Living in my 2011 Cedar Creak Silverback I NEED HELP PLEASE!

[Mirandazzi]

Hello! I have just bought a 2011 Cedar Creek Silverback model 35K. I plan on living in this year round. If it were not for this trailer, my husband and I would be homeless. So to say the least I am very grateful that we have a roof over our heads. We live in NJ and although our winters are not horrible, we do get the occasional snowstorm and cold weather. I called the manufacturer for some tips on how to survive the winter and he told me to do the following things..
1. Skirt the entire outside bottom half portion with plywood or partical board.
2. Put heat tape around our black/grey waste tubing
3. My husband is set on putting a tiny woodbunring stove in this thing but I am strictly against this. I do not want to take any chances in our home going up in flames. So I think I have convinced him to buy the gas powered furnace from the manufacturer..running us about $450 which is pretty damn reasonable in the grand scheme of things.
4.I was told that at least once a day for at least 5 minutes to open both the bathroom and kitchen fans to circulate the air and let out excess condensation.
5. Buy a bigger propane tank. We currently have two 25lb ones but was advised to invest in a 250+ lb tank.
6. Set thermostat to at least 70 degrees in winter at all times.
7. Keep heating pads around tanks on at all times.

My brother in law will be supplying the electric as well as the water from his house. The trailer will be about 100 ft away from the house. We are trying to take all the precautions and do things right so we will be able to live in theis beautiful 5th wheel year round. Is there anything that we are missing? Can anyone tell me any other pointers that we were not told? ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated. This is the first time my husband and I will ever be occupying a 5th wheel or any knid of trailer for that matter, so you could imagine my anxiety about this upcoming winter. PLease reach me on here or through my email at miranda.lill@yahoo.com.

Thank you so very much for taking the time to read this and hopefully replying. Have a great day!

[ralphie]

All good recommendations and you'll probably be okay, even in NJ. Many people live in FWs year-round, even in cold climes.

[Mirandazzi]

Thanks so much for replying Ralphie! You have definitely eased my mind

[4Knights]

I would add 2 inch foam board to the inside of your plywood and possibly lay a tarp on the ground under the entire rig to keep ground moisture from coming up.
Have you considered an outside wood burning furnace that you can duct the heat vent into your rig? May be alot cheaper than your gas or electric bill will be

[Billieg]

Your main concern is keeping the pipes and tanks from freezing. Make sure any pipe that has water in it has heat tape around it with insulation wrap as well including your water supply hose. On really cold nights let the water drip so it continues to move and not freeze up. Make sure your tanks are wraped too with heating tape and insulation.

If you close in the bottom of the trailer you could put a small elec. heater in there in case it goes below 10* to keep it warm. Does your unit have an Artic pack?

[CD]

If it was me, I wouldn't bother with heat tape on the water hose from the house to the 5er. I would fill the water tank on the RV and use that until it needed filling then roll out the hose and refill. If weather is still warm enough then use the hose. You should not leave the sewer hose running so it shouldn't need heat tape. Just dump black tanks when 3/4 full or so. That will prevent the pyramid problem. The info about skirting etc and keeping tanks from freezing is good.

[Mirandazzi]

Hey guys thanks! No I do not have an arctic pack as far as I know. I don't want to jinx myself but it never gets THAT cold here (-10). Great idea with the tarp and foam board! Thanks again!

[Superslif]

On the Cedar Creek website it looks like "tank heaters" are standard. But Thermopane Windows are an option.

[Elf111]

You will probably find that the camper is warmer than most houses. We have an electric blanket for the bed and turn the furnace down to about fifty five degrees at night (saves a lot of gas) we also run an electric heater during extreme cold spells. We use our water tank and just hook up the hose to fill make sure you roll it up and drain all water out if you want to use it again without a lot of hassle.
You'll do just fine after you get used to it.

[NLOVNIT]

Congrats on your 5-r. You've got a really good handle on getting through the winter in NJ. Stand by your guns on the woodburning stove inside. Too great a chance of fire & I know from experience (not in my RV, though) that getting a wood stove going can be troublesome at times & the smoke it'll put out until it does get going will go all over & set your alarms off.

I would suggest getting a dehumidifier to help keep the moisture under control. You'll be amazed at how much can be given off by just breathing, add on top of that cooking/showering & that's more moisture than you'll be able to get out just by running your vent fans with a window open. Having a dehumidifier should also help reduce the amount of time you would have to open vents for air circulation, loosing valuable heat you've paid for when it's so cold out. Finally, use the reservoir water to flush the toilet - it'll extend the life of your fresh water supply which might just keep you from having to go out to attach the hose to refill when it's really cold or lots of snow.

When it's really windy out & the temps are low, consider bringing in any slides. Slides out expose a lot of walls & you'll loose heat rapidly, even if your seals are tight. Pulling the slides in reduces the surface area exposed to the wind that wicks away your heat.

Get at least 1 heavy duty broom. When it snows, you'll need to get up on the roof to remove snow from around your vent pipes so they aren't blocked by snow buildup.

Lori-

[powerboatr]

x2 the tarp on the ground and
bringing slides if its real cold
some good foam board skirting
big lp tank
couple eva dry dehumidifiers

plus max air vents over the the roof vents, will help control COLD and condensation, plus allow you to ventilate with snow on the roof

try to keep the front closet door open enough to allow air flow to help control condensation

rolled up socks at the lower corners of slides and the seals will help with the seeping cool breeazzzees

our 06 creek did us great through some very cold winters

[tomwalt]

It's hard to add to this list. If the max air vents are too expensice for you, WalMart sells CAMCO RV roof vent covers for $21.50. I have 2 of them and they work well.
I run both a small electric ceramic heater (750/1500 watt) and the RV gas heater on cold nights. The electric heater seems to stabilize the room heat and keeps the RV heater from coming on too often. I am not a full timer - so moisture control is still hit and miss for me (on cold wet days I get condensation).
If you are not going to move the trailer, you should park on ply wood or something to save your nicenew tires from getting flat spots. Ask around for what's best for the tires (maybe put the trailer on blocks and get the tires off the ground?)