Towing in bad weather?

[Jim Bennett]

Pulling in inclement weather is no problem, as long as necessary precautions are taken. I pull around trailers throughout the winter here, through the snow, ice and wind.

The main trailer I pull is construction trailer which is about 4,500 lb dry, and up to 14,000 lb loaded. It does have good brakes though, and I pull it with a Ford F250 Super Duty.

I have pulled my Escape with my Pilot on ice and snow before a few times too. No troubles, though I do tend to stick to the speed limit.

With these light fiberglass trailer, wind is the biggest issue, especially if slippery. I am extra cautious should there be strong winds.

How much does the trailer weigh? I would be hesitant to tow any trailer on icy roads without brakes, even if it is light. The last thing you need is a trailer pushing you when braking on icy roads.

Another factor is the weight of the tow vehicle. Obviously the heavier, the better, as it will handle the added weight of the trailer better. I would feel better using a pickup in poor conditions, rather than a Subaru.

The big thing, drive with caution, and should there be any terrible conditions, be prepared to stop.

[Glenn Baglo]

[QUOTE=Jim Bennett;352505]
Another factor is the weight of the tow vehicle. Obviously the heavier, the better, as it will handle the added weight of the trailer better. I would feel better using a pickup in poor conditions, rather than a Subaru.

Better yet, put the Subaru in the pickup bed for extra traction.

[glamourpets]

The tow capacirty on our Forester is maximum 1000lbs without trailer brakes. You didn't mention which Subaru you are towing with, but you may be WAY over your vehicle's braking capacity. Now add the potential for bad road conditionns. Is this adventure really a good idea?

[Bill in Pittsburgh]

If snow is a possibility, four good snow or ice treads would be my recommendation. I always try to tell people that "all season" tires are a misnomer anywhere besides Florida and San Diego. All wheel drive allows an automobile to propel itself, but not turn or stop any better than any other like vehicle without AWD. If it is so bad that you can't move without AWD, then maybe you shouldn't.
And of course nothing beats using good common sense along with extreme caution when bad driving conditions prevail.

[Francesca Knowles]

Tell ya what, Bobbie-
If all you need is a place to store the trailer out of the weather, drop it off at my place in Hadlock on your way down from wherever it is (in Canada?) that you're coming from. It can spend the winter with my Trillium, and between 'em, maybe come spring they'll have figured out how to stop whatever leaks there are in your trailer!

Francesca

[Bobbie Mayer]

Thanks, Francesca, but as I said, it is already wet, and it won't dry out here so I'm afraid I'd have a much bigger problem in the spring. It's coming. But I will pick up chains for it and also make sure the load is distributed well. And I do plan to drive on dry pavement. I have almost a two week window if needed. I don't drive in bad weather if I can avoid it, trailer or not- I just needed to know what to watch out for. Right now the prediction has a long stretch of no precip starting New Year's Eve. If that doesn't hold up I'll reconsider.

There would not be any leaks if I had it parked out of the wind but the only out of the wind on my property here is not above the seasonal high tides. Unless the window is leaking- I'm just assuming it is the top but haven't really checked.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by Bobbie Mayer

There would not be any leaks if I had it parked out of the wind but the only out of the wind on my property here is not above the seasonal high tides.

You're killing me here, Bobbie!

What the heck are you, a mermaid????

This has got to be one of the most mysterious threads ever...you're taking a trailer you can't actually use on a hundreds-of-miles trip in the dead of winter, across International Borders into the wasteland of the Siskiyou mountains and beyond....

WHY???????

Unless we must wait for the debut of the novel...

Francesca

[stevebaz]

Good luck with your tow. I would get a shop vac and pull the fiter and suck that sucker dry ASAP. waiting for the moisture to dry on its own will make repair a costly mistake. Carrying chains, loading the trailer toungue heavy are good ideas. I would also carry 2 sacks of play sand on the floor of your Subaru in the back seat area. The balast wont hurt in the snow and will be a traction aid should you need it.
Drive smart and you will be OK.

[Carol H]

[QUOTE=Glenn Baglo;352521]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Another factor is the weight of the tow vehicle. Obviously the heavier, the better, as it will handle the added weight of the trailer better. I would feel better using a pickup in poor conditions, rather than a Subaru.

