Running an RV in the cold, What is there to know and do

Yes, learn to winterize your coach so you can rewinterize when you get back in the cold. Use some antifreeze for flushing and you shouldn't use the gray tank much but if you do dump some pink stuff. Plan your last stop for a place you can dump your tanks. Better to be safe for a short time than the hassle later.

GlennLever wrote:

slickest1 wrote:
When we travel in the cold to go south we leave the coach winterized. We carry a couple of jugs of water to flush the toilet and use bottled water for cooking. My idea is that if it is winterized and you happen to break down it won't freeze up on you. When we get far enough south we flush it out and travel normally.

I had this thought, but when I return North then I have to winterize again, correct.

Would the black and gray water tanks freeze on the way down, if we use bottle water in the cold zones up north??

Am I over thinking this?

We just had our first snow fall of the season tonight.

I forgot to add that we carry a jug of antifreeze with us and put some in the black and grey tanks. If it is cold enough then yes we would winterize before we got back.
Over thinking? I don't think you are. It is better to be prepared and asking questions you will get alot of good advice from the seasoned rver's on here. I have got some really good advice on here over the years.

You can put some RV antifreeze in your gray and black tank.

Norm & Deb wrote:
One night outside temps were around 20 and the my remote sensor in the water bay was reading just above freezing. All was good. Up at sunrise and then I hit the Interstate. The wind from moving drove the temps in the bay down and the lines froze up in about a half hour.

The fix was to just stop, and wait until the ambient temps went above freezing. The pipes unfroze and we were on our way.

The "highway" wind drove the temps down. And I should have known that.

This is not quite correct, I suspect that the movement caused more cold air infiltration into the storage bays, but wind chill only occurs when water evaporates of a surface.

a metal surface will read the same temp when in motion or standing still. the air only "feels" colder to you because it is moving across your skin and water is evaporating from it

"Wind chill (popularly wind chill factor) is the perceived decrease in air temperature felt by the body on exposed skin due to the flow of cold air.

Wind chill temperatures are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. When the apparent temperature is higher than the air temperature, the heat index is used instead."

One night outside temps were around 20 and the my remote sensor in the water bay was reading just above freezing. All was good. Up at sunrise and then I hit the Interstate. The wind from moving drove the temps in the bay down and the lines froze up in about a half hour.

The fix was to just stop, and wait until the ambient temps went above freezing. The pipes unfroze and we were on our way.

The "highway" wind drove the temps down. And I should have known that.

WyoTraveler wrote:

GlennLever wrote:

WyoTraveler wrote:
If in question put a temp monitor in that area. I put one in my wet bay.

The information I get from the gauge might be to late to be off use.

You have to be familar with your own RV. In the winter I monitor the areas I am concerned about. I do that in that in the winter when I am winterized and my coach is 70 inside. Every brand of coach is different. Once I am on the road the monitor just lets me know everything is running normal. Being familar with my coach I know what outside temps will start giving me problems. Do that before cold wx trips. Not during the trip.

I agree, once I have data I will know when to start watching, the problem is I am new to RVing and have no data to start from, and it is cold outside now.

I think what I will have to do is start with a winterize coach and watch the temps in the sensitive areas before adding water.

GlennLever wrote:

WyoTraveler wrote:
If in question put a temp monitor in that area. I put one in my wet bay.

The information I get from the gauge might be to late to be off use.

You have to be familar with your own RV. In the winter I monitor the areas I am concerned about. I do that in that in the winter when I am winterized and my coach is 70 inside. Every brand of coach is different. Once I am on the road the monitor just lets me know everything is running normal. Being familar with my coach I know what outside temps will start giving me problems. Do that before cold wx trips. Not during the trip.

You aren't over thinking...it pays to know and be prepared.

I agree that to say "if the basement is heated...you'll be ok" is indeed a "well maybe" statement. If the temps drop into the teens and will stay there going down the road the cold air can and will infiltrate the basement areas and cool it down. Ok is relative to how warm the furnace is able to heat the lower bays. The only way you will know is to try it.

I fully agree, install a remote temp sensor in your utility bay to monitor the temp. If indeed you find the temp near your lines and pump is at, near, or below freezing you may have problems. At that point you can turn up the furnace so it runs more, put in a 60 W bulb when you are parked, or winterize.

In fact I'd try it out before you leave, setting the heat to run in the range you would use then monitor the temp. Only then will you know how warm you are able to keep the water areas.

Usually, if the fresh, gray & black tank are no more than about 1/2 full they will not be damaged if they freeze a bit but I don't think they would freeze solid unless in deep cold long term.

I'd monitor the weather before you are about to leave and make the decision whether it will be wise to winterize before you leave.

It's not fun to travel winterized but it is entirely doable if the trip down & back won't be more than a few days. You can still use and flush the toilet if the tank if nearly empty and add enough "pink stuff" to help prevent freezing solid.

Good luck

slickest1 wrote:
When we travel in the cold to go south we leave the coach winterized. We carry a couple of jugs of water to flush the toilet and use bottled water for cooking. My idea is that if it is winterized and you happen to break down it won't freeze up on you. When we get far enough south we flush it out and travel normally.

I had this thought, but when I return North then I have to winterize again, correct.

Would the black and gray water tanks freeze on the way down, if we use bottle water in the cold zones up north??

Am I over thinking this?

We just had our first snow fall of the season tonight.

smlranger wrote:
American coaches are pretty high end so suspect you have some heat ducted to your wet bay (where your domestic water pump resides). If you are running your heat sufficient to be comfortable in the coach, you should be fine. If your water heater has the heat exchanger attached to it that lets hot engine coolant to heat the water while you are driving down the road, that will be fine.

Do you have a LP furnace or Hydro Hot? If Hydro Hot (hydronic heating system), you probably have a heat exchanger in the wet bay. Run the Hydro Hot and that should keep the coach interior toasty plus prevent freezing in the wet bay.

There are two furnaces, both are LP, I have found one heat duct on the passenger side of the basement, the water tanks and services are completely enclose (out of sight) on the drivers side of the coach.

"If your water heater has the heat exchanger attached to it that lets hot engine coolant to heat the water while you are driving down the road, that will be fine" I do not know?