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JoshuaH's avatar
JoshuaH
Explorer
Apr 09, 2020

Question about having camper setup in near freezing temps.

We own a Forest River Wolf Pup 16BHS,

https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers/wolf-pup/16BHS/1330

My wife is an ER nurse at a local hospital, and she is currently living in the camper to have some isolation from myself and my 4 year old son. She works the night shift so her routine is to come home about 730-8am shower then go straight to bed and sleep in the camper during the day.

Tonight it is supposed to get down to 30 degrees, and a few more nights in the forecast for lows of 32 and 33.

My question is, if I disconnect the water supply, and bleed off pressure, leave the heat on inside the camper, will this be safe? This camper has low point drains, these obviously will not receive any heat, so I'm worried about those freezing, however my thought was if there was no pressure on the lines and the temp only slightly below freezing maybe that would be OK?

Next question, if my above plan is OK, will it be OK to leave the water heater on, it will be full of water, just no water pressure in the system. I'd like to leave it on so when my wife does get home she can take a shower right away and go to sleep as she works usually 12.5-13 hour shifts and needs to get to work as soon as possible.

I know there are ways to permanently heat your water supply to prevent freezing, but I was hoping to avoid that as I doubt we will have many more nights this spring that get below freezing (Central Missouri), and I sure hope we are past this Pandemic by next winter!

Any thoughts?
  • JoshuaH's avatar
    JoshuaH
    Explorer
    Apr 09, 2020
    Thanks everyone, I appreciate the input and kind words.

    The fresh water tank on this camper is mounted under it and is also exposed, so I'm not sure if running the water from it is going to help any or not.

    I think what I will do is unhook the supply hose from my house to the camper just to make sure that those fittings don't freeze, then just leave a faucet open inside the camper to bleed off the pressure, and if any freezing takes place in the low point drains, hopefully with a faucet being opened any expansion can just go up the water pipe. Then right before my wife gets home I'll hook it back up, the sun will be up by then and temps warming up.

    I would think the water heater should be OK to be left on in this scenario, the water in it can't go anywhere.

    Thoughts?
  • Yosemite_Sam1's avatar
    Yosemite_Sam1
    Explorer
    Apr 09, 2020
    I recommend that you cover your hanging drain plug and water pipes outside of your trailer with those foams available at Home Depot.

    Bless your wife and hoping she remains safe (and well provided with PPEs).
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Apr 09, 2020
    That's not cold enough to freeze anything provided you keep the heat on, and the wind isn't howling. I prefer you use the onboard tank and pump rather than city supply hose.
  • Sandia_Man's avatar
    Sandia_Man
    Explorer II
    Apr 09, 2020
    I never really worried about water lines freezing up with temps just below freezing as long as daytime temps were in the 40s or higher. My rig does not have a sealed under belly and of course low drain points are fully exposed as is most of our water lines. Would have to dip to around 20 degrees for our water lines to freeze up when daytime temps are notably above freezing.

    Coldest temps overnight occur for only a couple of hours around dawn, we have never experienced any issues with frozen water lines or running water heater under temps you described. Our family is in the same boat as my DW and 3 DDs are also nurses, they are obligated to work daily. They dutifully wear masks and goggles throughout their entire shift, I find it difficult to just wear a mask to go shopping.
  • way2roll's avatar
    way2roll
    Navigator II
    Apr 09, 2020
    Bless your wife and the work she is doing and how you are handling it as a family.
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator
    Apr 09, 2020
    I just looked at the forecast and you have nothing to worry about. General rule of thumb, if it's not getting above freezing or much above freezing for an entire day, there is a greater possibility that something exposed may freeze up.

    For comparison, I never winterized our TC in the Seattle foothills this winter, avg about 5-8 deg colder than sea level. Parked in an un-heated (most of the time) shop. I did turn on a little electric heater a couple times when the temps got down to teens/20s. Water bottle in the corner of the shop on the floor never had ice
    Camped a couple weekends ago in the mtns. It snowed. Fresh load of ice cold well water in the tank. Heat was off all night while we slept. No problems, none expected.
    If you need confirmation that there won't be issues, tonight is the coldest night forecast. Put a little cup of water or a mostly empty plastic water bottle outside where it sees no sun and see how much ice is in it in the morning. Likely none and it certainly won't be frozen solid.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    Apr 09, 2020
    I used to do it all the time back a few years with temps getting down just below freezing... I made the top covers on the bed being two sleeping bags zipped together... This was our PLAN B for getting caught off guard with heat sources... Was always real cautious using the little propane Mr Buddy type heaters... Electric portable heaters running off the house power drop no problems...

    The small trailers make a great second bed when needed.. Being at home you can plug into the garage and power up things... I imagine alot of trailers are being used in the crises area of self isolation...

    Spent many of days and evenings watching football games and other shows on TV and not disturbing the family in the house...

    Here in Virginia where it seldom gets down to freezing I have one of these THERMO CUBES power plugs that kicks ON when the temps get low... This will power up an Electric Heater plugged into it..


    google image

    Roy Ken
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Apr 09, 2020
    Follow Deb and Ed M's advice and at a low temp of 32 to 33 I think you'll be fine.
  • Deb_and_Ed_M's avatar
    Deb_and_Ed_M
    Explorer II
    Apr 09, 2020
    The low point drains ARE the weak point - I wonder if you could tape a hunk of something over those points to insulate them? Like a hunk of pink insulation batt? Then you could leave the system pressurized. Throw some antifreeze in the gray and black tanks to protect those valves.

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