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PierreBois · 08-26-2013, 03:50 PM

My wife and I are planning a long tour of the US and Canada, beginning in the North East, New Brunswick to be specific. We are thinking of leaving around Christmas or shortly after the New Year. This will take place in a couple of years when I retire.
The first challenge would be to transport our 31 foot Rockwood TT from the heavy winter climes and icy roads to a more realistic climate like Virginia where we would de-winterize or summarise the rig.
Question #1 Do people pull their rigs in the snow? I can’t think of a more stressful trip. My idea was to do a summer trip south to the Virginia area during the summer and leave it at the end of the summer in storage for a later in the season pick up.
Question #2 Are there reputable trailer storage places that this could provide a solution to my travel logistics?
Planning ahead and looking for advice.
Thanks

lappir · 08-26-2013, 04:09 PM

My parents used to do RV storage in a covered building in a small Iowa town. No power, dirt floor, but no sun, rain or snow on the RV. Most would only store over the winter and come spring they would want out. A few stayed a couple years. My Dad passed away two years ago and Mom didn't want the hassle of trying to park 15 or 20 RV's of various sizes. Dad used to park some of them for their owners who were getting on in years.

Depending on how long you plan to leave it and the time of year you will want it out, inside storage is best. Could be hard if you are the first one in and also want to be the first out. Those out east may not feel comfortable moving it for you if needed to keep it accessible. Makes a difference if it's a trailer or motorhome.

Rod

clyon51 · 08-26-2013, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PierreBois

My wife and I are planning a long tour of the US and Canada, beginning in the North East, New Brunswick to be specific. We are thinking of leaving around Christmas or shortly after the New Year. This will take place in a couple of years when I retire.
The first challenge would be to transport our 31 foot Rockwood TT from the heavy winter climes and icy roads to a more realistic climate like Virginia where we would de-winterize or summarise the rig.
Question #1 Do people pull their rigs in the snow? I can’t think of a more stressful trip. My idea was to do a summer trip south to the Virginia area during the summer and leave it at the end of the summer in storage for a later in the season pick up.

Question #2 Are there reputable trailer storage places that this could provide a solution to my travel logistics?

Planning ahead and looking for advice.

Thanks

#1. Yes, done it many times, just not fun. When we do our annual run to Florida, I just wait for a break in the weather and monitor weather 500 miles south. I can make northern KY in one day and snow is rarely a problem there and south.

The past year or so we leave here in mid-November. Now I don't winterize before hand at all and we just take off snow free.

#2. There are plenty of RV storage places, but I would never make a 1200 mile round trip just to avoid some snow. A little planning can avoid all that, unless you are locked in to a specific departure date. Then just make it an adventure. Camping in a rest area with 2 feet of snow is an adventure :-)

wa8yxm · 08-27-2013, 08:59 AM

I have pulled trailers summer and winter in Michigan..> Just SLOW DOWN and make sure your trailer brakes work well and you understand how to use them.. You might want to buy a trucker dinner on that last line.

Avoid the worst of the weather.

Frankly.. I head to South Carolina before the weather gets that bad.

RanCarr · 08-27-2013, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PierreBois

Question #1 Do people pull their rigs in the snow?

Yes, some do. The first winter we went to FL snow-birding, we left TN in a mix of snow and sleet hauling a 19' TT.

Quote:

I can’t think of a more stressful trip. My idea was to do a summer trip south to the Virginia area during the summer and leave it at the end of the summer in storage for a later in the season pick up.

You have to winterize it in VA as the nights can get below freezing there.

WH347 · 09-24-2014, 08:46 AM

We had a 2007 Winnie Sightseer 29R and left for Florida on Feb 10, 2014. Drove through a snowstorm in southern Indiana all the way to Nashville. Certainly NOT fun. Trucks throwing ice on the windshield, the wipers were in -effective and the washers, forget that, it was way too cold.-8 the evening before. We swore to ourselves, LEAVE IN THE FALL OR NOT AT ALL !.
This summer we traded for a 2014 Keystone Cougar 5er with the polar package that stated that it was good for camping down to 0 degrees. This is due to the entire bottom chassis covered and somewhat insulated.. We will leave around mid November and don't look for us coming back to Indiana much before April. We put over 10,000 miles on our MH and last Feb. was the worst driving experience we had.. BTW, we don't own a truck. We are having it delivered to Florida so all we have to do is hop in the car. :-)

2014 Keystone Cougar 5th wheel 313RLI --Bill & Carol Horton

acstokes · 09-24-2014, 09:02 AM

Quote:

We swore to ourselves, LEAVE IN THE FALL OR NOT AT ALL !.

Agree. We spend our summers in Maine and winters in FL. We'll leave in about 2 weeks before the first hard freeze and before we need to winterize our Air Stream trailer.

The worst part is not so much driving or towing in snow, but the road salt that will absolutely rust the undercarriage of your rig. And the salt will never completely wash off!

clyon51 · 09-24-2014, 05:37 PM

We did the leaving in Nov - Feb from MI to Fl for a few years. Then it turned into no later than Oct 15th.... When we were snowbirds. We left MI Sept 5th this year (never to return) on our FT journey.