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Turn heater on for the night or winterize?

RedJeep
Explorer
Explorer
I'm in Portland, Oregon. Temperature is supposed to get to 25F tonight. I was getting ready to go winterize the motorhome when it occurred to me that I might be fine just going over to the storage lot and turning the heat on for an evening.

In Portland we might see two or three days of below freezing. We camp year round so it just might be a waste of time, water and pink stuff to fully winterize.

Anyway, just wondering if any of you also just crank up the heat for a night when it gets below freezing for just one night?

---Robert
2008 Georgetown DS350 Class A
Wife, kids, dog and cat
19 REPLIES 19

Us_out_West
Explorer
Explorer
RedJeep wrote:
Normally I winterize, dewinterize, winterize again, etc.
Us out West wrote:
RedJeep wrote:
I'm in Portland, Oregon. Temperature is supposed to get to 25F tonight. I was getting ready to go winterize the motorhome when it occurred to me that I might be fine just going over to the storage lot and turning the heat on for an evening.

In Portland we might see two or three days of below freezing. We camp year round so it just might be a waste of time, water and pink stuff to fully winterize.

Anyway, just wondering if any of you also just crank up the heat for a night when it gets below freezing for just one night?

---Robert


What do you normally do at this time of the year...winterize or run the furnace?


There you go...your way (winterize) is what I would do therefore no worries.
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DrewE
Explorer II
Explorer II
westend wrote:

A lot depends on the pipes in use and if there is pressure in the lines. Typically, if there is pressure in a line, 25f won't be a problem if temperatures rise during the day. Unfortunately, most guys will kill the 12V battery power while in storage and that means no water pressure. The flip side of this coin is that if the pump is left on and a pipe does burst, the pump will run until it's shut off. Pumps are dumb.


The freezing point of water has virtually no relation to pressure at any reasonable pressure for a plumbing system (below atmospheric pressure through 1000+ psi). See the phase diagram at http://www1.lsbu.ac.uk/water/water_phase_diagram.html; this is the region where the division between solid and liquid is vertical.

Tom_Barb
Explorer
Explorer
Tom/Barb wrote:
We turned on our heaters tonight, but we are at home and plugged in, I have two little bee hive heaters to keep the coach above freezing.

I don't run the furness


Certainly glad we did, it was 24 over night. camper is toasty warm this morning.
2000 Newmar mountain aire 4081 DP, ISC/350 Allison 6 speed, Wrangler JL toad.

westend
Explorer
Explorer
rr2254545 wrote:
ford truck guy wrote:
Like Terry said, if it is only a few nights of freezing temps, you should be fine. As long as the temps are above in the day..


I can winterize with 4 gal of pink stuff or $16 - if the power goes out and it freezes how many repairs can you make for $16 - its easy for other to say you will be fine they do not have foot the repair bill if they are wrong

Says the guy from MN. Yup, us guys from MN have experience with freezing pipes and low temps. Also, it doesn't have to be 10f before damage sets in.

A lot depends on the pipes in use and if there is pressure in the lines. Typically, if there is pressure in a line, 25f won't be a problem if temperatures rise during the day. Unfortunately, most guys will kill the 12V battery power while in storage and that means no water pressure. The flip side of this coin is that if the pump is left on and a pipe does burst, the pump will run until it's shut off. Pumps are dumb.

If it was my situation, I'd drain and blow the lines, pink out the traps and tanks, and get a good night's sleep.
'03 F-250 4x4 CC
'71 Starcraft Wanderstar -- The Cowboy/Hilton

boomersooner198
Explorer
Explorer
We watch the temperatures and when it gets below freezing we turn on the heat (low, about 60 degrees). We are hooked to shore power where I store our camper, it is outside but under cover. We make several trips to the camper to turn the heat on and off, but that is just what we choose to do. Throughout the winter I will probably go through both of my 30 gallon propane tanks, so it costs me about $60 to keep the heat on during cold weather (in Georgia, so not to bad but we do get into the teens a few times).
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Sinnettc
Explorer
Explorer
One or two nights is probably OK around here, given that temps will rise above freezing during the day. We spent about 2 months living in ours at the KOA in Corvallis this time last year. We only had problems when the temps stayed below freezing for several days and then it was the water hose & black tank outlet that froze. Of course we were running heat (space heater during the day with furnace added at night) so the trailer itself never got below mid-50's at worst.

