Community Forums

brandss · 08-22-2017, 06:35 PM

Still gathering information and one of the things the wife and I would like to understand, but hard to get information, is the possibility of winter time living.

We have read and watched a lot of videos but unfortunately, most of the videos are not from Newmar owners and I don't think we can use these as truths because of the difference in the construction of a Newmar and a lower cost brand.

In reality, living in Ventana in 20 degree weather, is it really doable or is it something that requires so much daily prep that we should avoid it? I would love your thoughts on this possibility and if you have done it, what special preparations are required. Some of the common sense things we understand is rugs, blanket while sitting, thicker curtains on the windows, etc. What I don't know are things like keeping the water lines and tanks from freezing, how efficient the furnace is, how in the world do you keep the water line from a park faucet to the rig heated. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Oh, why I am asking is that the wife loves her job working for the Governor and wants to stay on board as long as he's in charge. This will require us to live 3 months in KY during the colder months.

judgebobk · 08-22-2017, 06:52 PM

We have had both Ventana and now Dutch Star with electric heated floors.
Both are doable but spend the money and get the electric floor heat.
I have a thermostat in my bay and it never gets below 40°.
When I bought the Ventana I thought "Why spend the extra money?" but the differences are substantial and worth the upgrade.
In our rear bath we have an oil filled 900watt heater that we leave on at night to keep the bathroom warm without super heating the bedroom. Works great.
At temps below 34° the heat pumps are no good so the floors electric prevent the hydrolic heat from running a lot which they do unless you are burning diesel. The electric in the hydronic will not be enough in very cold conditions and I find it irritating.

Mr_D · 08-22-2017, 07:03 PM

Neither of our DSDP's had heated floors as they weren't even offered back then. Present rig has them and boy are they nice, the cats really love it!

willipaul · 08-22-2017, 07:03 PM

first off, the ventana does not offer heated floors as an option....

you will need to run the hydronic heat system (the oasis) on diesel, to make sure your wet bay does not freeze....that is the only way heat gets down to the wet bay...other than your tank heating pads, if you have them....

last winter, i never winterized my phaeton (i am in north east CT)....i used it all winter for weekend get aways...did not want to constantly winterize and de-winterize....

i have heated floors....and aqua hot....left my thermostats set at 60, and the coach plugged in....never had a problem with a freeze...i did have the aqua hot have a problem flaming out, due to the combustion chamber getting dirty...got it cleaned and all was ok again....so if you have a problem with the oasis, have an outlet to get it fixed real quick if its cold, or be prepared to winterize real quick to make sure you don't freeze...

also, you need to make sure you treat every tank of diesel with an anti gel additive....if it gets real cold, and the fuel gels, the oasis won't fire...and then you'll freeze...

you can easily winter camp in your ventana, without heated floors, as long as you have oasis...i wouldn't try it with propane furnaces....if you have a propane fridge, you need to take precautions with that, so it does not freeze up.....

the coach did fantastic,

lostinfla · 08-22-2017, 07:13 PM

When we bought our coach off the lot, I had all intentions of getting a Ventana. Then, skillfully, the sales person showed me the DS with the same floorplan. It had a lot of options that I wouldn't have ordered, but we fell in love with the upgrades and ended up buying it. One option that I scoffed at was the heated floors. Living in Fl, why would I need heated floors? That became very clear the first trip to NC when the temp dropped to 29 deg. I wouldn't buy another coach without it now.

judgebobk · 08-22-2017, 07:13 PM

Willipaul I believe you have hot water in the floor but the Newmar has electric in the floor. The bay will heat from the element heat on electric from the hydronic heat and will pick up heat from the electric floor heat.

willipaul · 08-22-2017, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by judgebobk

Willipaul I believe you have hot water in the floor but the Newmar has electric in the floor. The bay will heat from the element heat on electric from the hydronic heat and will pick up heat from the electric floor heat.

nope....tiffin heated floors are electric....both phaeton and allegro bus....

two zones...settings of 1 to 5 for each zone....

and in consistently cold temps, i would not trust anything but the oasis on diesel to keep the wet bay warm....and i did not leave my floors on all the time while the coach sat, in addition to my aqua hot...i only used the floors when we camped....

judgebobk · 08-22-2017, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willipaul

nope....tiffin heated floors are electric....both phaeton and allegro bus....

two zones...settings of 1 to 5 for each zone....

