Towing a trailer in the snow

[Mike Dickinson]

Good Morning! I am in the process of buying a new Jayco trailer. Has anyone done any towing in the snow? Any advice?
Last Friday my 1 1/2-hour trip from Buffalo NY to Jamestown NY took 4 hours. Lake effect snow in Orchard Park. If anyone watch the Buffalo Bills Game. You saw what can happen.
Thanks Mike Dickinson

[OnTheGo]

I would wait until the roads were clear and it wasn't snowing just to get it home from the dealer.

If the trip has to be made, my advise would be to go slow and be careful. That accounts for you, but not the other drivers. And all this assumes you're properly hitched and everythings working correctly.

Safety first.

[Glamper64]

Do they make winter tires for RV's
Seriously, I would avoid snow and the possibility of someone spinning out into your new trailer...at least wait for a favorable forecast...pretty sure you're not going camping anytime soon
PS make sure you have insurance and road side assistance in place

[Kim Gass]

Don't do anything sudden. No jerky stops or starts or hard braking. Remember to keep everything straight. Plan for way increased stop distance. If there is ice underneath be wary of cross winds.

Snow here is a given. We would get rid of our travel trailer if we decided never to drive in snow. It is mandatory just to get out of our home area to drive on snow. The unit is in our driveway with some snow on it now.

Now if you are faced with lake effect snow that is another animal. Get off the road.
The biggest danger is visibility not traction.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

Don't do anything sudden. No jerky stops or starts or hard braking. Remember to keep everything straight. Plan for way increased stop distance. If there is ice underneath be wary of cross winds.

Snow here is a given. We would get rid of our travel trailer if we decided never to drive in snow. It is mandatory just to get out of our home area to drive on snow. The unit is in our driveway with some snow on it now.

Now if you are faced with lake effect snow that is another animal. Get off the road.
The biggest danger is visibility not traction.

The biggest danger is other traffic, mostly semi’s going in both directions. Roads become rutted with snow tracks and one mistake by anyone becomes a disaster. Waiting a day or two for roads to be cleared might be the smartest move any drivers makes. Problem is few do it and others pay the price.

[craigav]

One consideration not mentioned here is that someone recently (don't remember when but not long ago) shared a post regarding tons of rust under their RV and it was believed that what happened is the RV was delivered to the dealer during a time of icy\snow roads that had been treated (salted?) and the rust wasn't discovered until later in the year after a lot of rust occured. Everything looked pretty bad in the images, nuts, bolts, ground wires, etc.

I would be sure to take whatever measures possible to give the underside a good rinsing after traveling any roads that may have been treated with salt (or whatever they use) after you bring it home. ~CA

[Mike Dickinson]

Originally Posted by Glamper64

Do they make winter tires for RV's
Seriously, I would avoid snow and the possibility of someone spinning out into your new trailer...at least wait for a favorable forecast...pretty sure you're not going camping anytime soon
PS make sure you have insurance and road side assistance in place

Nice answer. I needed a good laugh. Thanks
Mike Dickinson

[Kim Gass]

Semis don't leave ruts in the snow; they blow it off. The biggest danger is visibility. Traffic isnt usually an issue as most opt not to travel Again 6 feet of snow is another horse ( yes we have always lived in a snow area) We just missed 108 inches in Oswego back in the sixties. We got merely 66 inches in one day. No trailer involved though.
I would consider traffic if on something like the 401 where two inches causes many accidents !

One danger which is somewhat unexpected is plows throwing snow and ice and encased debris into oncoming traffic over Jersery barriers. this typically occurs days after a storm. Having your windshield smashed by snow debris is something you do not want at 50 mph. Yes it happened in Massachusetts.

And do remember ice sheets are not nice.. That is a huge problem if you are in semi traffic. In some states ice has to be cleared of vehicle roofs and in some truck trailers are exempt.

Yes we will be making an annual trip to Florida in February and snow is a given.Our tenth trip in snow season. We do go slow and admire the scenery.

This sounds odd but our favorite snow trip was across Texas from San Antonio to Big Bend in Feb 2021. Just amazing scenery. Very slow.

[Jayhawk 29]

When purchasing and towing any rv this time of year and in areas of treated roads, keep in mind that normally salt is part of the mix that must or should be hosed off from the underside framing, springs and or running gear. These units are not known for the best coatings and steel materials these days. So you may notice rust beginning to take hold later on. Don't ask em how i know.;<}

[Jagiven]

I have never towed my camper in snow. But many other trailers. Take it easy, slow down we'll inadvance, know where the manual override is for you trailer brakes. If the trailer feels squirrelly, apply some trailer brakes manually. Don't touch the truck brakes. This will help straighten you out.

With our new 5ver on order, I plan to winter camp.

[CAG]

Trucks don't leave ruts in the snow; they blow it off

.



