Desert conditions in winter?

[Troutbum]

I traveled alot in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado all summer and into October this year and was most surprised by the common 25 degree nightly temperatures in the mountains and even snow in August. Also surprising was having my van caked full of dust all the time while traveling the dirt roads. The fine dust poured in the rear hatch somehow and I had to clean my glasses every 15 minutes to see. The Colorado dust is especially fine like baby powder. Also interesting was that in 3 months I barely saw a drop of rain.

So what are the conditions like in the winter in the desert like Quartzite for the RTR?
I read the wind can be severe and weather temps fluctuate alot from day to nite.

 

[bullfrog]

The desert has it all, just not all the years are the same. We have had snow,rain,wind and sunny skies. Usually with warm temps during the day and cool temps for sleeping (50's day and 30's night) so bring your heater. It is usually not warm enough for me to be comfortable without a hoodie or jacket but a lot depends on the wind chill and the fact I'm used to 100 plus degrees all summer. Dust is normal. Get a roll of cheap duct tape and seal off the back when on dirt roads.

 

[hugemoth]

It can get cold here around the Quartzsite area. A couple years ago we had two nights of 16 degrees F and have had a dusting of snow near Bouse. A heater is a good thing to have.

 

[Qxxx]

2 winters ago it got down to 24F when I was in Q, last year around freezing at nights. Had a fair amount of wind and rain. A couple of nights I got up and turned the van into the wind to lessen rocking. Q is at 900' elevation and it may be warmer in Yuma at 140' or Salton Sea.

 

[highdesertranger]

it's the desert and it's winter. come prepared for anything. highdesertranger

 

[MrNoodly]

Some years it's wet and cold, others it's dry and pleasant.

The past few days a storm front has been dumping rain (and snow above 3,000) in the southwest. The ten-day forecast for Quartzsite says some cloudiness with highs in the mid to upper 60s and nights in the mid 40s.

 

[maki2]

Sounds just like the summer time weather in Seattle
Of course today on the 5th of December in Seattle the high is 51 and the low is 47. It will be much the same for the next couple of weeks.

 

[LERCA]

People I’ve noticed are surprised that both the ocean and the desert get very cold at night.
I mean it’s not Northern MN but it’s not summer weather. We get Europeans in the winter wearing tank tops and we’re in fleece so maybe it’s relative. But yeah, I’d still have some flannel, fleece and a nice winter coat. Walmart sells nice fleece pajama bottoms.

 

[Qxxx]

People I’ve noticed are surprised that both the ocean and the desert get very cold at night.

I surmise that people from back east are more used to cloudy overcast skies at night, whereas in the much drier southwest, it's very common the skies will be clear at night, so the temperatures will be very cold. We who live in the west are well aware of this. Low elevation clouds in the sky trap the heat of the earth similar to the greenhouse effect. For the same reasons, I would guess the PNW (at least at lower elevations like Seattle) will generally be warmer than in the desert.

 

[jacqueg]

For the same reasons, I would guess the PNW (at least at lower elevations like Seattle) will generally be warmer than in the desert.

Yup. Starting sometime in October, clear nights are cold nights. And when the clouds came back, it warms up. This will usually be true into April.

 

[janeontheroad]

I traveled alot in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado all summer and into October this year and was most surprised by the common 25 degree nightly temperatures in the mountains and even snow in August. Also surprising was having my van caked full of dust all the time while traveling the dirt roads. The fine dust poured in the rear hatch somehow and I had to clean my glasses every 15 minutes to see. The Colorado dust is especially fine like baby powder. Also interesting was that in 3 months I barely saw a drop of rain.

So what are the conditions like in the winter in the desert like Quartzite for the RTR?
I read the wind can be severe and weather temps fluctuate alot from day to nite.

Unfortunately, can't say anything particular about Quartzite.
Though from my experience (two years ago, spent winter in AZ), yes - desert climates have the biggest daily swings, and more variation as weather systems come through. And personally I found it a bit disturbing - dealing with dryness instead of a relative humidity in Florida. But it's just me. In general dryness is much better than rains (for your camper at least).

 

[wayne49]

In Nevada the fine powder dust is called "poof dust".

Fish Lake Hot Springs, near Dyer, NV, has a ten mile access road, poof dust all the way. 7 mph or less, or the dust cloud will get you.

 

[Troutbum]

Thanks for all the insights really appreciate it.

As far as "exploring" a bit off the main roads in the desert what are the concerns with the terrain and tires?

In Montana all summer I travel logging roads extensively in a small van and never have to worry about traction since it rarely rains but since there are sharp rocks I always get hard road tires.Guessing the sand is softer and more traction may be needed?

 

[Qxxx]

If you're coming to the Quartzsite area, expect the roads to be mainly rocky and washboarded, rather than sand. You can generally go in a good ways before it turns to 4WD. OTOH, you'll find plenty of deep sand over in the Anza-Borrego area.

RVerTV has videos on every single place there is around Q.
https://www.youtube.com/user/rvertv/videos


Here is Pandamonium going out the Palms Rd in Kofa Reserve just south of Q. See at about 19:00. People tend to pull their full-size RVs into places you'd not expect.


You can do most of this stuff ok with standard road tires, just drive slow, but the next set for my van will be tougher tires.

 

[Malamute]

Thanks for all the insights really appreciate it.

As far as "exploring" a bit off the main roads in the desert what are the concerns with the terrain and tires?

In Montana all summer I travel logging roads extensively in a small van and never have to worry about traction since it rarely rains but since there are sharp rocks I always get hard road tires.Guessing the sand is softer and more traction may be needed?

I tried to get light truck tires whenever possible, and in the highest load range I could. With the full size pickups and Suburbans, they had 16 inch rims, and I got load range E tires, which ran about 80 psi pressure as standard, I dropped them to 65-ish I believe in the winter for better traction. I drove some bad rocky roads and never had tire problems. They have more layers or cords in the tread and sidewalls than car tires (passenger?) of similar size. Traction should be OK in an all season tread, its what I used for snow and everything. If traction is compromised, drop tire pressure until better conditions are available. Its common among 4 wheel drive drive adventurers.

 

[bullfrog]

Having a way to air tires back up and a plug/patch kit is really a good idea as you can air down even more if you really need to.

 

[highdesertranger]

from weather to tires.

the desert eats tire for lunch and burps out suspensions. if you have a highway vehicle and P(Passenger)rated tires drive slow. even if the road appears smooth and it seems like you can drive fast don't do it. like what has been mentioned get LT(light truck) tires in the highest weight rating you can. shop around and ask, especially if a salesman says only P-rated tires are available for your vehicle. highdesertranger

 

[Troutbum]

So let's switch over to the really important and dangerous conditions in the Q. desert like are the liquor stores open on Sundays lol.

 

[wayne49]

Think ahead, as in all things nomadic.

Track your consumption for a period of time, then figure how much you need to have on hand to stay parked for X days.

 

[highdesertranger]

"are the liquor stores open on Sundays lol."

yes they're open and pricy.

highdesertranger