Rving in Cold Temperatures

by Peggy
(Thurmond, NC, USA)

I hope to get a job which requires about 60% traveling. My area will probably be in Missouri, Arkansas, Indiana, and Tennessee. We have a 40' fifth wheel which is suppose to be cold weather approved, however in the winter is there something we can do to the plumbing coming into the camper. What do we need to consider? It can be in the same location for 2-3 weeks or more.

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Rving in Cold Temperatures

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Dec 08, 2010
 RV Living in the Cold!
by: RVDigitalBoy

I spend most winters in Florida, but I spent the winter of '06/'07 in the high desert of CA, so I'm going to share a few things I learned on the road and via my RV dealer employer ...

KEEP WATER FROM FREEZING!
1. buy thermal insulation in which to wrap your water hoses and external filters. (I'm assuming that a water source is operating at your RV site).

2. Electrical heat tape works well in some applications. When the temperature drops below 40 degrees, electricity flows through a wire in the tape generating heat.

3. Wrap your ALL your water tanks in thermal blankets or ...

4. If your furnace also warms your water compartment, prepare to run it a lot.

5. Carry a spare LP tank - filled - so that if your on board tanks run dry, you can make a quick switch.

6. Check your propane levels daily. Make sure you don't run out.

7. Crack a roof vent open so that moisture generated from body heat, showers, etc., will escape your coach and not accumulate on walls, windows and secret hiding places.

8. Consider using a small ceramic heater in the bedroom at night.

Lew Mann
J.D. Sanders RV Center
Alachua, FL
www.sandersrvs.com
Sep 10, 2010
 Plumbing in the Winter
by: Julia

When Rving in Colorado, we would winterize the coach tho. What we did was purchase 5 gallon containers, filled them with water, stored some in underneath compartments, and the lighter weight ones we kept inside in the shower and tub area. We put one by the toilet for flushing. The ones in the refrigerator for drinking. Inside the coach stays warm so the inside plumbing worked fine. Brought in water containers from the outside compartments to thaw when water from inside began to run low.
Sep 09, 2010
 Winter RV Living
by: Anonymous

You will find that 2" walls do not keep out much cold temperature. If you're going to live in an RV in the winter, go to Fla or AZ. RV's are not made to live in year around where it is cold. They are made to live in for a few weeks at a time on summer vacations. If you are going to live were it is cold, rent an apartment winterize your RV and hope that it was done properly.

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