I'm thinking of driving our Barth with a toad from Alaska to Oregon sometime this winter and was wondering.

Does anyone have experience driving a class A motor home in severe winter conditions like -20 or -30 degree F temperatures and deep snow in mountain passes? Would you need tire chains for the mountain passes? I know over the road truckers use them all the time but their rigs are setup differently ie; engine in the front and pulling a trailer verses engine in the rear.

Can you run the propane furnaces while driving at hwy speeds or will the flame go out or not light at all?

If extra heat is needed can you run the generator to power an interior electric heater while traveling at hwy speeds? Or isn't it a good idea to run the genset while rolling down the hwy.

What would you guys guess the coldest weather you could rely on the Cummins 8.3L engine heaters to keep the interior of a 34' coach warm (60F)?

Thanks in advance.

Roman

I can suggest some answers;
You can run the generator while driving - It is done all the time to run AC;
If your thermostat is working you can depend on heat. The problem occurs when you shut down and need block heaters to start. Add or check the block heater before you leave;
The propane pilot light on my 93 is electronic so there is no pilot problem. It is true that on some coaches the water heaters and furnaces have pilot lights that could be blown out, but I think you will find yours are electronic.
The engine water heater will not keep the interior warm! They only push warm air through the dash air system. I would just set the furnaces and let them work.
Don't know nuthin about chains.

Some of the western states require you to carry tire chains after the 1st of Nov. if you are going over any passes. In your case since you are so far north i think it would be foolish not to have them. With that said,... I don't have chains for my bus but i leave Wa. in early Oct. headed south.

Roman,

Although I now live in Florida, I spent most of my life in New England and have driven just about everything in just about everything. I once drove a Thomas pusher school bus I bought in upstate NY over Hogback Mountain in the worst Nor-easter the area had seen in years.

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE TIRES!

I repeat, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE TIRES!!

The trouble with many RVs is the tread is designed more for quiet than gription. If you don't have aggressive tires, you will need chains, but chains will only get you going and do little for stopping (70% of stopping is done from your front tires). Be very careful going down steep grades, that is where the trouble will most likely manifest itself.

Now that I've probably scared the be-Jesus out of you, the Thomas was unstoppable. My wife finally phoned me from the chase car (a late model Beetle with snow tires) and said we had to stop. I could have gone all day.

The traction on a DP is incredible, but the front is light and you can easily get too confident and then you will over-steer into a corner (front end won't grip and slides out of the apex). Noooooo fun.

The other consideration will be winterizing your water and waste tanks if you plan to sleep and live in it. Rusty is very expert at this, but I just stay south and let mother nature pass by to the north Thank You very Much!

Good luck.

One more thing, Wet snow is 10 times worse than dry. High moisture snow in warmer conditions will fill your treads and turn your tires into snowballs with little to no traction. Don't travel in wet snow conditions and watch out in changing elevations for the conditions to turn worse sue to the warmer air in lower altitudes.

Jake or engine braking is also a huge advantage in moderating your braking pressure to the rear on major downgrades. Lower your toad brake pressure for slippery conditions to keep it from breaking loose and jackknifing.

Better yet, fly and rent a car - - - kidding, just be careful.

Thanks Tom and Shadow man,

If I do make the trip I'll make sure I have a set of chains and practice putting them on and taking them off. I've put them on pickup trucks a time or two, cars from time to time, my John Deere tractor and even helped with a road grader once but that is the extent of my experience.

My Regency appears to have three heaters besides the dash heater. Granted I have not looked into this heater thing in depth so I could be all wet. But there is a heater with blower motor under the sofa, one in the fresh water tank compartment and one in the bedroom closet under the TV. The fresh water tank compartment also has a 120VAC electric heater controlled by a thermostat.

I have already checked out the engine block heater and it appears to work, at least I heard a sizzling sound when I plugged it in. So I may have to run the genset when we stop for the night to keep the engine warm and maybe run and aux heater. I'm not sure how my defroster will work either, it's a big concern when operating in sub zero weather.

Roman

Great advice Corey, much appreciated.

It is kind of scary thinking about driving out this winter. I driven the Alaska hwy 9 times but only once in the winter and always in a 4 wheel drive vehicle. I'm sure more questions will come to mind as the departure date approaches. Thanks again for your sage advice.

I have seen a debate a while back on one of the bus boards about using jakes on snow or icy roads. Some say that if you do use them that it could cause the rear end to lose traction and slide off of the road. In any event the best thing to do is just go slow and take it easy with no sudden moves. And yes, the wetter the snow the slicker it will be.

