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Winterized Camping

andrewh
Explorer
Explorer
While camping last year in our 2015 Thor Ace 29.2, I had some concerns about the freezing weather and how it would affect the water pipes and tanks. As soon as it dropped close to freezing, I disconnected our water hoses from the RV park spigot. We don't have anything installed at this time time to prevent the systems from freezing. Are there any recommendations for keeping the pipes, water pump, and tanks from freezing. Are there any heat pads or space heaters that I could be using to prevent expensive damages to my water systems?
10 REPLIES 10

drsteve
Explorer
Explorer
Bill.Satellite wrote:

I have used 100W light bulbs but incandescent lights are getting hard to find.


Auto parts stores have "rough service" incandescent bulbs made for use in drop cord lights.
2006 Silverado 1500HD Crew Cab 2WD 6.0L 3.73 8600 GVWR
2018 Coachmen Catalina Legacy Edition 223RBS
1991 Palomino Filly PUP

Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Explorer II
andrewh wrote:
Bill.Satellite wrote:
andrewh, what kind of RV do you own.


It's a 2015 Thor Ace 29.2


OK, so you have a fully enclosed Class A motor home. I will assume you have propane heat and if that's correct then you also have heat ducted into the "wet bay(s)". The good news and the bad news is that you have heat ducted into the wet bay(s). The good news is that your tanks will stay nice and toasty warm as long as you keep the heat running. The bad news is that you can burn a lot of propane trying to keep enough heat running inside the RV to keep the bays warm.
I suggest that you get a weather station with remote temp. sensor to monitor the temps in the wet bay. If things don't look good in the bays running the right amount of heat to keep the interior warm then you should install another heat source in the wet bay(s). I have used 100W light bulbs but incandescent lights are getting hard to find. There are also some tiny 200W personal heater that would keep your bay(s) warm assuming you have a 120V source available.
You just need to keep an eye on the way bay(s) with some kind of a temp. monitor and adjust what needs to be done to ensure you don't freeze a line (disaster!) I was always wondering if I was OK until I installed a remote temperature monitor down there and I have been happy every since.
What I post is my 2 cents and nothing more. Please don't read anything into my post that's not there. If you disagree, that's OK.
Can't we all just get along?

BarneyS
Explorer III
Explorer III
If you have an enclosed underbelly on the trailer you may very well have heated tanks. Usually all it consists of is a duct leading to the underbelly area from the furnace ducting. You have to run the furnace to have it do any good.

Without that, there are several things you can do to camp in below freezing weather.
1. Use your fresh water tank onboard to supply water - if the tank is above the floor as many trailers have.

2. Remove your water hose from the campground pedestal after using it each time.

3. Open cupboards to let warm inside air circulate among the pipes inside the trailer.

4. Keep your gray tank valve open and let several faucets run or fast drip to keep the water flowing and prevent freezing.

5. Use bottled water for everything and forgo using the trailers water system altogether. (This is usually what we do when traveling South for the winter for the first couple of days. We carry a gallon of RV antifreeze to use for flushing the toilet and we dump all waste water into the toilet also.)

Hope this helps.
Barney

I am going to move this to the General RVing Issues forum. This forum is for DIY modifications and upgrades. Thank you for your post.
2004 Sunnybrook Titan 30FKS TT
Hensley "Arrow" 1400# hitch (Sold)
Not towing now.
Former tow vehicles were 2016 Ram 2500 CTD, 2002 Ford F250, 7.3 PSD, 1997 Ram 2500 5.9 gas engine

andrewh
Explorer
Explorer
Bill.Satellite wrote:
andrewh, what kind of RV do you own.


It's a 2015 Thor Ace 29.2

Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Explorer II
andrewh, what kind of RV do you own.
What I post is my 2 cents and nothing more. Please don't read anything into my post that's not there. If you disagree, that's OK.
Can't we all just get along?

Dutch_12078
Explorer
Explorer
andrewh wrote:
Dutch_12078 wrote:
Our main LP furnace has an outlet that supplies enough heat to our waste tank bay to keep it above freezing even at sub-zero temps.


What would I look for to see if I have a similar setup?

Ours has a 2" flex hose connected to the main duct that lays between the two waste tanks and blows warm air down where the water valve panel and pump are located. The rising air also keeps the tanks warm.
Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F53 chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
Bigfoot Automatic Leveling System
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate

boogie_4wheel
Explorer
Explorer
All of my tanks, and some plumbing is exposed (not covered belly).
I used UltraHeat stick on tank heaters on my gray and black. They have a chart for what size heater depending on the tank capacity. For the exposed plumbing I used Easy Heat heat tape premade from Home Depot, and then covered it with foam insulation.

I didn't use my fresh water tank. Another Easy Heat on my fresh hose. I bought this one longer than my hose and wrapped it around the spigot, then covered the spigot with fiberglass insulation then a heavy trash bag.

With my trailer skirted with thin chipboard with 1" Styrofoam, I was good to -22*F.

Without anything (insulation, skirting), the fresh water hose shushed in the mid 20's.
2005 2500 Cummins/48RE/3.73, QCLB, 4wd, BigHorn, Edge Juice w/ CTS + Turbo Timer,Transgo Shift Kit ISSPro Oil and LP pressure gauges, GDP 20/2 filters, Custom Diesel Steering Box Brace
'10 Forest River Shockwave Toy Hauler 21'
Honda EU3000I Genny

andrewh
Explorer
Explorer
Dutch_12078 wrote:
Our main LP furnace has an outlet that supplies enough heat to our waste tank bay to keep it above freezing even at sub-zero temps.


What would I look for to see if I have a similar setup?

Dutch_12078
Explorer
Explorer
Our main LP furnace has an outlet that supplies enough heat to our waste tank bay to keep it above freezing even at sub-zero temps. Our water tank is under our bed, so it's not affected either. We do of course, use the onboard water tank under those conditions, connecting the to the park water spigot only long enough to refill the tank as needed. We're generally only in those conditions for a couple of nights though, as we head for warmer weather.
Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F53 chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
Bigfoot Automatic Leveling System
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate