Cold weather camping

[lesjones]

Last winter we were in Florida in December-February, Cedar Key and Ocala area and were very uncomfortable at night. Our 36 foot Damon Challenger is just not set up for 25-32 degree nights. Does anyone have tips on how to tighten the old girl up to keep the cold out?????

[RLHAMILTON]

We had the CheapHeat system installed, and works like a charm. Sure saves on the propane.

[AKMcLean]

We use our 29 Chateau Class C all the time in AK to go snowmobiling. Make some window coverings out of that foil/bubble insulation. Comes in 2' or 4' wide rolls at Lowes. Cut em to fit the inside window frame and poke em in there. Store em flat under your beds when not using. Get some 2" blue rigid foam. Use a serrated knife to cut em to shape to fit tight up in your ceiling vents (take the crank handle off and store it). Unscrew the ceiling return vent for your A/C and stick a piece of the foil stuff up there, reinstall to keep it there. Or you can buy some aftermarket bubble foil covers that velcro on the inside but the blue is way better. If you are hooked up to AC run a 1500 watt heater and your coach heater. If not....run the******out of your coach heater and be prepared to get up in the middle of the night to run the genset for an hour or so to keep the batteries up. don't let em get below like 85% or you'll wind up killing em. Water is drained. We use the toilet and flush with RV antifreeze. Toss the dishpan water outside. Better run your coach heater to keep your pipes OK if you've got water in the system.

[rgatijnet1]

time_to_go_now wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
I found that a 2" strip of this tape on my slides makes the rubber weather seal flip out when the slide is extended and flip in when it is retracted. I've been using it for years and I never have to worry about the position of my weather strip on my slides.

Where on the slide did you mount the tape? In the middle? Closer to the outside or inside?

I installed my strips in the middle of the slide extension. That way it has plenty of time to flip the rubber seals whether extending or retracting.

[RayChez]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi Ray,

Did you have the spray foam added or did the RV come that way?

RayChez wrote:
We do have sprayed foam insulation all over the bottom of the coach, including in the wheel wells. Maybe that is what helps.

The coach come sprayed with that foam from the factory. Fact I hate it at times because sometimes like to change out a tail light bulb and you have to dig through this stuff to get to the rear of the tail light, and that stuff really not that easy to take off. But it makes for perfect insulation. We used to use it on special insulated box cars in the railroad. Cars that hauled wine and the temperature had to be just right.

[time_to_go_now]

rgatijnet1 wrote:
I found that a 2" strip of this tape on my slides makes the rubber weather seal flip out when the slide is extended and flip in when it is retracted. I've been using it for years and I never have to worry about the position of my weather strip on my slides.

Where on the slide did you mount the tape? In the middle? Closer to the outside or inside?

[pianotuna]

Hi,

I have window, skylight, vent, and door covers made from Insulbright. It dropped the heating requirements by 50%. I am able to keep toasty warm on 19000 btus of electric heat (peak 6000 watts if every heater cuts in at once.)

I replaced the return air grill with dual window fans which happily sends some warm cabin air down the heat ducts. This solved the fresh water freeze up problem.

[Ivylog]

Are you closing the bedroom off from the rest of the coach and using a space heater in there? Other than making window insulation from double foil bubble insulation and bring the slides in for a better seal and less area, I'd go further south. Last winter in WPB was one of the best in the 40 I've spent there with very little need of AC or heat. Other than last week, this winter has been much the same. 100 miles south of Orlando makes a big difference so come on down. You can stay in the Sebring/Arcadia area for very little more than the Ocala area.

[rgatijnet1]

DSDP Don wrote:
On my previous coach, there were seals around the slides that were suppose to flip outward when the slides extended. They didn't always do that. I used my awning rod, slid it under the seals and flipped them outward.

On our previous coach you could feel some drafts, usually around the bottom and lower edges of the slide. We would place a towel along the edge to stop the draft.

Make sure your dash vent controls are all turned to the off position. Often, if they're in the vent mode or other position, it can let outside air in. Your windshield is a huge source of heart loss. You might hang a blanket in front of it, using the visors for support.

You can purchase a roll of stair tread anti-slip tape that is self adhesive. This comes in 1"-4" in width. I found that a 2" strip of this tape on my slides makes the rubber weather seal flip out when the slide is extended and flip in when it is retracted. I've been using it for years and I never have to worry about the position of my weather strip on my slides.

[time_to_go_now]

cyntdon2010 wrote:
Must be your RV, we have camp out at 18 degrees. the campground turn off all water due to freeze up.

Inside our camper it was 77. Is your under belly enclosed?

WOW! Some of the Toy Hauler people need to weigh in on this thread. Camping in the So Cal desert can get down into the teens at night. No way it could get up to 77 degrees inside my rig! And yes, the belly is enclosed. I have two furnaces. Front half and back half of the coach. To conserve battery and propane, I often only run the back furnace. I set the thermostat at 58 degrees. It will run often throughout the night, but it will stay at 58 degrees. In the morning, I get to slide open the door heading up front and run up and turn on the front heater, and the coffee pot. I have seen 34 degrees on the digital thermostat when I turned on the heater. The run back into bed for 15 -20 minutes.

Often we bring in 3 of the 4 slides. As stated, less to heat. Cover the windows. Cover the vents. I have never used anything but the standard furnaces. I have plenty of batteries and I buy propane to use it up!

Good luck.

[2oldman]

gswcgi wrote:
We always use one or two 1,500 watt electric heaters. We never use the propane space heater, it uses too much propane, it's too noisy and takes the batteries down too fast.!

I don't know how your water pipes are protected from freezing temps when running electric heaters, but many coaches utilize the gas furnace to keep the basement warm. You said propane space heater - not sure what that is.

Electric space heaters don't heat the basement, and take loads of power!

[time2roll]

My flimsy built for Summer trailer has been fine down below zero... Are you running the furnace?
Ok it can seem a bit drafty. Mostly it is my single pane windows that transmit the cold to the interior.

[cyntdon2010]

Must be your RV, we have camp out at 18 degrees. the campground turn off all water due to freeze up.

Inside our camper it was 77. Is your under belly enclosed?

[gswcgi]

We do quite a bit of dry camping in cooler/colder weather. Here's what we do with out 36 DP. We never put out the slides at night, too much heat loss and cold gain. I put insulated square in all of the ceiling vents, great heat loss and cold gain through the plastic covers. I put a number of throw rugs on the floor even over the carpeting, it helps to keep the cold from coming through. We use electric blankets if plugged into 120 or if the genny is running. We always use one or two 1,500 watt electric heaters. We never use the propane space heater, it uses too much propane, it's too noisy and takes the batteries down too fast. We put heavy windshield sun visors over the bedroom windows to further insulate. Have a cocktail and crawl in be with your Honey!!!

[DSDP_Don]

On my previous coach, there were seals around the slides that were suppose to flip outward when the slides extended. They didn't always do that. I used my awning rod, slid it under the seals and flipped them outward.

On our previous coach you could feel some drafts, usually around the bottom and lower edges of the slide. We would place a towel along the edge to stop the draft.

Make sure your dash vent controls are all turned to the off position. Often, if they're in the vent mode or other position, it can let outside air in. Your windshield is a huge source of heart loss. You might hang a blanket in front of it, using the visors for support.