RVing in MN, WI, ND, SD in the winter

[Wanderchris]

A big Texas Howdy y'all. Our daughter is attending university in Minneapolis in the fall--she just had to get the best scholarships there--so we want to RV in the area for at least the first year. Our problem is finding a year round park or place where we can park and/or live for the winter. (Oh surely I didn't say that, but yes, heading north in the winter from the Texas coast. We've stayed in it in Colorado so I think we'll be warm enough but year round parks are so few and far between. Any help or advice--besides "stay at home and let your daughter go to college" as a friend told me--would be appreciated. If she wasn't my baby and just now learning to drive I might just have gone to Arizona like I want to but she's a blonde at the roots, you know?)

[peham]

Hi there, my husband and I are from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. We began full timing in Oct 2012, but return to MN in the summer. We are on our way there now and have reservations at Town & Country RV Campground in Savage, MN which is approximately 30 minutes from the University. They are not open year round, but I came across one that says they are open year round. They are really close to the U, but just not sure about the neighborhood where it's located. We used to pass it on our way to my brothers apt which was just a couple of miles from there, but we never stopped to check it out. This is the link and you should be able to find other campgrounds. http://mnresortsandcampgrounds.com/lowry-grove-rv-park


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[CampDaven]

If you look you may find more than this one.

http://www.townandcountrycampground.com

Try campgroundreviews.com

[GBS]

I just retired from the UofMN after 28 years, and worked in the nearby Dinkytown area for 14 years before that. While I can't speak to the quality of the Lowry-Grove location the other poster gave a link to, that area is very nice. Safe, well maintained nearby housing areas, very close to all kinds of shopping. I have many friends living in the surrounding neighborhoods. And very easy access to the nearby University.

That said....WHY would you even consider overwintering in an RV in Minnesota????? Heck, many of our purpose built houses had big issues with the winter last year. 10, 20 even 30 below zero for several nights in a row is not fun. And then repeat a few times. Unthawable sewer connections, frozen water pipes, likelihood that your heater just cannot deliver the btu's, and the huge amounts of propane you will burn through all argue against overwintering. Seriously, it won't be just uncomfortable once in a while, it can be very dangerous. That park has a number of permanent "manufactured homes". I would call them and find out what winterizing they had to do (insulating plumbing, furnace sizes, insulation, etc), and how effective it was this past year. And then there are the feet of snow that stay around from December through April....

Sure, lots of us live here, and thrive in it. But we've learned to prep for it. And most RV's just aren't made for that extreme for such long periods.

On the other side, as a former staffer who assisted with many aspects of orientation and freshman transition, the worst possible thing you can do is be so close, just to meet her potential needs. She will be an adult, and HAS to begin to figure out how to operate on her own. The first step of that is for her to not turn to her parents to fix it right away, which almost every freshman will do if given an easy way to do it. The U will expect her to figure it out herself, and provides LOTS of support to help her learn to do so. And, you will be shocked and upset over how little information they will give you about her, as she is the adult they are dealing with. I spent an awful lot of my day counseling confused students, and telling concerned parents that they had no rights or input in whatever issue was at hand. Truly, the parents only pay the bills (if that).

The U is an urban campus, but transit options are so good that she will not need a car at all, so driving is not an issue. Seriously. Buy her a bike - Minneapolis is the country's most "bike friendly" city. It even beats Portland, OR.

That said - the initial move possibly can require a little extra support. So if you want to stay around for Sept and Oct (great weather in Minn!), go for it. Go to a Gopher or Vikings game with her. Go to the State Fair. But hit the road for home no later than Halloween. Use all that propane money you saved to give her tickets to fly home frequently, and to increase the minutes on your cell phone.

[CampDaven]

Good thought!
I grew up in MN.
Your odds of freezing some expensive stuff in your Cedar Creek is quite high, no matter how you prep, and your furnace will do much fulltime running and not keep you warm.
MN is a good place to leave before November!

[Triker56]

Turn her loose and take that GPS ankle bracelet off of her.
She is no longer a baby and will be able to get sex, booze & drugs even if you are around.

MN. no place for a MH in the winter. If you have to be there rent a 2 bedroom house, apt, or condo and have her join you on the weekends.

[halfwright]

All parents worry about their kids. As we were packig and selling stuff before we went full time, I told my youngest son,(20 at the time) that I would worry about him if he didn't call once a week. He said, "Dad, you raised us to be independent and you will have to let us be sooner or later." And, he was right.

[milestogoB4]

Last winter in upstate NY I spent $100./week for propane and I had to take one day off midweek to defrost the INSIDE of the windshield then drive thru snow fog and ice eight miles each way to the nearest fill up place. I had to keep a ceramic heater in my 'heated' basement sewer compartment, stuff plastic bags filled with pillows around all fresh water pipes and worried all day every day about my dogs freezing or being trapped in an accidental fire while I worked to afford the next tank of propane. Just when I thought the worst was over, my pipes burst and I had no toilet-shower or water for dishwashing unless I hauled it in 5 gallon buckets.
I have been thru a lot in my life, but I am getting too old for this amount of stress. I will NEVER be caught wintering where freezing weather is the typical climate. Don't do it.

[GBS]

And we get a lot colder than upstate New York! But they get more snow!

Our 10,000 lakes freeze thick enough to drive semi's on.

[Dutch Star David]

There are reasons why you see all the license plates from MN, SD, etc. down in the Rio Grand Valley in the winter. I second all the others' advice: stay south after October.

[GBS]

We'll be one of them this winter! <grin!>

[drfife]

Few RV's are designed to withstand a Minnesota winter.

Don't even think about it.

A few days of -20° and you'll understand.

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by drfife

Few RV's are designed to withstand a Minnesota winter.
Don't even think about it.
A few days of -20° and you'll understand.

I'll disagree with this , only because it says " Few " instead of " No".
I boon docked in a Manitoba ( the Canadian province where all Minnesota weather comes through) built 5er, at -22f ; one night with no water on board, with the slide in. in a Walmart parking lot , I did manage to stay comfortable in bed, but couldn't stand to have my feet on the floor during breakfast. Managed to get the truck started and pointed it south drove 750 miles in one day to get out of the cold.
Furnace was running 40 mins. of every hour, and even with heated tanks , I'm sure water somewhere in the lines would have frozen up.
JMHO: Let your daughter attend the university , if she is used to Texas winters , she'll want to transfer back to warmer climes by Christmas.

[dropframe]

I spent the last 2 winters in Wisconsin. I just fixed a leaky grey tank valve that cracked on the day we hit -60 (with windchill). That being said don't let everyone here scare you. These RVs are tougher then people think. At some point I was doing $150+ a week in propane this Jan and February. You can read about our winter living at my blog - just click on the winter tag.

That being said I don't know your RV - mine is an entry level gasser, but when I saw the newer outlaws I don't know if they could make it. A LOT depends on how your tanks and water lines are plumbed and routed.

You have a 5th wheel so it may do a lot better then a lot of other RVs. I just stayed at Tower Campground in Sioux Falls and they had a lot of 5th wheels with external propane tanks and heat tape on the water pipes. People live in terrible weather all the time.

You can do it - just bring cash, patience, and have a plan for when you get in trouble!