Winter in Colorado

shadow65 wrote:
I'm going to be spending the winter in an RV park with full hookups in Colorado Springs. I have a 35' DP and have done some short term camping in cold weather but never for a prolonged period of time. I would appreciate any tips or advice on keeping water from freezing, staying warm and comfortable, and having as pleasant a winter as possible. I do know I will need a heated water hose. Thanks

Having winter three years in Golden here is what I learned.

Remote thermometers are extremely helpful - some even come with an alarm setting - I keep one in the water and Sewer hook -up area. and one in the basement.

Insulated Water line with a heater attached. Always have a 10' one in the Coach.

Close the sewer line and open as needed to use.

I installed a Halogen light in the Sewer bay for really cold days would turn it on the night before a dump.

Bubble reflex it for the front windshield at night - would roll up so the south facing windshield could warm the Coach during the day. This was the single best thing for warmth in the Coach at night.

We found a couple of foam cushions that fit the vents.

With a screw gun I unscrewed the A/C vents and sealed with simi flex foam, stopped some of the just funny cold that would come through the vents.

Electric was free so I used two small heaters to heat the Coach, I had a hydro hot and a separate basement thermostat so never a problem.(With the 75 watt light, and the Hydro Hot unit in the basement, it never got below 42 degrees)

The Bed is over the engine - so the floor will get cold - no real insulation back there.

One winter we had -17 every night for 10 days (COLD) but we survived.

Not sure what else to tell you but if you want to talk send me a PM.

Best of Luck,

It's really not too difficult in a Class A if you also have diesel heat as that warm water is also circulated throughout the wet bays and they will stay toasty warm unless you use too many electric heaters inside the coach preventing them from doing what they are designed to do. If your electric is free and plan to use a number of electric heaters inside the coach then you need to add supplemental electric heat where your plumbing and holding tanks live. For me (a Winter in Detroit) that was 2 separate 100W light bulbs to keep warmth on both sides but there are also some small 200W(ish) electric heaters which could be added. I bought a "weather station" with a remote temp. sensor which I left in the bay to allow easy monitoring.
If you have propane heat it also heats the bays but tends to burn a lot of fuel to keep everything warm so using electric supplements inside and outside becomes more important for cost savings. If you have to pay for electric at the campground then you will need to find the right balance between where you want to spend the money but you are going to have to pay.

Do not fall prey to the concept of leaving a water tap run/drip all the time because you will end up with a frozen sewer pipe/hose.