Bounder: Fleetwood Class A cold weather, short-term use

[TimmyB]

We are in the process of getting our 2020 Fleetwood 35P and we discovered a couple of threads that talked about people who own a Fleetwood Class A (older models) and used them up north (e.g., very cold Wisconsin) for a couple of weeks. They stated that they could accomplish this because the water tank compartments were heated, which prevented freezing up of water lines.

We will be returning to Michigan (SW Lower) each year for about 10-12 days around Christmas (as we always do) but rather than fly there and rent a car, we might consider driving our rig home with our toad. This would help eliminate staying in someone else's house for that time and the expense of renting a car.

Do any of you owners of more recent model-year Fleetwoods have any experience with this to tell me whether this is feasible or not? Would love to hear from you, if so.

Thanks for any info!

Tim

[THenman]

We have an American Coach (also REV product) and for us it could be done however; I would not want to do it. Got caught in snow leaving home a year(?) ago and it was really no fun driving!
That said be sure to check your coach as it will most likely have different systems.

Tom

[TimmyB]

Originally Posted by THenman

We have an American Coach (also REV product) and for us it could be done however; I would not want to do it. Got caught in snow leaving home a year(?) ago and it was really no fun driving!
That said be sure to check your coach as it will most likely have different systems.

Tom

Yes, that is indeed a concern. We rationalize that by saying that we're on our own schedule and if we only make it a couple hundred miles a day because we have to crawl out of the midwest, we can do that because it doesn't cost us anything to pull over and sleep, but not sure how that would really play out! (Gotta get home!!!)

Thanks for the feedback!

[anav8or]

We have a 2017 40G and don't have any issues camping in the midwest in the winter (we live in Ohio). Although the belly is heated by the rear furnace, I have two small heaters (~250 watt "personal" heaters) that I use to make sure the belly stays warm. One is in the wet bay, the other in the bay directly across from it (the bay with the peg board in front of the tanks).

I use a zwave controller along with some temp sensors in the bay to automatically turn the heaters off and on (this is overkill, but I work in IT so why not?), but you could just use those temp sensing power cubes they sell on Amazon to turn them off and on.

One thing to note - I've heard that some floorplans have water lines that run along the slide supports - if you fall into that category, some additional protection for those lines would likely be needed. On our unit, all of the plumbing is inside the slides thankfully.

[TimmyB]

Originally Posted by anav8or

We have a 2017 40G and don't have any issues camping in the midwest in the winter (we live in Ohio). Although the belly is heated by the rear furnace, I have two small heaters (~250 watt "personal" heaters) that I use to make sure the belly stays warm. One is in the wet bay, the other in the bay directly across from it (the bay with the peg board in front of the tanks).

I use a zwave controller along with some temp sensors in the bay to automatically turn the heaters off and on (this is overkill, but I work in IT so why not?), but you could just use those temp sensing power cubes they sell on Amazon to turn them off and on.

One thing to note - I've heard that some floorplans have water lines that run along the slide supports - if you fall into that category, some additional protection for those lines would likely be needed. On our unit, all of the plumbing is inside the slides thankfully.

Good info! Ours will be a Bounder 35P, and not really sure where the lines would run. I guess we'll have all summer to investigate that!

We would only be a couple hours north of you and right on Lake Michigan, so more snow and probably warmer due to the lake. Fingers crossed we can make it work.

Thanks!

[alank]

For the most part that is true about having basement heat and keeping all internal water from freezing.

However, I don't think there's any claim from Fleetwood that the coach is good from freezing, down to any specific temperature.

For instance, we had a 2017 Discovery LXE 40D and now have a 2019 40M. Both coaches had outside water lines (with slides extended) to the kitchen sink that would easily freeze, and did last year on our way to AZ. I developed my own heat & insulation package to take care of this on the 2019, but it takes a little time and planning to develop and install.

And then there's snow and ice, if the slide toppers are all snowed and iced up, you'll likely be waiting for a nice sunny warm day to put the slides in for travel, or possibly a "WIDE LOAD" sign may work.

And then there's the road conditions, if lots of snow (Michigan?) and how much salt they use up there, and how much salt you want on the undercarriage of the coach. I suspect if you got into salt, you would need to go south and drive in the rain for about a week to flush most of it out.

The risk of all this on a 2020 coach?

We live in Arkansas and are going to Memphis area for Christmas with a very good weather forecast. Will probably get along fine down here. We're getting some factory warranty work done and I told them I wouldn't consider driving to Indiana until May. Got an appointment for 5-4-2020.

[TimmyB]

Originally Posted by alank

For the most part that is true about having basement heat and keeping all internal water from freezing.

