Driving Prius from Oregon to Michigan in winter?

I live in Maine. We have found that a Prius handles beautifully in snow and when driving across the frozen rivers and lakes. I would recommend that as soon as you encounter snow, you should stop in the next city that you pass and swap out your tires for studded winter tires. After that you will be fine.

We have two sets of tires mounted on rims, for each of our Priuses. One set of summer tires and one set of studded winter tires.

 

If the weather is foul, or if you prefer driving in daylight, consider allowing a few more days.

That time of year, 4 days eastbound on the route won't quite have 35 hours of total daylight. And if the road surface conditions are not bare and dry, you won't be driving the speeds under which that time estimate is made.

Through Idaho, I-84 through the south will certainly be less mountainous than I-90 through the north. But you will pay for this with more mountains through eastern Oregon than Washington. Others will have to chime in on other segments.

The Prius will be fine. The various state highway departments will close the roads before it is unable to handle them.

The questions will be around your winter driving skills and comfort, and the suitability of your tires.

I don't know if those are compatible, if anything delays the trip there. While federal law nominally protects you for this trip, some localities were infamous for giving it the one-fingered salute, and applying their state or city laws anyway. I don't know what the situation is now, after that significant court decision a decade ago.

 

You are looking at a trip that is going to take however long it takes in winter weather.

Internalize that now for best results later. You really, really need to preserve flexibility in that schedule for safety's sake.

Now, once you've let that sink in...

Driving in snow isn't actually hard, but it can be frustrating and tedious. From a prep standpoint, tires, tires, tires. And some spare winter clothes, water & food in the car.

When actually driving? the best advice I can offer is to do one at a time: accelerate, turn, or brake. Do not attempt to combine while on slippery or unknown surfaces. Slow down before starting the turn. Delay your resumption of speed until the turn is complete.

Making your driving technique that deliberate and modular as it were can really save your bacon.

All that said? I'd urge you to ship that stuff. Yup, even that stuff. You can buy insurance for shipping all of those items. There is basically no form of auto insurance that would cover the loss or theft of your valuable property contained within your car.

Leave hauling that stuff to the pros, pay something for insurance on it and enjoy a much lower-risk journey, is my advice.

Either way, good luck!

 

You will be just fine. You can plan on minimal, if any, snow. If a snow storm is predicted, wait a day or two. If you somehow get surprised, just SLOW DOWN, drive like grandma and/or get off the road. The only "secret" to driving in snow and ice is slowing down and gently braking far ahead of time. And did I mention slowing down?

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Lots of good advice there. I drove 300 miles across Iowa in an ice storm. The ditches looked like a giant kid had dumped out his whole collection of toy cars. It took FOR. EVER!!! We got to Sioux City with 18" of fresh snow on the ground and the next morning, it was 30 below zero. So, winter in the midwest can be interesting.

But the slow and steady advice and the stay flexible advice are sure good to remember. Most of my travels across Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming in the winter were smooth sailing. Just check ahead for storms, especially in Wyoming. I-80 in WY can sometimes make Iowa look like a tropical island. LOL!

 

Just to add-

@hina it is quite possible that you'll hit 4 days of fantastic weather and this trip will be a piece of cake.

The whole trick is in watching the weather and not committing to a particular schedule.

 

In fact, it's more than likely.

 

"In fact, it's more than likely. "

Indeed, but make sure you know the weather situation for I-80 thru Wyoming, especially around Elk Mountain (toward Laramie); it's a high spot in an otherwise very good road, and I've seen semis turned upside down there in rough weather. In very rough weather, I-80 might be closed, as well. Just check ahead, and you'll be fine.

 

I have never driven west of Mississippi, but have done plenty of drive from midwest to east coast during wintertime in my younger days. Those interstates are very well taken care of even in inclement weather. Nov or even early Dec is not major snow season yet on most part of the US, just watch out the weather forecast and like advised above, give yourself extra days of leeway in case you hit bad weather. I drove my Gen3 Prius without snow tires for two winters in NE. None of them were long-distance trips, but the car handled fine in light snow that is promptly plowed.

If you are moving to Michigan, you will have to learn how to drive on the snowy roads soon or later. Good luck.

 

Most homeowners insurance will cover theft of property from your car. Check with your agent.

 

Currently live in Oregon and moved out here from West MI. I drove that exact route round trip to visit OR and then drove it again to move out here.

My TL/DR is bring in your car snow chains, a bright flashlight, warm items to wear, emergency food, flares, a container of gas if you have the room, phone bank charger, snow scraper, water, and gum (for the ear popping with altitude changes).

