Ice Storm

[Hardingfv32]

Question about the current ice storm (2/22). Does this storm make it almost impossible to tow to COTA, Austin, TX from the East or North? I have lived in CA my whole life and have no experience with ice storms.

Brian

[Peter Olivola]

Question about the current ice storm (2/22). Does this storm make it almost impossible to tow to COTA, Austin, TX from the East or North? I have lived in CA my whole life and have no experience with ice storms.

Brian

It depends.

How long does the precip last.

How low does the temperature go down after the storm ends.

How long does it take for temps to return to normal.

How many stupid drivers are on the road.

[bassracer]

This may not be directly helpful. But whatever the condition I would not advise learning about ice storms while towing. Snow is an inconvenience ranging from slow down to stuck, but ice goes straight to dangerous and it doesn’t take much.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

This may not be directly helpful. But whatever the condition I would not advise learning about ice storms while towing. Snow is an inconvenience ranging from slow down to stuck, but ice goes straight to dangerous and it doesn’t take much.

Here in So Cal our freeways grind to a halt when any amount of moisture falls from the sky.
How could an ice storm be any different?

[BorkRacing]

Same as how do you drive a race car faster...experience.
I grew up in Buffalo, driving in snow is second nature.
I went to school in Pittsburgh so dancing across an ice covered road is a an acquired skill but doable.
But I do agree those cities where it rarely snow the traffic is more the problem than the weather.

[chrisw52]

Here in So Cal our freeways grind to a halt when any amount of moisture falls from the sky.
How could an ice storm be any different?

the difference is when the traffic slows in the ice storm, you may or may not be able to stop...

[R. Pare]

[EricP]

FWIW: I love driving in snow but I wouldn’t at all right now. Quite a lot of ice here.

I always advocate for going out in this kind of stuff when you don’t have to go anywhere to learn. Find an empty parking lot and screw around. But if you are coming through Indiana, Ohio, etc, I wouldn’t today…and likely not tomorrow.

[BorkRacing]

I don't get too worried till they say we need to wear socks. Haven't needed them yet.

[pacratt]

How could an ice storm be any different?

YOU could be the cause of the gridlock when your trailer decides it wants to be in front of you.
Glenn

[Pi_guy]

Some of us just raise the zipper.
But I am one of those people that spends 10 to 15 hours a week on ice.
I get cheers from the kids when I slide the Zamboni.

I find ice is fun you need to practice.

But all those towing snowmobiles can't be wrong

[reidhazelton]

Have you actually lived if you haven't felt the rear-end of an RV start to step out while pulling a trailer?

[E1pix]

Oh, man, now you’ve done it...

I used to tow from time to time for my longtime friend/client/karting sponsor Bob Schader. He had a Dodge van with a 460 and an open trailer on my first tow, and called me in early December of 1980 to pick up a new acquisition in the Bay area. I was barely 20.

My wife and I came to his house in Boulder just past dark. There was a Chevy Dually out front with a 38-foot Chaparral trailer attached. I looked at Sandy and said, “Man, I hope this isn’t what we’re towing!” It was, and we departed with empty trailer and white knuckles, headlong into a storm, to pick up all of Werner Erhard’s Super Vee team, comprised of two Argo chassis and engines, a spare tub, and a spare engine. Apparently EST paid well.

Bob suggested skipping I-70 and taking 80 instead. Somewhere west of Laramie, the highway started looking glazed. We’d made a pass sometime earlier and were still in the left lane as a semi was but a half-mile further on.

The semi ahead started fishtailing and I said something like “What’s his problem?” I suddenly felt a strange pull in my ass, like something coming unglued. Not sure why I looked at the mirror, but the trailer looked like it was 45 degrees left and going lefter (sic). It was probably 20 degrees, but I digress and use the amateur climbing analogy of “the route is straight up” when it’s actually 40 degrees.

