Will pipes freeze overnight?

[brianosaur]

I usually winterize mid-October by fully draining & bypassing the hot water heater, then blowout & antifreeze all freshwater Pex lines.

This year I am thinking about some November weekend local trips. Here on Long Island the late fall days will normally be above freezing, yet the nights will commonly go below it.

My TT is parked in my yard between trips and if I don't winterize until winter, should I be concerned?

Could I just leave my faucets open? (city water & pump off obviously)

TT has an insulated & covered underbelly. Should I set up an electric space heater to kick on when it gets below freezing or should I not be worried too much for several hours of overnight temps below 32 degrees?

[JimK-NY]

I also live on L.I. and use a small electric heater to keep the TC at about 40 degrees. It takes very little electricity even in the coldest days. I recommend you check on the temperature frequently just in case something goes wrong. I use a remote transmitter so I can see the temperature on the monitor in my kitchen.

[blt2ski]

Hmmmm,

Some of us used our rigs year around as ski huts, snow mobile huts.....temps from 0F to mid 40s in the cascades depending upon the early December to early April time frame.
I kept the trailer at my house, cold temps, ie below 32F 24-7 had the LP going. I also set it to about 45-50 during the week when we had typical Seattle days in the 28-50F relm.
THE biggest issue I had, was a manual drain valve, the water would freeze up into the to main part of the trailer. Then the water was shut off from the water tank to rear bathroom, front kitchen was fine. Our water heater was also in the back, so no hot water. Took out the drain lines, no issues after that.
Reality, until you try it out, you will never know what will or will not freeze up. As long as you keep some heat on during the below 32F 24-7. You should not have issues overall.

Marty

[wowens79]

I'm in GA, so we flirt with freezing temps all winter. Like others have said, "maybe" is the correct answer. If we are going down to 28-30 for a couple of hours I don't worry about it, especially if we are in the 70's the day before.

With your camper at the house, running the furnace at 50ish is cheap and easy insurance.

I normally winterize 3-4 times a year since we will have a nice weather mid winter. I've got winterizing down to a 10-15min job, not counting getting the camper from storage, and leveling in my sloped driveway.

[brianosaur]

AllegroD wrote:
What is year, make & model of your TT?

Thanks for the advice all.

2019 HLR Open Range w/ bunks

[Campinghoss]

When we plan on travelling during cold weather I just leave the thermostat on 40 for the furnace not the heat pump. It gets cold here but I have never had anything freeze up.

[Bobbo]

Dusty R wrote:
I've heard that hot water will freeze quicker than cold.

I don't know if it is true or not, but the theory is that the convection current set up by the heat rising above the open container carries heat away faster than no convection current. The assumption is that when the container has cooled to room temperature, that convection current continues, cooling the liquid faster. I seriously doubt this, but I have no information to refute it. However, the hot water in your system is not in an open container where the heat can rise causing a convection current, so, even if this is true, it wouldn't apply.

[Dusty_R]

I've heard that hot water will freeze quicker than cold.

[AllegroD]

What is year, make & model of your TT?

[rhagfo]

It all depends on day time temps and how cold it will get overnight. Before we full timed, I didn’t worry about overnight temps down down to about 28f as long as daytime is in the mid to high 40’s.

[dedmiston]

Here out west we do most of our camping between November and May. In the coldest parts of winter it will be in the 40s during the day (I know, not that cold) and the 20s overnight. Nobody in my group has ever had pipes freeze because we keep the insides warm enough to not freeze ourselves. I think I'm the oddball in the group because I set the thermostat to 55 overnight while everyone else sets theirs in the high 60s or even 70.

So our experience is that a few hours of cold in the 20s isn't enough to do any damage as long as we keep the inside temps livable.

But Grit's answer is still the most sensible: "Maybe"

[ssthrd]

LouLawrence wrote:
A small electric heater in the wet bay and one inside in the kitchen/bath area will like work well. Open cabinet doors that have plumbing inside. Should be cheaper than running propane but is certainly a viable open as well.
Don't leave water in there and hope for the best. That can be a costly mistake.

^^This.....

Winter temps along the panhandle are not so much different than here on the inner coast of Vancouver Island. That's exactly what I do here, and have never had a problem.

I removed one of the access panels to the plumbing area from inside the cubby, and left the small heater run on medium full time. That space in my rig is vented to the living area thru vents in the stairs to the bedroom, and so gave a bit of heat to the rest of the trailer as well. That's assuming that you are plugged in to shore power.

[ferndaleflyer]

I never winterize. Electric heater inside and another in the wet compartment in the basement turned on as needed. Its parked here at home in NC where it does sometimes go down to Zero.

[Grit_dog]

This is not a question we can answer. Far too many variables.
The right answer is maybe.

[LouLawrence]

A small electric heater in the wet bay and one inside in the kitchen/bath area will like work well. Open cabinet doors that have plumbing inside. Should be cheaper than running propane but is certainly a viable open as well.
Don't leave water in there and hope for the best. That can be a costly mistake.