? for those who drive an RV from Northeast in Dec

[Mac and Us]

I have been to Disney many times. I used to fly and usually only went during the spring time.

We now have a motorhome. We drove down this past April and loved driving the motorhome. We took I91, I84, I81, I66 to rt 17, I95 to I4. We liked the route because it bypassed all the heavy traffic areas such as Washington DC, etc.

We will be driving down to Disney for xmas and will be leaving on 12/15. We are due to check in on 12/17 and will check out on 12/30.

My questions are:
1) Do you think the traffic will be heavy on the trip down? We will be leaving about 10 days before Christmas. We are expecting heavy traffic on the way back.

2) How is the weather in NY, PA, VA during this time of year? Should we expect snow? We had some wet snow yesterday which got me thinking about driving a motorhome in the snow.

Anyone ever drive from the northeast during this time of year? If so, any thoughts, experiences, advice that you would like to share.

thanks,

 

[Laura_Lewis]

We have the same concerns as we are driving down Nov 22 from the Chicago suburbs. We aren't returning until Dec 9. A little nervous about driving our motorhome if we get snow and ice.

 

[Mac and Us]

how funny! My maiden name is Lewis

Hopefully someone will help address our concerns.

 

[RocklandRVers]

We went in December 2003 and left 2 days before Christmas. We also took an alternate from the traditional I-95. We took I-78 to I-81 to I-77 (NC) to I-26 (SC) and back onto I95. It was a bit longer, but traffic down was not bad. On the way home we hit very heavy traffic (Christmas Eve) around Baltimore. Instead of getting home in the afternoon, we pulled in right after midnight! While we were down in Florida, there was a snow storm in the Northeast.

In December 2004, we stayed through Christmas Day and then came home. We took an alternate way home then. We got on US 301 in Virginia and followed it through the DelMarVa area through Annapolis and got back onto I-95 in Del. The route was again longer but we almost had the road to ourselves.

Snow is always a concern with our motorhome as we tow a cargo trailer with us. I have yet to get into a snow storm with the combo and don't want to.

 

[FWCamper]

We have driven our RV down I95 from the NE every Christmas and have never hit snow. I personally hate the rain.

 

[Mac and Us]

thank you rocklandrvers and fwcamper.

As far as snow and traffic are concerned I think we will be fine on the way down. We are leaving 12/15. I guess I was just curious as to when PA and VA get snow and what to expect for traffic. I plan to monitor weather.com the week before leaving.

rocklandrvers--We have a 30ft Class A motorhome. I monitor the open roads forum (RV forum) and several CT, MA, and NY RVers have mentioned the I81-I77-to I26 route. It sounds beautiful. However, several people have mentioned the steep grades/mountains on that route which is why we will probably avoid that route for this trip. We may go that route when we leave for our Mar/Apr trip.

This time we have 4 full days (leaving FT. W on 12/30) to get home. I hope we don't hit too much traffic coming home but if we do we'll deal with it.

 

[always quiet]

The last two times we drove to WDW, towing a camper, we hit snow and ice both times!! Once was in Feb and the other the second week of Dec. I have to say, even the year of the horrible ice storm, 95 was really clear and easy to use. Not too much traffic to speak of. I don't think you'll have any problems if you decide to take it down. Don't forget to avoid the tunnels....I HATE the Francis Scott Key bridge!!

Have a great time!! We're heading down in 5 weeks and 2 days (but heck, who's counting!! )

 

[HuckFinn]

We live in Maryland, north of DC, and have made this trip several times in December and January. We never had a problem until last year. We left Maryland the day after Christmas. We hit light snow around Petersburg, VA. What would have normally been a 3 hour drive from the VA border to the SC border took about 7 hours. There was probably no more than 3 inches of snow, but there was nothing done to clear the roads. I grew up in this area of NC, and I know that they have no snow-clearing equipment at all. It just isn't economical for them to be prepared for this kind of weather, since it doesn't happen that often.

The point is, weather between December and March can cause problems for driving. The ice storms are even worse than the snow storms. What you might consider a small risk by northeastern standards could be worse than you would expect from Virginia southward. But don't let that stop you. It's a great time to travel south and we really enjoy it. Just be aware that you might have some delays.

 

[elastigirlfan]

Hi. We live in PA and we can get snow in Dec. It just depends on the year and what kind of winter we are having. We can have snow as early as Nov until April (April would be unusual) but it can sometimes still be cold enough to get some. Good luck with your planning.

 

[princessariel]

We have taken a motorhome several times over the years, the second week in December.

We don't take the routes you mentioned, we're a little more west than you. We take I79 , 19, 77, 26, 95 & 4. We've seen all sorts of weather. We ran into a terrible ice storm several years ago. It was on our way home and there were cars stopped along side of the road starting way down in northern Georgia. We just kept putting along. Most of the snow we've run into was in PA or West V. But Dec. isn't the only time of year for snowstorms in PA. Last March we hit a blizzard in WV mountains that was the worst. Then on the way home about 60 miles from home, we had white outs for a good 30 miles. It was hair raising. But that won't stop us from going again. Love WDW in December!

 

[dgaston]

We like the 84-81-77-26-95-4 route that's already been mentioned. That said we tow a popup to WDW, and back in 2/00 I drove 95 through NJ during a bad snowstorm. We left an evening early and when we got to the turn off for 295 near Fort Dix we were able to stop for a while at a rest stop. When we're driving DH always checks the Weather Channel and plans for the lowest snow route. Do prefer away from 95 -- it's just easier and prettier driving.