Winter Escape from Michigan in March. Ok or not a good idea?

[PCarr]

Due to the timing of my wife's retirement we are planning on heading from Lansing MI to Atlanta Ga and then over to San Antonio to visit family. Our departure date from Michigan is March 1st 2023. We realize the potential for road conditions to be an issue. However, we would like anyone's thoughts or experience about driving/pulling a travel trailer during this time of year. We recently upgraded our towing vehicle to a 2022 GMC Sierra 2500 HD with 4 wheel drive. Any thoughts on such a plan?

[wrvond]

The worst weather you'll encounter will probably be right there at home. I'd probably lean toward going by way of Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and Louisville. The Ann Arbor and Toledo route is just too close to Lake Erie for my comfort. Plus, the mountain passes in Eastern Tennessee, while not terrible, are a bit steeper and windier than middle Tennessee.

[travelin texans]

The key to your travel plan is you're retired, if the weather's bad stay another day or 2, if it takes a week to do a couple normal days worth of driving so be it, enjoy the trip not the miles.

[wiredgeorge]

In San Antonio, the temps will either be in the 90s or single digit. March is kind of a crap shoot but many years March is pretty nice weather.

[jasin1]

I would leave the rv winterized until you get south enough that it’s above freezing at night. When we go to florida we keep it winterized until just above the SC border. I’d keep extra rv antifreeze with you in case the weather dips below freezing wherever you end up. Plans change and problems happen so you don’t want to be caught without a way to winterize quickly if you need to spend the night somewhere cold. Also I bring a heated hose with me for the trip down to florida….I winterize again on my way back up in NC

[JRTJH]

I've tried to find the thread on this forum, but so far I can't locate it. There is/was a member who lived near Detroit, left home in March or early April and hit a patch of black ice in the curve near the mosque in Toledo. He totalled his truck and trailer, on the way to Florida for the rest of the winter. That all happened within 40 or 50 miles of his home.

I've made that same trip almost every year at around the same time and I've never encountered any ice on the road. Of course, we delay our departure from Gaylord until the forcast is for clear roads, clear skies and above freezing daytime temps. We also do NOT tow at night or in bad weather conditions. A couple of years, we've made it as far as Findley, OH and stopped for a couple of days to let the weather clear before heading out again...

What I'm saying, I suppose, is that there are reports of people getting caught in bad weather and losing everything and there are reports of people making the same trip and not having problems. It all depends on the day, the weather, the good fortune and the planning/willingness to "stick it out until"....

Would I plan the trip with a departure in March? Sure, I do it almost every year. Would I be willing to "hole up and wait for better weather?"... HECK YES !!!!!

So, depending on the specific day you leave, March may be a "green light have fun departure", a "yellow light, think seriously about delaying departure" or a "red light, HELL NO, stay home decision"....

[RK1978]

We go south in February and try to time it according to weather forecasts. We leave from WC Indiana and first stop is at Tennessee Georgia state line. Trailer is winterized until then, after that run water as usual. On our way home we look at forecasts to determine when/if we will hit cold weather and blow out water lines and antifreeze drains at whatever the last stop before the cold. I carry a small 120V compressor that is adequate for blowing out water lines. Last year we were lucky and weather was warm all the way home so didn't winterize until trailer was in the shed at home. As for driving, stay on main roads and interstates, go slow and easy and let them pass you. It's good to get out of the cold for a while, no month worse than February in Indiana.
PR
2007 Dodge 3500
2008 Hideout 26