Getting up a hill in snow

[Imnewhere]

Hey there. We'll be taking our new skoolie to an RV park near Tahoe which is covered in snow right now. We just need to get the trailer up a small curved hill to get to our spot but it does have some snow on it. Do you think the bus will do it okay since it's heavy af?
I don't want to get stuck and start sliding down

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

i stay away from snowey areas so just bumping your thread to keep it on top.
but i can say that pre planning is better than what to do when i am stuck.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

what bus do you have? guess your vehicle is trailored?
a lot of variables?
to answer your question?
location and where you are trying to go is key.

[Imnewhere]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

what bus do you have? guess your vehicle is trailored?
a lot of variables?
to answer your question?
location and where you are trying to go is key.

40 ft 5.9 diesel pusher. I have to go up I 80 from Reno just before Truckee. So only 12 Miles or so. There's no snow on the highway but There is a hill inside the RV park that has a bit of snow to get to our space. Only going a few miles an hour up a hill

[rossvtaylor]

My experience is that it doesn't matter that your bus is "heavy af" Depending upon the snow, it might grip fine. But in lots of stuff...especially dense, heavy, wet snow...or snow that's melted a bit...the dual tires on my bus can just spin a nice little smooth spot. Even our Sterling truck, which has dual drive axles and both wheel and axle locks, can just sit there spinning the wheels in some conditions.

[TJones]

Invest in tire chains. One on each outside dual should do it. Practice putting them on before you go. Put them on at a flat spot before the snowy hill. Take them off when you leave the snow. Don't drive faster than around 20 mph. Repeat as necessary for winter camping fun.

Ted

[turf]

i'm stuck.

i went to palooza and came home to snow and cold. the bus did fine in the snow where there had been traffic, even if that traffic was only a plow.

i got stuck in my driveway. maybe there is 8 inches of snow on the ground. i did fine where the other vehicles had been and compacted the snow. as i proceeded to the buses parking pad, i got stuck in some virgin snow that hadnt been compacted down. she's gonna sit for a couple of weeks until that snow melts. i only needed to cross less than 50' of 8-10 inches of snow, and it got stuck as soon as the rear tires hit the deep stuff.

my toyota camry made it through the same snow.

[cadillackid]

busses suck in the snow.. they just do.. unless you put chains on!..
theres a reason the schools close for 6 inches of snow

[cadillackid]

Busses **ARE** fun to to donuts in the snow though

[mmoore6856]

always remember these words..... chains should only be used to get you out of trouble not into and it really does not matter how good a driver you are on snow and ice, what matters is how good all the other drivers around you are. im retired having spent the last 15 years over the road here and canada been thru blizzards that parked me for 4 to 5 days, chained up so many times i cant remember (so i could make it to a parking pot) but got tired of trucks losing control and sliding toward me.

[BarnYardCamp]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

busses suck in the snow.. they just do.. unless you put chains on!..
theres a reason the schools close for 6 inches of snow

They close schools now days when there's 6 snow flakes!

[Imnewhere]

Im going to try and send a picture of the hill, so you can see what I'm talking about. There's just snow that's been driven over and over in some places maybe a 1/2 thick. where they didn't plow well enough

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by TJones

Invest in tire chains. One on each outside dual should do it. Practice putting them on before you go. Put them on at a flat spot before the snowy hill. Take them off when you leave the snow. Don't drive faster than around 20 mph. Repeat as necessary for winter camping fun.

Ted

AND you'll need chains on the trailer as well. At least one axle with brakes.
I'm not sure about Cali when they don't have chain up requirements in force but here in Oregon you are legally required to carry traction devices in snow zones which is pretty much anywhere above 2000 feet. That's even if it's clear roads and no forecast.

[peakbus]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

Busses **ARE** fun to to donuts in the snow though

Agreed!

[peakbus]

I'm guessing that is going to be pretty slick. If temps are right around or above freezing, the snow or ice tends to be quite slippery. Chains would probably be best, unless you could spread gravel or sand before going up.

[aie1969]

For compact snow we use snow socks for our school buses. They are much easier to put on than chains and also much cheaper for the size you need. If it’s Zephyr Cove you’re staying at, they’ll do easily.

And yes they close schools because of snow, but there are a million reasons for that and the bus routes are only one.

[Imnewhere]

Wanted to update and say it did fine up the hill and fine backing into a spot with quite a bit of snow

[Unpluggedone]

Ah snow, my 40’ Skoolie bus was born and raised in that stuff. Never got stuck just take it easy and don’t go off road on purpose. I remember once in a ski resort very large parking lot figuring out how to do a donut, WOW, 8 tons takes forever to start but watch out it never seemed to stop missed some parked cars but not by much, ah to be 21 again though. If your going to spend much time in snow always have a set of chains, even the plastic ones or the new socks, will save your bacon. Keep your heater going and enjoy

[turf]

i got unstuck today.
after about 2 weeks of temps creeping into the 40;s, i finally broke free from being stuck. the truck went forward a few feet and started spinning its wheels again. i reversed out of the ice and parked on some thawed ground.
further away from its parking space but at least its not stuck anymore.