heating in winter

If I were leaving Michigan and heading south, I would "WING" it for one night until I got down far enough that I needed little/no additional heat.

You don't say what you are driving/pulling, but if your batteries are in good shape, they will last one night unless it is below 10 degrees.

Take extra blankets, hats, mittens that you can use JUST IN CASE. Warm the RV up, cut the thermostat back down and crawl in bed. Don't use up your battery with lights, TV, etc.

Next morning, run the thermostat back up, warm it up for your morning rituals, then get on the road.

Unless you are in the UP, you should be down in warmer weather by nightfall of the 2nd night.

I do a lot of boondocking in deer hunting, and when I drive to FLA the end of Jan. My Class B's furnace can run for several days before the battery is a problem. I have a 105 AH battery. But I conserve power as much as possible, led lights, etc. Just driving recharges the battery. I sometimes take a portable 120 watt solar panel or my Honda 2000 genny.

I left the water system winterized until reaching FLA.

GordonThree wrote:
Winter camping is the best IMHO - it's often very quiet, and little crowds depending where you go.

just takes preparation and more money for fuel.

late December in Capitol Reef NP, it was down in the teens at night, 20s during the day. I was the only one in the campground. Asked the ranger if I could ignore generator hours to keep my heat on - they said no problem! So little blue ran pretty much all night keeping my plumbing heat and tank heaters on, and recharge batteries from the propane blower furnace, which was running more often than not. Same deal at Natural Bridges. Little blue ran all day and most of the night... Woke in the morning and it was buried under over a foot of fresh snow. Refilled with gas and it started right up.

Paradise right there! Jus some coffee n Kailua watching it snow.......

Adequate batteries and solar system and you should be set to run your heater as needed.

Winter camping is the best IMHO - it's often very quiet, and little crowds depending where you go.

just takes preparation and more money for fuel.

late December in Capitol Reef NP, it was down in the teens at night, 20s during the day. I was the only one in the campground. Asked the ranger if I could ignore generator hours to keep my heat on - they said no problem! So little blue ran pretty much all night keeping my plumbing heat and tank heaters on, and recharge batteries from the propane blower furnace, which was running more often than not. Same deal at Natural Bridges. Little blue ran all day and most of the night... Woke in the morning and it was buried under over a foot of fresh snow. Refilled with gas and it started right up.

SuzyQ51 wrote:
Thank you all for your input. we will definitely find a campground that is open all year for the first leg of our travel to Florida

You did not ask about winterizing the water system, but you are real new and have little knowledge of RVs. If your water system is not winterized, and you travel in sub freezing temperatures without the RV heated, you can sustain serious damage due to freezing water pipes.

Hi SuzyQ51,

Welcome to the forums.

The real answer is "it depends".

For example, if you are in a class C it and traveling many hours per day then the vehicle alternator may often charge up the "house" batteries (which power the furnace).

If you are hauling a travel trailer not much charging will happen.

Where are you starting from and what type of RV do you wander down the road in?

If you plan on using campgrounds, take along an electric heater to provide some of the heat.

There is a wonderful thread on winter camping under the full time forum.

SuzyQ51 wrote:
do you have to be plugged in to electric for the furnace to work? i know the furnace is propane, but do you need electric to run the thermostat and blower?
Thank you.

THe answer is yes, you need a constant source of 12V power. It takes a lot of current to run the blower so being plugged in is needed.

Best to check your systems before you roll. Even if you plan to be plugged in you want to make sure your battery system will get you through one night if required. Check propane daily.

SuzyQ51 wrote:
Thank you all for your input. we will definitely find a campground that is open all year for the first leg of our travel to Florida

Once you get South of Indiana and hit Kentucky, most KOA's and Good Sam campgrounds will be open year round. Not sure about Kentucky, but South Carolina State Parks are open all year round.

Indiana State Parks are open all year round to, but you won't have water anywhere in the park. You will have electricity at the campsites.