Being retired we technically could jump in the RV and travel in mid January if we wanted. But...
Not retired and we do this. Last Saturday we just hastily decided to spend two days at a campsite. The site we chose showed booked online; so we call and they said come on they may find us something
, we found another park that had plenty sites. We picked a site that was direct on the lake. We do that kind of stuff year around.
I've lived in areas of snowy cold winters all my life. Driving is a non-issue with our all-wheel or front wheel drive vehicles. I WILL NOT drive the RV on snow covered/icy roads... which is VERY common in our area. Driving a giant box in cross winds on a snow covered road is not my idea of an enjoyable trip.
If I will drive my SUV in the weather conditions, I can safely drive my RV in the same. The SUV does win out as a daily driver around town, but if I have a trip; the RV wins every time. The picture is our trip to Colorado in 2021 when the state had the worst arctic blast / winter storm in 100 years. Most roads were closed but if Dept of Transportation cleared them for vehicles, we drove. I will say that this is when I will drive 45- 50 mph or slower on the freeways. I
In winter around here It's COLD. It requires LOTS of continuous heat to keep the interior of an uninsulated RV suitably warm. Plenty of stats online showing how long 10 gallons of propane lasts at sub freezing temperatures.
We have never been less than 1/3 tank of Propane. I remember when I first joined this site, everybody and their brother was always creating threads on how to increase propane tank capacity, some carrying extra tanks, adaptors, fittings you name the crap. Last time I bought Propane was 2023, I can find the receipt if necessary. Winter is coming soon, and I am not worried. Yes if I go to Indiana, or Ohio I would top it off before leaving, but with my coach heat, 5500kW generator, and two 1500 watt electric heaters it is not on my worry list.
I really like having our private bathroom in the RV. But having FULL use of it is important. That's not possible without water. And no... not doing composting.
When I drain the water out of my coach (called Winterizing by some), I put my portable Thetford with custom made stand in the shower. Our private bathroom becomes even more private as it is now behind two doors. For Anti Freeze fanatics, it may please some to know that I do pour some anti freeze in the Thetford water tank used for flushing. You see I am not against anti freeze, I just don't need or want it in my fresh water supply lines. For what it is worth we have room temperatures water bottles to use to wash our face and brush teeth. In a pinch we can even take a sponge bath with the water bottles. We have a basin in the bath to collect the gray water that we pour in the portable toilet's cassette
The caveat is a stretch of unusually warmer weather... which is not uncommon. But again making plans for a LOCAL 3 - 4 day trip can be sketchy. Temperature can suddenly drop overnight and then it's drain/flush water... and there goes the private bathroom.
In 5 years, I only drained the freshwater worried about unexpected freeze while on the road once. It was overkill, because the holding tanks still had affluent and had no issues. It got down to 16 degrees.
Now... if the destination was a warm weather area with extended stay planned, GREAT. But we haven't done that yet - but it's probably in future plans!
Finally, we COMPLETELY empty the motorhome - everything inside (including mattress) and all exterior storage compartments. Then it's THOROUGHLY cleaned inside and out, ready for next season. Everything is stored in a dedicated storage building here at home or in our basement.
Prepping the empty RV for travel is no trivial task... it COULD be done in an emergency, but typically takes a full day using checklists.
The above may work well for seasoned veterans like yourself, but for many newbies that read these things they try to replicate and become confused and they may make it a lot harder than it needs to be. I remember 1st joining this site everything was like OMG, I got to do what
Meanwhile the RV takes it's winter nap, batteries in place.