However, I don't think there's any claim from Fleetwood that the coach is good from freezing, down to any specific temperature.

For instance, we had a 2017 Discovery LXE 40D and now have a 2019 40M. Both coaches had outside water lines to the kitchen sink that would easily freeze, and did last year on our way to AZ. I developed my own heat & insulation package to take care of this on the 2019, but it takes a little time and planning to develop and install.

And then there's snow and ice, if the slide toppers are all snowed and iced up, you'll likely be waiting for a nice sunny warm day to put the slides in for travel, or possibly a "WIDE LOAD" sign may work.

And then there's the road conditions, if lots of snow (Michigan?) and how much salt they use up there, and how much salt you want on the undercarriage of the coach. I suspect if you got into salt, you would need to go south and drive in the rain for about a week to flush most of it out.

The risk of all this on a 2020 coach?

Good points!

If the weather was shaky, I'm pretty sure we would leave the slides in, but we hadn't considered the road salt issue. I'm pretty sure we'd be hitting a truck wash with an undercarriage spray, if that were the case!

I'm guessing (hoping?) that water usage would be mostly toilet needs but I imagine going the entire time without kitchen use would be unrealistic. Definitely can't wait to start figuring out where the lines are run!

Thanks for your input!

[anav8or]

I'm confident that you can make it work. I think that Fleetwood technically considers these 3-season units, but, with a few minor enhancements you should be able to camp in any weather.

I would also suggest using a ceramic heater or two in the living area to help keep the interior evenly heated and stretch your propane. If you have supplemental heat in the tank bay, you don't have to worry as much about making sure the furnace is running and keeping it warm down there.

[TimmyB]

Originally Posted by anav8or

I'm confident that you can make it work. I think that Fleetwood technically considers these 3-season units, but, with a few minor enhancements you should be able to camp in any weather.

I would also suggest using a ceramic heater or two in the living area to help keep the interior evenly heated and stretch your propane. If you have supplemental heat in the tank bay, you don't have to worry as much about making sure the furnace is running and keeping it warm down there.

We will have an electric "fireplace" in the living area, so that will definitely help, but we also have a couple of small ceramic heaters from our old rig. I'll definitely pick up a couple more.

Thanks, again!!!

[House Husband]

Originally Posted by TimmyB

We will have an electric "fireplace" in the living area, so that will definitely help, but we also have a couple of small ceramic heaters from our old rig. I'll definitely pick up a couple more.

Thanks, again!!!

The fireplace and electric heater will NOT help heat the wet bays. They will only cause the propane furnaces, which heat the wet bays, to run less.

Richard

[TimmyB]

Originally Posted by House Husband

The fireplace and electric heater will NOT help heat the wet bays. They will only cause the propane furnaces, which heat the wet bays, to run less.

Richard

Right. That's what I meant for the new heaters, to be used in the bays. Sorry that I was a bit vague.

Thanks!

[rmueller]

Keep in mind, only the propane heater heats the basement compartments.

Second, the other air/heat unit is an electric heat-pump; it won't work in temps less than 40 some odd degrees.

I've used supplemental heaters (small ceramic heaters) in the bays when things get really cold. Otherwise, the propane heater works fine.

The other thing would be to either add a skirt or pile snow to keep the wind from passing under the MH.

But, if you are in Wisconsin or nearby this week, not to worry it's 56 degrees today with a low of 45 and will be in the 40's for the next 6-7days

We also carry 6-8 gals of pink stuff and my pump setup (12v pump/6gal container - with hoses and fittings so I can pump it right into the city water hookup), just in case I need to winterize in a pinch...takes 20mins and its done.

Ron

[TimmyB]

Originally Posted by rmueller

Keep in mind, only the propane heater heats the basement compartments.

Second, the other air/heat unit is an electric heat-pump; it won't work in temps less than 40 some odd degrees.

I've used supplemental heaters (small ceramic heaters) in the bays when things get really cold. Otherwise, the propane heater works fine.

The other thing would be to either add a skirt or pile snow to keep the wind from passing under the MH.

But, if you are in Wisconsin or nearby this week, not to worry it's 56 degrees today with a low of 45 and will be in the 40's for the next 6-7days

We also carry 6-8 gals of pink stuff and my pump setup (12v pump/6gal container - with hoses and fittings so I can pump it right into the city water hookup), just in case I need to winterize in a pinch...takes 20mins and its done.

Ron

Yeah, it was 60 today in South Haven, right across the lake from you! If we could count on weather like this every Christmas, this whole discussion would be moot!

[rmueller]

Nice...love South Haven, visit Sunny Brook every year.

Yep, 60 yesterday, 30 today and snow on the way. It's a little like living in Denver lately.

Ron