What do i need for "cold weather package"

[caymann]

My coach doesnot have it. I moved from FL to NH.
I would like to find out how can i survive cold weather as far as my plumbing and holding tanks and fresh water tanks are concerned?

I see the heating duct in the holding tank bay but there is no insulation.

Do i need to add insulation?

[caymann]

My coach doesnot have it. I moved from FL to NH.
I would like to find out how can i survive cold weather as far as my plumbing and holding tanks and fresh water tanks are concerned?

I see the heating duct in the holding tank bay but there is no insulation.

Do i need to add insulation?

[Robin_M]

Caymann,

Welcome to the forum. I see no one has answered your question in a couple of days, so I'll take a crack. I'll answer your question based on the assumption that, having lived in the south, you have not needed to winterize an RV before...

I live in PA, and I've not heard of anyone who has insulated their water service bay. At least it's not a common practice. If you have a furnace outlet down there, that should keep it warm enough while you are using the coach. Some Monacos have a 12v electric heater that will come on when the temperature gets down to a few degrees above freezing. In my old coach, I used to hang a trouble light with a 80w light bulb in there when the temps approached freezing.

You also need to make sure the outside water line for your ice maker stays warm. Most come with an electric heat tape that covers the solenoid and at least the exposed part of the line.

When NOT using the coach you are going to have to winterized it. All the water must be removed from all lines. You can do it with air or the pink winterizing fluid they sell at camping stores. There should be detailed procedures for winterizing the coach in your owner's manual.

I usually remove any interior water filters and winterize the coach with "pink stuff" at the beginning of each winter season. Then If I use the coach during the winter, I'll leave the ice maker line disconnected and not use the washer/dryer. The rest of the lines I'll blow out with compressed air if I'm going to be using the coach again shortly.

All this is kind of an "abbreviated" version of the winterizing process. You'll want to learn the details from the manual, an experienced friend, or an RV technician.

["007"]

Heres a LINK to put you in the mood for whats to come. Note what some of the RVers do with there coach for the winter months.
If your going to live in it you may want to add a blanket if insulation on floor of water bay.
You will have to fill fresh water tank and not have any drain or water hoses exposed and close all access wholes into water bay. The ice maker tube I would drain and buy some ice, disconnect the 12v's to heat tube its been known to melt the tube and cause leaks.
If you have a heat vent from furnace like some of us do you may have a fan that operates when the furnace cycles off and on. My coach does have that feature and a switch to shut off fan in summer months. Some tanks come with heat pads under them maybe 12v or 110v pads.
If you are just going to winterize follow Robins advice and your service manual for your coach.

[caymann]

Thanks folks!

I don't plan to live in it. I just want to use it going camping until the snow starts. After that i will store it for the winter. It mayn't start snowing until late December. And most campgrounds do close here, by Oct 15. After that, i have about two months of usage left at temperatures in the twenty's during the night.
This means i will be camping w/o hookups and mostly during the weekends in the mountains or national forest.

I was not sure if i still need to put insulation in the water bay.