Forum Discussion

Grit_dog's avatar
Grit_dog
Navigator II
Aug 01, 2013

05 Arctic Fox Cold weather capabilities?

Thinking ahead to winter time. Just bought the camper this year, owners manual I printed off doesn't say much so figured I go to the experts here.
Planning on doing some overnight winter trips snowmobiling. Obviously the easist way would be to go completly dry save for the toilet which is easy to keep the black tank from freezing.
I dont see any heat tape on water lines or tanks.
Anyone know how well the 05 Arctic Fox campers fare in the winter, especially with respect to water use?
At what temp would it be good enough to just leave the cabinet under the sink and bathroom door open and be safe to not freeze up if I was running the furnace in the camper? Not thinking dead of winter -20 using any water, but more early and late season where the nights would be well above 0.
I don't plan on doing any major work to it, like heat taping everything, as I won't keep it past next summer when the family leaves AK.
Any insight would be appreciated.
Truck Campers

12 Replies

Show More
  • jimh406's avatar
    jimh406
    Explorer III
    Aug 02, 2013
    Make sure you have enough propane and good batteries that are required for furnace. You can use it in very cold temps with full water, but you'll need to use more heat and keep the heat running even while you are out snowmobiling. To reduce the need for heat, you can use rv antifreeze in your toilet. Traps will freeze, so you need a sanitizer if you want to avoid the water. You can add rv antifreeze to your water tank or just carry gallons. Obviously, showers arent possible without water.

    If you have electricity, you can use electric heaters, or gas if you don't. That won't heat your basement so it won't hear your water.

    Finally, consider the drive time. It can be cold driving without heat.
  • CAJW's avatar
    CAJW
    Explorer
    Aug 02, 2013
    Looking at Youtube video of your model, 2005 AF 860 it appears to have a basement like the current models. The heater vents in both the area under the cab window and under the bathroom are designed to flow heated air through the basement, heating the tanks and plumbing. I was told by different sources that if you leave your heater on low, it'll keep the basement and associated plumbing from freezing. You should be good to go and able to visit the Palmer RR museum anytime you want!

About Travel Trailer Group

44,044 PostsLatest Activity: Jul 26, 2025