freezing temps & slides & tailgater

I'm thinking of trying some winter camping up here in New Hampshire this winter. I'd suggest a 60W incandescent bulb in the compartment the water and waste tanks sit in.

klm wrote:
Has the mh been winterized? If not, you do need to take measures to keep the pipes/tanks from freezing, might mean running lp furnace to warm wet bay. You mention showering in the house, will you be using rv toilet? Keep the slides free of snow and ice, even a rain that then freezes in the colder overnight temps - get on the roof and sweep off toppers (don't ask me how I know about this :) ) Since you have E, an electric blanket on the bed would be my choice.

We winterized on Saturday. We also will be using the house basement toilet, so we have no concerns about water.
We used to winter camp in a small C back in the '90's, but it had no slide or jacks. Things were a lot simpler then. We were just concerned about the slide & jacks being affected by the freezing weather.

Has the mh been winterized? If not, you do need to take measures to keep the pipes/tanks from freezing, might mean running lp furnace to warm wet bay. You mention showering in the house, will you be using rv toilet? Keep the slides free of snow and ice, even a rain that then freezes in the colder overnight temps - get on the roof and sweep off toppers (don't ask me how I know about this :) ) Since you have E, an electric blanket on the bed would be my choice.

shanwick wrote:
The only problem I had a couple of years ago was the motorhome was on the driveway for a few days when we were getting ready to go to Phoenix for the winter. The slides were out and we had some light snow. Not a problem except apparently some of the snow melted off the roof and the water wound up on the slide toppers and refroze. The slide toppers didn't want to retract properly with the ice built up on them. I Had to get up on the roof and clear them off with a broom.

That's a very good point. We'll keep that in mind.

The only problem I had a couple of years ago was the motorhome was on the driveway for a few days when we were getting ready to go to Phoenix for the winter. The slides were out and we had some light snow. Not a problem except apparently some of the snow melted off the roof and the water wound up on the slide toppers and refroze. The slide toppers didn't want to retract properly with the ice built up on them. I Had to get up on the roof and clear them off with a broom.

Note that the electric heater won't do much of a job keeping the service bay warm. Many motor homes ( I think Bounder is one) divert some hot air from the furnace into the service bay and maybe others to keep them from freezing.

Winnebago says their motor homes are good down to 20 degrees overnight with the furnace set at 70 degrees.

I have a small ceramic cube heater in the service bay set at 40 degrees. I have overnighted down to 9 degrees with no problem.

You can buy a Stay a While Tee ( made by Mr Heater- Marshall Brass makes a similar product - Extend a Stay - I think) that connects between your RV propane tank and regulator. It has a hose that connects with an external propane tank/bottle that you can take to a propane fill station and not have to move the RV. I use a 40 pounder but many people use a smaller 20 pounder.

Thanks for the info. Fortunately, we can plug in to the house, we have a 30 amp outlet. We'll be using an electric heater. We won't need to hook up a hose, we'll be able to use the basement shower in the house.

We have spent 8 winters in single digits. Only once did we have to raise the temp inside to 85 deg to get the slide in and antenna down due to ice build up. Be prepared to use a large amount of propane. That is the only issue which we had. We did use heat tape on the incoming water line.

We probably won't use the jacks. We do need to extend the slide in the bedroom. The foot of the bed goes under the closet when retracted. I need to stretch out when sleeping due to a bad back.

charlysmom&dad wrote:
We can't do our usual snowbirding this year. We'll be staying at home in the Chicago 'burbs.
My brother & his wife will be staying in our house, and we'll stay in the mh, for a week in January. We've never had to "camp" in freezing temps. (at least not with slides & jacks) Can we safely put out our slides & jacks? Will they extend & retract ok? We're worried about the fluids, etc, freezing.

Also, will we do any harm to our tailgater if we have it outside in these cold temps?
As always, thanks for any advice.

you will not need jacks deployed at all(assuming your parked on flat ground) so thats a mute point and even in my 4 slide 40+ DP i can sleep in the bed without deploying any slides.I can also use the kitchen and watch TV etc so why even deploy the slides or jacks if all your doing is sleeping there for a few days PLUS its easier to keep it heated with slides in