I momentarily panicked, overall clueless what to do, but tried something, anything. I delicately applied throttle while turning increasingly right. We went all the way from the left lane to the right shoulder before it straightened out, then carefully went back left to not plow off the right shoulder. Damn, it worked!

That trip brought other permanent memories, the worst of which was turning on the radio near Hanksville, Utah on a backroad return leg, and hearing John Lennon had been killed.

So far as delving into ice storm towing, all I will say after decades of travel is “Fear not, this, too shall pass.”


I hesitate posting the method without understanding if other factors or good-old luck saved the day, so am asking... does anyone know if my method is what’s trained in Super Vee Hauling School? (wink)

I don’t want this popping into someone’s head as “the method” if I am indeed incorrect.


Editing to clarify a Chevy Dually is a pickup truck, not a RV.

[TimH]

So far as delving into ice storm towing, all I will say after decades of travel is “Fear not, this, too shall pass.”

But be sure to pack fresh underwear.

[t walgamuth]

When I was in college in Muncie In. I drove a 47 GMC pusher transit bus. Once when alone in it I decided to get the rear end hung out to see what it felt like. HA! It just kept sliding until it was tired of it no matter what I did with that huge steering wheel.

I imagine my dual rear wheel Winnebago would about do the same thing.

[billtebbutt]

With respect to the previous posters, my strong advice is ignore all the comments about driving in snow/ice, etc. None of that matters. Towing in snow/ice vs driving in snow/ice is as chalk is to cheese (that's not great diction, but you get the "drift"?).

The only relevant opinions on the subject, in my view) are those from folks who have spent a lot of time towing in snow/ice, not driving in it. I have spent countless hours driving in the stuff over the last 40 years, but my towing experience in snow and ice is relatively limited (read: unintentional) and frankly quite scary despite a lot of experience driving in snow/ice.

Everything is different when you are towing in snow and ice. Even the crown of the road comes in to play and not in a positive way. Accelerating, braking, steering - all of these inputs are or can be followed by VERY different outputs (both directional and in terms of speed/suddenness) when you are towing vs driving in ice/snow. Forgetting for a second that you could get hurt, is it worth trashing the truck/trailer/race car or heaven forbid, another motorist? (As an aside, do you even have 4 snow tires on the tow vehicle?)......

Just my two cents. I'd avoid doing it if you could. Or find a driver that has the required experience.

cheers,
BT

PS. Yeah, I know, how do you get experience without getting out there and doing it right? And maybe if the reason is really really important, you go out and do it with an abundance of caution. But, in my mind a race weekend isn't one of those times.

[TedV]

Driving or towing on ice is different with winter tires than with highway ribbed summer tires. Also, most other folks on the road in the south are on bald May-pop tires. You could be doing fine and be crashed out by some random SUV.

[Chris Livengood]

I drove about 6 hours today for my day job. Lot's of rain, some ice. Overall not too bad, the roads have been worse in Pennsylvania recently.

One time I was in Houston for work and my wife and I decided to check out to Austin for a few days. We got a rental and hit the road. There was an ice storm but we didn't think much of it.

I have never seen so many crashes in my life. It was complete pandemonium. Mile after mile of people stuck in the ditch, over embankments, spun out on straight sections of road. Meanwhile my wife and I were just cruising along, we made it to Austin without issue. Long story short, I don't think I'd want to be in Texas during another ice storm. The road conditions were so-so, the drivers were far worse.

My father and I use to tow south for the winter and traveled in a lot of snow while towing. Our Winnebego's were downright scary in snow. That was like 20 years ago and I'm still scared.

[Robins Ken]

Keep driving if you think sliding a 5th wheel and dually with no control is fun. You pray and hope you don't hit anything. Mine was at 1am, January, only 2 hours from home. Parked it right there. Kingston,Ontario. Storm continued the next day.

[problemchild]

If you have a race to get to, the weather is irrelevant. Load up and go!

If you are a race car driver, you are supposed to have a skillset that will let you deal with whatever comes up.

