"'69 427/425" (dnh77)
11/10/2016 at 10:31 • Filed to: None

Merry Folk of Opposite Lock,

I am thinking about a road trip out to LA from Eastern Ohio in early December. I am planning on a northerly route headed west and a southerly route coming back home with both trips taking about a week of somewhat wandering days.

Westbound: Ohio to Wisconsin to Minneapolis to Yellowstone to Vegas to LA.

Eastbound: LA to New Orleans via Texas and on to Ohio.

My question to you out there is am I setting myself up for a brutal trip from Minneapolis to Yellowstone, through North Dakota and Montana, and then down to Vegas through Salt Lake in December? I will be driving a 4x4 with good tires but have never been out that way, let alone in early winter. Is the weather a crap shoot that time of year? I am assuming that the DOTs are much better prepared for the heavy snow and I will be able to keep moving, is that the case? I would appreciate any information/thoughts/sites which I should see that you all could pass along.

Thanks, David

DISCUSSION (7)

EL_ULY > '69 427/425
11/10/2016 at 10:37

Texas alone will beat your ass. It will be brutal but have your camera ready for some beautiful American sights

WRXasaurus > '69 427/425
11/10/2016 at 12:25

Protip: have good tires, and listen to local radio stations if only for the weather reports. When they say get off the roads they mean it. Most off the deaths on ND highways in the winter are from drunks or overdriving the road conditions. My brother is an emergency firefighter along interstate 29 ( north - south through Fargo to Grand Forks and Canada) majority of winter calls are in near white out conditions. So if you can’t see the road, pull off on the next on-ramp or if it starts to get bad, most towns have emergency beds they set up at schools or city halls during the worst storms.

nermal > '69 427/425
11/10/2016 at 18:03

What exactly is the the 4x4 you will be driving, and what kinda tires?

A Jeep with good, newer snowflake rated tires is no where close to a Subaru with good summer tires.

'69 427/425 > WRXasaurus
11/10/2016 at 22:26

The radio suggestion is a good point. It would be way too easy to get sidetracked on XM and not take advantage of the good information on local conditions from local stations.

'69 427/425 > nermal
11/10/2016 at 22:32

I have a 2010 F-150 crew cab with Wrangler all terrain tires. Those aren’t exactly big knobbies, but they do great in the 6" - 1' snowfalls we get here in Ohio a couple times per winter. I would love to drive my Jeep but a ‘47 Willys with a SBC is not exactly a long distance cruiser, although I am sure it would be damned fun once I got it out there.

'69 427/425 > EL_ULY
11/10/2016 at 22:34

I am looking forward to doing a bit of wandering and just looking at whatever passes by the window. The Canon will be beside me on the passenger seat and ready to go at all times. Too often we spend our vacations driving at 80 mph from here to there and we don’t appreciate the in between. I hope to do some appreciating on this trip.

EL_ULY > '69 427/425
11/10/2016 at 23:11

Good luck on the trip buddy. It really sounds mega epic! Be safe and report back :]