So a few months ago, the wife and I, packed up all our stuff, hauled it to a storage unit in oregon from missouri, bought a used 99 Jayco Eagle 25 footer and started traveling aroynd the pacific northwest.About 3 weeks ago, we found a couple that had some land on a ridge in southern oregon. They had 2 rv spots with full hookups and were renting them out for $350 a month. So we hauled our little camper up the hill. About a week later I found a pretty decent job and we decided to make our home here.About a week ago, our rv neighbor moved into an apartment and put her 95 Alpenlite Riviera 29rks up for sale. Needless to say, after living in a 25 ft'er for a few months, her 29 ft'er looked like double the room. So we sold ours and bought hers.We did that with the intentions of full timing it on the ridge till next spring when we plan to buy a home.My questions are dealing with the cold conditions of winter while staying in the rv. How do you keep the holding tanks from freezing while still using them?Are the heated water hoses enough to prevent a busted city water connection?Is it better to use space heaters or the propane/electric installed ducted heat system.Do i need to install some kind of wind block around the bottom of the 5ver?Thanks in advance and sorry for the long read. Ill put up revised pics of the Alpenlite soon.JT

Can you google the average temp. for the area and at least get an idea of what kind of lows you may be facing? This info may help in how much weatherization you will be facing. I know this will not help with your ?? but may be helpful in other ways for the winter ahead. JMHO

NWB, after reading this forum for nearly a decade, I'll pass on the tips that I've learned.1) Skirting. Use something to skirt the trailer. Anything to cut circulation underneath. I'd even go so far as to skirt around the hitch area. You can buy pre-made skirts for this that use either Velcro or snaps. Don't forget to include any and all slides!2) Many use a couple 100w bulbs underneath to help keep plumbing warm.3) Make sure your dump valves are protected or they'll freeze up and you'll be in deep doo-doo, literally.4) If you can get on-site propane delivery, rent a 100lb propane tank, or even 2. Propane will be a =lot= cheaper and you won't have to schlep tanks every day or 2.5) Get some 1/4" bubble wrap and put it on the windows for extra insulation. You can wet the glass and just stick it on. A lot of people use the skylight "plugs".6) Get 1 or 2 of the oil-filled heaters and use those as well as the furnace. The furnace will =have= to run to push warm air to the underbelly, assuming it's set up that way.7) Leave under-sink cabinets open to allow warm air to circulate around the plumbing. These areas can turn into real cold spots in extreme conditions. A small fan may be needed to help with this, as well as moving warm air around the FW in general.8) When using the furnace, condensation can be an issue. Make sure you leave a top vent cracked open to allow moisture to escape. Having the bubble wrap on the windows can help with this, too.9) Lots of thick throw rugs on the linoleum.This is about all I can think of at this point. As someone else said, check the avg temps in the area and see how extreme the temps are likely to be, but prepare for the worst case.Lyle

Cheapest, easiest, and highest R value for skirting is to buy bales of hay and skirt the rv. It isn't the prettiest skirting but it works well. Heat tape on the hose and keep the drains closed unless dumping. Looks like you are up fairly high, it's going to get cold. Be prepared!

Preparing for the freeze | Good Sam Community

Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Sep 03, 2016
Fill water tank and use on-board pump...then stow empty water hose and use it as needed to top off fresh water tank

Course that is IF water supply is still going to be ON
NorthwestBound
Explorer
Sep 03, 2016
Would a heated water hose make it possible to leave the city water connected?
cpaulsen
Explorer
Sep 03, 2016
What part of Southern Oregon?
Dave_H_M
Explorer II
Sep 03, 2016
My first thought was the same as itchy feet. What are we dealing with here?
alaska511
Explorer
Sep 03, 2016
NorthwestBound wrote:
Would a heated water hose make it possible to leave the city water connected?

If the spigot is also wrapped and heated, yes. We did this all last winter while we lived in the trailer, waiting for our home purchase. I made my own heated hose, and insulated it. Worked great! All of the other mentions above, are solid. The skirting with a high R value panel, and the light bulb tricks, work great.

I would really like to hear which part of Southern Oregon you are talking about. Some parts, where it might hit 32 over night, are concerning you over nothing.
tempforce
Explorer
Sep 04, 2016
yes, you can get a factory screen porch, or a local upholstery shop can make you one. they have a plastic/rubber tube in the top seam that slides into a groove in the awning spool. you can have straps at the top of the sides, that connect to the arms of the awning.. the one i had made, had a zippered roll up door in the front panel. having the screen room attached to the awning and the awning strapped down and the room pegged down, kept it from catching the wind. with a heater it was comfortable to sit in, in the winter.
NorthwestBound
Explorer
Sep 04, 2016
Oh sorry. Rogue River OR. The lowest temp months are Dec and Jan with an average low of 31. But to have an average low of 31 means there are going to be nights with temps lower than 31.

We are on a ridge with little wind break. But we are really only a few hundred feet above the valley floor. The town is at 1,004 ft above sea level so that puts us at about 1200 to 1300 ft.
alaska511
Explorer
Sep 04, 2016
NorthwestBound wrote:
Oh sorry. Rogue River OR. The lowest temp months are Dec and Jan with an average low of 31. But to have an average low of 31 means there are going to be nights with temps lower than 31.

We are on a ridge with little wind break. But we are really only a few hundred feet above the valley floor. The town is at 1,004 ft above sea level so that puts us at about 1200 to 1300 ft.

You will be fine. Do the skirting, and the light bulbs. Heated fresh water hose.

Sustained temps, more than a day, below freezing is what it takes to make a mess
time2roll
Nomad
Sep 04, 2016
NorthwestBound wrote:
How do you keep the holding tanks from freezing while still using them?
I use www.ultraheat.com pads for when we visit the snow. As said above the real worry is when the high for the day is not much above freezing. You may need to dump and fill your tanks late in the day if there is some freezing.

NorthwestBound wrote:
Are the heated water hoses enough to prevent a busted city water connection?
The heated connection hoses have a rating that should be fine. Or you can haul out your unheated hose to use all day and stow it overnight. Might be a PITN if you need water filled every day.

NorthwestBound wrote:
Is it better to use space heaters or the propane/electric installed ducted heat system.
We use one 1200w space heater continuous and supplement with the propane furnace. You will use a lot of propane. Consider two extra bottles to get filled and swap as needed. Sure if you can rent a large tank and have it filled on-site that would be great.

NorthwestBound wrote:
Do i need to install some kind of wind block around the bottom of the 5ver?
This will help. Maybe some straw bales.
NorthwestBound
Explorer
Sep 13, 2016
I inquired about renting a 100 gal propane tank today at Surbuban gas. If they will rent to me, after a site survey, the cost will be:

$259 installation (covers tank rental for 6 months, copper tubing installation and regulator.)
$179 first fillup
$258 follow on fillups (depending on market)
$75 tank rental per year after 1st 6 mths.

So i think electric heaters are more economical option.

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