Any other passes along I-5 that I should be concerned about? I have a set of tire chains that I will pack with me. Also should I just stay on these major routes that I mentioned, or is there better bypass routes around the big cities while pulling such a long trailer?
This is off the topic, but can any Canadians or Americans on here recommend a cell service plan for the three months while we are there? What companies, how to go about it? We are on KOODO here and they charge $14.00 a day extra to use their services in the U.S.A. Thanks again!
You may already know about these but take 405 around downtown Seattle and 205 around downtown Portland. If you can, try to avoid Seattle during rush hours if you are traveling through on a weekday.
Regarding chains, we just got back on our second annual trip from eastern Washington to sunnier climes in November and December. Both trips involved winter mountain passes in Idaho and Montana. If you hit a "chains required" mountain pass, chains for only the tow vehicle aren't going to cut it. You'll need chains for the trailer also (al least one axle). If you are driving down a mountain pass on icy roads, chains on only the tow vehicle might be worse than no chains at all. You'll be waving bye, bye to your RV as it passes you over the edge of the road.
IMO, chains are primarily for stopping, not for going. The worst case for not going is blocking some traffic and waiting for a tow, or someone with chains. The worst case for not stopping is the hospital, the morgue, or the courtroom with your insurance company. Ok, I'm a safety nerd. While the probabilities of a problem are very low, the consequences are very high.
We carry chains for all four tires on the RV and for the front and outside rear wheels of the truck (dually). We were lucky because chains from 30 years of previous trucks wound up fitting both RV and TV. I've not yet had to chain up because we watch the weather and plan flexibility to avoid snow storms on passes. However, we have run into potential black ice in fog. The weather forecast showed sunny. It was a short section of a straight road over Malad Pass in Idaho - no curves. We slowed down and kept the speed very steady. There was very little traffic so that helped.
I'd pick up a set of chains for one axle on the RV if I were you.
