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Old 12-05-2017, 06:25 AM   #1
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Best way to keep wet bay and holding tanks from freezing?

Looks like my wife and I will be living in Roanoke Va for a couple winters in our 36LA. I have a wireless temperature monitor coming for the wet bay so I can check the temps on cold nights. I plan on getting a large propane tank from the local gas company and prepare the water line with heat tape and foam insulation. My question is which kind of heat source should I use (besides the propane furnace) to keep the wet bay and holding tanks above 32? I would use one of those temperature sensitive plugs and either use 1-2 200 amp personal heaters or 1-2 light bulbs? Also, would I need to make sure I put one over next to the fresh water tank or will it be enough to just heat the wet bay side?

Thanks for any input!
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Old 12-05-2017, 06:38 AM   #2
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Our 36LA has a warm air duct in the wet bay. For the water I would get one of those Pirt hoses with the heat tape built in and the thermostat on it. I would then wrap it with insulation and plug it in. They are about $100 but work great.
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Old 12-05-2017, 06:54 AM   #3
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There are lots of other threads on this subject. Do a search in the search bar and you will have reading for many cold nights!
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Old 12-05-2017, 07:03 AM   #4
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Personal portable heaters of about 200w in wet bay, behind refrigerator, and with water heater. Each plugged in via a Thermocube.

Heat tape or heated water hose or live off the water tank. Sewer hose only deployed when dumping.

A good down comforter on the bed goes a long way towards reducing night time heating requirements.
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Old 12-05-2017, 07:07 AM   #5
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I really don't think you'll need anything other than the propane heat down there. I've had my Bus at 17 degrees with a 30mph wind and pipes and stuff in the wet bay were just fine. We did go through the propane supply fast at those temps and winds, but it was just overnight. Temps stayed low but the wind died.
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Old 12-05-2017, 07:43 AM   #6
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Climate Roanoke - Virginia

°C | °F JanFebMarAprMayJunAverage high in °F:464958687683Average low in °F:283037455362Av. precipitation in inch:2.912.873.463.394.063.82Days with precipitation:------Hours of sunshine:------Average snowfall in inch:662100 JulAugSepOctNovDecAverage high in °F:878678695948Average low in °F:666558473830Av. precipitation in inch:4.063.543.92.873.392.95Days with precipitation:------Hours of sunshine:------Average snowfall in inch:000014
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Old 12-05-2017, 06:54 PM   #7
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Great advice given already. With a large propane tank, heat tape on water hose (with insulation) and maybe adjunct to provide some heat in wet bay, you should be fine.

I lived and worked in Roanoke from 1975 until 2015 so curious where you will be staying. One of the things lacking in the Roanoke area was any decent RV park or place with full hook ups for any RV. I still own a house on Smith Mountain Lake in Bedford County and there are limited places on the lake.
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Old 12-05-2017, 07:18 PM   #8
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Smlranger.
It would be at the Salem Village Trailer Park. They have full hookup rv spots in the back. It’s right across from the VA.
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Old 12-06-2017, 06:26 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stevel720 View Post
Smlranger.
It would be at the Salem Village Trailer Park. They have full hookup rv spots in the back. It’s right across from the VA.
Know that area and facility well. The RV spaces are in the flood plain near a creek so just make sure you keep an eye out if the area gets significant rain. The operators there do a good job of warning folks when they may have to move to higher ground.
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Old 12-10-2017, 09:41 AM   #10
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i was just in greenburg kansas wednesday night, dec 6th. it was 8 degrees. i use the small 250 watt personal heaters from walmart. 10 dollars each. i put them at the pump, sewer compartment, wet bay, and behind our tankless water heater. nothing froze. i travel for hwh corp, and am out many times in the winter. i have been in minus 15 degrees with this same coach using 100 watt light bulbs, but the heaters are much more efficient, and i dont have to keep replacing bulbs.
note an electric blanket will keep you from being killed during the night by your wife.
happy wife, happy life. just celebrated 53 years with her. must be doing somethings right.
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Old 12-10-2017, 09:52 AM   #11
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If, like us, you tend to use electric heaters more than your propane furnace, then stick a small 'temperature controlled' electric heater down in the wetbay. It will come on automatically if the temp falls too low in the space, but not run constantly otherwise.

If you don't have a 120v outlet, then, like us, you can run an extension cord thru your sewer outlet cover, or cable outlet cover, to your shower power 15a/20a outlet, or to one of your 'outside' outlets on the coach. We have a outlet in the main bay on the passenger side only, so I run the extension cord thru our cable outlet cover, underneath the coach, into the cable outlet cover in the main bay, and plug into the outlet. This works the heater whether we have a shore power outlet for the extension, or if we are using the generator.
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Old 12-11-2017, 11:55 AM   #12
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Thanks for everyone’s input. Have two electric blankets, one for the wife and one for myself. Will use the fireplace heat and an additional electric space heater. For the wet bay I will hook a small space heater to a thermocube so it automatically kicks in at 35 degrees. I also have a wireless temperature sensor in the wet bay to monitor the temps there. Also will use the roof heat pump and will only use the propane furnace if I have too.

Thanks everyone!
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Old 12-12-2017, 08:34 PM   #13
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SteveBev

What about the slides that have water pipes ? My bus 2014 has kitchen and bathroom slides that could freeze. There is a metal tray that is under the slide with pipes and a drain pipe. I assume they are all the same layout.
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Old 12-13-2017, 09:15 AM   #14
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Steve,
If you look carefully, those pipes do not really run outside the interior portion of the coach. If you are worried, you can leave the cabinet doors open to the interior for heat.
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