Winter living in a 2000 Fleetwood Southwind 36T

Look in your rigs storage bays. If it has heater vents you'll be able to see them. If they're like mine in my 1994 Holiday Rambler they'll probably not look like the vents in your living area and they'll be a lot smaller.

John,

We live full time in our 2001 Fleetwood Southwind 36T but we are in central Oklahoma. There are weeks in the winter where the temp stays below freezing but thankfully, not many! We bought a heated water hose and I insulated the utility bay with the silver bubble wrap insulation on top, bottom and sides. I turn on a 60w light bulb in that bay when temps are below freezing. Also turn on a 60w bulb under the w/d compartment accessed by removing the bottom drawer and a 60w bulb below the sink cabinet again by removing bottom drawer there. Water line running across the mh in the metal channel under the bathroom floor can freeze without the bulbs. Gas furnaces do much better job than electric heaters of keeping condensation down indoors and keep bays from freezing. I did have the sewer hose freeze once as the trickle of grey water froze & built up to solid ice. Now have short, steep slope that doesn't freeze. PM me for more info.

Thank you so much for the info i think i'll go to bed less worried.

John, My understanding is the Fleetwood gas MH main furnace vents into the lower area where the tanks are water, black and grey. So you shouldn't have any freezing if you use your furnace for heat. Fleetwood is very accommodating call them to make sure.

All good information. In a motorhome since your tank area is heated I would keep water in the fresh water tank. This way you would still have water if your water connections freeze.

We spent two Montana winters in RVs; once in a class A motorhome, and once in a fifth wheel.
Both times, I built the water line out of hard copper tubing, heat taped and insulated. No freeze-ups.
The sewer line I did not heat or insulate. Leaving the grey water valve open seemed to keep it from freezing, probably due to all the hot water that went down the drains. Of course, I opened the black water valve only when it was necessary to dump the tank.
When we were in the Class A, I bought a 100 pound propane cylinder, and the necessary fittings to hook it to the coach. It worked much better than the onboard tank.
In the fifth wheel, I rented an 80 GALLON tank, hooked it up, and the propane company kept it full all winter. MUCH better!
In the motorhome, I bought a 100 foot roll of 4 foot wide Reflectix insulation and wrapped it all the way around the coach as skirting, as well as covering the grille and windshield with it. It helped greatly. There was a draft around the door, so we got a blanket from a thrift store and made a drape out of it to hang inside the door. There are "pillows" available to push into the roof vents to insulate them.
As stated, be careful of electric heaters. You really NEED the warm air from the furnace circulating in the RV.
Also, if you yield to temptation and get a propane catalytic heater, be sure to read the safety instructions and warnings! Failure to properly ventilate the RV when using one of those heaters could KILL you!
THINK and Plan Ahead, and your winter will not be a problem.

As long as you can maintain a source of propane and keep the furnace running winterizing isn't needed. The onboard tank may only last a few days when it gets really cold so start now looking for a propane supplier that will provide a bigger external tank and delivery service. Electric space heaters help but you still need the propane furnace to pump heater air to your tanks to keep them from freezing.

You'll probably need a heated fresh water hose to prevent it from freezing. Also maybe a small electric heater in you wet compartment to prevent the black/gray dump valves from freezing. When you do dump the tanks ensure the hose is completely empty. Don't dump the tanks in the evening. The bigger the volume of water in the tank the colder it will need to be to freeze it. Best to keep the fresh water tank empty.

Head out to the local big box construction store and get a roll of radiant foil insulation. Looks like bubble wrap with foil on both sides. Use to cover the interior windows, windshield included. It makes a big difference.

Retracting the slides will help seal the coach up better then when extended. Helps reduce drafts and reduces the total air volume inside the coach you will be heating.

If the weather guessers are forecasting weeks at or close to freezing consider using hay bails or something around the base of the coach to help keep the wind and cold air out from below the floor. Will help to keep the tanks from freezing and the floor a bit warmer.

Good luck.