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Old 11-20-2017, 02:23 PM   #1
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Going full-time next week and concerned about water freezing

We have a 2007 Allegro Bay 35 TSB and are leaving North Central Ohio next week for boondockig in Arizona. We will head in a southwesterly direction and are taking four days to get there. Should I fill the water tanks before we leave or just leave the coach winterized until we hit warm weather? I put foam insulation on every pipe that I could reach in the wet bay, but have the feeling that it's too risky. Advise for two rookie females? Thanks, Valerie
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Old 11-20-2017, 02:39 PM   #2
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With lows in the 20s, I would leave it winterized until you get farther south. Will be an easy enough job to purge the antifreeze from your lines when you have a stop preferably with a water hookup at your site. Remember also to bring some bleach to sanitize your fresh water system. Lots of written/video information on the web to guide you as needed for that job. Happy travels.

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Old 11-20-2017, 02:40 PM   #3
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As long as you are keeping the LP gas heat running, your pipes will not be in danger. Some of the LP heated hot air is delivered to the wet bay area and then filters into the rest of the basement area. Just don't rely on 110v plug in electric heaters, roof mounted heat pumps or dash heat.
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Old 11-20-2017, 03:23 PM   #4
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4 days on the road to Arizona, you'll need fresh water for the toilet, doing dishes, and showers. Further, as previously stated, you propane furnace will provide heat to the wet bay. If it were me, I'd fill the fresh water tank and head SSW. Enjoy your trip and new adventure.
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Old 11-20-2017, 07:54 PM   #5
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I'm in the camp of Pigman1 & tizzyfit, if it were me I would flush out the the water system and fill the tank & live it up. But,,, keep in mind to do that, you will burn the entire propane tank in 4 days. But,, not a big deal to stop after 3 days and top it off.

You can also use 2 oil filled electric heaters to help out while plugged in. But you want that propane furnace running like every hour too to pick up the wet bay heat. I have burned a 11 gallon tank in 2 days, keep an eye on it.

Have done it both ways, but prefer the latter. Maybe a 1/4 cup of bleach to full tank flush. Then 1 cup of baking soda on 2nd flush to knock the odors out.

All the best.

PS, I also take a 2, 1/2 gallon water bottle with faucet for coffee, when the coach is running keep the dash heat on kill/floor

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Old 11-20-2017, 11:09 PM   #6
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Just checked the National Temp map for the United States. Assuming you two plan on heading out within a week or so, you shouldn't hit any freezing temps unless your plan is to head west through North Dakota and Montana. Heading south through Nashville, Dallas, El Paso, and on to Tucson, you won't see any freezing temps and fuel prices should be lower than what your paying in northern Ohio. Hopefully, you aren't waiting to leave until the Browns win a football game or it might delay your trip for another decade.
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Old 11-21-2017, 04:16 AM   #7
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Thank you all for your wisdom. The forecast does look promising, but I think it is probably better to wait rather than risk any chance of any costly damage.Filling up on the way is probably a safe bet and yes, we do carry water for coffee! I considered waiting for the Browns to win but that is likely to be years from now!
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Old 11-21-2017, 06:08 AM   #8
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When leaving Detroit on Jan-2 I carried 10 gallons INSIDE the RV (Tanks and lines dry)( till I got far enough SOUTH to keep it liquid.

And That is what I recommend

Today as a Full Timer I winterize by the S Method, which I consider to be the Best method.. THat's Upstate S.Carolina lowlands where temps almost never dip below 10 (i can and have survived 10)
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Old 11-21-2017, 06:31 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by val51 View Post
We have a 2007 Allegro Bay 35 TSB and are leaving North Central Ohio next week for boondockig in Arizona. We will head in a southwesterly direction and are taking four days to get there. Should I fill the water tanks before we leave or just leave the coach winterized until we hit warm weather? I put foam insulation on every pipe that I could reach in the wet bay, but have the feeling that it's too risky. Advise for two rookie females? Thanks, Valerie
Look over "Gone with the Wynn's" good blog for first timers, not just winterization but should also help you fill in many of the "fill in the blanks" as you move forward.

How To Prepare Your RV for a Winter Adventure

Wind Map is Helpful - Wind Map

Another Blog or two -

RVcruzer.com - Home Page

RV TechMag - RV Tech Magazine

Wal*Mart locations is always helpful -

https://www.allstays.com/c/wal-mart-locations.htm

Weather temps -

https://weather.com/maps/ustemperaturemap

As you are in the learning stage just grab a few gallons of water for the kitchen bath - don't be afraid to use the toilet - as long as you keep the heat on in the Coach you will be fine - Remember to fill the Propane as if you are running the heater in the cold it will run out quickly. (Depending on the level of use as quickly as three or four days - Fill it if in doubt)

Don't be afraid to USE the Generator - will last longer if used and it can help with the heat.

