Constantly supplying antifreeze all winter instead of heat?

I camp in my off-road small foot print camper all winter long sometimes... It has the basic sink and hot water heater... Basic water diagram is this one... My shower is different than shown here which is one of those cassette potie/shower combo setups...



We do the BLOW METHOD when the temps start getting in the 30s... Usually the over night 30s and high 20s doesn't do anything to us and it all warms up up the next day...

I first just open the low drain point and open both cold and hot water spigots on the sink. This will drain the one fresh water tank I have and also drain a whole lot of hot water out of the hot water heater. Then I do the BLOW OUT method using our tankless 12VDC small air compressor which uses a water hose adapter to fit the city water port on the trailer. Just takes a couple of minutes to blow out the lines. Then I just add a dab of pink stuff to the one P-trap I have on the sink... If it is going to be along cold period then I will drain the water closet on the cassette pottie unit...

Doing it this way allows you to to just add fresh water to the tank when it warms up and you are back in business again. No pink stuff in the lines to worry about...

Being small foot print none of this takes hardly any time to do and I have never froze up anything yet camping in the high country around VA and along the Blue Ridge Mountains during the winter months...

Roy Ken

pconroy328 wrote:

Svenn wrote:
lol easy, I'm a beginner. I didn't realize the stuff was sticky....

Not only is it sticky but its not something you want in your mouth. DAMHIKT....

You may not be aware that propylene glycol (RV antifreeze) is used as a sweetener in some products, coffee flavorings for instance.

Just how much plumbing is in a Highlander? Take showers at the YMCA or truck stops, don't forget flip flops.

Another vote for cheap vodka. Careful though, it does sting the eyes.

When you install the plumbing, route it so that it can be easily drained. I would also install a cheap 12V inflator type compressor and have that piped into the plumbing. The procedure would be---open drain valve, open compressor line valve, turn on compressor.

Heat the interior.

^yes, or at the very least not go through a whole evacuation process every time I need to leave it outside unattended for a few days. I only use it on weekends.

Svenn wrote:
lol easy, I'm a beginner. I didn't realize the stuff was sticky.

2.) find a power source to heat the pump, pipes, etc for the nights it gets below freezing?

Not only is it sticky but its not something you want in your mouth. DAMHIKT. ;)

For #2 it depends on how cold it is outside, how warm you can keep the inside. In our motorhome, if the temp drops into the high to mid 20's, I just keep the furnace on. Or I have nice electric heater inside. Keep the inside temps in high 60's and the heat bleeds thru to keep the rest warm.

If it drops below mid 20's and I can't winterize, then it's additional small electric heaters in the plumbing compartment. And the tank heaters are on.

All of this take electricity. Quite a bit more than a single group 27 battery could supply.


Do you want to live in your RV in the winter?

Is there plumbing tape that run off propane? Or would it be easier to heat the interior air? It only needs to be above say 40 degrees to be safe.

Mount the fresh water tank and plumbing in the heated interior area.
If it is that cold you will still need to be plugged in to run the furnace on propane.