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drmmartin64's avatar
drmmartin64
Explorer
Dec 02, 2018

hurricane 2007 34n motorhome

hurricane 2007 34n

brochure states heated holding tanks, fresh water tank froze thanksgiving night around 12:00. went down to 13 degrees in southern nj. the tank is about 4 inches from the compartment door and had 3 and half inches of insulation in front of tank. pump was covered with insulation. if heating pads were installed on the lower front of the tank would it keep the water in tank from freezing? to install on bottom of tank would require removing tank or cutting bottom cover not incline to go that route. anyone having this rig should also know that the gray sink water drains into black tank.
  • My guess is your "heated" tanks are actually passively heated with some residual heat from the furnace ductwork and not actually actively heated. If it gets above freezing during the day I would imagine that a full FW tank would not freeze. I also suspect it may not be your tank as much as your lines and pump. The issue with heat tape is you never know when it stops working. Usually light bulbs in wet bays are enough to prevent freezing but 13 degrees is pretty cold. Opening your cabinets and allowing heat to hit the plumbing also helps. But camping in 13 degree temps without a rig designed for it is prolonging the inevitable. When we would camp in temps that cold we would winterize and use the CG restrooms. I've had my water pump freeze more than a few times, even with a light bulb.
  • If we are out in what might be freezing weather, I carry two clamp on work lights that I put inside the bis with the water tank and waste tanks. I also have a remote thermometer in the bin so I can monitor the temps inside without haveing to open the bin door. I usuall have 60 watt bulbs in the lamps, which has been fine so far, but 75 watt bulbs work even better. With outside temps in the low 20s, bin temps usually stay in the 40s or 50s. Works for us. Outside shower tubing is actually inside the wall, but I usually drain it anyway. If winterized, I always have pink stuff in the outside shower, so that usually in in it all year long. We started out with a 1999 Hurricane, but after putting 50K miles on it we traded up a bit.
  • Was your RV plugged in? Was the tank heater switched on?