The route you selected is definitely your best option. My brother drove the more northern route when he moved out here and encountered snow during the summer. I-80 through Wyoming can be dangerous if high winds are happening and snow is possible as the temperature was getting below freezing in October when I moved out here. That being said, this is a main route for semi trucks so the route is well traveled. In high winds, the trucks often pull over to hunker down. Seeing a tipped semi is not uncommon if their load was too light and the winds were too much. Watch the weather forecast. If you’re going to drive a UHaul through there watch the weather even more closely. They’ve had those big construction site warning signs set-up giving updates if the wind is bad when I’ve driven through.

Plan to hit that stretch of I-80 from Ogden, UT to Cheyenne, WY during the day. Stop at Sapp Bros in Cheyenne to refuel. They had heated toilet seats when I rolled through and it was a welcome moment. Where are you moving from in Oregon? When I make the trip again, I plan to drive most of ID in the daylight. There are really long, dark, flat stretches that were tedious in the dark. Watch for deer and elk. Anticipate that your daylight will be a little bit shorter as you head directly east on I-84.

I just purchased my Prius, so I don’t have experience making this drive in it. However, I’ve driven through with an old Honda and a Ford Focus with a tank that holds approx. 13 gallons. Map out your gas stations. There was nothing more frightening then running low up on I-84 (and again through the Gorge at 2am on a different trip). From what I’ve read about the Prius, anticipate that your fuel efficiency may be lower than normal due to the cold and the elevation changes.

From CO to MI, there’s really not too much to worry about if you’re watching the weather forecast and keeping your eyes open for black ice. Iowa and NE can get some snow storms. Honestly, every winter I visit my family in MI from beginning of December until the middle and we always miss out on seeing more than an inch or two of snow. I hope you have safe travels and I hope my rambling helps a little bit!

 

I understand things there can go sideways quickly. I heard a story from friends who were driving through Wyoming in a rented car that they didn't know all the features of, including its handy "I lock the doors after 30 seconds if you forget" feature.

So one beautiful clear cold night on the road, away from any light pollution, they saw such a glorious night sky that they pulled off on the side and got out of the car to stand there holding each other and shivering and marveling at the sky.

And heard, behind them, "kerchunk".

They were rescued by a passing motorist.

It was a matter of some hours for there to be a passing motorist.

 

I used to cross WY with college friends back in the day. Christmas break was usually an adventure. I'd ride with my best friend, Rick, who had a '66 Impala, and lived in the Nebraska panhandle. We were on our way from his place to a school in Montana we were thinking about applying to. Most roads in WY were closed due to a major snowstorm, but we found one road going more or less in our direction that was open. It was a sheet of ice with one-foot high drifts at every utility pole, but it was open. We stopped for gas around midnight and someone there said the road was just like that for miles and miles except that there was one one big drift about 6' high across the road. A plow had cut one lane through it, but it was kind of an S curved path.

We went on with Rick's girlfriend Lois driving. He was sleeping in the back seat with his sister and I was riding shotgun. Letting Lois. drive wasn't a good idea since she wasn't very experienced at driving in the snow. Suddenly, there was that drift looming in the mid-sixties headlights. I said, "Easy on the brakes, Lo-" and that's all I got out before the car started sliding. We went up the side of the drift just to the right side of the cutout, the back of the car swung left, and we dropped into that cutout neat as you please.

Rick woke up and had kittens right on the spot. I thought he was gonna blow a gasket. We all got out and saw that the front bumper was tight against one side and the back was tight against the other side. We wondered when a semi would come along and obliterate all of us. Rick tried rocking the car back & forth but the tires just spun on the ice. (No chains.)

When I saw how easily the tires spun I had an idea. I told Rick to spin the tires and then I put my feet into the drift and just pushed the back of the car sideways and spun it around in the right direction. Piece of cake!! We piled back in and hit the road. This time Rick drove.

That following summer, his radiator sprang a leak. What a surprise!!

 

Second the suggestions to bring chains, emergency supplies (food, water, blankets, gas); watch out for deer and wildlife; if the Prius has been maintained it should be fine. Last time I drove this route, from Seattle to Chicago in late December, I took 90 across. If you have flexibility in your schedule, you can time it between storm systems; I took four days and was driving just in front of a system that was dumping snow, but the roads were all clear in front of it.

When you get to Michigan, the first time it snows find a large, empty, unplowed parking lot and slide the car around; drive in circles and S curves, try and break traction, panic brake so you can feel the ABS, and find out where the tires' limits are and what it feels like to drive around and through them and have the traction control go crazy. Follow racing advice: steer into a skid; "in a spin, both feet in" (one foot in on the Prius which, of course, lacks a clutch pedal). My father, who learned to drive in the snow growing up in Idaho, taught us "keep your wheels pointed where you want the car to go" and would deliberately start sliding his RWD truck to demonstrate. Get some practice in and you will feel much more comfortable driving in the snow, know how to handle you car if you do end up sliding, and perhaps most importantly, have a good idea how much traction you have in the snow/ice so you can stay below those limits on the road.

