Wintering in the 5th Wheel in the Reno/Sparks area

[ramyankee]

We just finished painting our home so as to put it on the market. We may just live in the 5th Wheel until we make the decision on buying another home, living in the 5th Wheel, etc...
That area generally doesn't get loads of snow but it can get fairly cold. We are debating on two parks; Bordertown or the Sparks Marina. What will our challenges be? Wrapping water line and heat tape? How often to clean the snow from the roof? Our oldie was shoveled after about a foot. Have always winterized our 5th Wheel so just curious what to do if it is being used?
Getting out of California and setting up residency elsewhere is our reasoning.
Thank you all for any advice

[lizzie]

I have elderly relatives in Sparks and we try to visit once a year. We stay at Sparks Marina for a couple of weeks each time. It is not our usual cup of tea but is great for our purposes. The staff is super nice and the entire facility is top notch. As for winter....... I have no idea. lizzie

[time2roll]

ramyankee wrote:

smkettner wrote:
Any reason for Reno? I would be 700+ miles south-east if I could.

We want our residency out of california.. We are DONE here. Cannot say any more than that or may get sent to the dungeons by the mods.
And for a few months we will have whatever we are keeping put in storage. It is easy to just drive 45-50 miles with loads rather than haul everything into Idaho...

e-gads I just meant maybe AZ would be warmer 😉
I fully understand the get out of CA....

[korbe]

There are plenty of folks living in those parks that stay during the winter. Skirting and heat tape will work just fine. You will find out what it takes once you get there.

[Nutinelse2do]

I would stay at Sparks Marina. Their monthly rates are pretty good, and it is MUCH
nicer than any other park in the area.

There are quite a few full time residents there, with a great propane service.

Follow other posted advice for Winter camping.

We were there in March, and had alot of snow, but it was pretty much gone by the next afternoon.

Smart move getting OUT of California.

[csamayfield55x]

ramyankee wrote:

smkettner wrote:
Any reason for Reno? I would be 700+ miles south-east if I could.

We want our residency out of california.. We are DONE here. Cannot say any more than that or may get sent to the dungeons by the mods.
And for a few months we will have whatever we are keeping put in storage. It is easy to just drive 45-50 miles with loads rather than haul everything into Idaho...

GOOD FOR YOU GUYS!!!!!! That is all I will say or get banned

I have been living here for 30 years with an RV for 20. I have never had to shovel my roof in all those years. Others suggestions are spot on. Another place to check out is the Grand Sierra Resort. They have nice sites but no idea about prices.

Chris

[ramyankee]

smkettner wrote:
Any reason for Reno? I would be 700+ miles south-east if I could.

We want our residency out of california.. We are DONE here. Cannot say any more than that or may get sent to the dungeons by the mods.
And for a few months we will have whatever we are keeping put in storage. It is easy to just drive 45-50 miles with loads rather than haul everything into Idaho...

[time2roll]

Any reason for Reno? I would be 700+ miles south-east if I could.

[Chrisatthebeach]

3 winters in the Jayco that we recently sold in southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky.

Get heat tape for the water hose and pipe wrap. The first winter I kept refilling the onboard tank and using the pump. The second two I used the heated hose and it was much easier.

Get an extension propane hose, I bought 25 feet and had a 100 gallon tank brought out and filled before cold weather as it was cheaper. I could make the winter on 100 gallons, my usage was about a gallon a day on average.

I did use for two winters two ceramic 1500 watt heaters with one on high and one on low while there to stretch the propane and left them off when out with the furnace set on 50 degrees. The last winter I had 50 amps, so I used the two ceramics again with an electric oil filled radiator and cut the propane use in half. I did have to remember to cut one of the electrics off when it got much below 28 so the furnace would run and keep the basement plumbing from freezing.

It is doable, where I was I had to contend with a lot of snow, I did not brush the roof or the slides as the heat loss would help it melt, and I had the front with all of the windows facing south/southeast so the sun would come in through the glass during the sunny part of the day, even on a 20 degree day it would approach 80 degrees inside until the sun dropped.

You have to plan, the biggie is do NOT run out of propane during extreme cold, things will freeze up pretty darn quickly.

I did not put any light in the fridge compartment, probably I got by because mine was in the slide and did not have the vent from the roof, it did have a temp controlled fan that most likely never turned on in the winter.

One winter I even skirted around the bottom with the bi-fold styrofoam underlayment for vinyl siding. I used gutter spikes and secured 2x2 studs onto the ground, I used self tapping screws and tied into the underbelly and stapled the then cut to size foam board all the way around and taped the seams, that made a HUGE difference in keeping even warmer, even with a heated underbelly cutting the wind REALLY helps.

Good luck, I did it but do not want to do it again.

Chris

[missourijan]

We used to live in Sparks and I wouldn't winter in either of those parks. Bordertown sites are really close, Sparks Marina gets good reviews but it's pricey. We've stayed at Shamrock and it's really tight in there for bigger rigs too. We've stayed at Camp n Town in Carson City and liked it. When we return now we stay at Grand Sierra RV park, it has reasonable rates and you can use the hotels's amenities like gym, pool, etc. They have monthly rates all winter but not in the summer. We have friends staying monthly at the Gold Ranch right now and they like it.
Surprisingly, Reno doesn't usually get a lot of snow but it is cold, you will have to wrap your water hose with heat tape. We kept a small electric heater in the basement for the coldest nights. Also, if you have an rv frig they will freeze so you need to put a light bulb on the outside vent to keep it from freezing. Ours did freeze and we had to replace the cooling unit.