Are we crazy

[busb2]

My wife is trying to talk me into driving our Airtream out to our place in Breckenridge for New Year's Eve. Looking at the live cameras on I 70 the highway is clear with plenty of car and heavy truck traffic. Of course, that can change at any time. Also, the low temps this coming week are 2 and 3 degrees. The AI is winterized at this time but we would need to sleep in it and use the bathroom on the 4 night trip out to Breckenridge. Any one with experience similar to this? Feeling insecure. LOL

[klattu]

Yes

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by busb2

[snip]
Feeling insecure. LOL

This suggestion is meant to be a joke, right?

[73shark]

Assuming that you aren't camping, you can use RV antifreeze for the toilet and bottled water for drinking. Be sure the propane is topped off.

Hopefully during the winterizing process, RV antifreeze was run thru the black/gray water pump and out the hose.

[SteveSueMac]

In addition to the helpful advice you've received so far...😳

No, you're not crazy. You love your Airstream and want to use it.

You say to YOUR PLACE there - are you saying you'd need your Airstream facilities during the trip but not when you get to your place? If so - you could avoid the dewinterizing process by just using it as your rolling home and staying at places where you can use facilities on the way to your destination.

I don't think it would be as fun as you'd expect but it certainly doesn't make you crazy.

Can you say more about what you envision the trip to look like? Folks might have more practical suggestions. Good luck!

[Foiled Again]

alternate potty - homer bucket with kitty litter in it, dispose of at rest stops
OR - heavy duty plastic bag lining the toilet, dispose of at rest stops
OR - do you have nerf bars on your truck? paper towel to keep buttocks from sticking to nerf bars - front and side doors (curbside) opened - brace the last inch of your tailbone on the nerf bar, do what you have to do - clean up and carry on (watch out for drones).

[busb2]

Steve we would be staying in our house in Breckenridge with the AI parked and plugged in. We would be traveling through Alabama, Missippi and Texas on I 20 then up thru Oklahoma on I 35 to Kansas, turning west on I 70 for a last nite in Kansas continuing on 70 to Brekenridge. So, we will be spending 4 nights in RV parks along the way if we do it. Thanks for the suggestions.

[tevake]

The potential delays, problems with the pluming while in very cold weather etc. could end costing more than staying motels along the way.

Driving with out the trailer would much less stressful.

Flying would get you to your place for a longer more relaxed stay.

If you did take the trailer and use the facilities then you would have to winterize there and again once back home.

The pleasure of R Ving can turn into a lot less fun in trying weather.

Lots of considerations only you can sort for yourself.

Does sound a little crazy to me. You did ask.

Cheers Richard

[busb2]

tevake thanks for the input. It is an Airstream Interstate so I would not be towing just driving the thing, but your right I think in your comments about it could turn out to be no fun at all. Thanks again for your response.

[Protagonist]

Personally I feel more comfortable driving my Airstream Interstate cross-country than I do driving my Honda Fit subcompact. The bigger vehicle gives one a bit more… authority, I guess, when dealing with other traffic on the road, so that other traffic is less intimidating. And with all of the traction and stability control devices on a Sprinter van, handling isn't really any worse than a passenger car, either.

My recommendation is, take your Airstream Interstate, but don't use it as an RV, just use it as a van. Keep the van winterized. Take advantage of motels and restaurants along the way. But if overnight lows are going to be in single digits, running the furnace overnight would not be amiss, while you're sleeping in a rented bed and bathing in a rented shower with unlimited hot water and eating food someone else has cooked.

[tevake]

Sure just my two cent. I hadn't realized you are talking about a small motorhome. And have a place to plug it in while there. Casts a different light on it. Do the AIs have a belly pan that helps warm the pluming while the interior heat is keeping the interior from freezing? The tanks and dump valves are exposed on the older classic Mohos.

I do wonder if finding open parks along the way would be a challenge.

Appreciate your adventuresome spirit.

Let us know how your trip goes.

Cheers Richard

[OTRA15]

The Con's vastly outweigh the Pro's in my opinion.

If you go, I hope you will let us all know how it goes . . .

Protagonist has it right IMO -- use the Interstate as a van, and keep it winterized -- that would work if you are comfortable driving it in a blizzard and deep snow -- have good snow tires, chains, etc.. [edit -- and very good towing insurance for high altitude rescues from the ditch]

Heading into high elevations after the first day of winter (today?) -- near the Continental Divide -- one should expect the worst.

