RVing year round

[wannabervin]

I currently have a travel trailer, and it kills me to have to put it away (i.e. winterize) in October and wait till April to use it again. What are my options if I want to switch to something that allows me to RV year round? I'm not envisioning driving through blizzards, but would like to go places in the winter when the roads are clear. Suggestions? How does towing a vehicle affect the equation?

[ronfisherman]

Closing thread. Please reply to same question in Class A.
RVing year round

[ashane2go]

The wife and I are in northern Canada. We did a solid three months of research and bought this.

http://www.gulfstreamcoach.com/bulldog/

Awesome unit. Eliminates a lot of the problems you have while winter camping. We'll see how it does in minus 40 but it IS rated to -50c. If your super interested I know where 3-4 2014's are on a killer sale right now.... would of saved us thousands.

[PamfromVA]

Goodness, we use our TT year round. There are campgrounds open in this area during the winter. Right before we close it up at the campground, we re-winterize, dump the tanks and head home. After enough practice, you will do it quickly without using much antifreeze.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

I have read on some blogs about the Bigfoot Truck Camper with winter package being a good choice. We do camp in the winter in our 2004 Country Coach Class A. It has heated plumbing bay and hydro hot diesel furnace. So far we've only camped down to 9 degrees with ice and snow so that might not work if you want to go to colder climates.

[garyhaupt]

wannabervin wrote:

garyhaupt wrote:


Gary Haupt

Thanks, Gary. A little added info: We live in Arlington, VA. We don't have room on our property to store the trailer, so we have to store it off site--about a 30 min drive away. We don't have the option to plug in a heater between trips.

Ahhh..okay then. Thanks for the clarification. I see you are getting lots of good info on the topic from folks that live back east, so...I hope you find a way and have some fun!


Gary Haupt

[ron_dittmer]

We own a motor home setup for winter camping. It is equipped with waste tank heaters, has good insulated walls, has thermal pane windows, a well sealed entry door, and like many others it has M+S tires (M=mud, s=snow). With that said, we have never winter camped. I would think it critical to be hooked up to 110v to provide continuous 12V power for the tank heaters for I assume our 2 batteries would not be up to the challenge for an extended period of time. I would also plan to supplement the cabin furnace with an electric heater placed by the front cab area where most of the cold air will be leaking inside. We have camped at high altitude in freezing temperatures in the summertime. Though the furnace is very effective, when it turns off we feel that cool air re-entering from up front. If winter camping, I would drape a thick quilted blanket over the backs of the two front seats to seal off the front from the house. Though that covers only to the tops of the seats, at that height the air coming over the top should be much less cold, more mixed with the high warm air elsewhere in the house.

[rockhillmanor]

wbwood wrote:
Just because it's winterized, doesn't mean you can't use it. Just don't use the plumbing. Go somewhere that has bath houses that you can use as if you were tent camping. The only difference is that you will have a kitchen (minus sink usage), comfortable bed, living room, heat, tv, etc.... We did this, this past January. Went to Myrtle Beach for a long weekend. Had a spot ocean front. We carried water with us and made sure to pour it down the sewer hole outside. Heated water up on the stove and washed dishes (pots/pans) in a wash basin. It was great. The only thing we would do different was be a little closer to the bath house. Having a

portable potty

might be good to have for the night time bathroom trips. Can just dump into the sewer when needed.

When going down South from the North during the cold months I winterized the MH. On the way down thru the cold states I Stayed at CG's that were shut down but still offered electric hookup and sewer no water. Stayed only at ones that had a bath house so I could shower.
Even if they say no water at site, the bath houses always have water.

The Best thing I did on the second trip down was to buy a Thetford porta pottie so I didn't have to use gas station bathrooms during travel. Or at CG's that didn't have a bath house.

They look exactly like the rv toilet. No smell and have sealed cassette that you take off and dump into sewer when you get to a CG.

Fits nicely right next to your MH toilet. Many models to choose from.

http://www.thetford.com/products/toilets/portable-toilets/

When you get to the warmer states takes 2 minutes to de-winterize the MH right in a CG.