I suggest you drive I-40 from the NM line to Kingman AZ during one of our north country blizzards. Snow packs, trucks make tracks in that snow and it becomes one rutted strip for 200 or more miles. It is also much the same from Santa Rosa NM to Tijeras Canyon. Once you get in those ruts it is more than dangerous trying to get out or pass anything on those roads. Because speed has dropped due to visibility and conditions trucks are no longer "blowing" snow off of the road, and heavy, wet snow does not "blow" it packs.

The other part of that situation is that two lanes are cut to one because one is snow packed and icy, and the other is rutted and you can't get out of it to use the other lane anyway. It now becomes one long line of traffic going only as fast as the slowest vehicle, which is usually some RVer who is terrified of the traffic.


Having driven that numerous times (see my previous post on weather) I can in all honesty say, you are mistaken.

[spoon059]

I wouldn't take it home in the snow. You'll get salt spray underneath and RVs aren't known for quality finish. I wouldn't want my camper rusting out. If it's that cold and snowy, you probably won't be camping right now anyways. Let the dealer hold it on their lot until spring.

[us71na]

Originally Posted by Mike Dickinson

Good Morning! I am in the process of buying a new Jayco trailer. Has anyone done any towing in the snow? Any advice?
Last Friday my 1 1/2-hour trip from Buffalo NY to Jamestown NY took 4 hours. Lake effect snow in Orchard Park. If anyone watch the Buffalo Bills Game. You saw what can happen.
Thanks Mike Dickinson

Don't tow when there is snow on the roads or the possibility of ice. You could end up wrecking your new trailer and your tow vehicle. Not worth the risk, wait for better weather.

[FISTEP]

Originally Posted by Mike Dickinson

GHas anyone done any towing in the snow? Any advice?

Yes, we got a dusting last year on our Boxing Day camping trip. 😀 The truck and trailer both have snow rated tires but trailers slide all over the place in the snow.

It's best to wait for the plows to do their work before you proceed. We took it easy and it was fine once the highway was plowed, but the salt will do a number on the frame if you don't rince it very well. That is not an option in freezing temperatures but it warmed up when we got home.

All I can say is be super careful!

[FISTEP]

Actually, let me update that. The trailer tires are Goodyear Wrangler, so called "off-road " tires. I don't know what the snow rating is but i don't think that it matters a great deal as the trailer is going to slide in the snow anyway.

[muckinfuss]

If it's new as in Dealership new, have them deliver the 1 1/2 hour trip to you. So what if it costs extra? Any problems and their resolution fall to them, not you. If they beg off, that should tell you right there to not try it yourself.

[us71na]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

Don't do anything sudden. No jerky stops or starts or hard braking. Remember to keep everything straight. Plan for way increased stop distance. If there is ice underneath be wary of cross winds.

Snow here is a given. We would get rid of our travel trailer if we decided never to drive in snow. It is mandatory just to get out of our home area to drive on snow. The unit is in our driveway with some snow on it now.

Now if you are faced with lake effect snow that is another animal. Get off the road.
The biggest danger is visibility not traction.

One very important thing to consider is that most modern vehicles have anti-lock braking systems. These braking systems monitor wheel rotations and will adjust braking to prevent lock up. There are no wheel rotation sensors or braking pressure relief valves for your trailer brakes. Most likely the trailer brakes would lock up and the trailer will skid out of control even with light braking.

[Mike Dickinson]

Well Here's the update on towing in the snow. Went trailer shopping in Erie Pa and Buffalo NY. Both dealers had a Jayco Flight SLX 175BH. Which we liked. We tried to use a 2007 Feather 19H as a trade in. Erie was not interested in that old of a trailer (Almost 20 years) with water damage. Buffalo would take it, with a low trade in value. Better than nothing. We got a good end of season deal.
Went home. Jamestown NY, to discuss this deal. Decided to get it.
Called the dealer to accept the deal. This was on the Thanksgiving week. With it being end of the month. They wanted us to complete the paperwork. WE drove up on Friday and completed our deal. On the way home (on Black Friday). We ran into lake effect snowstorm. Four hours later we got back to Jamestown.
Waited for the loan to go through. With all the snow. We did not get back to Buffalo until Saturday 12/7/24. We did the swap out and came home. Roads were clearer than our last trip. Now we have to reload all the stuff from our old trailer. One more day and we are done. Now we can dream about camping "next" year

[GarlicDude]

Tip of the cap to Kim Gass from a coastal California boy. My worst experience pulling a trailer was a torrential down pour in New Mexico, visibility was maybe 6 ft. in front of the truck.

[JFlightRisk]

Originally Posted by Mike Dickinson

Four hours later we got back to Jamestown.

Wow! four hour trip that would normally be about 1 1/2 hours, you were in the thick of a typical lake effect storm. One of the 1700 reasons I moved to Newark from the east side of Lake Ontario. Right now, we have maybe 5 or 6 inches on the ground. Watertown and Tug Hill are over 5 feet and counting.

Congratulations on the new TT, and many happy camping memories to come!