Water Pump - Advice Needed for Winter Travel

[rk911]

we're very experienced RV travelers having started back in 1986 but we've never traveled in winter. that's about to change next January.

we'll be leaving our home in our 2016 Itasca Suncruiser 38Q in mid January and heading towards Florida. after leaving here I am planning that we will be in freezing overnight weather for 1-3 nights depending on the time of day we leave home, driving conditions, etc. I've spoken with Winnebago Tech Support and gotten conflicting answers and opinions so I thought I'd reach out to those of you who have actual experience in winter travel.

the issue is the fresh water pump. because our trip to warmer weather will require at least one overnight..possibly more due to 'Murphy'...we'd rather not delay the de-winterizing. Tech Support assures me that our fresh tank is "heated" as long as the LP furnace is running but the two techs I spoke with disagree on how to deal with the water pump. I'm planning to keep the fresh tank pretty close to full during the trip south. that and the furnace should help against freezing. the water pump on the 38Q is located in a curb side compartment above the water heater. one tech tells me that the heat from the water heater will protect the pump while the other says to use a 100-watt incandescent bulb in that compartment. how do you protect the water pump from freezing (other than not de-winterizing)? and what about the wet bay on the street side...does that need protecting as well? how? same concept...use a 100-watt bulb?

thanks in advance.

[time2roll]

How cold is cold? I trust the tech that says the water heater will provide enough heat.

Run the water heat a few days before you go and have a thermometer in the water pump compartment. Then you will know if you need the extra heat.

[DownTheAvenue]

Your strategy is risky. If very cold, your holding tanks and associated plumbing could freeze during the day as you happily motor down the highway. The furnace could not work properly or at all with the wind from the road buffeting it. I would just plan on a few days of lodging at a motel until I got far enough south that freezing was no longer a concern.

[2oldman]

I've driven with the WH and furnace on. Works fine.

[jplante4]

Most people who head south that late stay in hotels/motels the first couple of nights until south of the freezing line. Driving easterly to get closer to the ocean will get you above freezing sooner, but that depends on which part of FL you're going to.

This way, you get to leave the rig winterized until you get warm.

[Ivylog]

I would not un-winterize...just carry 5 one gallon jugs of water for drinking and flushing.