RVing in the winter

[Cmccain13]

Hey all, so I'm a month in to living in my RV and loving it, the thing is I want to start roaming around out of Texas and I'm nervous about colder temperatures. There are a few places I want to go to but the temperatures will get into the high 20's during the night but get back up to the 45's ish during the day. When occupying the rig should I be worries about pipe freezes and stuff? what should I keep in mind? or should I even be concerned since it wont always be sub zero temps?

[memtb]

TwistedGray, you may consider having a second CO detector.....just in case the first one fails . We do similar as you’re planning, and go5 the second detector as a “fail-safe”! memtb

[TwistedGray]

pnichols wrote:

TwistedGray wrote:

pnichols wrote:
our two large AGM batteries have no problem running the furnace for only 15-20 minutes, total, out of each hour at those inside and outside temperatures

Perhaps the key is a second battery. As I understand, the electric blower dragons out within a few short hours without connection to shore power or running the genny.

If the one battery is, say, a 100 amp hour battery and you start the evening and night with having, say, 80 amp hours of it's capacity left ... then you have about 40 amp hours max that you should run it down overnight.

If your furnace is sized right, and your coach interior is "made night-time small enough" by blocking off some sections, then the furnace might only run about 1/3 of the time each hour. If the furnace blower and it's control circuitry only consumes about 6 amps when the furnace is running, then each hour it would drain about 2 amp hours (1/3 of 6) from the battery.

If you run the furnace off the single battery for around 12 hours each evening and night, then 12 hours times 2 amps per hour means that you've used 24 amp hours out of the battery, come morning (not counting some other real low amperage draws from the battery during that time).

Since you had about 40 usable amp hours in the battery at the beginning of the evening ... you should make it through the night on the single battey.

The above analysis assumes that you start out with a battery in good condition and bring the battery back up to full capacity before each night - using some combination of solar plus generator or solar plus engine idling.

The most worry-free solution for cold weather drycamping is to have as much good RV battery capacity on board as you can fit and afford. I consider our two 12V Group 31 deep cycle 115 amp hours each AGM batteries (for a total of 230 amp hours) as about the minimum capacity for my particular piece of mind. When drycamping I charge them up to around 90% about every other day using one of my five different non-solar ways to charge them.

Yeah, I need to get it back from the dealer after it's been hibernating there for the last week and see how much I drain things when holding different temps.

I just recall reading time and time again that people can only eek out 3-4 hours of furnace use off the battery (at least 19G owners). I don't recall seeing their set-ups though and whether or not they're partitioning areas.

If I can get away with the partition, the window coverings, the screen door window cover (allow sun in during the day but keep air out), and the multiple rugs that would be great. I planned to run a propane line inside and use an unvented radiating heater with both a window and a vent cracked. There's a carbon monoxide detector in the cabin already, so I'm not concerned, and we'll be "manual venting" to be additionally safe(r).

BUT I may still run it without any modification first to see if it's enough; however, I'm not just concerned about the electrical draw on the battery but also that I've read it drinks propane. Of course none of this is firsthand experience, so we will see firsthand and then likely go from there.

[pnichols]

TwistedGray wrote:

pnichols wrote:
our two large AGM batteries have no problem running the furnace for only 15-20 minutes, total, out of each hour at those inside and outside temperatures

Perhaps the key is a second battery. As I understand, the electric blower dragons out within a few short hours without connection to shore power or running the genny.

If the one battery is, say, a 100 amp hour battery and you start the evening and night with having, say, 80 amp hours of it's capacity left ... then you have about 40 amp hours max that you should run it down overnight.

If your furnace is sized right, and your coach interior is "made night-time small enough" by blocking off some sections, then the furnace might only run about 1/3 of the time each hour. If the furnace blower and it's control circuitry only consumes about 6 amps when the furnace is running, then each hour it would drain about 2 amp hours (1/3 of 6) from the battery.

If you run the furnace off the single battery for around 12 hours each evening and night, then 12 hours times 2 amps per hour means that you've used 24 amp hours out of the battery, come morning (not counting some other real low amperage draws from the battery during that time).

Since you had about 40 usable amp hours in the battery at the beginning of the evening ... you should make it through the night on the single battey.

The above analysis assumes that you start out with a battery in good condition and bring the battery back up to full capacity before each night - using some combination of solar plus generator or solar plus engine idling.

The most worry-free solution for cold weather drycamping is to have as much good RV battery capacity on board as you can fit and afford. I consider our two 12V Group 31 deep cycle 115 amp hours each AGM batteries (for a total of 230 amp hours) as about the minimum capacity for my particular piece of mind. When drycamping I charge them up to around 90% about every other day using one of my five different non-solar ways to charge them.

[ppine]

thanks to memtb.
Go Pokes.

