Community Forums

bluepill · 12-25-2015, 07:26 PM

Below 20 degrees the only thing that makes me feel plumbing-safe is a full winterization with anti-freeze. All tanks empty. Carry bottled water in the TV while driving, transfer it to the RV after it warms up. Campground and restaurant potty stops. Try to stay in a site that has protection from the prevailing winds.

Gordon Dewald · 12-26-2015, 11:19 AM

We were at Lichtsinn RV for some warranty work a year ago. While there we met a fellow with a 2013 Tour who related a story to me that the previous winter he had been there for slide repairs during the winter. He said it got to -40 overnight and the only thing that froze was a water filter that is located close to the bay door.

Lichtsinn provides complimentary parking and power adjacent to their repair center.

I did not question him to what extent he applied additional heat, etc but did believe that he encountered cold temperatures with the only repair being the cracked filter case.

azpete · 12-28-2015, 08:43 AM

my wife and i have camped with temps in the minus 0 range, many times. we travel for the company i work for and wyoming can get cold quickly in the winter. i ran electric cords to each area that needed heat in the basement. i use 75 watt bulbs for heat in those spots. fill the water tank. a 75 gallon water tank will not freeze overnight, and our unit has a heat tape for the fresh water tank.
we have a tankless water heater which will run itself if the temp gets low enough.
it runs itself and circulates the water back into the fresh water tank. it is also protected with a 75 watt bulb.
we also found a electric mattress pad works better than a regular electric blanket.
it has more settings, so you can regulate the heat better.
you can use an electric heater to augment the propane furnace.i cant use more than one because of the draw on the system. if i use two, even on different circuits, it blows the breaker on the inverter. dont know why, i dont even use the inverter when parked with 50 amp hookups.
trust me, you will use the propane furnace when its that cold. it is possible to stay warm, but it takes some planning, and some sacrifices. you may have to dress more warmly than usual, and we couldnt get the temp above 67degrees without the furnace running constantly.
we also installed a shower curtain behind the front seat area. a shower rod from wall to wall, using three panels works great.
even with the front windshield curtain closed, you lose a lot of heat thru the glass. the shower curtain arrangement makes a world of difference. we even use this in las vegas when the temps reach 120 degrees. it insulated the front very well.
cold weather camping camping takes a lot of caution and common sense.
pay attention to the small details. it will make a difference.

Woody2 · 12-28-2015, 10:11 AM

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions. We are having to delay our trip as the furnace went out last night. Two week old trailer so it is under warranty. Called service department and they will look at it in the morning and order parts.

jpharley · 12-28-2015, 03:26 PM

Might want to rethink no fresh water. We were traveling across Texas several years ago and the campgrounds we stayed at had no fresh water available because of frozen lines. Thankfully we had onboard water so we were fine. No problems with the fresh water freezing as long as we ran our furnace occasionally.

Hit_the_Rhod · 12-29-2015, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woody2

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions. We are having to delay our trip as the furnace went out last night. Two week old trailer so it is under warranty. Called service department and they will look at it in the morning and order parts.

At least it went out before you left and not on the road. Maybe someone is trying to hint to you to delay your trip!

Hope you have a good experience it repaired. Since it is under warranty, and they are going to get right on it, you may have it fixed in time to leave this time NEXT year!

If they say they have ordered parts, I would ask them to show you the order confirmation, just my take, based on personal experience. Hope you have no issues.

charles tuit · 12-29-2015, 06:27 AM

I have 3 bays where water is located. In each I have installed a automotive "trouble light" with 75 watt bulbs. They are permanently installed out of the way with zip ties. They are activated with thermal plugs that come on when the temperature is under 34 degrees and off at 40 or 42?. They will also activate if I leave my inverter on when running down the road. Also use them in my unheated garage when stored in Prescott, AZ.

Grey Ghost I · 12-29-2015, 08:30 PM

Charlie, Are you a round Tuit? Sorry, I just could not resist after saying all my life I will get around to it.

Woody2 · 12-30-2015, 05:50 PM

The service department took the furnace out. I was in the waiting room when the service manager came up and said you have to see this. This was a 6 or 8 inch long rat. Got hung up in the fan. For some reason it wasn't covered under warranty. Now, I need to fine out how the rat got in.

Hit_the_Rhod · 12-31-2015, 08:13 AM

The rat was just trying to stay WARM!

Or he was trying to get back to the service department where the rest of the rats reside!

(tongue in cheek). Good thing you caught it before the rat began to add it's special fragrance to the coach. I can see where it wasn't a warranty covered item though. Sorry you had to go through this, but get it fixed, keep smiling and move on!

Woody2 · 12-31-2015, 11:44 AM

He couldn't have been in the trailer to long as he left no smell except for a little bit at first probably a little hair burning. Just another adventure, costly though, cost $277 for them to remove the furnace, clean out the rat and reinstall the furnace. I know how to take the furnace out now in case it happens again.

Hit_the_Rhod · 01-01-2016, 05:33 AM

Glad you're back up and running, and I think you got off cheap at only $277.00!

Now you need to figure out where he got in, and try and keep them out in the future. Do a search under "mice", or "rats" and you'll get a lot of advice. Personally we use one of those sonic thingies. A lot of people say they don't work, but the previous owners used it for 14 years, never had a problem. We got the coach home, didn't plug it in. In two weeks we had mice. We plugged it in and it's been 8 months and not another mouse. You decide!