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Cold Weather Challenge

usaclark
Explorer
Explorer
We have been on the road over a month traveling in warmer areas of the USA but now we are heading north to MI and through the UP. Temps at night are predicted to get down to 28/29 degrees at night. As I look at the predicted rate of drop, the temps would only be this low for a few hours each night. Do I need to worry about freezing pipes? Or, if we are on the road and temps are below freezing, do I need to worry about pipes freezing? I am really hoping not to have to winterize the unit. Also, we generally do not run any heat at night. We just add another blanket.

Thanks for the help.
11 REPLIES 11

usaclark
Explorer
Explorer
Just wanted to thank everyone for your advice. There is no substitute for the advice from experienced RV'ers.

Thanks Again.

nevadanick
Explorer
Explorer
28/29 for a few hours is a non issue and not cold.

JiminDenver
Explorer
Explorer
Sounds like spring and fall for us. Even in a 3 season trailer we have no issues.
2011 GulfStream Amerilite 25BH
2003 Ford Expedition with 435w tilting portable/ TS-MPPT-45
750w solar , TS-MPPT-60 on the trailer
675 Ah bank, Trip-lite 1250fc inverter
Sportsman 2200w inverter generator

spoon059
Explorer II
Explorer II
You should be fine, but you will likely want to run some type of heat. Before the kids, we used to camp well into December in the northeast. Temps it in the upper 20s at night shouldn't cause any freezing, as it should get above freezing during the day.

Regardless, open cabinet doors with water pipes underneath to make sure that heat migrates towards the pipes. Invest in a $20 electric heater and place it on your counter, that will work wonders towards making the camper more comfortable. A pleasant side effect is that the electric heat will dry out the air a little, taking away some (but not all) condensation issues with cold weather camping.

Have fun!
2015 Ram CTD
2015 Jayco 29QBS

Crowe
Explorer
Explorer
Never had a problem in any unit as long as the daytime temps were above freezing. Spent many nights with temps below 32, often with the heat shut off. If you are concerned, just set the heat at 40 or so or keep a faucet dripping.

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be

Douglas Adams

[purple]RV-less for now but our spirits are still on the open road. [/purple]

pianotuna
Nomad III
Nomad III
run off fresh water tank. There should be no problems.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

wa8yxm
Explorer III
Explorer III
If you have a class A with enclosed tanks no problem..5-Er likely not

And by the time you get there it may have warmed a degree or 3.

Spend some time in lower MI..Visit Greenfield Village..(And the Henry Ford)
Visit the Yankee Air force

Then head north.
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
2005 Damon Intruder 377 Alas declared a total loss
after a semi "nicked" it. Still have the radios
Kenwood TS-2000, ICOM ID-5100, ID-51A+2, ID-880 REF030C most times

usaclark
Explorer
Explorer
We are traveling in a Bullet Premier. It does have an enclosed underbelly.

Merrykalia
Explorer
Explorer
We frequently camp when it gets below freezing in the early spring and late fall. It is usually above freezing during the daytime, but sometimes only a few degrees. We have never had any problems, but we do run an electric heater and furnace at night. I like it cool to sleep, but not cold. We have a Duraflame quartz heater that we purchased at Sam's a few years ago that we carry with us for those times of cool weather. When it gets below about 40, we also run the furnace. We do have enclosed underbelly.

If it is projected to get below or about freezing, we unhook the fresh water hose because that is the first thing that will freeze due to the exposure to the cold air all around. We will open the sink doors before going to bed to make sure there is good warm airflow around the inside plumbing and the heat from inside will escape down through some of the holes in the floor to the underneath plumbing areas. With just a few hours of cold, it's not going to completely freeze the plumbing, maybe a little bit of ice, but nothing that will harm the pipes. Now, note that I said a few hours, not several days of below 32. We do not run water through our outside faucet until all threat of freezing temps are gone. It will still have the pink stuff in it in June when we first use it.
2017 Ford F350 Crew Cab 6.7L 4x4 DRW

Fizz
Explorer
Explorer
We once spent Christmas week in Las Cruces NM.
We had to unhook the water hose and drain it every night because it would freeze. Other than than, no problems with TT plumbing.

Sandia_Man
Explorer II
Explorer II
We have no problems camping in the high 20s and do so often, but I don't want to say it's OK as I don't know what rig you have. We just got back from a two week trip where temps were below freezing (32) every night and dipped to the teens a few times, but daytime temps always were above 40 degrees or so.

If you have an enclosed underbelly I would think 28/29 degrees for a few hours wouldn't cause hard freezing of your plumbing, but once again I know what our rig is capable of and it does not have an enclosed belly. Maybe just drain tanks and open low drain points on your rig would be enough, a few more minutes and you could go the full process and have peace of mind.