Need some insight on full timing at RV parks
I apologize if this has been asked and answered before. But I could not seem to find what I was looking for in the search. My family and I began living in a TT exactly a year ago. But it has been o...
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When I spent the winter in a RV park in Portland OR, their water fill box was underground by a few inches, with a green cover, and some fiberglass insulation in there.
I filled on the warmer days, and dump once a week or so. My fresh water tank is 100 gallons, so once every 2 weeks was plenty for me, even with daily showers.
I did need to leave my water heater on if it was above 32F. I would not leave it on constantly if I was at home, just enough to keep the water above about 50F, then shut it off again to save propane. It will loose heat faster when kept at 140F, as there is a huge air vent in the bottom, and out the top, so 20F air will enter quickly - warm to 130F, and leave the top rapidly when it is on and hot. When the water is 50F, the heat loss is much less per hour.
Electric heat is probably going to be cheaper than running propane. At $0.10 per KW, it takes about 22 KW to make 80,000 Btu's of heat, or $2.20. Running your furnace, it will take about 1 gallon of propane to make that same amount of heat. However at $2.65 per gallon - propane is more expensive right now. And a lot more difficult to refill the tank too!
I ran my refrigerator on electric, and for the most part used 3 electric heaters to warm the RV. One was near my water tank and pump, to keep it warm. If that area is kept around 60F, the fresh water tank will provide much warmer water to the water heater, and your shower will last longer.
When living in Southern California, my supply water was only 50F in the winter, so I would need to take very short showers or I started filling the fresh water tank with warm water. So if you can fill the fresh water tank with hot water from your heater, it will help a LOT to make it more comfortable.
Good luck,
Fred.
I filled on the warmer days, and dump once a week or so. My fresh water tank is 100 gallons, so once every 2 weeks was plenty for me, even with daily showers.
I did need to leave my water heater on if it was above 32F. I would not leave it on constantly if I was at home, just enough to keep the water above about 50F, then shut it off again to save propane. It will loose heat faster when kept at 140F, as there is a huge air vent in the bottom, and out the top, so 20F air will enter quickly - warm to 130F, and leave the top rapidly when it is on and hot. When the water is 50F, the heat loss is much less per hour.
Electric heat is probably going to be cheaper than running propane. At $0.10 per KW, it takes about 22 KW to make 80,000 Btu's of heat, or $2.20. Running your furnace, it will take about 1 gallon of propane to make that same amount of heat. However at $2.65 per gallon - propane is more expensive right now. And a lot more difficult to refill the tank too!
I ran my refrigerator on electric, and for the most part used 3 electric heaters to warm the RV. One was near my water tank and pump, to keep it warm. If that area is kept around 60F, the fresh water tank will provide much warmer water to the water heater, and your shower will last longer.
When living in Southern California, my supply water was only 50F in the winter, so I would need to take very short showers or I started filling the fresh water tank with warm water. So if you can fill the fresh water tank with hot water from your heater, it will help a LOT to make it more comfortable.
Good luck,
Fred.