[TwistedGray]

pnichols wrote:
our two large AGM batteries have no problem running the furnace for only 15-20 minutes, total, out of each hour at those inside and outside temperatures

Perhaps the key is a second battery. As I understand, the electric blower dragons out within a few short hours without connection to shore power or running the genny.

[pnichols]

TwistedGray wrote:

pnichols wrote:
In our Class C we can block off with curtains the cab and the cab overhead bed area. With these two areas isolated from the rest of the interior, the 25,000 BTU propane furnace can easily keep the rest of the coach warm by only having to cycle On and Off about 3 times per hour. This helps cut down on propane use and coach battery draining when camping without hookups in cold temperatures.

When setting up an RV for winter camping it helps to temporarily make the living area as small as possible that has to be kept warm.

We're not into cold room sleeping, so we keep the interior of the coach at around 65 degrees, which makes it possible to sleep under light covers ... just like in our stick house.

Can you make it through an evening (say 40F) at 65F with just the cab blocked off?

Yes, sleeping with outside temps in the mid 30F's has presented no problems keeping the coach interior at 64-66 degrees. However in addition to blocking off areas of the coach interior with curtains:

We have distributed heating ducts that can be aimed 360 degrees, we always carry along insulation for the insides of the windows, the propane tank is large (18 gallons) for the size of our 24 ft Class C, the furnace capacity is generous for the size of our RV, and our two large AGM batteries have no problem running the furnace for only 15-20 minutes, total, out of each hour at those inside and outside temperatures ... plus both the wife and myself use cool-air CPAP machines all night.

Our small RV also has a couple of "ace in the holes" for at least moderate cold weather camping. 1) One of the 4" diameter heating duct tubes from the furnace runs right past the fresh water tank (which is in the interior under the bed) so as to keep both the freshwater tank and the underside of the bed at interior or higher than coach air temperatures. 2) The grey and black tanks have 12V tank warming pads on their bottoms, so we can hookup camp or drycamp at cold temperatures - even if it takes some generator run time each day for battery charging after each night whenever drycamping. On hookups the coach converter can keep up with the amperage needs of the the 12V heating pads.

Another thing we never do is hookup camp with fresh water hoses (or drain hoses) hooked up. We use the RV tanks when on hookups - only filling them or draining them every few days just like when drycamping. The only thing we hookup is the electrical cable, so we have no freezing-of-the-freshwater-hose issues.

The coach floors and walls are made up of 1.5-2 in. thick sandwich bonded foam interiors. The roof has a thicker sandwich bonded foam interior - maybe closer to 3 in..

Our Class C came with a so-called "winter package", but I have no idea what that includes.

[memtb]

To fully enjoy winter camping, a couple of things need to be addressed. Obviously, a factory manufactured winter ready rv or a modified rv is a necessity. Much can be done to “winter prep” an rv, though the expenses are dependent upon rv design.

If we’re going to using our class c in single digit or below zero F temps.....we put an insulated barrier between the living area and the cab area. More comfortable and much less heater run time!

The lower that you can maintain (within reason) the rv interior, you can reduce propane and battery consumption for forced - air heater use. If you have enclosed tanks/valves/water lines, you must run the forced- air to provide heat to the onboard utility systems. If you do not have ducted heat to all water systems....Your “wintering” capabilities are severely limited.

Another item to consider pertaining to winter camping/rving is to winterize yourself. Obviously, rv’ing/camping in cool/cold weather is a choice. If you didn’t want to cool weather camp....you’ be wintering in Key West! 😉 If you’re rv’ing in a cold area and wish to partake in activities outside of the rv, acclimating to cool weather makes the experience much more pleasurable. For us rv’ing or merely leaving our home involves a cold environment, we chose to acclimate. Our home main floor temps are maintained @ 65 F.....with our upstairs bedroom temps running in the upper 50’sF. Being somewhat acclimated to cool temps, seems to make outdoor activities more pleasurable.

pnichols has rv preparation figured-out pretty well! Well.....everything except the hot environment thing! :B memtb

[TwistedGray]

pnichols wrote:
In our Class C we can block off with curtains the cab and the cab overhead bed area. With these two areas isolated from the rest of the interior, the 25,000 BTU propane furnace can easily keep the rest of the coach warm by only having to cycle On and Off about 3 times per hour. This helps cut down on propane use and coach battery draining when camping without hookups in cold temperatures.

When setting up an RV for winter camping it helps to temporarily make the living area as small as possible that has to be kept warm.

We're not into cold room sleeping, so we keep the interior of the coach at around 65 degrees, which makes it possible to sleep under light covers ... just like in our stick house.

Can you make it through an evening (say 40F) at 65F with just the cab blocked off?

[pnichols]

In our Class C we can block off with curtains the cab and the cab overhead bed area. With these two areas isolated from the rest of the interior, the 25,000 BTU propane furnace can easily keep the rest of the coach warm by only having to cycle On and Off about 3 times per hour. This helps cut down on propane use and coach battery draining when camping without hookups in cold temperatures.

