I'm petrified

[megan]

We are wanting to see snow so we've planned 9 days traveling from Florida up to NC in search of snow. Our last stop before we head home is in Banner Elk where I figure if it doesn't snow, we can at least visit some of the ski resorts.

We are pulling our 75 Overlander (27') with out Toyota Sequoia 4.7 w 4 wd. The forecast calls for some rain and ice and we are not experienced with windy mountain roads. I can't stop worrying that our family is going to go careening over a cliff. A friend who lives in Banner Elk said the roads even scare her in her car and that she can't imagine towing a trailer through the mountains. The campground is an RV campground, so surely people have made the trip before.

What say you? We have no plans other than to drive, drive, drive. Should we not attempt the trip if it's rainy, snowy or icey? Seems those conditions are inevitable. 😁

Xx-M

[mandolindave]

Or………..you could put on a pair of pants made out of pork chops and get into a lions cage

[Drathaar]

Discretion is the better part of valor. If it's snowy or icy, stay put. Have alternative routes pre picked. Use state DOT websites for highway conditions.

[HiHoAgRV]

You could always use the expertise of a Professional Driver...

If you see an 18 wheeler headed that way, follow it.

"There is no way we can go on that road towing a Trailer!!!!"

Zoom goes the Walmart truck...

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I have driven [towed] in all of the conditions that you mentioned several times; Can I recommended that you do it? No. We left a Northern California Airstream Rally in October [several years ago] and told people that we were headed to South Dakota. They told us that we were crazy, and they were right, but we had a great time going.

[NevadaGeo]

You probably don't want to learn to drive in, on snow, ice, black ice with a trailer behind. To start with you can't see out for your windshield iced over. Then you can't see the road or the edges of the road. Then start about the tow vehicle loosing it. Then the trailer catching up with you on the other side. Best go learn to drive on the frozen stuff with just an old car in a parking lot.

[cwf]

Pack some Kitty Litter for getting 'unstuck'... extra battery power for the Phones... Install a 'locate' app on the phone so we can find and recover the AS...get some of those 'hot-hands' packets from a sporting goods store... you will be able to stave off frostbite if used properly..

If "icy" I would not move... but, I have done it when I HAD to... or at least I thought I had to... if I had a warm, dry camper instead of an ice covered Motorcycle, I might have stayed put!!!

So, you really need to make your own decision... It is all on you.

Go carefully... be 'smart'... and enjoy the adventure.. just don't hurt your AS.. =)

[Silverbee]

Have you thought about just staying in Boone, NC and driving over to the ski resorts (Sugar Mtn. or Beech Mtn.)? They are both about 18-20 miles from Boone, NC. The roads to Boone (US421 and US321) are pretty good and would be cleared pretty quickly if there is snow. Additionally, Boone is a great town. The roads into Banner Elk are a lot less traveled.

The NC mountains can have more snow than other parts of the state, but it rarely snows for days and days in NC, even in the mountains.

[Foiled Again]

There's a big difference between petrified and INTELLIGENT... you're brain screaming IS intelligence!

By all means GO if you want to see snow.

If you expect to see snow, leave the Airstream at home. Reasons:

1. road salt on your aluminum baby?
2. peeing in kitty litter because you've winterized
3. ice on the road and you with 5,000 lbs hanging off your bumper - with tires that don't grip
4. sleeping in the cold airstream and finding out that your furnace sucks the propane tanks dry in 2 days (and you always run out at 3:00 AM)

There are great adventures to be had in your Airstream.
AND there are great adventures to be had with your Airstream in storage!

Paula

[Len n Jeanne]

Right, Paula!

megan, if you live in Florida, do you have experience in driving on ice and snow? Do you know what to do if you go into a skid? If the vehicle in front of you spins out? What about your tow vehicle tires? Are they snow tires or all weather tires "lite" not really designed for driving in several inches of snow?

I learned to drive in the upper Midwest, and used to think nothing about driving in all kinds of weather, till one day when I hit black ice under slush on the Interstate in the mountains and lost control of my car.

Skiers drive in snowy conditions all the time, but I don't think most of them are towing a trailer, and most of them are experienced winter drivers.

I don't know if you'd have to blow out your pipes/winterize your trailer in the southern Appalachians, but it is advised if the daytime temperatures won't get above freezing.

I'd go with Paula's suggestion. Go for the snow if that's what you want, but leave the trailer at home.