Sounds like the beginning of a Great Adventure -

Best of luck, hope this helps,
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Old 11-21-2017, 07:24 AM   #10
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Thanks all! Really have done a lot of reading on this subject and there's a lot of good information online,but my gut feeling is just wait until the weather maps show a bit of warmer weather. We can survive a couple of days easily with bottled water, some antifreeze in the black tank and a jug or two for flushing. Why risk it if we don't need to. I'm sure that the longer we do this, the more comfortable we will get with our coaches abilities! Thanks again everyone!
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Old 11-21-2017, 07:42 AM   #11
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You didn't mention if you have heating pads for your water tanks. Generally the switches are located in the bathroom area. They use 110v power, generally with a 1 to 2 amp power draw. If your coach has an inverter, which I assume it does, does the inverter supply, or can it be made to supply power to the tank heating? If so, you can run it while traveling down the road, with the inverter getting power from the 12 volt batteries, and the engine alternator keeping the 12 volt batteries charged.

It it were me, I would fill the fresh water tank, try and keep at least 1/4 tank in the grey and black, turn on the heaters, and drive on. Dump the grey as needed, the black should more than last a week or so, fill the fresh water as necessary. The latent heat in the tanks will easily carry you overnight with the tank heaters off except in the coldest of weather (5 or 10 degrees F or so).

If you run the generator at all, make sure that the tank heaters are on when doing so, also, we keep a small electric space heater in the water bay, plugged into a thermo cube.

https://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovato.../dp/B0006U2HD2

It's a small plug in adapter you plug into a 110v outlet, preset to allow power to a 15amp appliance (heater) when the temp drops to 35 degrees, then turns off when the temp rises to 45 degrees. Note: You need to either be plugged in to shore power, run the generator, or be using an inverter to have 110v power available.

Good luck in your travels and enjoy!
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Old 11-21-2017, 08:54 AM   #12
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No heat pads that I am aware of. We only had a converter unil we installed 750 watts of solar, a pure sine Magnam converter/inverter, and four Crown CR 260's! ***smile *** Maybe in the future we can look into the heating pads!
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Old 11-21-2017, 02:52 PM   #13
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Our coach was winterized and We made the same trip last Dec when going to SoCal. I70 to I71, I65 south to I40 west to I 30 south then the I635? bypass around Dallas/Ft Worth to I20 West then I 10 West to AZ and CA. We had 20 degree temp and snow flurries all the way to TN. After TN we didn't need to worry about below freezing temps. We carried 6 gallons of water for coffee. Stopped at rest areas for us and the dogs to use the facilities. Used the dash heat nothing else. We used the furnace and electric heaters when we stopped at campgrounds for the night. Big concern is finding an open campground cause its off season.
Took us 4 days of travel. Only problem was cold air leaking under the dash. I needed a blanket over my legs to keep from freezing. When in NM it was warm enough to fix the cold air leak under the dash. Dewinterized when we got to CA.
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Old 11-22-2017, 08:34 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by flywithcoop View Post
Our coach was winterized and We made the same trip last Dec when going to SoCal. I70 to I71, I65 south to I40 west to I 30 south then the I635? bypass around Dallas/Ft Worth to I20 West then I 10 West to AZ and CA. We had 20 degree temp and snow flurries all the way to TN. After TN we didn't need to worry about below freezing temps. We carried 6 gallons of water for coffee. Stopped at rest areas for us and the dogs to use the facilities. Used the dash heat nothing else. We used the furnace and electric heaters when we stopped at campgrounds for the night. Big concern is finding an open campground cause its off season.

Took us 4 days of travel. Only problem was cold air leaking under the dash. I needed a blanket over my legs to keep from freezing. When in NM it was warm enough to fix the cold air leak under the dash. Dewinterized when we got to CA.


Had similar significant cold air coming in under the dash and found a number of unsealed holes/gaps in the firewall that had to be sealed. Seam all the way across the top of the firewall was the biggest gap, which Tiffin sent me their sealant foam to spray since still under warranty. Also got the windshield sealed from the engine compartment under the front of the dash/windshield by the dealer due to air entering at the windshield.

Found other holes in the firewall using a really bright flashlight shined on the firewall by my wife while I laid on the floor finding the gaps/holes and then inserted white cable ties to seal the holes the next day.
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