We bought a used TT, brought it home, parked it in the snow. We want to do a shakedown trip before our trip to FL in Feb. We intend to go down to southern Indiana in a couple of weeks. (About 150 miles)We will dry camp so we do not have to re-winterize and the battery is in the house for the winter. We will have shore power. My question is how much propane will we need to heat the trailer for 3 days, assuming the following;• Outside temp 35 degrees, inside temp 60 degrees.• 2010 Dutchman lite 25 feet long• Dual propane tanks.• 25,000 BTU central heating. Any other cold weather hauling tips?

If you have shore power, get an smallish electric heater to maintain the temp you want at night. The 2 tanks will be more than enough to get you thru the 3 days. More like 10 days!

The thing is when using propane to use the heater, that you're using up battery power, so keep that in mind. If you'll be on shore power on your trip, get a little inexpensive (DeLonghi is a nice brand) space heater from WalmarK and use it. Some people can go through 2 tanks of propane in 3 to 4 days.WoodGlue

Propane contains approx 90,000 BTU of energy as I remember. So if you have a 25,000 BTU furnace that means your furnace will burn approx 1/3 gallon per hour of running time.

Our furnace uses to much! We use it only for a quick warm up if we have been out (don't leave the heater while we are away), or after getting up in the morning. All other times we use our small thermostatically controlled 1500W heater.

donn0128 wrote:Propane contains approx 90,000 BTU of energy as I remember. So if you have a 25,000 BTU furnace that means your furnace will burn approx 1/3 gallon per hour of running time.Only if that is 25,000 input BTU. Output BTU isn't used for this calculation.

How much propane does the furnace use? | Good Sam Community

rgolding
Explorer
Jan 05, 2014
Our last trailer was a 2010 Dutchmen 25C - GS. Great trailer and our kids have it now. We found that keeping the slide out in, when the temps are cold, really keeps it a lot warmer. The 25C-GS is great for this because everything is accessable.
DE88ROX
Explorer
Jan 04, 2014
just had to fill one of my 30# tanks this past august. Both tanks were filled when i bought it new in feb of 2012.

Since I bought it, I have used the furnace regularly during my 2 spring and 1 fall weekend.

I have also used it for 2, 5 day camping trips at the races in 2012 and 2013, to run my fridge and water heater because we had no shore power.

I also use it to run the fridge while im traveling.

So to only burn through one 30# tank in 2 seasons of camping isn't bad. But I guess it depends on how much you use it. Every case is different.
mdamerell
Explorer
Jan 04, 2014
rbpru wrote:

My question is how much propane will we need to heat the trailer for 3 days, assuming the following;
• Outside temp 35 degrees, inside temp 60 degrees.
• 2010 Dutchman lite 25 feet long
• Dual propane tanks.
• 25,000 BTU central heating.

Any other cold weather hauling tips?

Rough guess about 1 bottle.

We set our thermostat at 70 and go through a tank in about 3 days. We don't use any electric heaters. I have dual 30# tanks but I heat more trailer. If both your tanks are full go have some fun. Remember you need 12 vdc for the furnace to run.

If you have the auto switch over on your tanks set it to one tank and manually switch it over when the 1st bottle is empty. That way you have a spare and not 2 empty tanks when you run out of propane. Better to do the 3am dash than have no heat. :)
beemerphile1
Explorer
Jan 04, 2014
stevekk wrote:
How efficient is the average RV furnace?
Like 50% ?

All modern RV furnaces I have checked are 80%.

Want to know the efficiency of your furnace? Divide the output BTU by the input BTU. All the info you need is on the furnace label.

ie;
24,000 output BTU
30,000 input BTU
The furnace is 80% efficient which means 20% of your fuel is blown out the exhaust as wasted heat.
Tim_W
Explorer
Jan 04, 2014
rbpru wrote:
The dealer said to bring the battery in as it might freeze if it sat outside all winter.

I forgot about the battery being used for the breakaway breaking.

I will hook it up before we leave.

Thanks for the reminder.

Batteries can be stored in temperatures as low as -20°F without freezing provided the batteries are fully charged.

My batteries only drop about 25% at most over the winter, I use a battery disconnect on my camper.

You can leave the battery on your camper, it will be okay.
Mr__Camper
Explorer
Jan 04, 2014
What everyone is politely saying is that it depends on how cold out it is and what your own personal comfort level inside is. It's an individual thing. Nobody is going to be able to answer it exactly, that's up to you.
Racine96
Explorer
Jan 04, 2014
It depends on how cold it gets, what temp you want to keep inside, and specially if it is windy or not. I have been surprised here in south TX, we have used a lot even when ours is a new TT and with underbelly cover. The wind is a killer. However, my DW likes it warm (74 inside). Good luck.
rbpru
Explorer II
Jan 04, 2014
The dealer said to bring the battery in as it might freeze if it sat outside all winter.

I forgot about the battery being used for the breakaway breaking.

I will hook it up before we leave.

Thanks for the reminder.
stephend
Explorer
Jan 04, 2014
Not sure about propane use, but I have same TT. You will enjoy it.
KD4UPL
Explorer
Jan 04, 2014
My 1500 watt electric heater cost my $19.99 at Walmart. It saves a lot of propane.
Don't tow the trailer without the battery, the break-away-brakes won't function without it.

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