question for snowbirds I'm traveling north

[Yosemitebob]

I figure I need to ask the ones that live at least part of the time in the cold. I'm going north in December to Washington, my question, should I travel empty of water. I know it can get below freezing while traveling so what do you do about your water lines. I want water when I get to a campground, so do I blow out the lines for traveling and only access water when I stop?

As elsewhere on the forum I have been told not to travel with heat on. I plan on driving 8 to 10 hours a day.

[theeyres]

Need to know more...from where to where? If you are traveling up I-5 then I wouldn't worry much about it. Chances are you would pass through any possible freezing areas (Siskiyou Mountains) real fast and not have to time for water to freeze. If you are going to Eastern Washington, or going up 97 or others places east, that's another story.

[Bluewater]

I travel here in the north without water in the tank. I carry a six gallon tank and use that for cooking and dishes then a gallon jug in the bathroom for flushing. That much water has lasted for the trip thru the cold areas.

[Festus2]

If I remember correctly, you are headed to the Tri-Cities area which is in the southeast central part of WA. Most of your trip will probably involve driving north along I-5 so in that stretch, you should be okay. It won't be until you start to head east along Interstate 84 that the temperatures will start to drop.

To be on the safe side, I would follow the suggestion by Bluewater. Winterize your lines, wait til you get to your destination and see what the weather and temps are like in that area. It is the night time temperatures that you need to be most concerned about --- can get pretty cold in that part of WA.

I hope you can find a campground that is still open in the winter that has hookups, showers, etc., so you will be able to use their facilities. Water may not be available as many CG's shut their water off for the winter. You can always get by with purchasing containers of water or take empty containers and fill them from the washrooms for doing dishes.

[Yosemitebob]

Thank you all, yes Festus2, I'm the one heading to the Tri Cities. To play it safe, I will go empty from Northern California on, until I get to Pasco as I will have hook ups there and will leave heat on all the time. while there. I leave the middle of December.

[crash]

Stay safe and have a great time

[Yosemitebob]

I have returned, seen freezing fog, snow, more freezing fog and cold temps while we were there. The weather was good to us both going (in the low 40's) and coming back (again lowest it got over Grants Pass was 37) I figure we were lucky. I would have no problem living there, so long as I can join all the other snowbirds during the winter