Community Forums

u00jdd2 · 01-09-2015, 06:40 PM

I have a 2003 Dolphin LK. I will be leaveing in 3 weeks for Florida. My MH has not been winterized. I will be staying out one night but will always have heat in it. I think I have read that if you run the furnace it provides heat into the holding tank areas. I am espeially concerned with the water heater. Can I leave it lite while traveling? Then there are the water lines to the ice maker that are exposed. I think I am talking myself into draining it down at least. Any expert opinions or just opinion?

kennersonf · 01-09-2015, 09:23 PM

Yes, you can leave the water heater on while traveling. It is thermostatically controlled and will only come on when the water cools to the set temperature. As for the ice-maker tube, there is a heating wire wrapped up next to it from the valve to where it enters the motorhome. This keeps it from freezing just so long as your refrigerator is turned on. Also, the propane heater supplies heat to the holding tank area. There should be a heating duct that goes into the tank area. Just so long as you're traveling and living in the motorhome you shouldn't have a problem.

In three weeks there may not be any concern. I was once caught in a cold snap near San Antonio where the lows were 15 degrees and the highs were 29 degrees for four days. I never had any problem with the holding tanks or inside plumbing. The biggest problem was the water in the spigots freezing at night. We had to fill our holding tank during the daytime and then disconnect the water hose from the supply pedestal at night. I also used a drop light with a 100 watt bulb inside the water inlet bay area to keep the tank valves from freezing. I rigged up a way to hang it and left it on. Worked like a charm.

BFlinn181 · 01-09-2015, 10:05 PM

Besides using a drop light with an incandescent bulb to add heat, I suggest you place a remote wireless thermometer in the wet bay so you can monitor temperatures in there.

kennersonf · 01-10-2015, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

Besides using a drop light with an incandescent bulb to add heat, I suggest you place a remote wireless thermometer in the wet bay so you can monitor temperatures in there.

Good suggestion Bob. I forgot to mention that is what I also did. With the outside temperature at 15 degrees, the water and sewer bay stayed above freezing.

jwmaustin · 01-10-2015, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by u00jdd2

I have a 2003 Dolphin LK. I will be leaveing in 3 weeks for Florida. My MH has not been winterized. I will be staying out one night but will always have heat in it. I think I have read that if you run the furnace it provides heat into the holding tank areas. I am espeially concerned with the water heater. Can I leave it lite while traveling? Then there are the water lines to the ice maker that are exposed. I think I am talking myself into draining it down at least. Any expert opinions or just opinion?

We are heading out tomorrow for FL. It's about 9 degrees right now I think...so cold the water froze instantly on the side of our FW as I tried to put the water fill in!

We will be heading out winterized for the first part of the trip. We are about 3 hours south of you as it turns out. I thought I would dewinterize tonight but as I said above I didn't have much luck filling the tank so I guess I won't until further into the trip! We did something similar last year and made it ok. Like others I believe I could dewinterize and take off its just that it may be colder outside than I want to bother with.

Bill/Jenny

chboone · 01-11-2015, 09:17 PM

The heater for the ice maker water line and valve is only on when connected to shore power or running the generator.

Robby W. · 01-12-2015, 04:26 AM

I left Iowa last week for Florida in our '07 TropiCal, it was cold, real cold. I have a remote temperature sensor in the wet bay, I had readings a low as 2 degrees. I put the sensor right on the black tank valve body. I'm sure glad I was winterized, I thought I had heated tanks, obviously not.

I'd stay winterized till you get south, very risky if you have any kind of problems. We used bottled water to drink and cook and RV fluid chase down business in the bathroom. We even had to close off the bedroom and sleep in the main cabin to stay as worm as we like it. Got down into the single digest 2 nights an teens 2 nights.

Robby