Cold weather and our Timber Ridge trailer

[UTTransplant]

We have a 2014 240RKS. We have been very happy with it. We routinely camp in temps to about 20 without any special tricks at all. We are now visiting our daughter, son in law, and new grandson in Iowa though, and temps have been down to the low teens. (BTW we came here from Quartzsite, AZ - what an adjustment!) Our kitchen has been fine, but on the coldest nights we found the toilet and bathroom sink lines frozen - no water. DH finally climbed under the trailer to figure out why we're were having problems, and discovered something that might help others. After we had a road debris incident in May, we had the dealer drop the underbelly and fits some messed up pipes. When the dealer replaced the underbelly, they left a nice big gap in it! Not only was there a gap, but they hadn't replaced the Reflectix that is on the rest of the belly. DH has added the Reflectix where there was none, added a small amount of spray foam insulation around the crack, and then sealed the seam with Gorilla tape. I just thought I would let others know one more thing to check on their own trailers. We won't have temps into the low teens again until next week, and I will respond if the fix doesn't work. I bet it will though! Note we are using propane at a prodigious rate, so truly cold weather camping is still a painful task. At least now the heat going to the underbelly should stay there and not head straight for the concrete pad underneath!

I do love my ORV trailer!

[Rickeoni]

Grand-kids are the best.

[brulaz]

Originally Posted by UTTransplant

We have a 2014 240RKS. We have been very happy with it. We routinely camp in temps to about 20 without any special tricks at all. We are now visiting our daughter, son in law, and new grandson in Iowa though, and temps have been down to the low teens. (BTW we came here from Quartzsite, AZ - what an adjustment!) Our kitchen has been fine, but on the coldest nights we found the toilet and bathroom sink lines frozen - no water. DH finally climbed under the trailer to figure out why we're were having problems, and discovered something that might help others. After we had a road debris incident in May, we had the dealer drop the underbelly and fits some messed up pipes. When the dealer replaced the underbelly, they left a nice big gap in it! Not only was there a gap, but they hadn't replaced the Reflectix that is on the rest of the belly. DH has added the Reflectix where there was none, added a small amount of spray foam insulation around the crack, and then sealed the seam with Gorilla tape. I just thought I would let others know one more thing to check on their own trailers. We won't have temps into the low teens again until next week, and I will respond if the fix doesn't work. I bet it will though! Note we are using propane at a prodigious rate, so truly cold weather camping is still a painful task. At least now the heat going to the underbelly should stay there and not head straight for the concrete pad underneath!

I do love my ORV trailer!

Did he actually see the water pipes as they run from the rear of the trailer to the bath area in the basement between the frame rails?

I haven't dropped the underbelly and looked inside, but I do see the pipes go down into the floor behind the furnace at the rear of the trailer. And where they go down is *outside* the "basement". So I assumed they run from there all the way up to the bathroom. Again, outside the basement, not between the frame rails but in the floor.

If this is how they run, where they pass over the wheel well is a potential trouble spot as it is much thinner than the rest of the floor. I don't see how they could have much insulation there.

We too love our 240RKS and use it a lot. It's the perfect floor plan for us.

But I've often worried about the routing of those pipes. Perhaps stuffing some insulation and an electrical heat tape in the wheel well will help?

[UTTransplant]

He didn't see the pipes much, but he made some guesses about the pipe routing based on where the low water drain is. Note we had no problem with the pipes in the kitchen t the rear of the trailer. Hot and cold water there on demand. The toilet is very near the low point drain, and that is pretty uninsulated. He put some insulation around it. In addition, that is where the open seam was in the underbelly where he added the Reflectix and tape.

I thought about calling ORV Friday to ask them about routing, but got distracted by that cute grand Baby! I will try calling them on Monday.

[brulaz]

Originally Posted by UTTransplant

He didn't see the pipes much, but he made some guesses about the pipe routing based on where the low water drain is. Note we had no problem with the pipes in the kitchen t the rear of the trailer. Hot and cold water there on demand. The toilet is very near the low point drain, and that is pretty uninsulated. He put some insulation around it. In addition, that is where the open seam was in the underbelly where he added the Reflectix and tape.

I thought about calling ORV Friday to ask them about routing, but got distracted by that cute grand Baby! I will try calling them on Monday.

Ours may be different then.

Our low point drains are located outside the frame rails and outside the basement on the sink and shower side of the trailer (other side from the toilet). I think the pipes just run up from the rear of the trailer on that side, and I don't see how those pipes can get any heat from the basement.