When setting up an RV for winter camping it helps to temporarily make the living area as small as possible that has to be kept warm.

We're not into cold room sleeping, so we keep the interior of the coach at around 65 degrees, which makes it possible to sleep under light covers ... just like in our stick house.

[Yosemite_Sam1]

Cmccain13 wrote:
Hey all, so I'm a month in to living in my RV and loving it, the thing is I want to start roaming around out of Texas and I'm nervous about colder temperatures. There are a few places I want to go to but the temperatures will get into the high 20's during the night but get back up to the 45's ish during the day. When occupying the rig should I be worries about pipe freezes and stuff? what should I keep in mind? or should I even be concerned since it wont always be sub zero temps?

When we were winter camping in Yosemite, we just turn on the furnace to kill the ultra cold air inside the RV. Turn the furnace off before sleeping and just go under the comforter through the night. For some reasons we both love sleeping in cold weather and the heater makes both of our skin itchy.

[fourthclassC]

Howdy, I have traveled from MA to FL several times in the dead of winter. You have a few days of sub freezing temps.. before anything actually freezes - especially if you are moving daily. Keep the propane filled up and a small electrical heater is good if you have a hook up. I have found the onboard furnace (2002 Winnebago Mini) suffecient for 1 overnight at zero degrees, perfectly fine to keep comfortable.

[pianotuna]

Cm,

You are better off just filling the fresh water tank in the rv, than using a heated hose.

[Cmccain13]

Johnny Dearborn wrote:
Just got back from a month long RV trip up into Washington state. Got down into the 20's at night. Two things I'd recommend: a small $30 space heater. Plug it in at night and keep it on. Keeps the RV interior from freezing (so much nicer when you get up in the morning or in the middle of the night to pee) and you don't have to rely purely on propane. This assumes you'll be in a campground with full hookups. The other thing that helps is to buy a heated hose. Your interior plumbing won't freeze until the temps drop way down, but your outside hose will freeze up pretty quickly. Camping World sells a heated hose for not too much. If you're only going out for a few days, you can disconnect at night. But if you're out for a long time, that quickly gets old. All of the long term campers have heated hoses. They know...

Camping World also sells insulated pillows designed to fit into the air vents in your RV. Keeps all of your warm air from escaping through the thin plastic coverings. You might also consider draping a blanket over the entrance to the cab of the RV. That's another big heat loss area and one that you're not using unless you're driving. If you're moving around a bunch, insulated waterproof gloves are a big help when connecting late at night and disconnecting early in the morning.

If you're going anywhere near the mountains or snowy areas, buy chains in advance. Don't do what I just did which is drive half way over the mountains and then turn around to get chains back at the base before heading over the pass, again.

The great thing about winter RVing is that you're the only one out there besides the long term campers. Easy to get a campsite. Enjoy!

ok first off thank you so much. this helps alot. i have someone parked right next to me with what must be exactly this kind of hose. i will need to go get one myself. and we are going to get those pillows for the insulation as well. i just need to find something close to me that has that stuff. as for chains we will only go one place that will have that issue and we wont be driving but once in that area. we are just going to wait if the weather is bad.

after this one winter trip we are just going to ride the winter out in the south and avoid cold weather all together.

[Johnny_Dearborn]

Just got back from a month long RV trip up into Washington state. Got down into the 20's at night. Two things I'd recommend: a small $30 space heater. Plug it in at night and keep it on. Keeps the RV interior from freezing (so much nicer when you get up in the morning or in the middle of the night to pee) and you don't have to rely purely on propane. This assumes you'll be in a campground with full hookups. The other thing that helps is to buy a heated hose. Your interior plumbing won't freeze until the temps drop way down, but your outside hose will freeze up pretty quickly. Camping World sells a heated hose for not too much. If you're only going out for a few days, you can disconnect at night. But if you're out for a long time, that quickly gets old. All of the long term campers have heated hoses. They know...

Camping World also sells insulated pillows designed to fit into the air vents in your RV. Keeps all of your warm air from escaping through the thin plastic coverings. You might also consider draping a blanket over the entrance to the cab of the RV. That's another big heat loss area and one that you're not using unless you're driving. If you're moving around a bunch, insulated waterproof gloves are a big help when connecting late at night and disconnecting early in the morning.

If you're going anywhere near the mountains or snowy areas, buy chains in advance. Don't do what I just did which is drive half way over the mountains and then turn around to get chains back at the base before heading over the pass, again.

The great thing about winter RVing is that you're the only one out there besides the long term campers. Easy to get a campsite. Enjoy!

[time2roll]

Almost any RV is good to 25F while in use. Keep your propane topped up and let the furnace run.