Camping in sub freezing weather
Hello all, I'm new to RVing. Just bought a 5th wheel. I'm going to take it to Angel Fire NM this January and go snow skiing. I've been skiing in NM for almost 20 years and the temperature routin...
Forum Discussion
Speaking as someone that lived in our 5th wheel through 2 winters I seeing many below zero nights with a few -30’s thrown in..... and did very good. And, we didn’t use supplemental heat....merely the forced air! iIt takes a pretty good RV to live comfortably in those temps. Ours was a 1990 Teton with a -20 or -30 F guarantee....I’ve forgotten the exact value. There are few if any of today’s rv’s that will do well in those temps......and only one, to my knowledge, that guarantees their 5th wheel to a -10 F. Claiming to be a 4-season unit and actually putting a temperature value guarantee....is a vast difference!
No matter what unit you have.....good skirting will help immensely! Unless your campground has a water supply that is heat traced from the spigot foot valve to the handle/connection.....you will not be able to leave the spigot turned on! Our water line was at a 6 foot depth, and the spigot was heat traced from main line to handle assembly. If it’s “NOT” heat traced and insulated top to bottom....you will need to fill your fresh tank, then disconnect and store your hose for the next fill.
As stated by others....you will used lots of propane. We do a bit of late fall/ winter boondocking,, with daytime highs in low 20’s and nights from single digits to a little below zero F .....we use about 45 gallons of propane on a 3 week outing. We keep our inside temperatures a little lower than most would be comfortable with to save on propane consumption....but, our camper is fairly large (40 ft.).
The use of supplemental heat ( electric or gas) will help keep you more comfortable , but, will not help your basement and inclosed underbelly.
These are just things to consider, but, not to scare you away from winter camping. We do it every year, and look forward to it. If we were in a campground, it would be a “cakewalk”! When boondocking, it’s a challenge keeping the batteries charged ...and then there’s the challenge of keeping our 55 gallon drum of water thawed-out, and then transferring it into the camper. With a motivated mindset....most anything can be done!
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as standing in the yard filling you water tanks for your next boondocking trip in single temperatures.....while most others have stopped RVing for the winter or “bugged-out” to the south! Winter offers some of the best RVing.....but, it’s not without challenges! memtb
No matter what unit you have.....good skirting will help immensely! Unless your campground has a water supply that is heat traced from the spigot foot valve to the handle/connection.....you will not be able to leave the spigot turned on! Our water line was at a 6 foot depth, and the spigot was heat traced from main line to handle assembly. If it’s “NOT” heat traced and insulated top to bottom....you will need to fill your fresh tank, then disconnect and store your hose for the next fill.
As stated by others....you will used lots of propane. We do a bit of late fall/ winter boondocking,, with daytime highs in low 20’s and nights from single digits to a little below zero F .....we use about 45 gallons of propane on a 3 week outing. We keep our inside temperatures a little lower than most would be comfortable with to save on propane consumption....but, our camper is fairly large (40 ft.).
The use of supplemental heat ( electric or gas) will help keep you more comfortable , but, will not help your basement and inclosed underbelly.
These are just things to consider, but, not to scare you away from winter camping. We do it every year, and look forward to it. If we were in a campground, it would be a “cakewalk”! When boondocking, it’s a challenge keeping the batteries charged ...and then there’s the challenge of keeping our 55 gallon drum of water thawed-out, and then transferring it into the camper. With a motivated mindset....most anything can be done!
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as standing in the yard filling you water tanks for your next boondocking trip in single temperatures.....while most others have stopped RVing for the winter or “bugged-out” to the south! Winter offers some of the best RVing.....but, it’s not without challenges! memtb
