RV's in winter

If you have never RV'd, there are a lot of things to learn. Personally I would not want to be someplace in the cold and learning how to make things work - especially in a rental unit. On the positive side, RVers are a friendly lot and asking someone in the c.g. for assistance would probably work.

Is there a compelling reason to rent in November? X2 on RVing in the winter; not fun when the water lines freeze or the battery dies preventing the furnace from functioning.
Some, or many, of the campgrounds, at least in the Midwest, have camping cabins. Would you consider renting them? Hopefully, they would be better prepared to handle the winter than the typical RV.

I would take video of the rental representative while he is showing you all the functions of the RV and get his cell phone number so you can call him at any time with questions. And, as stated, other campers like to help so ask when needed. Good luck

Here's the scoop on average weather data by month over the last 106 years.
Suggest you add the link to your Favorites list. The same information is available on the site by month within state and city for every state for a variable number of years. Its amazing how much altitude above sea level affects the weather.
Be sure that you're looking at Fahrenheit or Centigrade (your choice) and "all data" instead of "summary".
Its free and you don't have to register to use it.
BTW, looks like Yosemite might be a little nippy in November.

Besides possibly being a bit cold, you could encounter some snowy road conditions. Not likely, but at that time of year, no weather is guaranteed.

Hi,

Well, we must be mad then because it was blow zero (F) for the first trip in our trailer....and we had a great time.

In November, the valley is not likely to be too cold (I used to climb there...yes, in the winter) and if it is, get rid of the rig. That said, there are many things you can do to increase your comfort level and how well the rig does. Start by reading though this and other forums about winter camping (note that most threads are for camping in temps well below what you are likely to experience). Probably the only real issue you will have is keeping the batteries charged (because the furnace uses so much power). You can either use a different source of heat or figure out some other method of charging (generator is one method). Be wary of propane space heaters (some love them, some hate them) until you fully understand what you are getting and any possible risks they may pose. Also, reducing your power consumption, by changing to LED lights, will help quite a bit.
Most importantly, "have fun and enjoy yourselves"

Thanks for replies, especially the tips from Jim Shoe with the weather link and the idea from Guidry to video the intro.

Dick_B - we work in tourism and are coming from Turkey; November is the only month we can take a 3 month break.

Like your attitude, SteveAE; we also love to hike, in any temperature, so not too worried about being cold. Just the practicalities of keeping the RV functioning. Any particular tips to help "increase the comfort level?"

Many thanks all.
PS Found a couple of sites on the edge of the park which have hookups; might be a safer choice for us.

I would not make my maiden voyage to that area in November. The learning curve for cold weather RV'ing is pretty steep.

Have a look in the full time forum for the sticky thread called "winter camping".

Like others have mentioned the challenge will be staying warm and charged, but after many nights of winter camping dry up here in the PNW its doable. With hookups it's no problem at all but you mentioned no hookups. Camping "dry" in the cold uses lots of propane for the furnace and the furnace also uses lots of battery power. That can be managed by running the generator, but many locations don't allow generator use and the noise can be annoying to you and others. With the generator running you can also use a portable electric heater for warmth, which saves propane. Figure about 1/2 gallon of gas per hour of generator use, and the generator will shut down when you have 1/4 tank of fuel left to keep you from stranding yourself. Clear as mud?

I would wait until you understand all the workings of an RV before you venture into cold weather without hookups. If you are remote and something happens, can you get to safety? If, for example the generator fails you cannot charge the batteries. For your first cold weather experience I would select a park with hookups but try it overnight without shore power.