Then make sure you have some real weight in the back end of your vehicle. (We prefer sand bags to kitty litter: we don't have a cat, and if you need some grit for traction, the clay pellets can actually dissolve in the snow. Peat moss is a lot lighter than kitty litter for emergency potty stops.) We also travel with a shovel, windshield scraper/brush and the standard emergency stuff. You will need winter-type windshield-washer fluid.

You probably don't want winter tires if you live in Florida, but just drive very slowly in 4WD if it's at all snowy or slick.

Stay safe!

But looking for snow? Actually looking for snow? Sunny Florida sounds so much better to me, this time of year.

[paiceman]

What SilverBee said: Camp one place less likely to get snow and ice on the road and then drive the TV where you want to visit. My recommendation, having driven all kinds of vehicles in all kinds of weather is do not venture out into the weather if it's even remotely questionable as to ICE or snow for the reasons given previously. It's not a contest, it's a vacation relax and enjoy, drive within your known abilities and be safe.

[Lily&Me]

I wouldn't do it.

And, if you're scared, that is reason enough, all by itself.

Not only can your own driving be tricky, there are others on the road. Stay off icy or snowy roads.

If you must see snow, take your vehicle and splurge on a couple of nights in a motel or B&B.

IMO.


Maggie

[Protagonist]

In general terms, don't drive anywhere that you're scared to drive. If you're afraid, you're more likely to be indecisive and tentative in your maneuvers. If you don't know whether to zig or zag— so to speak— you can find yourself getting into trouble you could have avoided had you been more confident in your abilities and familiar with the road conditions.

Unless you've got a terminal illness, or plans to leave the country and never come back, there's always next time. You can always change your plans and go back later to a destination that's outside the limits of your expertise now, but may be well within your capabilities later.

[HowieE]

As a general rule drivers in the south east do not know how to drive in snow or ice. That is not to say that don't know how to drive that is to say they do not have that skill set. If you accept the fact that you do not have it accept the fact that the majority of those driving in the area you are going to don't have it either. Given that why risk it?

[Bill M.]

It is not safe to pull a trailer on snow or ice even on flat ground. The skiers in their little 4wds are not going to allow for the fact that you got the stopping distance of an aircraft carrier on snow and ice. And the WD hitch and sway controls on some hitches can work against you in slick conditions. I like the idea of leaving the trailer somewhere at lower elevations and doing the ski resort part of the trip without it. I guess I would pull it into the mountains if I was not on a tightly fixed schedule and I had time to wait until the roads cleared if it snowed but on a fixed time frame I would keep the trailer well out of the snow areas. A few hundred dollars extra for a motel is a whole lot cheaper than a tow job and a dent or worse.

[Foiled Again]

I walked away from a rollover with my second Airstream - clear weather in summer. Everything happened in a fraction of a second and I'm never going to be absolutely sure whether it was entirely my error, entirely something outside like a sudden high speed crosswind, or some flaw in the road, the tow vehicle, the hitch or the Airstream - or some from each category.

BAD stuff happens, even to people like me who are only semi-evil.

I am a better, more cautious driver. I stay focused or get the hell off the road until I can put myself into "fully focused" mode. I'm over it, but my new reality is that walking away puts me in debt - helping you avoid a wreck helps me pay that debt... so please help!

Oh, and if you can't afford a nice hotel - that happy incident (I did walk away) did cause me to buy a new truck and a very gently used Airstream. (I full time and couldn't wait six months.) You'd puke if you knew how much "depreciation" suddenly turned in REAL MONEY. And I also went to the E/R to get checked out - my insurance covered everything but $1300.

Now doesn't even a pricy hotel sound cheap?

Best wishes, Paula

[perryg114]

HowieE has a point. The other clueless drivers are more of a hazard than the actual hazards. Folks here in Hunstville, AL don't understand you can't go 80MPH 3 feet off someone's bumper when there is ice on the road. I would be patient and wait for news on how the roads are that you will be traveling on. Also road salt is not something you want on the bottom of your trailer.

Perry

[Ron A]

Perry it's nice to hear someone else's is from Huntsville Alabama besides me.


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[xrvr]

Anytime one is afraid on the road, it is time to park it! Common sense. And I mean in any kind of situation, snow or dry. Jim

[TCA and GPO]

Darling girl listen to these wise folks!

annie