we're very experienced RV travelers having started back in 1986 but we've never traveled in winter. that's about to change next January.we'll be leaving our home in our 2016 Itasca Suncruiser 38Q in mid January and heading towards Florida. after leaving here I am planning that we will be in freezing overnight weather for 1-3 nights depending on the time of day we leave home, driving conditions, etc. I've spoken with Winnebago Tech Support and gotten conflicting answers and opinions so I thought I'd reach out to those of you who have actual experience in winter travel.the issue is the fresh water pump. because our trip to warmer weather will require at least one overnight..possibly more due to 'Murphy'...we'd rather not delay the de-winterizing. Tech Support assures me that our fresh tank is "heated" as long as the LP furnace is running but the two techs I spoke with disagree on how to deal with the water pump. I'm planning to keep the fresh tank pretty close to full during the trip south. that and the furnace should help against freezing. the water pump on the 38Q is located in a curb side compartment above the water heater. one tech tells me that the heat from the water heater will protect the pump while the other says to use a 100-watt incandescent bulb in that compartment. how do you protect the water pump from freezing (other than not de-winterizing)? and what about the wet bay on the street side...does that need protecting as well? how? same concept...use a 100-watt bulb?thanks in advance.

I would not un-winterize...just carry 5 one gallon jugs of water for drinking and flushing.

Most people who head south that late stay in hotels/motels the first couple of nights until south of the freezing line. Driving easterly to get closer to the ocean will get you above freezing sooner, but that depends on which part of FL you're going to.This way, you get to leave the rig winterized until you get warm.

I've driven with the WH and furnace on. Works fine.

Your strategy is risky. If very cold, your holding tanks and associated plumbing could freeze during the day as you happily motor down the highway. The furnace could not work properly or at all with the wind from the road buffeting it. I would just plan on a few days of lodging at a motel until I got far enough south that freezing was no longer a concern.

How cold is cold? I trust the tech that says the water heater will provide enough heat.Run the water heat a few days before you go and have a thermometer in the water pump compartment. Then you will know if you need the extra heat.

Water Pump - Advice Needed for Winter Travel | Good Sam Community

K_Charles
Explorer
Aug 27, 2017
Don't dewinterize, use a couple gal jugs of water to wash, flush toilet, and make coffee. If it's too cold the first night get two more jugs of water for the next day, if it's warm enough hook up and fill the water.
Ivylog
Explorer III
Aug 27, 2017

Not sure why you would use one of these??? Using your own toilet and the small amount of bottled water to flush is not going to hurt your black tank, even when it freezes the stuff in it as there will be air around the frozen stuff until it thaws when you get south. Once warm enough you can get water from the garden center at a Home Depot for your tank.

I would WalMart it at night and use your furnace to stay warm inside since you are still winterized BUT I still put in 12+ hour days when trying to get somewhere.

PS: You can probably get permission to spend the night at the HD when you get water.
Community Alumni
Aug 28, 2017
Ivylog wrote:

Not sure why you would use one of these??? Using your own toilet and the small amount of bottled water to flush is not going to hurt your black tank, even when it freezes the stuff in it as there will be air around the frozen stuff until it thaws when you get south. Once warm enough you can get water from the garden center at a Home Depot for your tank.

I would WalMart it at night and use your furnace to stay warm inside since you are still winterized BUT I still put in 12+ hour days when trying to get somewhere.

PS: You can probably get permission to spend the night at the HD when you get water.

Actually we just carry a 2 gallon jug of pink anti-freeze to pour into the toilet if we have to use it.
Beverley_Ken
Explorer
Aug 28, 2017
I'm in the group of using bottled water and the pink for the toilet.
AS others have said, delay dewinterizing until your far enough south to ensure no freezing. Its not a big inconvenience use bottled water.
The heating systems for the on board water systems would probably work fine if the lows were in the 25-30F range, but if the temperature was in the -25 - -30f, that would be a different story

Ken
TomG2
Explorer
Aug 28, 2017
To the OP; Be aware that running the furnace will quickly kill your batteries if you decide to stop without hookups in cold weather.
alfredmay
Explorer
Aug 28, 2017
I agree with all those who say to keep the rig winterized and use jug water for drinking and antifreeze for flushing. Each rig handles cold weather differently. Your pump may be OK at night with a bulb heating it, but the pump might freeze during the day due to air leaks in your compartment and the bulb not being on. If you want to try dewinterizing, then I suggest you get a battery operated thermometer with a sending unit that will be mounted on the pump and a receiver on the dash. Get one that registers the high and low for the day. They cost about $15.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Aug 28, 2017
He may have a generator. Motor homes house banks charge better in general than towed rv's.

TomG2 wrote:
To the OP; Be aware that running the furnace will quickly kill your batteries if you decide to stop without hookups in cold weather.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Aug 28, 2017
A small inverter would handle the load from a light bulb. I travel with my inverter on for heating reasons in the winter time. I do have a thermostat to reduce the run time for the devices I use for freeze protection.

alfredmay wrote:
I agree with all those who say to keep the rig winterized and use jug water for drinking and antifreeze for flushing. Each rig handles cold weather differently. Your pump may be OK at night with a bulb heating it, but the pump might freeze during the day due to air leaks in your compartment and the bulb not being on. If you want to try dewinterizing, then I suggest you get a battery operated thermometer with a sending unit that will be mounted on the pump and a receiver on the dash. Get one that registers the high and low for the day. They cost about $15.
rk911
Explorer
Aug 28, 2017
thanks to everyone for their input. I posted this query on a couple of different forums and the responses seem to fall into a couple of different groups…

- spend the first night or two in a motel. this is a bit of a problem because we travel with our dog but it is an option we hadn't considered.

- take along X number of gallons of water in 1-gal jugs for drinking, etc. again, not something I'd considered and I like the idea of a gallon or two of pink stuff for flushing.

I like the idea of a wireless temp sensor in the water pump and wet bay compartments and will see about that as well as the feasibility of installing some sort of permanent AC-powered incandescent light fixture in the water pump and wet bays.

once again, I appreciate all of the responses.

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