Living in My 5'er

[birdman71]

I'm thinking of living in my 1990 30' HitchHiker 2 full time.just trying to get things lined up before the move.It will be set-up at my parents,plumbed and electric.I just got the Trailer,its in real good shape,any precautions for the winter I should know about.Just myself and girlfriend;any help preparing for this.not sure what to expect,hearing stories trailers are cold in winter hot in the summer.Are the Trailers not equiped with proper size heating and cooling units? Thanks in advance!

[Ray,IN]

Hitchhiker is a pretty solid RV from reading about our members here with them. Underskirting should be considered, it will greatly reduce heat loss from wind chill and help minimize any pipe freezing issues in really cold weather. Your holding tanks are probably insulated and enclosed, but will require furnace heating to keep from freezing in sub-freezing weather.
The fresh water entry point is on the outside of the trailer. This requires an insulated water source (hose or PVC pipe) with a heat tape under the insulation.
That is just a few of the main issues to address.

[popsuscdds]

We arrived in Wenatchee, Wa in January in our 1989 Collins from Southern California. We had the trailer skirted, put heat tape on the water hose, emptied the septic only when it was full and never looked back. The metallic skirting material was not insulated. I've seen people skirt with hay bales.
I agree with RayIN.
Have fun.
Milt

[birdman71]

Thanks,Looking into skirting options now to be safe.Heat tape will be installed.Thanks for the info Folks.

[popsuscdds]

birdman71
Something else I just remembered. You'll need lots of Propane. Contact one of those companies that rent tanks that can be spliced into your propane lines. The tanks are about 3 to 4 feet tall. This will save you the hassle of removing your small tanks and taking them somewhere to be filled.
Have fun
Milt

[birdman71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by popsuscdds birdman71 Something else I just remembered. You'll need lots of Propane. Contact one of those companies that rent tanks that can be spliced into your propane lines. The tanks are about 3 to 4 feet tall. This will save you the hassle of removing your small tanks and taking them somewhere to be filled. Have fun Milt

Yeap,Getting 100lb tank,already figured that filling the 40's was going to be a pain,keeping them full for the just in case emergency.

[CorsairIIAT]

One thing I did for propane is went to Home Depot and bought a 25 gallon tank. Its last me about 2-2.5 months in the winter here in the Upper Mojave Desert. Low temp here this time of year range from teens to low 30's. Use onboard 7 gallon tanks when large one is empty and waiting to be filled. One problem with that is not every propane place has the adaptor to fill my large tank. Also most propane delivery companys won't fill your tank unless you rent a tank from them. So I load my tank in truck and take it into town to have it filled.

[CD]

birdman71
Something you might want to discreatly look into living in an RV at your parents place. Some places don't allow it, even if it is done. It becomes 2 residents on one property. I'm not saying not to do it but to know where you stand.

[birdman71]

I got a question,is it better to run the fridge on propane or electric?just thinking if its on propane should free up some amps for something else

[Ray,IN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by birdman71 I got a question,is it better to run the fridge on propane or electric?just thinking if its on propane should free up some amps for something else

This depends upon your electric supply. To help you make your decision, make a wattage chart for your RV. Locate the nameplate/data plate for each appliance and record the AC operating wattage; note_ for inductive motors the starting wattage can be 2-7 times the running wattage. It might look something like this: Solar Plexus - energy products, installation & consulting if you want to get detailed.
I think you will find that 100# propane cylinders cannot be re-filled onsite, they must be taken to a re-filling facility by you, or the propane company will deliver full ones when you call. I would consider renting a 250 gallon tank, and have the propane company set it where you want.This means they would come and re-fill it every time, just like large home tanks. The price per gallon might be less this way too. Worth investigation anyway.

[birdman71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray,IN This depends upon your electric supply. To help you make your decision, make a wattage chart for your RV. Locate the nameplate/data plate for each appliance and record the AC operating wattage; note_ for inductive motors the starting wattage can be 2-7 times the running wattage. It might look something like this: Solar Plexus - energy products, installation & consulting if you want to get detailed. I think you will find that 100# propane cylinders cannot be re-filled onsite, they must be taken to a re-filling facility by you, or the propane company will deliver full ones when you call. I would consider renting a 250 gallon tank, and have the propane company set it where you want.This means they would come and re-fill it every time, just like large home tanks. The price per gallon might be less this way too. Worth investigation anyway.

The price to fill the 100# was $66.00 verse's the delivered price of $165 what my buddy paid.he had a 250 gal thats including tank rental,Deliver too.I'll take mine and get it filled,he has since return tank and canceled the serivce and filling his own 100# tank now. The place is like 20 min away so its not a big thing.

[Ray,IN]

According to my calculations you paid $3.87 per gallon ( weight of propane = 4.7 lbs/gallon) to fill your 100# cylinder. Your buddy paid $3.87 to fill his empty 250G tank + deposit, which he gets back when finished with the tank. He got his propane delivered, you paid for the fuel to drive 20 minutes each way, your choice, as it should be. I was just offering my opinion.

[mhs4771]

Something is wrong here or am I missing an important part of the puzzle?? A 100 lb tank holds 23.5 Gal of propane and cost $66 to fill, Yet a 250 Gallon or is that suppose to be 250 lb, cost $165 to fill with delivery. If it's really 250 gal seems like that would be a lot cheaper. If it's 250 lb then the price would be nearly the same and you wouldn't have to lug that 100 lb tank to be filled.

[RJay]

I would also look into a second source of heating in the event you loose power during a storm. Something like a ceramic propane heater would be my suggestion.