Will pipes freeze camping in 26 deg.weather

We just camped @ 8 degrees and have all the water on. We have basement heating. Run your furnace and check if you have basement heating and you will be OK. We keep the furnace on while traveling during the day so the basement stays heated. Above 38 degrees we use our A/C heat pumps to save propane! Good luck in your travels.

rgatijnet1 wrote:
We have used a 100 watt light bulb in our wet compartment for temps down approaching zero. Right now we are in Maryland and expecting temps down to 28 tonight. For the time that the temp will be that low, we won't even need the bulb in the wet compartment. As long as you are using your water, have the fresh water tank full, and do not hook up a hose to shore water, you should not have a problem with temps down to 26.

Oops, instead of it getting to 28 last night, we woke up this morning to 23 degree temps in Maryland. No problems at all with our water lines even tho I did not put a light bulb in the wet compartment to keep things warm. We do not use the propane furnace but we did use our single hose heat pump to keep the coach comfortable inside.

We are currently staying at Cherry Creek State Park in Denver. The current temp is -10F. We have aqua hot for heat plus a small ceramic heater in the wet bay and no water problems.
Jerry

We use to take or 89 class c jamboree skiing on a regular basis. I would put rock salt in the holding tanks and use all the plumbing as usual. It would get down to zero at night sometimes. We would keep the cabinet doors open at night. Never had a frozen pipe. This rig was definitely not a 4 season rig. I like another posted said would not travel without my plumbing.
We always just filled the fresh water tank. Never left the hose hooked up. I can't imagine you would have a problem with 26 as the low. I would keep the tanks closed and the outlet valve I had a hose connector on. I would keep this open so if any water seepped out the valves it would drain and not plug and freeze.


JMHO

Last month in Branson, temps down into the low teens several nights. 75 watt light bulbs in clamp-on fixtures to keep bulbs from touching in each wet bin. remote thermometer in each bin. Outside water line had heat tape and insulation. Lowest temperature in either bin was 40 degrees, with outside down below 20. Other than what you see in the bins, most fresh water pipes are inside living space of coach. As some are near outside walls inside kitchen and bath cabinets, leave cabinet doors open overnight. If inside coach is comfortable, nothing will freeze.

skipnchar wrote:
Too many variables to say for certain one way or the other. Windy weather causes faster freeze ups since heat leaking from the RV is immediately blown away but physics say any time the water reaches 32 degrees it CAN freeze. If your RV is not a four season model then those usually leak enough heat to raise surrounding temps by a few degrees but again, wind negates this. To be certain of no problems, don't unwinterize until you reach temperatures above freezing. Unwinterizing usually takes only 30 minutes to an hour in most any campground or RV park with sewer hook ups.

Another reference to a 4 season motorhome has really got my curiosity up. Can you provide some more info on which ones are and which ones are not. That might help the discussion immensely.

Where I'm at in California we don't winterize the RV. Every once in a while he get temps down in the high 20's. I have never had a problem with any of my pipes bursting. I have an electric heater that has a "freeze protect" setting on it so it comes on at 40 degrees. I used to keep it in the motorhome but I don't even do that anymore and have never had a problem. If you're going to be in the thing and have the heater on and it's only going down to 26 degrees, you'll be just fine.

Empty Nest, Soon wrote:
It will have to get much colder than 26* overnight for you to have any problem, whether the basement is heated or not.

I have a lot of cold weather experience camping in a TT with exposed tanks, and even then there was no reason to worry at overnight low temps like mid-20's. Now if the high for the day is mid-20's and the lows are teens or single digits, that is another story.

Wayne

x2!

We are gaining our cold weather camping experience this year. We've been sleeping in our motorhome parked in the yard since the summer. (Hey...the kids like sleeping out there, so that's what we've been doing.)

Yes, on the very cold nights (teens) and when the days didn't go above 32, I probably spent $10 in electricity and $5 in propane per day to keep us functional. But for the most part, it's been pretty mild. However, on two mornings the pipe from the water tank to the water pump partially froze. I cranked up the propane furnace and within about an hour or two all was well. Lesson learned. When the bedtime temps are in the low 20's and the lows are forecast to the near single digits: MORE propane furnace and LESS electric heaters. Keeping the electric heaters cranked inside keeps the furnace from firing up as often.

We got some cold weather (mid-teens) coming at us tonight, so I'm going to test my theory. :)

OP, you should be fine. Just keep the rig warm.

~Rick

It will have to get much colder than 26* overnight for you to have any problem, whether the basement is heated or not.

I have a lot of cold weather experience camping in a TT with exposed tanks, and even then there was no reason to worry at overnight low temps like mid-20's. Now if the high for the day is mid-20's and the lows are teens or single digits, that is another story.

Wayne

I've camped in my motorhome in 25* weather and never had any problems. I do own a Winnebago Adventurer and it is very well insulated! No way, I'm I going to winterize my RV when I'm camping or traveling during the winter. I've been RVing since 1976 and it works for me! I did have a outside water hose freeze one time in AZ. from that point on I insulated my outside water hose.