Have often thought that it would help to add insulation to that whole area under the floor from the back to the sink/shower area, outside of the frame rails. But you couldn't permanently insulate in the wheel well. That would need something temporary.

Would be a lot better if ORV had run the pipes in/over the basement between the frame rails, not outside. At least that area gets some heat from the furnace.

EDIT: the pipes in the kitchen are pretty much all in the cupboards behind the drawers and stuff. There's just the pipe down to the water tank, and the lines to the outside shower that might have problems there.

[1bigmess]

Originally Posted by UTTransplant

We routinely camp in temps to about 20 without any special tricks at all.

20 as the low, or the high? I've been in temps this winter of well below zero and highs in the single digits. My trailer send very well built as it should but have survived this weather much less allow me to be comfortable, compared to what some have said. [emoji23] [emoji23] [emoji23]

[UTTransplant]

Originally Posted by 1bigmess

20 as the low, or the high? I've been in temps this winter of well below zero and highs in the single digits. My trailer send very well built as it should but have survived this weather much less allow me to be comfortable, compared to what some have said. [emoji23] [emoji23] [emoji23]

I am impressed that you have no problems with single digit temps (I assume you mean Fahrenheit, not Centigrade). We generally camp where a low of 20 is cold, but the temps go above freezing during the day. Here in Iowa the lows were 9 one night and 12 another two nights while the highs were in the mid to upper 20s. Hey, we are retired and like milder weather so only a new grandson would have gotten us here in these temps! Today was much warmer with highs above freezing making it a good day to climb underneath the trailer. I am hoping the fixes let us have water in the bathroom during next week's forecast of low teens as a low. I do think the repair is what caused this issue, and I just mentioned it as something someone could look at if they had problems with cold weather. Note we didn't get the double pane windows, something I regret now.

[Super Thirty]

Originally Posted by Rickeoni

Grand-kids are the best.

I second that motion.
We love our ORV because it lengthens our season within reasonable limits. We are patiently waiting for global warming to bring our country to a more camping friendly temperature. It's supposed to drop to -31C tonight. I think I will wait until temperatures moderate before venturing out. Reading all the posts about camping does get a person to thinking.....no have to work a little longer....have to work a little longer. [emoji17]

[1bigmess]

Originally Posted by UTTransplant

Note we didn't get the double pane windows, something I regret now.

I wouldn't say I regret not getting double pane windows, but dealing with the condensation has been an extra issue. It's not awful, just a little extra work. I also have a small dehumidifier.

[Super Thirty]

We have the thermal pane windows and still got some moisture on the inside of the windows last fall.

[UTTransplant]

Update:
It is 5 degreesF right now, something I really don't want to experience again in a trailer. Nothing against the TR, but this is just too cold for me! Kitchen area is fine with hot and cold water. Cold water in vanity sink works fine. Hot water in vanity worked at 4 am, so about 8-10 degrees, but is frozen now. Toilet froze at 10pm, about 12 degrees. The toilet is the least of my worries since it is easy to flush with RV antifreeze. The entire situation is definitely better now that we have the open seam on the underbelly sealed. I am thinking this means we could do an overnight while traveling at 15 degrees without worrying about it too much. However that would not be something I seek out! The weather is going to be significantly warmer today so we shouldn't have any more problems. The new parents are doing fine, the baby is delightful, and we are heading to an honest to goodness RV park about 60 miles away (the closest one open all year). We would have been heading back to warmer climes tomorrow, but we had a problem with the truck's DEF system. It is a recall item, not significant, but we thought we should stay here until the part comes in on Monday. Hopefully we will be heading waaaayyy south on Tuesday morning!

[brulaz]

Good luck in your travels.
We're currently in Florida while our daughter is expecting 40cm of snow in New Brunswick Canada.
Loving the snowbird life!

[UTTransplant]

Originally Posted by brulaz

Loving the snowbird life!

We are in agreement there! I have no intention of heading home until early March. This trip to Iowa has frozen my marrow, and I need to get it thawed out again. Salt Lake City isn't really cold right now, but I still need some warmth to make up for being frozen so long LOL!

[Super Thirty]

Originally Posted by brulaz

Good luck in your travels.
We're currently in Florida while our daughter is expecting 40cm of snow in New Brunswick Canada.
Loving the snowbird life!

I'm white with envy. Too darn cold here in Sask to be green. Enjoy your snowbirding. Just heard kiki bird here.