Hubby and I prefer boondocking to anything else and we have done a lot of it. We are exploring staying in higher elevations where it would get down lower than our 29+ degree comfort range (mine mostly I think).I understand if the daytime temps are 45+ we are probably okay since it will probably just touch the low temps for a short time overnight. I should also mention we do have tank heaters in our class C but not being plugged in they would suck our batteries down. Like most any rv the insulation in the walls is pathetic...not concerned about the temps in the rv only as they relate to pipes freezing.Any words of wisdom....we won't be hanging out in any particular place more than maybe 5 days.I am talking Wild West 2017....Utah, Nevada, Arizona mostly....been out there every couple of years and since we have to go October 1st and no sooner, I hate getting pushed down to lower Arizona for this time period.We have mr. buddy heater.Donna in NY

I would say use your buddy heater at all times during your wake period, but put the furnace on about 60 F from bedtime until morning wake time if it is expected to be below 25. Air gets circulated better with the furnace and you only need to worry about the most vulnerable places, outside shower and dump valves in the low 20's or lower.

We have stayed in the higher desert locations in AZ. Several nights down to 26* no problem with water freezing because it was for a short time and then back up to the 60* mark. With 200 watts of solar we are able to run the furnace for a few hours each day, enough to warm it up. The solar gets the batteries back to full charge by 2 or 3 pm.Jesseannie

we camp in cool and cold temps quite often in the spring and fall. lowest temps are probably in the mid 20's. At night we set the thermostat to 45F and have it come on to 70 at 7am when we get up. that way the furnace usually doesn't run at night and wake us up, and when it comes on, that's the alarm clock.But then it will run for several hours to get the trailer up to temp.Never have had any water problems, and the belly pan is not well insulated. but the volume of water helps keep it from freezing.we don't use any portable propane heaters. unless you are in a dry climate the water added can end up being a condensation problems on windows etc. for every gallon of propane burned in a portable non vented heater, your stove, your oven, you will put almost a gallon of water into the air. If it's a dry climate that may be a help, if it's already humid, well, we have enough problems with humidity without any more water.closing the drapes helps keep heat in.

At night slightly open all inside cabinets that have pipes. "Wild West?" Lots of bandits, war parties and riffraff predicted this year.

Please, Get a CO monitor. Don't worry about it being an RV unit. This can matter in a TT or 5er, but if any MH bounced like that, it would back on the market cheap. The new ones are supposed to be good for 10 years, but put a date on the back and replace it sooner. Every cold spell, there is news of a couple or family that got gassed in their sleep. Matt

Camping freezing night temps...talk to me | Good Sam Community

31 Replies

drsteve
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
Old Islander wrote:
I use our camper for one hunting trip in November in south central BC, when it always freezes -- one year it was -25C for a few days.

...there is a pretty good outhouse where we hunt.

At -25C, there are no good outhouses.
Old_Islander
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
I use our camper for one hunting trip in November in south central BC, when it always freezes -- one year it was -25C for a few days. For those trips, before leaving, I winterize the camper, draining the tanks, and blowing out all the water lines and drains with an air compressor. So there is no water in any plumbing or tanks that might freeze.

We don't use the toilet -- there is a pretty good outhouse where we hunt.

We take water in 5 gal containers, and keep it from freezing inside the camper or in the truck during the day. We do use the kitchen sink (but with no gooseneck drain) and the draincock open on the gray tank so the soapy warm water flows right out of the sink, thru the tank, and out into a small pit. At night, we have arctic sleeping bags so we don't have to run the forced air furnace all night. We run a genny maybe an hour a day to charge up the camper battery. It all seems to work.
Lwiddis
Explorer II
Jul 05, 2017
"Does 200 watts do much? Do these go on roof or get propped outside when we land (like what we have now from BLM)?"

Donna, my solar panels are installed on the roof. No set up or theft issue but portable panels can be bigger producers when RV is in shade. General rule is 1 solar watt per battery amp hour. Most of us do slightly more. I'm 300 watts for 240 AHs. Last 21 days out I only exercised the generator once...5 minutes. 200 solar watts should give you 8 to 9 amps until your batteries reach absorbtion then it doesn't really matter what you can produce. They'll accept less and less to float.
drsteve
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
Matt_Colie wrote:
Please,

Get a CO monitor.
Don't worry about it being an RV unit. This can matter in a TT or 5er, but if any MH bounced like that, it would back on the market cheap.

The new ones are supposed to be good for 10 years, but put a date on the back and replace it sooner. Every cold spell, there is news of a couple or family that got gassed in their sleep.

Matt

The Buddy heaters have a low oxygen shutoff built in to the unit. The manufacturer recommends opening your roof vent when using them in an RV. I've used mine in the PUP when boondocking to reduce furnace blower run time in cold weather. Between the open vent and the less-than-airtight nature of my old PUP I've never had an issue.
mikebreeze
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
I have a zero degree sleeping bag that I use on real cold nights when boondocking. Also, you can get some iron oxide hand warmers and throw them into the bag for additional warmth.
dcason
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
Lol, my rule for heater at night is if it goes below 35, the heat on the wall goes on...never the buddy heater for nighttime use (I want to wake up alive). When I wake up, I quick run and pop the heat on the wall on and run back to bed...hoping it is still warm enough. Haven't yet resorted to a hat except when winter camping/backpacking as a young women (now i deserve a bed). We sleep with a mountain of quilts...love sleeping with cold air.

We do refill the small propane canisters and bring a bunch with us. That is us going around campgrounds when we stay there and picking up canisters.....

Will pass on the generator info to hubby..that price might spark his interest. Does 200 watts do much? Do these go on roof or get propped outside when we land (like what we have now from BLM)?

We do have a built in generator that we use when we boondock a longer time to recharge stuff.
Donna
corvettekent
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
We boondock in Nevada, Arizona, and California all winter, yes some nights get below freezing but we never had any pipes or pump freeze. We have a Big Buddy for heat but only use it when we or up.
FrankShore
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
dcason wrote:
LOL...wild west...we are from NY (not the city)...

We have a CO2 detector...I thought all rv's had one?

Yes, on the super cold nights we do open the cupboards...great reminder.

Wish we had some nice solar....we have a weanie solar panel that doesn't do much that BLM was throwing out.

Nice to know mid 20's is okay...gives me more options.
Donna

Get a portable Kidde detector - better play it safe. Mine is square 4" wide by 3" tall - Being Redundant is always a smart thing!
mike-s
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
dcason wrote:
Any words of wisdom....
Cold is easier than heat. You can always put more clothes on, there's a limit to how many you can take off.
nineoaks2004
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
A small generator and a battery charger can save the day, If it get too cold (below freezing) being from Fl. I use my heater and re-charge the unit with the charger during the day. We usually camp where we have electric in the winter and use a cube heater which we usually have to turn the thermostat down as it gets to hot.

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Camping freezing night temps...talk to me

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