Too Late? - Vancouver, BC to New Mexico

[MarkinVan]

My wife has recently retired and we planning to take our first long trip, both time & distance.

We in Vancouver BC planning to head down to New Mexico. I had our E19 serviced at Escape and we are good to go.

Well - all was good and suddenly it seems a cold front is coming.

Our Trailer does not have any of the spray on foam and a sudden cold front has hit the West and wondering if we should be taking on this adventure or is too late.

Any advise on travel but avoiding frozen pipes?

 

[oldwave]

You can always travel with anti freeze in the pipes and dewinterize after arrival. We did that on a couple of below freezing trips with our Bigfoot last winter driving from Portland to Ohio. Carry bottled water. We used the campground facilities. It’s fairly quick. Just bypass the hot water tank and make sure it’s drained. The manual spells that out pretty well. We also did that in the dead of winter in Ohio to Florida in 2019.
Also carry a small space heater for when you have campground power, it will save your propane

 

[splitting_lanes]

If you travel on roads near the coast, and stay in campgrounds near the coast, I think you’ll stay above freezing except maybe in your own neighborhood.

 

[brroberts]

Another option which some don’t like, but I have used a couple of times, and it has worked well: run the furnace while driving if temps are in the low 20’s or colder.

Typically you can run during the day if it’s the high 20’sF with the movement. Hit the water pump a couple of times to move water in the pipes. Then run the furnace at camp at night. We’ve traveled this way many times.

 

[rubicon327]

Another option which some don’t like, but I have used a couple of times, and it has worked well: run the furnace while driving if temps are in the low 20’s or colder.

Yup. I can't attest to how the newer, finicky Dometic DFSAD furnaces handle this but the older Atwood 8012-II does just fine. We've done it a few times. This was actually recommended to someone by Reace many years ago and posted on the forum.

 

[brroberts]

My finicky furnace was fine for awhile due to solar and truck charging while driving. It doesn’t pull what the fridge does. I’ve since modified my furnace to make it less finicky. So, from my experience, even some of the finicky furnaces can do this. You would probably want to check yours ahead of time given the potential ramifications of a totally frozen plumbing system.

 

[Fiberglass Fan]

Not too late at all. I frequently do not leave until January from the island. Can sometimes get by without anti freeze just empty water lines and tanks. But if forecast from Seattle on down is serious freezing then anti freeze in the system is a good idea. Just travel fast and use bottled water. I normally overnight in Tulalip and then Seven Feathers, Oregon.

Your biggest concern re snow is Grants Pass, Siskiyou Mountains. You can always hold up at Seven Feathers if the pass is snowing. They have full hook up sites so you can stay for awhile. Once over the Siskiyous you’re good to go.

 

[EscapeBoulder]

Also... If the temperature is above freezing during the day, and not too much below freezing overnight, you shouldn't have a problem. Ice in your frig's freezer (which is probably set near 0 degs F (I don't know what that is in C), takes several hours to freeze. So a temperature even down to the mid-20's F overnight with above freezing during the day shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Ron in BC]

That's been our milk run for years. Never had a problem and we usually leave in Jan. This is the worst weather that we've had. No spray on insulation of the water lines, plugged in North of Portland and no issues.

Our go-to strategy, acknowledging that Siskiyou Pass can be shut down temporarily due to a heavy snowfall, is to stop at Rogue River. Nice campground, if the weather's good, get up and be in sunny CA. the next day. Unexpected heavy snow, wait a day or so until it's good to go. It's a major transportation corridor and they get it open pretty quickly. Never had to wait at Rogue River.

The earliest that we can leave this year is mid-Dec. No worries.

Enjoy

Ron

 

[DT6]

.I normally overnight in Tulalip and then Seven Feathers, Oregon.

Plus 1 regarding Tulalip. We stayed there a few nights and it is easy to drive into and park your trailer. Staff is very helpful.

