Concerns About Going Full Time
So in the span of 8 days, i decided i was done struggling to survive and living paycheck to paycheck. I bought a truck, a camper and now finalizing the details on how to proceed. I live and work in NY...
Forum Discussion
valhalla360 wrote:BurbMan wrote:
LOL it never gets that cold here, you're thinking upstate NY by the Canadian border! We had a cold snap this week with the snow, and it will be 19* tonight, but heading into the weekend and next week it will be 40's during the day and low 30's at night. That's about where winters having been at the last 10 years.
We did have an "arctic blast" where it got down to the -5 range for a day or two, but those are anomalies.
Yeah but you still have to plan for those "anomalies.
Down into the teens just takes a little planning.
Admittedly a bigger and needing more heat but we've been thru a couple of those -5F snaps in a well insulated 28ft 5th wheel...a 30# propane tank per day with 2 - 1500w space heaters running 24/7...and it's still only 55F inside. Even worse on the water, that is probably coming with a storm so you have to consider the wind chill effect.
Again, not saying it can't be done but it's not fun.
If he's also getting electricity from a propane generator, he's going to need more/bigger propane tanks. 100-200w of solar panels isn't going to be close to serving his need if the furnace is running non-stop.
Also what's the backup plan if your furnace goes out? A lot of RV techs take the winter off or go down south to service snowbirds.
We got caught out before driving out of the cold areas we've been in, so we could escape the really cold weather with the electric heaters supplementing (via shore power). The OP is planning to ride it out, so he needs to have a plan in mind...especially with an RV he just bought and of unknown condition.
Burbman is correct, Born and raised in Queens village it really doesn't get that cold in NYC but very icy all the time in winter.
Valhalla, I agree totally! It can be done but away from a dedicated campground with electric heat, water/sewer on demand It's going to be a full time job. It is just a camper. Once the little plastic lines freeze they are totally useless and must be replaced. Propane is not a realistic option outside of a weekly delivery to a 100 pound tank. PITA besides the cost is going to be alot of dollars for the propane alone. The water heater is 6 gallons it's going to run until he shuts it off, will he have to drain it, I don't know. It's gonna be full time work. Anyway it will also be an adventure!!!