I'm thinking of Entegra tgen

snowhawk2 · 08-22-2017, 08:06 PM

We have a 2016 Ventana 4322 with Oasis hydronic heating and no electric floors. Last winter, like Willi, we didn't winterize either and ran the Oass. Our coach had a full tank of water as well as water in the entire water system. We live in MA so it was plenty cold. When it was 20 or above we kept the Oasis at 58. The lowest temp we saw was about -2 and we saw plenty of single digits. When the outside temp went below 20 we put the heat at 68. The wet bay also has an electric heating element as well. The lowest the wet bay got all winter was 37 using this approach. We had no condensation in the coach or on any window ever, except on the windshield for about a foot from the bottom. I would not be afraid to camp in this Newmar with the Oasis diesel fuel heating system. I would get it serviced in the fall to help avoid any mechanical issues. The heat pumps under 40 are not an option and in cold weather the only option is to run the Oasis for heat. We also had heated tank pads but we didn't use them most of the time as they weren't necessary. In fact, Newmar discontinued offering the heated tank pads on the 2018 models because they determined they weren't necessary.

When we were at Newmar last December we hit a cold spell and for three days the temperature never went above freezing and we used the coach with full water, hot water and we had no issues. For longer term winter camping the problems you will have to solve for are replenishing the water and diesel fuel. To get diesel fuel we had to be sure the coach was not snowed in, the roads were free of salt, and the roads had no ice. Otherwise, we had to bring 5 gallons jugs of diesel fuel in which we did a few times. All fuel that entered the coach was treated with an additive that had anti gel in it. We also took the coach on several short trips last winter and ran the generator on a regular basis. I hope this information is helpful.

Luv2go · 08-22-2017, 09:07 PM

The Ventana, Dutch Star and higher models have insulated basement compartments which make Winter camping relatively easy as other posters describe above. Canyon Star comes with uninsulated compartments, I insulated the compartments and ran some heater ducts into the fresh and gray/black tank areas to supplement what Newmar put in. My insulation is a little worse that what Newmar puts in the higher line coaches.

While skiing we've camped in 17 below weather, the only issue is that the strainer on the water pump would freeze. Now I remove that in the winter and have no issues!

Stuart W · 08-22-2017, 09:25 PM

This last winter I camped with me 2016 CS in 3 degree overnight temps, the only issues I had were I didn't have a heated water hose, some compartment doors didn't want to latch because the rubber seals were rock hard, and two of the leveling jacks stuck down for a while. Inside was very comfortable, with just the furnace and fire place on.
We have. Dutch Star on order and didn't opt for the heated floors as we mostly west coast camp, probably a mistake, just so much $

Capt. Bill · 08-22-2017, 09:35 PM

Brandss- Get the heated floors - you'll love it!

You can use an electric heat tape on your outside water faucet & hose to the coach. Your water bay will be heated with a blower switch to keep it from freezing. Forget the heavier curtains- the Herr windows Newmar uses are good & you'll have shades. Upgrade to an Oasis Diesel Hydronic heating system if you can- hot water heat with heat exchangers with blower fan that will operate on 120V electric or diesel burner.

Happy Trails

Magilla122 · 08-23-2017, 04:23 AM

I lived in my Bay Star last winter in Grand Rapids, MI. Most of the time the temp was below freezing. I used a heated water hose, no issues, emptied the holding tanks on a weekly basis, and my holding tanks are not heated. My basement was getting enough heat that kept the tanks from freezing. To have peace of mind I put a metal trouble light with a 75 watt bulb inside the wet bay that worked out great.

My Bay Star has the polar pack which worked out great, the heater was set at 63 and it was comfortable. When I had it higher it actually started getting too warm for me.

LennyC · 08-23-2017, 06:50 AM

Same as Magilla did: used a trouble light with 75W bulb in the water bay and that kept things warm. Should have bought the heated hose as I did have water line freeze at times. With our Canyon Star we have the heated tank option, and take note it only works when plugged in to shore power or when running the generator - NOT as we discovered, with just the inverter. Stay warm!