winter hook ups

I added a 120 volt outlet and I use a mechanical thermostat with a small fan based heater for my waste tank and valve area. I power it with an inverter when traveling.

Just being enclosed is not enough to prevent freezing.

The heated hoses work fine, but are only a small part of the concerns during winter months. You really should try to determine if your TT has a "winter package" or not. You show as being from IL. Wintering there will be tough without a winter ready RV.

Keeping the interior heated will work to a certain temp (20 maybe), but as you go lower, plumbing will freeze if the utility area and holding tanks are not heated.

If you don't have double insulated windows, you'll need a really big propane tank to feed the furnace.

Do a lot of homework and be darned sure that you're prepared for the cold, or you can end up with a lot of expensive damage.

jerite wrote:
Ok I have a 2014 zinger travel trailer. So its new and bottom is covered well. So I feel confident that over the winter it should be usable. Now my question is how well does those heated water hoses work? Also what do you all use for sewer hose or pipe for sewer hook up in winter time? Any feedback will be appreciated. thanks in advance...Jer

Depending on where you're parked, the layout of the plumbing, and the temperature involved, you may need some 120 V heat tapes and/or insulation to keep your plumbing working in the Winter.

FWIW, ATM, I'm trying to finalize my design for a heated enclosure around my waste tank and drains. I have all of the big parts sorted but am trying to break down the construction of the exit point of the system. It won't do me any good to heat all of the plumbing if the drain caps are frozen or the valves inoperable.

If you were to remove the covering on the bottom and peek in there, you wouldn't find much if any insulation. Having a enclosed underside is no guaranty it will work in the Winter. My guess is it won't freeze up until you get to about 25 or 30 degrees. A heated hose will work up to the water hydrant but if the campground doesn't protect the water hydrant from freezing down into the ground you're back to square one. These things just aren't made to use in the Winter.

B.O.

If you only connect the hose up to fill the internal fresh water tank and then disconnect and drain it afterwards, you don't need a heated hose. If you leave it hooked up, you'll need to be somewhere where the water tap also has proper freeze protection; presumably any campground offering hookups over the winter has that part figured out long ago.

There's nothing wrong with using a heated hose, of course--I think it's mostly a matter of how much sub-freezing use you expect to have. For a few weekends a year it just might not be worth the money.

jerite wrote:
Ok I have a 2014 zinger travel trailer. So its new and bottom is covered well. So I feel confident that over the winter it should be usable. Now my question is how well does those heated water hoses work? Also what do you all use for sewer hose or pipe for sewer hook up in winter time? Any feedback will be appreciated. thanks in advance...Jer

Heated water hoses work very well, we use one every winter and we are full timers.
We use a regular stinky-slinky all year round, just make sure it is totally drained after dumping.