freezing temps on Thursday

[kandkbrand]

I need some advice. I have de-winterized my trailer and I have used it on a couple of trips this spring. Naturally, the weather has decided to turn cold again. The overnight low on Thursday is forecast for 32 and 30 for the overnight low on Friday. Last time we camped I emptied the fresh water tank and opened the low point drains for the drive home. Am I in any danger of damaging my plumbing and what steps should I follow to minimize the risks of damage? Now I know the best thing would be to winterize it again, but I would really rather not do that. Thoughts?

[pianotuna]

peace of mind is priceless. Well done.

kandkbrand wrote:
Antifreeze was a small price to pay for peace of mind.

[kandkbrand]

Well, the unit is in storage, so I didn't feel comfortable leaving propane on while not occupying it. Antifreeze was a small price to pay for peace of mind.

[BillW44]

You don't need to do all that just for temps barely reaching freezing. Will you have some heat on in the RV? That will be plenty to prevent any issues. And for that matter, just your water tank and plumbing being inside prevents freezing drastically, even without heat on. You don't have to worry about that stuff until you get down around 10-20 degrees that's when stuff gets real. Even then, worse case is your pipes against the wall might freeze up if you don't keep them exposed to the inner RV air (i.e. not covered up by drawers etc).

[kandkbrand]

well, spent a little while yesterday installing a winterizing by pass and went ahead a ran antifreeze through the trailer. Woke up this morning to snow that wasn't in the forecast.....thanks for all the advice.

[Martyn]

kandkbrand wrote:
I need some advice. I have de-winterized my trailer and I have used it on a couple of trips this spring. Naturally, the weather has decided to turn cold again. The overnight low on Thursday is forecast for 32 and 30 for the overnight low on Friday. Last time we camped I emptied the fresh water tank and opened the low point drains for the drive home. Am I in any danger of damaging my plumbing and what steps should I follow to minimize the risks of damage? Now I know the best thing would be to winterize it again, but I would really rather not do that. Thoughts?

They are now forecasting 1-3" of snow and a low of 27 on Friday night at my place - I am 25 miles east of Denver. If it were me I would be thinking seriously about winterizing again. Doesn't take long and gives peace of mind. I haven't de-winterized yet so am OK! :W

[Ivylog]

I would not do anything until the forecast is for 26 for several hours. Then I'd just open the low points and the faucets, cabinet doors open and heat on lowest setting.

[kandkbrand]

IDman wrote:
Kandkbrand: The forecast in my area is Thursday midnight snow begins with lows down to 23 degrees. Snow will continue all day Friday until 7:00. Temps will NOT get out of 20s.

I am going to blow out my lines and leave faucets open. I will also set my furnace at lowest heat (50) as this has always worked in past.

Good luck!

I am in the springs, thursday high 47 low 32, friday high 46 low 30

[rbrand]

Hi Kevin

It's nice to talk to another brand.

I'll send you a private message.

Ross

[2lazy4U]

I'm also in Colorado. and even though I'm in the mountains, a lot of the temps depend on microcosms around you. If the trailer is near buildings for protection, it will be warmer than the general recorded temp for your region. This is also affected by things like plants (shrubs), uphill or downhill air flow, etc. I don't think I would worry about it unless they were to call for really cold temps and your trailer's sitting in the middle of an unprotected field or somewhere that the winds will make it colder than what they're forecasting. My experience with this area (I'm a native, so that would be many long years at my age) is that in the spring it rarely gets as cold as they predict.

[ppine]

People commonly live in trailers in places that are zero and below. They do it by heating the occupied space, adding sheathing to insulate their tanks and insulating their outdoor water lines.

Add some heat in your trailer and you will be fine at temperatures around 30. You can drain everything and add some anti-freeze for the ride home if it stays cold.

[Allworth]

Citrus growers, who have thousands of dollars at stake, don't look for freeze damage unless they expect 28 degrees for six hours or 25 degrees for two hours. That is with the oranges hanging out there on the tree with no protection.

If you have power available put a 60 watt light bulb (real light bulb, not an LED or CFL) in the basement and leave it on all night.

[rhagfo]

troubledwaters wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

troubledwaters wrote:
Yes, you risk damaging the water lines. The risk is directly proportional to how cold it gets for how long. Even 30° for one hour can freeze those tiny lines. Will that damage them? Who knows. How about providing some supplemental heat, or blowing out the lines but no antifreeze? Or just wing it. The risk is pretty low, but the other side of the coin is it could result in hidden damage that causes big problems like delamination down the road. No easy answer. Easy for me to say take a chance cause it ain't mine to pay to fix down the road. So do you feel lucky today?

Really??

Seem it takes at least a couple hours to make small ice cubes when the freezer is a zero or even -10 degree F.

Part depends on daytime temps, if daytime gets to high 40's or low 50's shouldn't be an issues even down to about 28 degrees. If you look at hourly temps likely only below freezing for about 2 to 4 hours, the trailer is a heat sink, and will hold the daytime heat.

Reading comprehension 101.

I read the post, I have never worried unless forecast below 28 degrees, likely above 50 during the day, the heated mass of the fiver with not cool to 32 in a couple of hours.
If the daytime was only like 35, yes, then blow the lines you will be fine.
We have winter camped in the PNW for years, and never drain the water lines unless forecast for below 28, and cold days, or if I will be out of town for a week or more.

[Effy]

Seems no topic on here gets out of control. OP, you will be fine at those temps especially if you drained the lines and leave the faucets open. It would take a lot more than the temps and times you'll see to freeze pex and fittings, especially if they are not under pressure. Since we moved to NC, we've seen very few days that get below freezing but it happens. Once at 27. Never winterized and never had an issue.

I guess technically speaking delamination could happen if the right conditions were present and freezing and water under pressure were at the root. Pipes would have to freeze, water pressure (not present in this case) would shoot water everywhere, that water would somehow have to find it's way into the wall and between the fiberglass and backing and freeze again to lift it away from the adhesive. Pretty unlikely but I guess possible. Might win the lottery too. Delam happens when the glue comes away from the glass. It used to be more common until they changed glues in more recent years. It was also more of a result of roof and window leaks than broken plumbing, but it could happen. If you had water intrusion bad enough to cause delam I would be more concerned about all the other stuff that was ruined too.

[IDman]

Kandkbrand: The forecast in my area is Thursday midnight snow begins with lows down to 23 degrees. Snow will continue all day Friday until 7:00. Temps will NOT get out of 20s.

I am going to blow out my lines and leave faucets open. I will also set my furnace at lowest heat (50) as this has always worked in past.

Good luck!