Roman
I wish you the best of luck on your winter travel! Our weather in mid-winter tends not to be in the "near freezing" range that is common to elsewhere---- so we hope not to give you much trouble that way. However Yukon, as I'm sure you know, can have temperatures that can be somewhat "brisk"--- this provides snow conditions with good traction but not the temps in which any maintenance is fun. Good, clean, "dry" fuel is a good idea.
we use our furnace while traveling with no problem, but if you are going to use your generater for heaters in compartments etc you may have to consider how it starts in cold temps.


Bud

quote:

Some say that if you do use them that it could cause the rear end to lose traction and slide off of the road. In any event the best thing to do is just go slow and take it easy with no sudden moves.

Couldn't agree more with the go slow advice, but engine braking is a huge safety advantage if you know how to use it. It is true that they only apply compression braking to the drive wheels and therefore you would not use them if you were creeping down a hill on ice (just like putting your gas automatic in neutral). The big advantage comes in checking your speed on long downhill runs where a diesel tends to "run away" due to the lack of any compression braking from the engine. They also will apply braking without affecting the toad or trailer brakes, which can have its advantages. In very slick travel the best advice is to pull over and wait it out or to just creep along where compression braking is ineffective anyway.

The few times I've had the pleasure of breaking loose the drive axle on a bus I was surprised how easy it was to correct. The longer the chassis, the more time and control you have in correcting. One big issue is how much road width you have to play with. A little wiggle is one thing, but a full blown wash out is big trouble when the vehicle is two to three times as long as the road is wide! RV drifting is definitely not going to be a popular sport.

Essentially, you see commercial buses driving in most all weather and our DPs are more or less the same configuration, so it can be done. Any present or former commercial bus drivers from the north out there that can comment further?

The heaters under the couch and the closet in the hallway are propane furnaces. The thermostats are on the bedroom wall and in the little door above the pantry. They are electronic ignition - fill propane, set and forget. The dash and the small heater under the drawer stack are hot water from the engine.The front dash one has a temp slider but the rear does not. You adjust the temp by the speed of the fans (one on the dash and the other labeled AUX HEAT). The heater in the water compartment is thermostatically set for 39 degrees but is ac so it only works when plugged in or on the generator. There is a flexible hose under the couch that connects the inside air to the compartment just to let some heat to flow into the area while driving. If you run the generator this heater channels warmed air to all the basement storage bins. Little ducts connect them.

And you will have winterized your water system with plumbing antifreeze long before you leave? We will be heading for AZ around mid December and carry a case of bottled water for drinking and a couple of gallon jugs of water for washing and the toilet until we de-winterize after a day or two southbound.
We find an electric mattress warmer and electric blankets are handy too.
Don
Good luck and have a safe trip.
Don

Make sure you carry an extra fuel filter and put anti gel in your diesel. Also be careful setting your parking brakes as they can freeze up or you can freeze to the ground (warm tires melt the snow, then overnight the melted snow freezes). Slush can spray up on your coach and freeze to solid big clumps. Be careful foolowing big trucks, the snow on the roof can unthaw and hit you as an avalanche. I would just leave the genset running all times.
Get some silver bubble wrap type material to insulate your windows and stuff something in the ceiling vents. Don't forget the kitchen vent. I would drain all water and just carry some jugs. BTW some states i.e. WA OR and CA will give you a ticket if you get stuck without chains. At least yoy have the choice to wait out a snowstorm. Stop at Liard Hot Springs to warm up.

oh yeah, carry a bag or two of kitty litter and a shovel.

Drain your air tanks in above freezing weather and check for water in fuel on your separator before freezing temps hit. This goes for all northerners.

Thanks to all for your tips and tricks on winter travel. I'm always impressed with the tremendous support from this forum. Some very valid points were brought up.

I never considered checking the glow plugs on the genset since it always starts just fine. But I have only used it in warm weather, so have no idea if it will even start in below zero temperatures. But will test it long before I leave.

Also I didn't know you could get a ticket in some states if you get stuck and have no chains when you are supposed to. It's clear I've led a sheltered life here in the far North.

Freezing of the brake lines and other brake related hardware is always a concern so I plan to have one of the truck shops in Anchorage inspect them before I leave.

All my water tanks will be winterized of course and I do plan on taking it slow. After all I'll be retired then so time won't be an issue.

Thanks again for the all the advice.

Roman