Winter water supply

[beelbill]

Have completed 3 months of summer full-time RV living and still prepping for winter. I have loved it so far but have made lots of mistakes and getting tired of learning things the hard way. So for all you people that have survived a winter in the RV, what is your advice? Should I use a heated hose or fill and disconnect using the holding tank and water pump? The gray and black water tanks have heat blankets but the drinking water tank doesn't. If I go with heated hose, which one, Camco or Pirit? I am in the mood for some good horror stories.

[stickdog]

Pirit hose, wrapped hydrant with 3 1/2 in fiberglass insulation and plastic bags to limit air infiltration nights lows were in upper teens most days were at or above freezing. I have heated tanks so only dumped when full. Will do the same this year if needed.

[familyof3]

Just go with the heated hoes. Pirit hose works for us. That's the least of your worries.

[2gypsies1]

Ahhh. Good reason! Good luck and stay warm.

[beelbill]

2gypsies wrote:
Any reason you're staying there? 🙂

Staying for the job.

Sounds like both ways of preventing frozen pipes are viable options. No horror stories yet.

[boogie_4wheel]

Spent 2 winters in northern Nevada (-20*F). My trailer is an exposed belly, no frills unit.

I used pressured water from the spigot. I added the 'Easy Heat' heat tape to my water hose, and held in place with electrical tape. The t-stat was placed about a foot from the trailer end, went to the trailer city connection and wrapped around the 90* fitting, then back along the hose to the spigot. Had ordered enough to give me a couple feet at the spigot to wrap around the valve and line in to the ground. Hose was then covered with foam insulation, and fiberglassed the water connection and wrapped with a plastic trash bag.

I used a stick on holding tank heater to the gray and black tanks from Ultra Heat. 120VAC only for me. I drained only when tanks were full, to keep from possibly icing my drain line.

Whole trailer was skirted with the thinnest OSB I could find, and was backed with 1" foil lined styrofoam insulation.

I also installed the styrofoam in the windows and entry door, cut to fit, and wrapped the edges with duct tape to keep the foam balls from being everywhere.

I also swapped out the single power outlet for a dual unit on the back side of the fridge, plugged in a low wattage bulb and covered a majority of the fridge vents to keep it working properly.

I survived.

[2gypsies1]

Any reason you're staying there? 🙂

[Old-Biscuit]

Full Timing...........move southwards come winter.

Living in an RV and not moving.
Fill fresh water tank use pump. Disconnect hose in between refills
Use RV furnace as MAIN heat and supplement with electric space heaters
Leave cabinet doors open at night for warm air circulation inside cabinets
Skirt the underside and use 100W light bulbs to provide some heat
Propane tanks exposed.......blanket/cover---light bulb for warmth as needed.

[donn0128]

We spend the winter of 2013 in the Columbia river gorge. We got down to the low teens with snow and winds at a pretty constant 20MPH. The park had freeze proof faucets, so heated water hose, 5 gallon bucket upside down over the faucet with a 75 watt drop light bulb inside. We did fine all winter that way with no freezeups after that.

[rv2go]

I just disconnect the water hose and use the pump during freezing weather. I also drain the hose so it will not freeze up.