[Lotus7]

friends of mine are loading in at COTA as I type this, setting up the canopy in 28 degree weather;

forecast 'high' tomorrow is apparently 38

[Brian Graham]

I have made plenty of trips towing to races in less than ideal weather. That included one trip to CMP (kershaw) where traffic was bad and got slower and slower until we came to a stop, for 11 hours........ we had just fueled up and grabbed dinner so we were ok to sit in an idling truck on I 81 for a night of stories and napping. I woke up at one point and it was like a parking lot with some cars now sitting there with no drivers around but a path now available to weave in and out of lanes to escape. I always have a 4WD truck and that has made some of these trips possible. I tend to drive through the night and stop when I need to for a brief rest and take advantage of the scarce traffic. Just recently I made a trip that once I got up to the Pittsburgh area it was getting rough, and anyone who has done the run across I 90 in a storm can tell you that is a nasty bit of road. From Gainsville GA to at 1130am to home (just north of Toronto) by 430am, the key factor was not much traffic, if I had stopped for the night I would have been in rotten weather and lots of traffic, you then are at the mercy of everyone else. Plan your route, check upcoming weather, make sure your rig is ready, carry whatever supplies you may need if things go sideways, no pun intended! There have been times when I look at the weather and just decide to stay home, sometimes that is the best option.

Stay safe!

Brian.

[EACIII]

Wish my GPS had a weather overlay. I once drove home from Pittsburgh in a snow storm in my Vett. Snow all the way. When I got home looked at the weather. There was one band of snow that I managed to stay in the whole time. If I had just stopped for a meal for and hour it would have pasted. But no way for me to know that at the time.

But it sure was fun passing all the Jeeps riding in the left lane (because it a Jeep and we go in snow!!) on the right with the Vett.

Ed

[DaveW]

We towed back from the Runoffs at Road Atlanta a couple of times in late November ('70's) when there was black ice at night. The roads thru the mountains were almost impassible, especially coming out from a sheltered cut into a crosswind. The only way we were able to continue on w/o crashing was to drive with the RH wheels on the shoulder which was a rough gravelly surface vs the road which was polished smooth. Certainly made those trips interesting.

BTW, I guess it's the craziness in me, but I actually enjoyed the challenge...I still enjoy driving/towing in difficult conditions - it's sorta like racing and makes trips less boring.

[Lee Johnson]

We towed back from the Runoffs at Road Atlanta a couple of times in late November ('70's) when there was black ice at night. The roads thru the mountains were almost impassible, especially coming out from a sheltered cut into a crosswind. The only way we were able to continue on w/o crashing was to drive with the RH wheels on the shoulder which was a rough gravelly surface vs the road which was polished smooth. Certainly made those trips interesting.

BTW, I guess it's the craziness in me, but I actually enjoyed the challenge...I still enjoy driving/towing in difficult conditions - it's sorta like racing and makes trips less boring.

I also recall a challenging tow home to Colorado from the Road Atlanta Runoffs (was it November 1977 or '78?).

Snowing & blowing started somewhere around Amarillo, Texas as I recall. Several hours later, we rounded a curve on the North (downhill) side of Raton Pass (I-25) to find an 18-wheeler jackknifed across both North-bound traffic lanes and shoulders. Fortunately I had just enough slow-motion time and distance to gracefully exit onto the run-away truck ramp! Soft-packed gravel never looked so good.

Lee

[jrh3]

Or throw another log on the fire and snuggle up to your spouse…..

[Steve Davis]

World news last night showed a 12-16 HOUR traffic jam headed into TX from the east. SO GLAD I decided to stay HOME this weekend.

I ran Texas World a number of years back. The weekend was COLD and misty/sleety/rainy. The carb iced up every time we cranked it. After a few sessions on track, I found a plastic GoJo jug.. the large dispenser size and hung it inverted over the carb air filter. The car ran GREAT after that . Saved that jug in the trailer for several years, but never needed it again.

Steve