If you are banking on the current weather, good forecast, traffic cams showing light traffic etc. etc. (as suggested in your first post), then you are being naive, again in my personal opinion. If you appreciate the full set of risks you are running, then yes, your sense of adventure will be fun to see play out . . .

PS -- check out all the precip. heading in from the west coast, and the storm over Salt Lake City heading east to the Rockies as snow:

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/nat...r-radar?play=1

Good luck!

[Mcrid]

Go for it. Leave the van winterized. Take RV antifreeze with you to use the toilet and take bottled water for other uses. Have antifreeze in the gray tank as well. Watch this video.

Winter Camping: Here We Come!Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog

[UKDUDE]

The weather is all upside down at the moment.... while the east is basking in warmth, the west is having quite a lot of rain and snow. The 10 day forecast indicates a lot of snow for much of the west including Colorado! Are you sure you want to risk it?
On an optimistic note, we had a few inches of snow here in Northern Arizona, and the other morning had to back out the Interstate and up our sleep driveway into the road. I was expecting the wheels to be spinning but it just sailed through with no slip at all.

[unifreck]

We have traveled I-70 in November,December,January, and February; the DOT does a great job on the roads. We've also been I-25 from New Mexico to Montana and Idaho in the winter with our Interstate. The Sprinter handles just fine , just don't be in a big hurry slow down and enjoy the adventure. We sometimes camp at a truck stop if campgrounds are closed for the winter, we've even plugged our ceramic heater into their electricity. When you're going from point A to point B, there is nothing like a warm dry motel for a few hours; take along a 100 foot outdoor extension cord, many motels are happy to let you plug in when you're renting their rooms.
Use your Interstate and enjoy it's benefits and all life's excitement and pleasures.

[Boxster1971]

I made a one week trip to Minnesota last February. We didn't camp as it was just too cold. It never got above freezing during the whole trip and never above zero in Minnesota. We stayed with relatives in Minnesota. The Interstate did fine, it was winterized and we used anti-freeze to flush the toilet when using it on the road.

[mojo]

Better have some decent snow tires or chains with you...new law in effect this year.
Colorado Has New Snow Tire Requirements For Passenger Vehicles – Gear Junkie

Not Carrying Chains on I-70 $50 + $17 surcharge

Not chaining up when the chain law is in effect statewide $500 + $79 surcharge

Blocking a highway as a result of not chaining up $1,000 + $157 surcharge

[Mjgman]

Is it a question of flying vs driving? Or driving the AI vs a passenger car? If it's the latter then I would take the AI, especially if you have a place to plug it in to run the tank heaters...

I would also get a ceramic heater to keep the inside warmer, winterize the holding tanks and macerator pump. Bypass the water heater but I think you will still need to get some anti freeze into it or make sure that you have all the water out of it...

These rigs are meant to be used for all these activities, if they were just fair weather conveyances then they would be useless (at least to me) I like to roam the earth.. If I could get it to float I would take it to Europe 😀...

I like the comfort of having all the amenities it provides while road tripping. With some planning I do believe it could be a fun trip.. But I would make sure to have chains, a shovel etc...

I also like the fact that I'm on my own schedule, not the airlines... If we want to stay or reroute to see something else it's not a big deal just a simple change of direction...

[InterBlog]

Physical comfort aside, the OP's main logistical hurdle in this scenario would seem to be the commode. It sounds like the plumbing system can be left winterized and the Interstate used much like a regular van, as Protag suggested. But if one is staying overnight, at a minimum the toilet still has to function. And that can be managed with antifreeze slugging as has been suggested, but it's far from ideal and it presents its own challenges.

For longer-term consideration: this kind of limitation might eventually be overcome by using waterless toilets. There was a recent trailer thread in which posters spoke in positive terms about some of the latest models (can I find that thread right now? no, because I often have trouble backtracking and locating what I want). Historically they've been an over-hyped disaster, but technology marches on, and with those products I think the current tiny house craze is really going to spur additional improvements. I don't think tiny houses are going away any time soon, as people discover their huge financial upside - they are further legitimizing the idea of living in a small wheeled structure. And the market will respond to that by supplying improved products.

I've already planted this seed in the mind of my husband - in the future, down the road (pun intended), we may be switching over to a composting or incinerating toilet model. It would simplify the plumbing, it would free up space otherwise consumed by the black tank, it would remove a pesky sewage management issue, and it would potentially expand the operational range of the Interstate.

[OTRA15]

A sparkle bucket-ish porta potty with double plastic bags and kitty litter works, without using the toilet. Just stow it carefully with good lid so it can't tip over!