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Old 11-20-2010, 06:51 AM   #1
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Cold Weather Use

Hi we are thinking of using our MH for a snowmobiling trip to upper michigan this february. I have a 2009 Cayman and i know it has the bay heater and it is supposed to have a heated tank pad for the water tank. My real question is where do most of the water lines run i am planning on disconnecting the ice maker but other than that i am not sure where the water lines run and Monaco has not been much help. Has anyone used there MH in this type of weather temps could be as low as -20 F Thanks in advance. Sorry about the double post message said it did not go through
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Old 11-20-2010, 02:12 PM   #2
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At -20 you will be using alot of propane. Unless your hooked up to shore power and can use an electric heater. We have used our MH for sledding as well. Plus I usually travel a couple of times to Island Park Id to sled. Usually over a weekend. Running the generator can save on propane with electric heaters. Also the batteries for your bay heaters.

I would take all exposed water lines in your bay area & any where else and wrap them with insulation or heat tape. If your serious about camping in -20 then you do need to prepare your rig for the colder temps and keeping your water lines from freezing. I would use a blue flame type heater so your not using up a lot of propane that the furnaces do. Also plug up all your roof vents with the foam insulation squares. You can also put the clear plastic window insulation on the inside of all your windows, this will help in keeping the heat in and the cold out. Just remember to not get your MH so air tight that you do can not crack a window or ceiling vent. You will have quite a bit of humidity build up inside your coach and you will need to find a way to let it escape.

I would make sure you have access to refill your propane or at least have an extra tank delivered to where you are staying. You run out of propane and you will be dead in the water.....or I guess I should froze up solid.

When you leave for the ride turn all the heat down to 50 or 45, just enough to keep the inside from freezing up. I cant say this enough, you will go thru a lot of propane to keep everything from freezing. If the temps are in the high 20's at night and 30-40's in the day, it will be easy duty. I have had a temp gauge in my water bay, usually it needs to get down to low 20's on the outside, before I start to worry about the bay freezing. That is if the day temps are above freezing. If the day temps are below freezing you will need to keep the heat turned up.

I have an enclosed trailer that I have installed a propane furnace. This really helps in drying everything out. Especially your clothes. Other wise your MH will have tons of humidity/moisture from your riding clothes. Changing clothes in the trailer really makes a difference in the humidity of the MH.

Even if you do not want to install an RV furnace in your trailer you could use a blue flame type heater. You could also use one of the heaters that have 2 or 3 burners on them. They do a great job, I had one of those until I installed the RV heater. You do need to be careful with the heaters that have the burners on them. They will use up all the oxygen in your trailer. Crack a vent or the door. Do not have anyone sleep in your trailer with the burner type of set up. They will not wake up in the morning. Both the Blue flame and the burner type heaters put out a lot of humidity from the propane. It will collect on the ceiling and start to drip on everything. Air flow is the key to stopping this situation.
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Old 11-20-2010, 06:11 PM   #3
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I have not experienced -20 but I have bought two ceramic heaters for the basements and the water compartment, I do not trust the heater in the water bay, it seems like it works and then it don't. I get electricity from the back basement and run an electric line over to the water bay and plug the other in the receptacle. My coach stays outside and I have not had any problem but be sure you do not allow water in the ice maker solenoid, I unhook the line and blow all water out and do not use the ice maker. As stated in the other post make sure you have enough LP to keep the heaters going. We have a DFT with a bath and half, behind the commode in the half is a covered cabinet, when you look down in the cabinet you can see most of the water lines, that go tot he coach filter and allow the heat go down into the space. Good luck, I hope I have my garage built when next winter comes. One other thing, I have three remote temperature sending units, one in water bay, one in the water filter bay and one on the tank in the basement, let us know how things go.
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Old 11-21-2010, 07:02 AM   #4
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I use our coach for two motorcycle shows that I do in the winter. One in January ( Washington DC) the other in February Baltimore, MD. If I knew it was going to go down to -20 on those dates I would make other arrangements and leave the MH home. -20 is just too cold. There's too big a chance for things too go wrong. Even with your motors block heater plugged in I would hate to start it at those temps. If you decide to do it I would suggest you do not open the slides, the icing that will build up from the condensation around the weather stripping could cause damage and even prevent you from closing them. When we do these winter shows we never open the slides. The next thing I would suggest is leaving any cabinet door and drawers open that have water lines running through. On mine there are water lines running running through the back of cabinets to the back of the RV. Almost froze up once, now I leave them open or remove them. In addition to what has already been suggested I would also bring whatever it takes to winterize your MH in case it couldn't start or you get stuck like snowed or iced in. I carry a small air compressor and windshield washer fluid to dump down the drains in case something like that happens.
I've used this coach down into the very low teens which is the limit for me Upper teens, 20's and 30's no problem, but when it gets to the single numbers and below I would be taking other precautions like putting a skirt around the bottom of the coach to help keep the wind out. I just don't think it's worth it when it gets into the single numbers and below.
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