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Old 03-21-2006, 02:31 AM   #1
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Has anyone out there added some cold weather modifications to increase insulation factor? If so, would love to know some of your mods.

My DH and I are living out of our 5er due to his work schedule. We travel around the Great Lakes area and run into some pretty cold stuff sometimes. Had a water pipe freeze up (no damage once thawed) and ate up propane to stay warm.

If you don't mind sharing some of your ideas, would love to hear them.
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Old 03-21-2006, 02:31 AM   #2
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Has anyone out there added some cold weather modifications to increase insulation factor? If so, would love to know some of your mods.

My DH and I are living out of our 5er due to his work schedule. We travel around the Great Lakes area and run into some pretty cold stuff sometimes. Had a water pipe freeze up (no damage once thawed) and ate up propane to stay warm.

If you don't mind sharing some of your ideas, would love to hear them.
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Old 03-21-2006, 03:09 AM   #3
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not sure what DH is?
anyway
we live in our fiver full time.
made through the cold winter here in north alabama, lows teens etc
we ran the heat strip almost full time inteh bedroom a/c unit
ran the electric fireplace alot till it caused some heat damage on teh wood, (its getting replaced on monday)
went through tons of propane. used heating blankets on teh bed so we could save some propane and the biggie was to keep the house from getting so dry hard to breath.
i ran my tank heaters 24/7, on nights it was expected to hard freeze we filled the fresh water tank and disconnected teh water hose and put it awaya out of the cold. I have 64 gall of fresh water
we ran out dehumidifier in teh main salon to keep teh windows from sweating so bad, they are thermo pane, but the alum frames make em sweat
other than that we were cozy as two bugs, resealed all teh window frames
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Old 03-21-2006, 12:04 PM   #4
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DH is "dear husband"
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Old 03-22-2006, 03:27 AM   #5
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that makes sense, I never get called Dear Husband, usually its just DEAR,:-)
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Old 03-24-2006, 04:48 AM   #6
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A great help is putting a piece of foam in the skylights and vents. Use 2or3" foam cut a little larger than the vent size and stuff them in. You can quickly remove one to use the vent to remove excess moisture. Many people use reflective board over large windows that are not used. I use a small cube ceramic heater to help the propane heater as well as run the ceiling fan in the reverse direction to push the heat off the ceiling down into the coach.
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Old 03-24-2006, 05:32 AM   #7
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one thing that reminded me of a great inside condensation preventer
was the entry about the foam in ceiling vents.
since we use the one in the kitchen daily, i installed two max air vent covers that work with my fantastic breeze fans. stopped the condensation and let me use it when it was raining.
the one in the bathroom was terrible it would drip cold water on you while perched on the the throne.
after i installed the vent cover it has stayed dry.
condensation prevention and removal has been our biggest source of displeasure
i have a roll around dehumidifier and at night it gets sat out in the middle of the roam and runs full blast all night. it takes about a gallon out each night.
we have thermo windows but the alum frames still sweat terribly. even if we run the fantastic fan.
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Old 03-25-2006, 03:27 AM   #8
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Thanks for all the replies folks. I probably should have listed what we currently do, but didn't want to write a chapter (should have though). So, here we go...

We use an electric mattress pad and blanket on the bed. We also block all vents with those square "insulators". All of our vents have covers. Still need to have access to the bathroom vent for obvious reasons. I use a ceramic electric heater as well (have two but can only run one at a time). I also try to cook in the oven more often on cold days. Trying to kill two birds with one stone I guess. Get supper ready and help keep the trailer warm at the same time.

We fill our holding tanks and try to conserve water (can't hook up in cold stuff). We also stuff an insulation blanket into outdoor shower/water hookup. We got caught in quite a blizzard last year and did OK. Our black tank valve was closed but we still had the hose hooked up (expecting a rise in temps). I was inspecting the trailer and tried to jump over the sewer hose. Landed right on top of it (snow covered - couldn't see it). Found out what "poopsicles" are all about! Yeesh!

Our 5er is equipped with an "arctic package", whatever that means (hehe). Since we live in our 5er due to DH's job, we've run into some interesting weather situations. He's usually off during the really cold months (January/February) so we head South. But, being in the North country for November/December and now returning to the cold in April/May can prove challenging.

The areas around our slides are a source of concern. Has anyone re-sealed those suckers, or found a way to minimize heat loss/cold air entry?

I really appreciate the suggestions for condensation control. What type of de-humidifier do you use Powerboatr? Is it a big one (storage concerns)? We tried using that plastic window insulator stuff last year. It didn't stay on the aluminum frames. Was really frustrating. I was going to use some sort of reflective board on the windows, but I was afraid of starting a mold problem with the humidity. Anyone have this problem?

We had our kitchen water line freeze, but luckily no damage incurred once thawed. It was THAT cold out! Poor RV park owner plowed three times in one day during one storm!

Again, thanks all, and keep that information coming!
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Old 03-25-2006, 04:01 PM   #9
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We wintered in our rig where it occasionally froze at night. I installed a skirt around my trailer to insulate the underside of the rig. I placed 100W bulbs under each of our tanks and ran them at night to add heat directly ubnder the rig, and kept an electric heater on to keep the inside above 50 degrees. I used a hose, which froze, to supply fresh water. Now I would fill the onboard fresh water tank during the day and use the onboard pump at night. I used 2x4rs for vertical supports cut to fit under the rig between teh rig and ground and then cut 4x8 sheets of inexpensive 1/8" plywood to fit under the rig and screwed them to the 2x4rs. It worked for us. I have heard that others have just used bales of straw to do the same thing.
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Old 03-27-2006, 07:19 AM   #10
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mooky
we use a Hampton bay dehumidifier, i think its the home depot brand.
the "artic package" ( thats the biggest mystery)yep we got that to.
our slide out rooms floors get very cold. thinking about a skirt if we get stuck here again next winter, to hold off the cold air blowing around. the main coach underbelly has about 10" of fiberglass and stays warm. our slides havent been a real source of breezes yet, although i did put some soft stcky pipe insulation on the walls where the inside slide seals meat the outside wall , We had a LIGHT leak, after that its been all good
our tank heaters must have been working really well, neverh ad a frozen a pipe.
always disconnected the fresh water supply on hard freeze evenings. it haleps having 64 gallons of water onboard
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