Salt on roads today?

[HeadWest]

I'm hoping to find out if there is much salt residue still on the roads in northern Michigan, the UP and Minnesota. We are heading back the Montana from mid Michigan and thinking about taking the northern route instead of going around Chicago. Rather not expose our trailer to salt and hoping things are pretty clear by now. Thanks!

[r carl]

That residue is corrosive. Heavy rain washes it away.

[dznf0g]

IIRC, from my time living in Michigan, once you get north of ...perhaps 3/4 of the way up the LP, they use sand instead of salt. I don;t recall salt used in the UP much at all.

I believe it will be all washed away by now anyway. I know there was some snow about 2 weeks ago, but I think all rain since.

[IanPoulin]

Just pass through a truck wash during your travels, IMO. I would be more concerned when its first laid down; if nuggets could get kicked up and ping through the clearcoat. Residue personally I would be fine with letting it lay on and just wash it off at the next truck stop wash.

[ckottum]

We wouldn't take our Airstream through it either for concerns about salt blown into areas that cannot be rinsed clean, especially the underbody and frame.

Just arrived Minnesota a few days ago, the salt is gone.

cheryl

[HeadWest]

Thanks everyone. Heading out shortly and will be heading north to head west. Looking forward to being back in the UP.

[Ray Eklund]

When buying our 2014, there was a perfect 25 foot 2015 Flying Cloud with Solar for our Boondocking preference of camping. Why, did we not purchase this one?

It had been towed from Jackson Center, Ohio during the winter and the salt was not washed off of it when delivered to Denver, Colorado. The rust and corrosion of copper and iron was severe. The exterior openings to the refrigerator and furnace fittings were corroded.

My wife and I seriously discussed if we could buy it... cheap enough... could we reverse the corrosion and obvious future problems the salt had already left on this beautiful trailer. NOTHING would tempt us was the decision. Why buy new when this trailer already had weathered worse than the 8 years we used our 23 footer 2006 Safari.

IF you even find yourself driving on wet WINTER TREATED roads on the way home, take the tow vehicle and trailer to a car wash and buy $20 of quarters. Wash and rinse EVERYTHING before parking the trailer for the next trip. Even if salt or other chemicals were not encountered... you will have a clean Airstream, Tow Vehicle and never miss the $20 investment that could turn itself into thousands of dollars of immediate depreciation due to laziness.

Since Cheryl made it home without a problem, this is for the rest of us, myself included, to avoid wet chemically treated roads during the winter or ice covered over passes. We waited out a couple of snow storms in Colorado before leaving Las Vegas, Nevada this winter... Since we are both retired, in a way, it sure relieved our driving through these conditions, while sitting outside a restaurant having breakfast and hot coffee in Boulder City, Nevada. It was a tough decision, but someone had to do it. Calling friends back home and in Buffalo, New York making our bad situation known... was well worth the wait.