Headed North in Winter (Eastern Washington)

Yosemitebobr,

Others have given you great suggestions and my gut feeling is that you will be fine. However, depending on the temperatures you experience and how well your trailer is designed (and/or modified) for colder weather conditions, your trailer water systems may or may not be. So I would add the suggestion that you may want to have the knowledge and capability to winterize your rig if conditions warrant.

Either way, you will lean a lot about cold weather camping. Enjoy the family time.

Steve

obgraham wrote:
Well since I live here, I can tell you that Decembers have been very unpredictable lately. Typically 40's daytime, high 20's at night. But our low of -5 was in December a couple of years ago.

I expect you'll be fine just running your normal heat, watching your water lines, etc. If all else fails, move into my shed.

:) Thanks, I may need it :), better yet, can I put the trailer in your shed and I'll sleep outside :)

Well since I live here, I can tell you that Decembers have been very unpredictable lately. Typically 40's daytime, high 20's at night. But our low of -5 was in December a couple of years ago.

I expect you'll be fine just running your normal heat, watching your water lines, etc. If all else fails, move into my shed.

Me Again wrote:

Yosemitebobr wrote:
I am installing a 50 amp line in my daughters home when I arrive. I'm staying In the trailer for the three weeks on her property in Pasco, In the southeast corner of the state. Water as I need it.

I hope they have an extra couch or bed!!!

Click record lows on this page to see what you might face.

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USWA0338

The really lows have not been around in recent years. You most likely will deal with 25-29 at night.

Chris

thanks Chris, extra bed, hmmmm, I wouldn't be taking the trailer if she had an extra bed. Besides, I love my kids but that long in the same house, I have to be able to go to my private place :) Well, I better start making a plan, and start acquiring what I may need.

Thanks all for your help, but keep the suggestions coming, I listen to all.

Yosemitebobr wrote:
I am installing a 50 amp line in my daughters home when I arrive. I'm staying In the trailer for the three weeks on her property in Pasco, In the southeast corner of the state. Water as I need it.

I hope they have an extra couch or bed!!!

Click record lows on this page to see what you might face.

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USWA0338

The really lows have not been around in recent years. You most likely will deal with 25-29 at night.

Chris

I am installing a 50 amp line in my daughters home when I arrive. I'm staying In the trailer for the three weeks on her property in Pasco, In the southeast corner of the state. Water as I need it.

I won't even ask what a "Southern California guy" will be doing headed for Eastern Washington this time of year...I will say: don't bring your surfboard unless you're planning on ice-sailing at Lake Lenore!

Where in Eastern Washington will you be wintering, and will you have hookups or be boondocking?

...and keep in mind that certain area's require you to have chains along. Check the laws.

Pick your roads carefully because places like the gorge, have winds that create black ice. If it's raining (and it surely will be raining somewhere ) it can be wet at the bottoms and black ice anywhere from there on up to the top of the rise.

Wind is your enemy. We use insulated tarps to skirt our MH. (The kind that truckers use.) We just open the bay doors, put a screw inside to match up with the grommet and close door. Leave enough hanging down so we can anchor them.

Propane will only work down to a certain temp. Research that - plenty of info on it if you look.

Rubber insulated curtains over the windows or at the very least... bubble wrap.
You can hang a plastic shower curtain over the front door to try to keep the draft down.

Electric blanket on the bed sandwiched between wool blankets... keep it on all day long and that will keep your mattress warm - and if you have cold air coming up from below, put one or two exercise mats under your mattress - the old ones that fold up are thicker and better than the ones that just roll out.

your entire floor is going to be cold. You can cover with rugs with wool content or you can get those puzzle pieces for shop floors and piece them together.

Heating tapes ... just be prepared to have them stop working. Keep an extra on hand. We use a gadget that comes on at a certain temp and off at a certain temp... and we plug an extension cord into that with a light at the end - and hang it where we can see it so we know when that gadget turning the heating tapes on. If the light is on... the heating tape should be on. (Home Depot has it.. it's $12 appx... I can't think of what they call it.)

Indoor/outdoor thermometer... so you know what temp it is outside or by your water hookup. You can get one or more outdoor sensors that "talk to" one home base. Set the home base inside.

We hang a heating pad inside the compartment where the water hookups and valve handles for the black/gray tanks ... in the TC.
In the MH we have a heater with a thermostat for inside that bay area.
If your valves freeze up, you won't be able to pull them to dump.

Condensation on the windows is a real pain... wipe them down every morning. Water can drip into the "E" tracks and if it doesn't drain out, it will get moldy - I use Mold Rid - Mold Blocker - in a spray to spray the places where water wants to collect. Keep a vent open all the time - even if it's just a little. Keep some kind of fan going inside.

Where, the farther North and East the colder. Depending on the winter weather you could be ok or in a deep freeze. Heat tape for city water hose and sewer hose. Electric heater and lots of propane. If you have 50 amp service maybe two heaters. Hopefully tank heaters. Little heat in basement. Extra blankets and warm mate! Condensation will most likely be a problem. Chris