Dumping in Nova Scotia in winter

[tomtom112]

Hi,

great forum, hope I get some help....

We are new to the province and we want to use our RV in winter in Nova Scotia for fulltime living. It is absolutely winterized. So it is not an issue if it works technically.

But what I do not know is, where to dump my black and grey water tanks and get fresh water?

The campgrounds I checked are closed for the winter. And I usually do not use campgrounds. We park the RV where ever we find a nice spot. Sometimes it has to be Walmart :C

Thank you

Tom

[tomtom112]

Great,

thank you.

Did they charged anything for dumping?

I found another idea: There are honeywagon which serve the mobilhomes and the septic systems. They would take my waste water too but it is very expensive.

But where do they go to empty the truck: Maybe to the municipal water facilities. And this could be my solution. I will check it out.

Thanks!

De-Humidifyer: I found one at amazon which works without compressor. Should be quiet. It's now for 60 bucks (was 119) - would be worth to try.

Tom

[Little_Kopit]

pianotuna wrote:
Municipal water works may allow you to dump and replenish the water supply.

Will you have access to shore power?

tomtom112 wrote:


YES, municipal water facility. I have gone out in The Maritimes in the winter and that is where I went.

I have lived in Nova Scotia. Yes, places near the south shore are warmer than inland. i.e, if you go to the north shore I'm not going to promise anything.

Another thing you can do is check online for municipal websites, especially places where you want to go. Ask them what winter conditions are likely.

And at Environment Canada site: https://weather.gc.ca/canada_e.html check for ice conditions in The Gulf of St. Lawrence.

:B

[garyhaupt]

I have sent you a private message.

Gary Haupt

[noteven]

Having zero experience with winter in NS I looked at historical data (not hysterical ...)

It appears to enjoy a "maritime climate" - who knew?

Halifax - lowest temp in January 2017 was -17.6C, high was 10C average was +.7C
Yarmouth - lowest -13.6C, highest +10C average +3.5C
Sydney - lowest -18.9C, highest +9.6C average +.7C

Should be quite tolerable in your unit Tom.

Of course it could be "-20C all the time" one of these climate change winters...

Agree with checking with municipal waste management - there has to be a facility accessable by vehicle all year round somewhere....

[GordonThree]

tomtom112 wrote:
Yes this is an topic, we open all windows every few hours and do an airchange. We have no roof openings to avoid problems with water from above and too much heat from the sun in summer.

I have seen there are small dehumidifyers without compressors. Maybe this could help.

Chemical dehumidifiers can't really keep up with respiration and perspiration from people. They're good for storage where there's not much new water vapor entering the area.

A small compressor dehumidifier doesn't hog that much energy, to run periodically. Plus it provides heat to the living space and water to flush the toilet.

[tomtom112]

Yes this is an topic, we open all windows every few hours and do an airchange. We have no roof openings to avoid problems with water from above and too much heat from the sun in summer.

I have seen there are small dehumidifyers without compressors. Maybe this could help.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

Condensation may be an issue. If it does happen open a roof vent and crack a window.

[tomtom112]

Hi,

thank you for your replies.

Good idea with the macerator and the water works. I will check this out.

Ok, some information about my RV. I built it on my own and I had regular ones before. I was always pissed off when we are travelling in the winter. So when I decided to built my own, winter use was an issue, because we used it also to go skiing etc.

I am from Germany and there is a company who builts "boxes" for expedition vehicles. My box has fibre glas outside and inside and 56 milimeter PU-foam between.

We have a water heating system and we heat this system with diesel. We also have water floor heating and real hartglass windows (dubble thermo glas with alumunium frame).

All holding tanks are in the heated inside. The draining valves are motorvalves (sit directly at the grey and blackwater tank). I open them with remote control. Also the longer pipe is in the heated compartment. There is only one open connection to the outside where I screw a hose. So there is nothing which can freeze.

We also have 800 Watt solar panels on the roof. And up to now, I never connectet to shore power (I could but it was not necessary). I have also an b2b charger - if I am driving, it charges my batteries as soon as the starter battery is full. Ok, I will have to remove the snow or drive a few kilometers.

So this is why I call it winterized.

We do not connect any hoses directly to a camp ground. I need every 8 days a dumping station to drain the tanks.

Thank you
Tom

[pianotuna]

Municipal water works may allow you to dump and replenish the water supply.

Will you have access to shore power?

tomtom112 wrote:
Hi,

great forum, hope I get some help....

We are new to the province and we want to use our RV in winter in Nova Scotia for fulltime living. It is absolutely winterized. So it is not an issue if it works technically.

But what I do not know is, where to dump my black and grey water tanks and get fresh water?

The campgrounds I checked are closed for the winter. And I usually do not use campgrounds. We park the RV where ever we find a nice spot. Sometimes it has to be Walmart :C

Thank you

Tom

[DrewE]

JaxDad wrote:
How exactly does an “absolutely winterized” RV keep the drain pipes and valves from freezing?

By enclosing them inside the heated wet bay, typically. At least, that's how mine is set up. I don't know if Coachmen called it "absolutely winterized" or not, to be honest.

Obviously, if one is hooked up to the sewer (or water supply) long-term rather than just filling or dumping and disconnecting, the hoses etc. will freeze unless steps are taken to prevent that.

[darsben1]

How cold does it get where you are?
Who told you it was absolutely winterized?
USUALLY at -20C or so all bets are off.
You may survive but I do not think you will thrive

[D_E_Bishop]

In our experience is that unless you have access to a S&B sewage system you're SOL(pun intended). There just aren't many campgrounds to start with and one week before Halloween we found one place that was open and it was scheduled before the end of October.

Sorry but with out some one who will let you use their septic, you're going to find it very difficult.

[JaxDad]

How exactly does an “absolutely winterized” RV keep the drain pipes and valves from freezing?

[GordonThree]

Macerator and maybe a heated hose for the really cold days.

Now you can dump at any pit toilet rest area stop, etc.

[Mortimer_Brewst]

I don’t know much about them, but maybe a Porta-Potti would work. I have heard of hunters using them in cold weather.