Any fellow Escape owners who want to stop in Salem, OR on your way down, let me know. We have a perfect spot to overnight - dead end street - on one side of the house, and very easy to get to with minimal turns and just 3mi off of I-5. There is a Costco at our exit off I-5 (Kubler Ave).

 

[Ron in BC]

Any fellow Escape owners who want to stop in Salem, OR on your way down, let me know. We have a perfect spot to overnight - dead end street - on one side of the house,

Sounds like a good spot for anyone interested in making tracks South.

Our go-to spot is French Prairie rest stop. 3 areas and the one furthest away from I-5 works well for us. We know that when we reach it we're done with Seattle and Portland traffic, the rest is clear sailing.

One spot that we liked stopping at was the Riverside shopping mall in Eugene. Quiet lot with security, they checked you in and told you that you were good for two nights. Quiet and right beside the river. Perfect and free. Unfortunately the last time we pulled in they said that those days are over. Understandable these days with so many folks in Nomad land.

Ron

 

[MarkinVan]

Thank you, that good to know. We are traveling with a spare sail switch. Earlier the plan was to go east before we went south, more inland because we driven I-5 a number of times and the Coast was our wait out the snow if needed trip home at the end of November.

 

[MarkinVan]

So with the freezing concerns cleared up and the cold front being clear weather, this is the route we are thinking of taking to New Mexico with the Coast route for the way home in late November.

Anyone driven the Northern Nevada Route?

 

[DT6]

We drove most of that route last February. We stayed on I-5 through N. California and then cut over to Reno from there. We stayed on the route you show until we turned off to Las Vegas where we had a RV camp reservation. I think you will find it is a great route to drive. Some traffic, but not crowded and sometimes you won't see other cars at all. A lot of straight sections of the highway with long sight views. My only concern would be to check for snowfall. This highway won't get cleared as fast as say I-5.

 

[clayhouse]

My wife has recently retired and we planning to take our first long trip, both time & distance.

We in Vancouver BC planning to head down to New Mexico. I had our E19 serviced at Escape and we are good to go.

Well - all was good and suddenly it seems a cold front is coming.

Our Trailer does not have any of the spray on foam and a sudden cold front has hit the West and wondering if we should be taking on this adventure or is too late.

Any advise on travel but avoiding frozen pipes?

In BC if you are in the south it usually does not stay cold for long this time of year but you can keep the heat on and keep the Cabnet door open so the water pump stays warm don’t fill the tank till you get to the warmer weather which will not take long. The other option is to winterized and wait till you get further south to use water . We made that trip even winter camped on Vancouver Island in December we were fine we were winterized used a water jug for water and still used our grey tank we have a composting toilet.

 

[clayhouse]

So with the freezing concerns cleared up and the cold front being clear weather, this is the route we are thinking of taking to New Mexico with the Coast route for the way home in late November.

Anyone driven the Northern Nevada Route?

We did there was snow in December there are some mountains but as I said above we were winterized ! It was gorgeous.

 

[Chama]

We drove a good part of that route via St. George UT & Reno in June a couple of years ago so we did not have any weather concerns you may have. I will say that the eastern Oregon and northern Nevada have some long and lonesome roads so pay attention to your fuel range. Gas stations are few and far between in those areas. Steens Mountain in Oregon is a spectacular, remote place. Unfortunately, the road around the mountain was closed due to snow when we were there so you can guess they get lots of snow during winter.
Chama (a river in New Mexico)

 

[Drives1937]

Not a problem with the cold in southern Arizona. I am just outside of Phoenix in Mesa. If I I can be of any help let me know. We plan on getting out this winter around the southern part of the state. Come May we will head north to BC for the Rally.
Ken & Sandy

 

[Mike G]

Have a great time! Remember to turn left at Albuquerque.

 

[Buddy-ESC]

Have a great time! Remember to turn left at Albuquerque.

Best advice ever, LOL, that's all folks!