Community Forums

bikerdude1 · 12-08-2021, 08:46 PM

my wife and I just purchased a used new horizon and ram 3500 dually, I drove it from Ft Collins to Green River Utah, but did not get the chance to camp in it. Now my wife wants to go up to northern Utah to see some of our kids and grand children. the highs will be in the mid 30's. It has a good heater and fire place and I plan to take a space heater just in case we need it. What I worry about is this could make her regret this trip and maybe those in the future. We will be staying in RV campgrounds with hookups. Any suggestions

IND2SLC · 12-08-2021, 09:13 PM

Northern Utah is a sizeable area, that could mean Provo or Logan. If near SLC, the Salt Lake KOA seems pretty nice and close to downtown, I-80 and I-15. If Provo area, Provo River Resort in Provo Canyon is beautiful. Hopefully no regrets! Higher elevations in the Wasatch Range like Alta are due for 18+ inches of snow tonight though!

bentjm · 12-09-2021, 04:47 AM

Presumably, you bought it to use it. So, use it.

jrollf · 12-09-2021, 05:31 AM

How long will you be below freezing at night? Suggest opening cabinets that have water lines in them (such as under the kitchen/bathroom sinks) to let warm air circulate and help keep the pipes from freezing.

Duster73 · 12-09-2021, 06:39 AM

Obviously dress for the weather. Fill your water tank and use that instead of leaving a hose attached(it can freeze). Take stuff to keep your mind occupied, that way you dont need to be at your children's house to always be entertained and be able to get some "you" time.

Go and have fun, make memories and congrates on the trailer!

bikerdude1 · 12-09-2021, 08:50 PM

how do you keep your rig warm while traveling down the road

IND2SLC · 12-10-2021, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikerdude1

how do you keep your rig warm while traveling down the road

I run the propane furnace in my Dynasty while driving, but trailers are very different. My understanding is they can't -or shouldn't- be occupied while moving due to crash safety issues. Being unoccupied then makes it unsafe to run the furnace or heater. I'm sure someone with more experience than me can offer a different, and maybe better, opinion.

wildmandmc · 12-10-2021, 03:27 AM

well you would think that after leaving the CG, the inside of unit would be somewhat warm, that should last a few hrs or so. How many hrs driving b4 next stop?

dbircky · 12-10-2021, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IND2SLC

I run the propane furnace in my Dynasty while driving, but trailers are very different. My understanding is they can't -or shouldn't- be occupied while moving due to crash safety issues. Being unoccupied then makes it unsafe to run the furnace or heater. I'm sure someone with more experience than me can offer a different, and maybe better, opinion.

Should folks turn off their furnaces and heaters when leaving their rv unoccupied for a day while in a campsite? I’m not following the logic of not heating it because it’s unoccupied as a safety reason. I do see the logic of not heating an unoccupied space, but that’s more a waste of money than safety.

MtCamper · 12-10-2021, 08:12 AM

When it's below freezing, we run the furnace as we travel. No less safe than running one in a motor home IMHO. We unplug any space heaters when we leave. We also don't plug space heaters that only draw 1500 watts into the RV outlets. This avoids overheating the RV wiring. Run you water only to fill the onboard tank and deploy your stinky slinky only to dump. Put a down comforter on the bed and snuggle. We rarely use campground showers except in cold weather, depending on the campground. Moisture generated inside the camper is a big enemy. You just have to do it to find how your camper responds to cold. We stay more comfortable in ours at 30˚ than in 100+˚.

MSHappyCampers · 12-10-2021, 09:11 AM

Do you have tank heaters? Are the storage bays with water lines heated? Something to think about!

Duster73 · 12-10-2021, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikerdude1

how do you keep your rig warm while traveling down the road

If its needed, you can use the furnace. Same thing if you have a propane refrigerator. People do this all the time.

IND2SLC · 12-11-2021, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbircky

Should folks turn off their furnaces and heaters when leaving their rv unoccupied for a day while in a campsite? I’m not following the logic of not heating it because it’s unoccupied as a safety reason. I do see the logic of not heating an unoccupied space, but that’s more a waste of money than safety.

OP has a trailer, not a class A motorhome. I've never owned a trailer, but I understood that there are usually no passengers while it's moving (would also violate every state's seat belt law, as there can be no more passengers than there are belts). They're not built to withstand crashes the way a truck is. It was good for a laugh when Lucy and Desi did it, but in real life, it's a bad idea. Second, if it's moving, it would be running on battery power because most trailers don't have generators that can run while in motion like a motorhome does. At least, I've not seen one. Even on propane, how long would a furnace run before depleting house batteries? Probably not long. Leaving it running at a campground presumably wouldn't be an issue because it would be connected to shore power.

Country Road · 12-11-2021, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IND2SLC

OP has a trailer, not a class A motorhome. I've never owned a trailer, but I understood that there are usually no passengers while it's moving (would also violate every state's seat belt law, as there can be no more passengers than there are belts). They're not built to withstand crashes the way a truck is. It was good for a laugh when Lucy and Desi did it, but in real life, it's a bad idea. Second, if it's moving, it would be running on battery power because most trailers don't have generators that can run while in motion like a motorhome does. At least, I've not seen one. Even on propane, how long would a furnace run before depleting house batteries? Probably not long. Leaving it running at a campground presumably wouldn't be an issue because it would be connected to shore power.

I don’t know if a Horizon has a generator, but to say all trailers are not like motor homes as far as generators go is incorrect. And if it doesn’t, you could always set a generator in the bed of your pickup to run the furnace.

Our 44’ Cyclone toy hauler had an Onan equal to most motor homes and although I would never let anyone ride while traveling, we almost always ran the ac’s in summer and furnace in winter while traveling in extreme temps. When we stopped, it was always comfortable.