Since tires' traction changes as they wear, do this every year; I have a few go-to lots that I hit at the first snowfall every winter. The time to learn to drive in snow is not when your car is unexpectedly sliding on the street and about to go in a ditch or worse, hit an obstacle or another car.

That was good thinking!

 

While I agree with most of those supplies, I must seriously question the spare fuel inside the passenger cabin. In an accident, that becomes a serious fire hazard. In case of a crash that requires extrication, expect to burn to death before any first responders arrive.

And it isn't like this route has super-long stretches without fuel. Anyone reasonably diligent about not letting the tank run low, especially in winter, should NOT have a fuel range issue. Stations are spaced to suit old-era cars with much shorter fuel ranges. And current motorcycles too. Leave those bombs spare fuel cans to people who habitually run out. If concerned about a particular route, then just refill at the next available opportunity every time the gauge reaches one-half. Or maybe even a bar or two earlier.

The longest no-fuel-service section I've ever seen on an Interstate Highway is this, a bit off of OP's planned route:

A small amount of look-ahead planning is much safer than carrying spare fuel in the same space as humans.

As for snow chains, I'd pay attention to tire condition and suitability first. Lack of chains can usually be addressed by 'camping out' in a motel for a few days until conditions improve, which will still be necessary even in significantly less harsh conditions for inexperienced winter drivers or/and vehicles with inadequate tires.

 

You bring up a very valid point about the fuel. I ran into the unfortunate circumstance that one of the gas stations in the mountains was closed. Calling ahead could have remedied this, but that was 8 years ago and I was much more fly by the seat of my pants then. Yes, the distances are for more old-timey cars, but the weight of passengers/belongings for moving/temperature/elevation are going to play a part here. I stand by my advice to plan gas stations and confirm they’re open.

The stretches between stations is about that of between hotels/motels. I absolutely believe snow chains are a good idea ALONG with winter tires that are in good condition. OP shouldn’t invest in studded tires as they cannot be used in most of the state and the state has very specific requirements for their use. Chains are legal in MI if the roads are entirely iced over. They particularly come in handy in the UP and state highways that run west to east.

OP, typically later in the winter season is when I personally would be more concerned about snow and ice.

 

If you make it a habit of filling up when the tank is half way, you shouldn't run into any problems
running out of fuel. Half a tank should get you at least 200 miles. Even at 1/4 you'll go 100 or more miles.

 

I agree with making sure you always have around five gallons of fuel to spare and carrying it in the car's fuel tank.

Perhaps of interest regarding tire chains, it seems all of the states now also recognize AutoSocks (the state-by-state regulations on that page don't show up at all unless you let it run JavaScript).

 

I don't see much point in calling ahead. Just pay attention to any regional weather news and state highway department road alerts and condition reports.

Looking at GasBuddy.com, I'm not seeing anywhere along Idaho-Utah-Wyoming-Nebraska, where a driver doesn't have numerous fuel station choices in any barely-over-100-mile span. Well, if a local power failure shuts down both stations in Snowville Utah, then it is a bit over 100 miles from Heyburn ID to Tremonton UT. There are a few other stretches with only a handful of intermediate stations over a similar distance.

If a Prius driver is diligent about not going below the half tank mark before looking to fuel up at the next available station, a reasonable rule for remote winter driving, it will still take over 200 miles of having every fuel station closed, before being in trouble. That means complete closure of two consecutive relatively major refueling communities, in addition to every isolated stand-alone station in between. Absent a major regional power failure (and no stations having backup power), that doesn't really happen on Interstate Highway routes anymore. Especially when driving during daytime only, in good conditions only, a very reasonable guide for drivers uncomfortable with winter conditions.

Those other factors you mention aren't going to cut MPG all that much. (Elevation actually helps, with its reduced air drag.) External racks or cargo carriers will hurt significantly, very especially at 70-80-ish mph speeds, but any sane winter neophyte won't be going anywhere near those speeds when the roads are not bare and dry.

When the roads are entirely iced over, inexperienced winter drivers should be camping out in a motel, waiting for improved conditions, not trying to proceed. Even with chains.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a set of chains. But these are just for relatively short sections of severely compromised roads. OP has a long way to drive, and probably shouldn't be driving in the much longer not-as-compromised conditions where chains really are not appropriate, as in they will be destroyed before getting to the end of those conditions. So I won't push for them. Proper tires for the less severe conditions will get him much farther.