[Bordercollie]

Funny no mention of being cold/uncomfortable. Most RV's are not insulated well and have a lot of windshield and side windows to let heat out and let cold in.
Running the generator during the day to keep house batteries charged and keeping propane supply up to run the furnace a lot is a problem. There are a number of partial fixes to make it better. Wearing a parka indoors is not my cup of tea nor is camping in 100-degree heat, yeah we got old.

[Lantley]

If you had your rig at home you might be able to extend your season a bit and avoid winterizing. I camp from March through Thanksgiving. I use space heater in November between trips.
Since you keep your RV off site your best bet is to become efficient at winterizing a winterize between trips or use rig with it winterized and don't use any fresh water via the faucets

[wannabervin]

garyhaupt wrote:
Your profile shows you in Arlington. Is that in the state of Washington or back east? If in Washington state, you can go RV'ing pretty much all year 'round. I'd say tho that an truck/camper is maybe best, for the often unpredictable weather. The winter storms and so on, can make travel 'interesting' and a one piece unit, will be a much more nimble vehicle. I wouldn't choose a big A..the sheer size makes handling an issue. But..they would sure be comfortable. I have a 4x4 C that will take on anything winter can throw at it, but...you'd have to bear the cost of having that done.

Some of this is dependant on how many people. Two? Most anything will work well, if you get some planning done. Most State parks are closed, so it's private or boondocking and for winter? You really do want the luxury of plug-in power for a heater, etc. If you have more than two..ie:kids? Man...the idea is sweet but the reality may not be.

All that I have typed is if you in the PNW..if you are back east? I think you may be hooped.


Gary Haupt

Thanks, Gary. A little added info: We live in Arlington, VA. We don't have room on our property to store the trailer, so we have to store it off site--about a 30 min drive away. We don't have the option to plug in a heater between trips.

[Merrykalia]

We live on the other end of the state and we usually winterize after Thanksgiving, but we have occasionally used it for the week following Christmas to head to Hunting Island, SC (check it out, it's closer to you). We have gone down there for the Stonewall Jackson/Martin Luther King holiday 4 day weekend; Presidents Day and then for spring break, even an early one.

We just de-winterize once we are there and winterize before we leave there. We don't do this every year, but we have done them all.

We will usually use the bath house for showers, but if it gets below freezing, it's only for a few hours and that's not going to freeze anything solid. We have been known to unhook our water hose from the spigot at night, but that is rare.

Head south and stay on the coast and you are much less likely to get a lasting, hard freeze, no matter what time of year it is. They are not unheard of, but very improbable.

[wbwood]

Just because it's winterized, doesn't mean you can't use it. Just don't use the plumbing. Go somewhere that has bath houses that you can use as if you were tent camping. The only difference is that you will have a kitchen (minus sink usage), comfortable bed, living room, heat, tv, etc.... We did this, this past January. Went to Myrtle Beach for a long weekend. Had a spot ocean front. We carried water with us and made sure to pour it down the sewer hole outside. Heated water up on the stove and washed dishes (pots/pans) in a wash basin. It was great. The only thing we would do different was be a little closer to the bath house. Having a portable potty might be good to have for the night time bathroom trips. Can just dump into the sewer when needed.

[Dick_B]

Why the duplicate post?
Why the duplicate post?

[garyhaupt]

Your profile shows you in Arlington. Is that in the state of Washington or back east? If in Washington state, you can go RV'ing pretty much all year 'round. I'd say tho that an truck/camper is maybe best, for the often unpredictable weather. The winter storms and so on, can make travel 'interesting' and a one piece unit, will be a much more nimble vehicle. I wouldn't choose a big A..the sheer size makes handling an issue. But..they would sure be comfortable. I have a 4x4 C that will take on anything winter can throw at it, but...you'd have to bear the cost of having that done.

Some of this is dependant on how many people. Two? Most anything will work well, if you get some planning done. Most State parks are closed, so it's private or boondocking and for winter? You really do want the luxury of plug-in power for a heater, etc. If you have more than two..ie:kids? Man...the idea is sweet but the reality may not be.

All that I have typed is if you in the PNW..if you are back east? I think you may be hooped.


Gary Haupt