Better yet, put the Subaru in the pickup bed for extra traction.

yup that's been my experience with pickups. LOL More than a few pick up owners I know will attest that its a very humbling experience to have to abandon their picks ups (of all sizes & makes) on a unplowed mountain pass in the wee hours of the morning and be rescued by a little Subaru Outback in order to get to a ski race on time and thats without chains on the Outback.

The Outbacks curb weigh is about the same as a Toyota Tacoma - in recent years they have actually gone back & forth as to which one out weighs the other & often only differ in curb weight by about a 150lbs depending on the Outback model. The 2013 Outback 3.6 actually outweighs the 2013 regular cab Tacoma's curb weight by 300lbs. Suspect the more equally distribution of weight is what give the Outback the edge in the snow.

Have pulled a trailer twice the weight of the OP's with an Outback through snow storms in both the Cascade's and Siskiyou Passes and never had the trailer do so much as a small wiggle. The car is very capable of towing the trailer very solidly.

The state/type of the tires on the OP's car & trailer would give me a much bigger concern than the weight of the car and its ability to control the trailer due to the cars weight.

Hoping they have a safe trip.

[Carol H]

Sorry I just did a quick look back and see the OP is not using an Outback to tow but it looks like it may be a 2012 Forester? A quick look at the specs reveals the same as above applies regarding vehicle weights. The 2012 Forester may actually have a bit of an edge, all be it 50lbs more than the curb weight of a Toyota Tacoma base model.

I agree with others though that the fact that Subaru requires brakes on trailers over 1000lbs and the OP apparently doesnt have trailer brakes is not a good thing in any driving conditions. Although it has been noted the OP hasn't weighed their trailer so there is a slight chance it doesn't weigh more than a 1000lbs. If it was mine I would weigh the trailer sooner rather than later to be safe.

[Bobbie Mayer]

If the trailer is over 1000 it isn't much over as I carry practically nothing in terms of extras, but I don't want to debate that again. I can take the hills in question at 55-60 in the summer with no problems. The trailer was made without brakes for smaller cars than mine to tow. It's not as if it were modified to remove brakes. Tires have less than 5000 miles on them (tow) and trailer tires will get checked tomorrow. (They could be due for replacing.)

Right now the forecast is for sunny and dry all week so I'm not going to worry; if that changes I'll detour to 101. I did plug the heater in to try to dry out the interior (in case I want to use it or change my mind about taking it.) It isn't very wet so I'm wondering how much was due to residual moisture vaporizing and then condensing again; kind of raining inside. If I can dry it out and then use duct tape to seal off where water might be getting in I might leave it here.

I did check the owner's manual and learned I'm not supposed to use chains at all. It does say something called "Spring chains" may work. I'm not sure what those are and googling hasn't helped, but I'll ask at Les Schwab when I go check the tires on the trailer. (Tow had a tire repaired last week so it's good.) Since chain requirements are usually to use them if towing (when they are required) I wouldn't be able to tow if chains are required unless I find some. (But don't plan to, anyway.)

And I did find out that chains on the trailer are only required if the trailer has brakes.

I'm really more concerned with the logistics- if I did hit a patch of unexpected ice (or slick pavement due to heavy rain as has happened to me on 101) how would I expect the trailer to affect handling? I know braking takes longer with the trailer in tow. What happens if the Anti-lock braking system kicks in ? What about a skid? (I would guess fish-tailing might be worse.)

[Francesca Knowles]

Per ABS and snow/ice:

This guy's not towing, but it's still a pretty educational dashcam video on the subject:

How To Avoid Death When ABS Becomes Useless. - YouTube

Francesca

[Bobbie Mayer]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

Per ABS and snow/ice:

This guy's not towing, but it's still a pretty educational dashcam video on the subject:

How To Avoid Death When ABS Becomes Useless. - YouTube

Francesca

What saves that guy is that he gets behind someone driving slow enough for the adverse road conditions, with chains on, and has to stop speeding.

[Robin G]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

he was wearing shorts! Don't think he planned on it snowing....

See that all the time in CO even in the winter. But it's been known to snow here in the summer, then we are all caught off guard. In MT it was always a shock for our guest when it would snow in July, one year we had about 4 inches, guest in shorts and flip flops with puzzeled looks on their faces..





