handle the extra load of snow & mush. Keep the trailer winterized, or install electric heaters in the tanks. Don't run out of propane. And last but not least, have an alternate plan to go somewhere else if you can't get to where you want. ------------- P & M ... and Comet too! 2012 171 -- The Monkey Pod 2018 Ram 2500 |