Temperature Ratings for Travel Trailers

Jayco's Eagle TT's are independently tested by Dometic and certified 0 to 100 degrees .... I believe this is the same testing given to the Excels mentioned in the opening post .... at less than half the cost of an Excel and only a 5 degree difference in the test rating, the Eagle is well worth considering

Jim

You can also look at Bigfoot. One has to remember that the comfort of a TT will not match that of a home with a foundation or a better insulated mobile home. When the sun shines on the TT, it will be hitting a greater percentage of the volume of that space and so will the cold air and wind. Been there.

Hi,

Absolutely. The volume of space to be heated in comparison to the square footage is much worse than a home. We essentially have six outside walls because heat is lost via radiation from the bottom of an RV, too.

The ratio of window to wall is also much higher on an RV and even double pane units are only R 1.5. (single pane is 0.85). Add to that vents, and skylights. Most of our window frames are metal--and may not have much of a thermal break. That's why my custom made covers are velcroed in place outside the frames. It has made an enormous difference in heating for me.

There is a tiny animal called a shrew. It has to eat 3 times its body weight each hour to stay alive, simply because it is so tiny. Our rv's consume lots of watts--for exactly the same reason.

ktmrfs wrote:
The other thing working against us in trailers is the heat loss rate relationship to square feet of living space.

This is all very helpful for us. We are full-time located at the Furnace Creek Resort in Death Valley. Been here for two years and in a couple years we expect to make a move to eastern Washington State. We made some modifications to our 2002 Komfort travel trailer to live here; window air conditioner, mirror finish on the windows, shade cloth suspended over our unit. We get along just fine. I know... one extreme to another... Go figure :)
Thanks for all your suggestions.

The other thing working against us in trailers is the heat loss rate relationship to square feet of living space.

regardless of how well insulated a trailer is, it will loose (or gain) heat faster per sq ft than a stick built house. The reason is that heat is lost/gained through the walls/floor etc. and doubling the square feet of living space doesn't double the wall area, it goes up by far less. As an example, I did a calculation and our 2600square ft S& B house has only a little over 3x the wall/floor/ceiling area of our 240 square ft trailer. 10x the square ft, but only 3x the wall area. Add in the trailer lower insulation, the higher window to wall area etc. and it's all against a trailer. Explains why it takes a 35KBTU furnace in a trailer running pretty constant vs. a 80K BTU furnace in 10x bigger S&B house to keep the same temp. Or what seems like a pretty big AC unit compared to a S&B house to keep it cool.

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Look for a unit with enclosed tanks and a heated basement. From there it is easy to upgrade.

For example I have used 17 yards of 48" material to make covers for all vents, skylights, windows, side door, and a "blanket" to block off the cab area of my class C.

Here is my limited experience. I did my research and found that there are a number of manufactures that can make their units with enclosed tanks and heated tank areas. We looked only at the units that have this capabilities and decided on a Coleman. We ordered it with the Summit package. While it is NOT a four season unit it meets our needs. We were in it over Thanksgiving and had a low of 20F with no concerns. We had the fresh water tank full and disconnected and drained the water hose. Yes, the windows do sweat. There are small drain / weep holes to allow the water to exit the Camper. I contacted the factory rep by email and was told that the unit is safe to the mid teens. I did not go by what a salesperson told me. I contacted the manufacturer. Hope this helps.

RVnRobin wrote:
Thanks for all your recommendations. It looks like the Artic Fox plant is in La Grande OR. Perhaps it is time for me to take a tour. Not far from me.

While you're there, look at Outdoors RV Mfg as well. They are cousins to Northwood Mfg.(Artic Fox, Nash, ...), use the same frames, similar quality of construction but a bit lighter in general. And they too are built in LaGrande OR.

We're quite happy one of their 4 season trailers with the dual pane window and fresh water tank DC heater options.

Thanks for all your recommendations. It looks like the Artic Fox plant is in La Grande OR. Perhaps it is time for me to take a tour. Not far from me.

Pay close attention to how the TT is constructed. A one and half inch wall is typically R-5. A two inch wall is typically R-7. The use of Azdel in the wall may increase a two inch wall to R-9. The more holes in the outside of the TT (compartments) will require more effort to heat and cool your TT. A 5" attic will offer more room for insulation then a 3" attic. Outside kitchens are also a heating/cooling loss. Windows are a huge loss of heating and cooling. The more and larger windows you have the more it takes to heat and cool your TT. Slides do not have attics are not insulated as well as the rest of the TT.

Look for a TT that has 2" walls, 1" or better outside compartment doors and a heated and enclosed underbelly. The larger the TT you have the more it will take to cool and heat it. The more slides you have the more it will take to heat and cool your TT. Slides may lose a lot of heat and cooling through the seals. The outside shower should also be well insulated. If the TT manufacture does not offer double pane windows it's not a four seasons TT.

I have a small 23 foot TT with no slides and single pane windows. I have camped in 24 degree weather, used little propane and kept my TT at 70 degrees; however, it did warm up in the daytime to 60 degrees. I have a heated and enclosed underbelly, R-7 insulation in the walls, roof and floor. I don't think I would be happy with my TT in below 20 degree weather for a long period of time.

Camping in Florida in the summer, with my A/C set at 75 and high humidity. I get condensation on my windows. My 13.5 A/C will cool my TT in 95 degree summer heat well below 75 degrees; however, we live in Florida get cold below 75 degrees. Brick house is set to 77 degrees.

Northwood, Outdoors RV Manufacturing and Lance are a few that advertise they are true four season TTs. Jayco Eagle, Winnebago One, Outdoors MFG and Evergreen Lite are a few of the TT manufactures that offer double pane windows.

The things to look for are dual pane/thermo pane windows, insulated and heated tanks, enclosed LP tanks, wall insulation values, high output heater, etc.

Mine even has all the water lines routed inside the floor heater ducts.

Gotta have enough propane and power to run the furnace fan no matter what TT.