Bobbie, The best advice I can give about driving, towing in bad weather is to slow down! I have driven thousands of miles through bad weather. Mostly because I have choosen to live where bad weather hits. People get in to big of a hurry to get somewhere and that is when things can go really wrong! And a lil FYI, it isn't as important to be able to tow up a grade, it's more important to be able to control and stop coming down the other side!


As for the chains, I don't know that I would run with them on for long periods, but will tell you. If you get into a storm, they could come in handy just to get you to the next safe place to get off the road. Have a great trip, Enjoy!

[Bobbie Mayer]

I don't drive fast to start with so that's easy.

I'm hoping the Les Schwab people have an answer to chains that are okay on a Forester. The manual says not to use "chains" as there is not room for them in the wheel well. I'd like to at least carry something useful in an emergency. Though, knock on wood, in 30 years of going back and forth to California in December and January, I've never had to put them on. But lots of times it says carry chains, and I've always had them on board (four vehicles worth of unused chains!)

[Darwin Maring]

Snow chains: Your Search Results - JCWhitney

[Donna D.]

Bobbie... I THINK Les Schwab is one of those places if you buy tire chains and don't use them... you can return them for full price. Keep the receipt! Be sure to ask. I just heard the weather report for PDX. Dry through Wednesday night, then rain... and it's going to be down in the 20s at night which means slippery streets until above freezing. Keep and on the weather south. Safe, safe travels and please, please let us know how it goes!

[Bobbie Mayer]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Bobbie... I THINK Les Schwab is one of those places if you buy tire chains and don't use them... you can return them for full price. Keep the receipt! Be sure to ask. I just heard the weather report for PDX. Dry through Wednesday night, then rain... and it's going to be down in the 20s at night which means slippery streets until above freezing. Keep and on the weather south. Safe, safe travels and please, please let us know how it goes!

That's the tricky part- leaving in the morning after the pavement thaws and stopping (or leaving the mountains) before it freezes again. Mornings tend to be when the ice is worst. I'd also like to do all the mountain driving in daylight, which is in short supply these days.

Good to know, hope that's true about Les Schwab, though I still need them to carry around in winter even if I never use them. I did return one set of chains (don't remember to which store) when I traded up to another car- that was a good deal.

I gave up drying the trailer but figured out the only thing really wet is the memory foam topper and the sheet that was on it, so I think if I decide to leave the trailer here I'll just bring that in to dry, and use duct tape to close off where I think the leaking must be. Still considering my options.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Bobbie Mayer

I did check the owner's manual and learned I'm not supposed to use chains at all. It does say something called "Spring chains" may work. I'm not sure what those are and googling hasn't helped, but I'll ask at Les Schwab when I go check the tires on the trailer.

Bobby I believe what Subaru calls Spring Chains are what Les Schwab will call Cable chains with spring rollers - they have a very low profile so your car should have room for them.

There are issues with only putting chains on 2 wheels of an all wheel drive that you should be aware of. My understanding is if you go more than 15 mph and allow either of the two unchained wheels to spin faster than the chained ones you can damage the all wheel drive system. Dont ask me how that works or why - just what I have been told. Been told that its better to chain up all 4 tires on an all wheel drive - but to be honest despite having driven my Subaru many many miles in lots of snow on many a winter week-ends it only really needed to be chained up once for a very short steep road that doesnt appear on any road maps

[Bobbie Mayer]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Bobby I believe what Subaru calls Spring Chains are what Les Schwab will call Cable chains with spring rollers - they have a very low profile so your car should have room for them.

There are issues with only putting chains on 2 wheels of an all wheel drive that you should be aware of. My understanding is if you go more than 15 mph and allow either of the two unchained wheels to spin faster than the chained ones you can damage the all wheel drive system. Dont ask me how that works or why - just what I have been told. Been told that its better to chain up all 4 tires on an all wheel drive - but to be honest despite having driven my Subaru many many miles in lots of snow on many a winter week-ends it only really needed to be chained up once for a very short steep road that doesnt appear on any road maps

Subaru says just to use "chains" on the front wheels. (So says the manual.) They do say to go slowly with the chains.

I was thinking they must mean cable chains. That's what I had for the old Subie though I never used them, either.