FT RV Living in Winter conditions

[RampantRoamer]

Greetings all.
I am considering moving into an RV for full time living. I am a single guy with no children to be concerned about and am now looking at a BT Cruiser style RV, still undecided on weather I want an RV model with sliders or not due to leakage issues.

anyways, I live in western Canada and spend about 7 months a year in colder below freezing temperatures; its' pretty rare in my area for temps to fall below -20c.

What I want to know is how 'full timers' live in their RVs during the freezing winter months, and how they avoid freezing pipes and other winter issues while living.
I also want to know how well insulated RVs are built, and any other information that anyone can offer.

thanks all. 🙂

[SDcampowneroper]

Rebuttal
The OP is referring to his rv as Home. as mine was, so no trouble or cost was insurmountable. No apartment or motel could be a % as good as our home regardless of the challenges.

[B_O__Plenty]

GoPackGo wrote:
Can it be done ? Sure. There are folks on this forum who are doing it.

RVs are not insulated worth a d**n. They bleed heat (or AC). Notice how there's about a 2 ft air gap under them which helps all that cold wind to completely encircle the rig. There is no room in the walls to have 2x6 insulation.

Listen to the folks who are quoting propane consumption figures; then find propane cost and do the math. Supplemental heating with electricity will not be cheap either.

It will be cheaper (ands way less work) for you to rent an apartment or house.

Couldn't agree more. Anything will be somewhat warm if you run enough propane through it but at what cost??

B.O.

[free_radical]

RampantRoamer wrote:
Greetings all.
I am considering moving into an RV for full time living. I am a single guy with no children to be concerned about and am now looking at a BT Cruiser style RV, still undecided on weather I want an RV model with sliders or not due to leakage issues.

anyways, I live in western Canada and spend about 7 months a year in colder below freezing temperatures; its' pretty rare in my area for temps to fall below -20c.

What I want to know is how 'full timers' live in their RVs during the freezing winter months, and how they avoid freezing pipes and other winter issues while living.
I also want to know how well insulated RVs are built, and any other information that anyone can offer.

thanks all. 🙂

Call some RV sales places and ask them what rig would be suitable for full timing in winter in Canada,,
I honestly dont know any..although I would guess some class A buses would easily be able to do so,,you would just need to run generator pretty much continuously..
Some people stay in campgrounds even in winter and plug into its utilities,but then its probably cheaper and more comfortable to just rent an appartment or a motel..
-----
Eventualy when I retire I plan to build a true four season Canada rated RV to travel in,,insulated like a house..so I can go anywhere anytime..

[SDcampowneroper]

RampantRoamer wrote:
plugging into power at a camp site for heat tapes is a simple idea, but what 12 volt solutions would I have when rural camping and no external power is available? would running the propane heater and generator be enough to keep the pipes from freezing? I suspect that the winter would be very expensive indeed.

Sure, you can run a genny and use propane to keep warm, as long as the temps are warm enough for propane vaporization. Propane is not reliable in temps well below freezing. At - 44.3 f degrees, not usefull at all, as that is its boiling point.
Talk to your local propane supplier about cost, supply, suitability.

[SDcampowneroper]

DianneOK wrote:
SDcampground owner....I did not write the article....it is a reprint with permission.....

.
Thank you Dianne, for the clarification. I understand you are not the author and you posted the article as a forward.
My reply was meant as a rebuttal to help inform about heated water supplies.The author did not clarify the necessity of or location of heated hose or supply thermostats. They must be exposed to the weather to protect as intended.
My apology to you or anyone for mistaking you as the misinformant.
Max

[RampantRoamer]

ramgunner wrote:
Propane, Propane, Propane = right on the money. If you have heater pads on the tanks and heat to the underside, most likely they will be fine. The drain hoses and the connection to them will most likely freeze, however. Depending on how far back the outlet connection is frozen, you may have real issues draining the tanks.

thanks for the input Ramgunner!
i'll have to look around for either a cruiser with heating pads in place or find the pads and install them myself.
I wonder if heat tapes would be of some use to keep the fittings and connections useable?

[ramgunner]

Propane, Propane, Propane = right on the money. If you have heater pads on the tanks and heat to the underside, most likely they will be fine. The drain hoses and the connection to them will most likely freeze, however. Depending on how far back the outlet connection is frozen, you may have real issues draining the tanks.

[DianneOK]

SDcampground owner....I did not write the article....it is a reprint with permission.....

[RampantRoamer]

plugging into power at a camp site for heat tapes is a simple idea, but what 12 volt solutions would I have when rural camping and no external power is available? would running the propane heater and generator be enough to keep the pipes from freezing? I suspect that the winter would be very expensive indeed.

[GoPackGo]

Can it be done ? Sure. There are folks on this forum who are doing it.

RVs are not insulated worth a d**n. They bleed heat (or AC). Notice how there's about a 2 ft air gap under them which helps all that cold wind to completely encircle the rig. There is no room in the walls to have 2x6 insulation.

Listen to the folks who are quoting propane consumption figures; then find propane cost and do the math. Supplemental heating with electricity will not be cheap either.

It will be cheaper (ands way less work) for you to rent an apartment or house.

[MaverickBBD]

We avoid freezing pipes by heading south. Someone once told me that is why they put wheels on these things.

[SDcampowneroper]

n7bsn wrote:
Lot's of good info in this thread

except in # 3' about the heated hose, Dianne does not explain that the thermostat on the hose must be exposed. All heated hoses, home made or made. somewhere else have a thermostat at one end, or the other.
That thermostat must be open to the weather., not in aservice compartment. Of course thecamp has to have equally heated water site supply, or the issue is moot?

[n7bsn]

Lot's of good info in this thread

[SDcampowneroper]

I wintered over in Coronach, Sk,(81) The Pas, Mb, ( (86) Coteau du Lac, PQ, (82) Winnipeg ( 87, 89) andWhitecourt, Ab.(2000))in 3 different TT.'s
Very difficult to find and maintain water facilities from freezing.
It wasnt cost effective , or fun to winter in an rv in such places. I did it for my work, and because no matter the difficulty, I preferred my rig to a motel or apartment. Therefore the difficulty and cost was not an issue. My family and dog could come along.
mods must be made to almost any rv ,and special attention to water supply and disposal regardless of mfgr. claims to ensure its extreme weather service.