Cooler weather

[llmrealestat]

Hi all, I'm still a newbie at this full timing and this will be our first winter. We will be in Iowa through the end of September and then heading south through Missouri and Oklahoma. Here's the question: What precautions do I need to take to make sure my water and sewer hoses do not freeze on the nights it gets down below 32? We are not in a winterized coach -- do I need to do some sort of maintenance to just get us through to the warmer south?
Thanks for any advice.

[Conquest102]

I don't think you are going to have any problems during that time frame the weather has not reached those temps yet. If you were talking end of November you might have some chance for freezing but not end of Sept.

[Barbaraok]

Are all of your tanks enclosed in the basement? If so, just disconnecting the water hose (don't put out the sewer hose in cold weather until you need to use it) will be all you need to do even if there isn't a furnace vent in the basement - but I'd bet there is one.

Barb

[Batman_777]

I use a high grade fresh water drinking hose, pipe foam insulator (below pic right) and a heat tape 25 foot (below pic Left).

Lay the heat tape inside high grade plumbing pipe foam insulator (Don't twirl the heat tape around the hose). There are two quality levels of pipe unsulator.. Get the better. You'll need two or three. They come in 6ft length.

Lay and keep the heat tape on the bottom side of the pipe foam insulator tube in a straight line. Lay the water hose inline on top of the heat tape.

Note: Don't let the heat tape touch itself since that may create a hot spot and melt the heat tape where it touches.

Once you have the pipe insulator and heat tape inside it and water hose inside the insulator tube, take some black duct tape and wrap every 5" inches or so (Not too tightly).

Allow the heat tape coil thermostat to stay exposed to the air. It will come on at about 35-40 degrees. The heat tape when on should be slighty warm to touch.

Coil the left over heat tape up (if any) and place inside your water compartment to help warm it up. The heat tape doesn't get hot enough to damage anything except maybe itself.

[Batman_777]

You don't need to worry about the 3" Stinky Slinky sewer hose freezing up as long as you don't let a lot of water sit in it. Even some water sitting in the bottom of it won't hurt. I did have the black tank paddle valve freeze up but not real bad. To unthaw, I held a hair dryer close to it and gently worked the paddle valve open. Whew!! Glad it opened up okay.

Do provide some kind of compartment heating when it's going to be very cold. Light bulbs are safe. Small heaters are okay.. Be xtra cautious. Take some car towels or something and place them on the bottom compartment, wrap something around the sewer hose entry opening. Check for exposed plumbing.

Open inside cabinet doors where plumbing is to allow warming inside them.

Get a wireless temp sensor and place in the outside water compartment so you can monitor the temp from the inside. I have several of these in various places around outside compartment areas.

[Magumba]

We've spent most of the last 10 years full time in a motor home in cold weather. We're been below zero too many times.

I find with a motor home like you have the fresh water and holding tanks are warmed enough by the heater that they should not be a problem with them freezing. I found with the 1995 and 2003 Itasca Suncruisers we've lived in freezing of the dump valves becomes a problem when the temperature gets into the low 20s. So I put a small ceramic heater in the compartment set on low fan and very low heat.

Our current 2003 motor home has the hot water heater in a compartment behind right front tire and the water lines in that compartment freeze unless I put a ceramic heater in the compartment. Freezing of the lines to the water heater was not a problem on our 1995 because the water heater was above the sub-floor and warmed by the heater return air.

As recommended above you need to insulate and heat tape the water hose if the temperature gets below 32 degrees. If you are only going to be in subfreezing temperature for a short time I would run on my water pump and fill the freshwater tank every few days. No sense winterizing the water hose for a month or so.

Good luck and enjoy the weather.

[llmrealestat]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I sure am learning a lot!

[Perry White]

I usually don't winterize mine here in MO until around thanksgiving. St. Louis.