Heating the Bays

[htg3]

We are about to take our first "cold" camping trip. Night time temperture may be in the mid 20's. We will have full hookups, but we don't like to run the furnace as it is noisy. We have an electric heater for inside.
I was considering buying a small electric heater for the large bay. Will it be adequate?
Has anyone else used a heater in this manner?
Thanks in advance.

[htg3]

We are about to take our first "cold" camping trip. Night time temperture may be in the mid 20's. We will have full hookups, but we don't like to run the furnace as it is noisy. We have an electric heater for inside.
I was considering buying a small electric heater for the large bay. Will it be adequate?
Has anyone else used a heater in this manner?
Thanks in advance.

[Have Alpine will travel.]

May I suggest one of those electric oil fill heaters? No open flame or hot element. Locate the heater to the rear of bay near the water pump-pluming tree. Be sure air can circulate freely in the bay around the heater. Also have some way to monitor the bay's temperature. We have an Atomic clock with a remote temperature sensor that works well. Place the remote on the bay floor near the front away from the heater. If the bay temperature falls below or near 32 than it is time to fire up the noisy furnace. Please keep the bay doors closed and no water hoses connected to the outside. The icemaker filter and connections are very vulnerable as they are close to the refrigerator outside vent.

[EngineerMike]

I'd put the remote temp sensor on the ceiling of the storage bay; that's where the factory unit sets, and that's where the plumbing that might freeze is.

[Oregon Coyote]

On this subject, while looking at each storage compartment on a 07 40-FDQS at a dealership, I saw what I believe was the water storage container for the auto-fill battery system in the rear-most curbside non-enclosed bay. How do you keep that from freezing?

Norm

[SteveS]

What you need to do certainly depends on how cold it gets but a simple 60 or 75 watt lamp does a pretty good job of keeping the bays warm enough to stop freezing. You might need 2 lamps if it gets well below freezing. You already have electricity available so just plug in a drop light or lamp.

[Have Alpine will travel.]

The droplights are a good idea. Just ensure they do not touch anything. They can get quite hot to the touch. I would also put one behind the refrigerator outside vent (there is a electric plug in at location) and another behind the water, electric, sewer connection bay door. I found in case the temp falls lower it maybe best to quickly fill the water system with RV antifreeze. The flexible shower hose will fit on the water tank intake connection of the water pump. Just put the other end of the hose in the jug of RV antifreeze and have the wife turn on the pump. Open each valve in turn to quickly fill the water system. Watch for the pink to showup at each valve. (Do not forget the wash station in the hookup bay.) It may take three or more jugs to fill the system. You may want remove the water filter under the kitchen sink first. Do not forget to put at least a cup of antifreeze in each drain and toilet. The water tank should be drained. If a hard freeze the gray and black tanks should also be drained.
On a side note how does one put disinfectant into the water tank in the springtime?

[Barbaraok]

The furnace isn't that noisy and it sure beats having to worry about RV antifreeze in the lines and the trouble of then cleaning them out. And I have found that I always slept better when out RVing than at home. Of course since the RV is now home, I'm sleeping very well - - retirement might just have something to do with that.

[Oregon Coyote]

As thoughtful as the above posts may be, I don't believe some solutions suggested are really addressing htg3's question relating to their first "cold" camping trip. They are not storing their coach; they simply don't want to worry about freezing water lines while they are snug in their Alpine beds. Making coffee in the morning with RV antifreeze is not likely to appeal to them.

To extend htg3's question a bit-- just how do you full-timers keep basement water lines from freezing while traveling in minus 20 degree weather in Yakima or Montana in January?. Light bulbs and electric heaters seem a bit risky.

Norm

["007"]

Another thing to consider is open your cabinet doors inside so heat will get to those cold corners in cabinets, kitchen,baths or maybe its time to get that noisey furnace blower fixed because you really need that fan moving heated air thru coach to prevent freeze ups of internal plumbing, so you can sleep snug as a bug in your bed and not worry, check to see if you have a switch to put on for fan in heater line from furnace if you have such a hookup.
I have camped three days in snow storm with heater on, aux fan on to basement tanks from heater and it was just like home.