Traveling in the Cold

Since you said you do not have heated tanks, I'm assuming you are pulling a travel trailer (or driving a REALLY old motorhome). The sad truth is that, if you do not have a TT built with the "arctic pack" ( or whatever they call it these days), you must keep it winterized (and dry) until you get past the freezing weather. Running the RV furnace while traveling won't protect the outside plumbing. Your best option is to carry some gallon jugs of water in the shower/tub to use for toilet flushing/hand washing. What ends up in the grey/black tanks won't cause any issue with freezing. Most likely the inside of the trailer won't drop much below freezing and if it did and the jugs split, the water would be contained in the shower pan. The problem is that the outside of the trailer along with any exposed piping WILL freeze. If yours has a 'belly skin', it probably is only cosmetic and vulnerable plumbing is probably right above it and susceptible to freezing. We put up with that issue for years pulling our TT between Florida and Nevada until we decided we liked RVing enough to take the plunge with a motorhome. Our personal preference is now that and I really do not see us going back. Others may have different preferences. It's great that RVing can accommodate everyone.

I have heard of the water freezing and breaking the valve in the holding tanks even with very little water in them. Traveling in Colorado depending where your at could get really really cold. I would use the jugs of water also. But I would put some rock salt in the grey and black tanks and maybe some RV antifreeze in each tank. Then use them with the jugs of water. Some people use the RV antifreeze to flush the toilet in freezing weather. JMHO

Use bottled water jugs to "wash" and a catch basin so you can throw the water out the door. use antifreeze to flush the toliet. no problems.

DW & I used to camp every other winter weekend in MI often driving up to the UP. Temps were always below freezing and often well below zero. We'd carry our fresh water in clean milk jugs kept on the floor in the shower. I used automotive anti freeze in the black and grey holding tanks and when dumping was needed, the tanks and valves were not frozen. We probably did this for 10 yrs with no apparent adverse effects to rubber seals etc. Then the MH was stolen and whether the "new owners" had any problem or not, I do not know.:) FWIW

I have lived in northern NM, southern CO, and the Amarillo and DFW areas in Texas. Some of the coldest temps I've ever experienced (-5F) were in Amarillo, TX. We saw temps in the single digits in Fort Worth during ice storms, too. The winds in the Texas Panhandle are what can drive the wind chill figures to painful levels. Don't discount Texas weather!

Rob

Claybe wrote:
How do people travel with out lines freezing and bursting, etc?

Run the furnace.

Sorry forgot to mention that I have a Majestic 23 Class C motor home. The water tank is under the bed and I will be running cab heat the whole trip. I had already thought of using the RV antifreeze in grey and black tanks. Just wasn't sure if I would be able to use the fresh water tanks. Sounds like I shouldn't risk it until the freeze clear zone (basically until I reach my destination). Wouldn't rock salt and antifreeze accomplish the same thing?

Tanks aren't usually the problem because water is moving around when driving. It's the water pipes that are the problem. Can they be exposed to heat?

Cab heat is for the cab. It's not heating the underbelly, or even the back of the rig.

The tanks are the least of concern, they're big and allow plenty of room for expansion of ice. The problem is the dump valves, as well as the water plumbing.

My fresh tank is under my bed as well, and even with the rv heat on, that tank stays real cold, the bed insulates it I think... Cold water from that tank goes out into the skinny water lines, into the valves and junctions hidden inside walls, and freezes up. If you're lucky it just blocks water, unlucky, it busts a fitting and then you have a flood.

I have only had to work on one other Majestic 23, but I doubt that your is very much different.

The only worry I would have were this coach mine, I was traveling in sub-freezing weather would be the gray tank. That would only be if it had contents and the weather was sub-teens. In that case, yes, salt will do. The black tank is protected from freezing by the contents. So, you are safer if you use it with as little flush water as possible.

I will forward the advice that I was given when we first had to travel in the north this time of year. It proved to serve us well.
=> Have provisions onboard for three days. It is very easy to get weathered in for a day. If you get stopped at all, it could easily be two days before you can continue. Given that case, you have a self-contained unit. You should have propane, water and fuel for at least that long.

There is a near zero chance that you will find a campground with water and electric, that will matter if you don't have a generator. The house bank will be hard pressed to run the coach heat overnight. That means you may need to idle the main engine for a long time just to get through the night.

Good Luck

Matt