Got stuck in the snow

Just got back from a fantastic ski trip to Mammoth Mountain in the Eastern Sierras. The ski resort got about 15 feet of snow last week and the town of Mammoth Lakes, where the RV park is located, got over 8 feet. We had to run with chains on the bus for over thirty miles to get there. The RV park was pretty well plowed out when we arrived, but the road and campsites were covered with a layer of hard packed snow. No problem - we still have the chains on. Backed into our spot and went about skiing for four fabulous days, during which we got another foot or so of snow. When it came time to leave we learned a hard lesson. The packed snow under the wheels was nearly a foot deep, and we had sat long enough that the tires had sunk into nice tire-shaped indentations. Even with the chains on and tag lifted, we could not drive out over the rut. The tires just spun. We even put sand under them. No good. The indentation was no more than four inches, but that was enough. It took over two hours to dig down to the pavement so we could get out of there. Moral, as everyone else surely knows, "be careful what you park on."

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Bryan, ever have your brakes "freeze up" and not want to release when in deep snow like that?

Having had a bus in conditions like that on more occasions than I can remember I can say that Bryan points out something important to remember and that is the impact of parking on a layer of snow. To add to his comments, if you do find yourself having to park on top of hard packed snow make absolutely certain the spot does not slope sideways. You may be able to level your bus, but if you find yourself stuck and need to work the bus out of the spot it will slide sideways if it cannot roll forward. If you have plenty of open spaces all around you a sideways slide is no big deal, but if that is not the case you could be in trouble.

As to freezing brakes, unless it was raining or the brakes got wet and then froze after parking it is not likely the brakes will freeze, but if you have moisture in your air system, especially the aux system and the suspension you could have problems because the valving is not likely to work real well.

Rodger, I think Jon is right. As long as the air drying system is working well, there should not be a problem. We make multiple ski trips every year and have never had a problem with brakes or suspension valves even though we often drive through sloppy snow or slush just before parking for a cold night. However, in really cold weather the suspension loses air at about 4times the warm weather rate. I have a leak somewhere in my aux system (I suspect generator slide) but have not been able to find it. In LA, the suspension will drop down about 2-3 days after we park. In the mountains it can be as quickly as a few hours. Not sure if it is the altitude or temp or a combination of them. After the suspension has dropped, it seems to take longer to air up while in the mountains, but I never actually timed it.

Does the average person carry chains in there Bus? Wow
I lived with the snow my whole life driving to and from work interstates closed etc etc I dont think I would want to drive my Bus through it I think If I needed chains on my GPS must be broke .)
The skiing probably wasnt half as exciting as the drive there and back,
Good info though !!
yea any side slide would be scary I have seen cars and 18 wheelers slide straight toward the ditch at a dead stop on an interstate ice storm and jut start piling up yikes !!!