The hose had heat tape and insulation on it but the 15A GFCI outlet on the pedestal had failed so it didn't work. Once the outlet was replaced the hose thawed out and we were good. Black tank was an hour of running a hair dryer outside and pouring hot water down the toilet on the inside. Luckily we got the keys to our new home (on Christmas Eve) before the next hard freeze came along so we only had to deal with the frozen tank once.
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Tom_Barb
Explorer
Explorer
We turned on our heaters tonight, but we are at home and plugged in, I have two little bee hive heaters to keep the coach above freezing.

I don't run the furness
2000 Newmar mountain aire 4081 DP, ISC/350 Allison 6 speed, Wrangler JL toad.

rhagfo
Explorer III
Explorer III
rr2254545 wrote:
ford truck guy wrote:
Like Terry said, if it is only a few nights of freezing temps, you should be fine. As long as the temps are above in the day..


I can winterize with 4 gal of pink stuff or $16 - if the power goes out and it freezes how many repairs can you make for $16 - its easy for other to say you will be fine they do not have foot the repair bill if they are wrong


I can winterize in about 20 to 30 minutes with about a 1/2 Gal of pink stuff (for P traps), and a good blow from the TV on board air compressor.

Yes, living in Portland can mean winterizing several times a Winter!
Russ & Paula the Beagle Belle.
2016 Ram Laramie 3500 Aisin DRW 4X4 Long bed.
2005 Copper Canyon 293 FWSLS, 32' GVWR 12,360#

"Visit and Enjoy Oregon State Parks"

RedJeep
Explorer
Explorer
Normally I winterize, dewinterize, winterize again, etc.
Us out West wrote:
RedJeep wrote:
I'm in Portland, Oregon. Temperature is supposed to get to 25F tonight. I was getting ready to go winterize the motorhome when it occurred to me that I might be fine just going over to the storage lot and turning the heat on for an evening.

In Portland we might see two or three days of below freezing. We camp year round so it just might be a waste of time, water and pink stuff to fully winterize.

Anyway, just wondering if any of you also just crank up the heat for a night when it gets below freezing for just one night?

---Robert


What do you normally do at this time of the year...winterize or run the furnace?
2008 Georgetown DS350 Class A
Wife, kids, dog and cat

RedJeep
Explorer
Explorer
I'm at an RV storage lot. No power. Going to go ahead and err on the side of caution and winterize. Thanks all!
2008 Georgetown DS350 Class A
Wife, kids, dog and cat

Us_out_West
Explorer
Explorer
RedJeep wrote:
I'm in Portland, Oregon. Temperature is supposed to get to 25F tonight. I was getting ready to go winterize the motorhome when it occurred to me that I might be fine just going over to the storage lot and turning the heat on for an evening.

In Portland we might see two or three days of below freezing. We camp year round so it just might be a waste of time, water and pink stuff to fully winterize.

Anyway, just wondering if any of you also just crank up the heat for a night when it gets below freezing for just one night?

---Robert


What do you normally do at this time of the year...winterize or run the furnace?
Our Trip Journal

2012 Jayco Pinnacle (View)
36 KitchenPantryTripleSlide
MorRyde pin box and suspension, Curt Q24, Dual Pane windows, Auto Levelers, 2 AC's,and more.

2009 Silverado 3500HD 4X4 (View)
CC, Dura-Max 6.6/Allison,LB ,DRW,Amer. Tank 65 gal. Aux Fuel

goducks10
Explorer
Explorer
I leave a small space heater in mine. I'm in Keizer Or. I only turn it on when the temps are in the 20's at night and barely reach freezing during the day. Which doesn't happen all that often. All I've done so far is blow the lines and drain the HW tank. This cold weather coming in the next day or two won't faze it. I'm not even turning on the heater.

RAS43
Explorer III
Explorer III
I have had occasions in the spring and fall where the temps dropped below freezing and our trailer is not winterized. I set the furnace to 40 degrees, the lowest setting, and it has been fine. I do have it plugged in so a low battery wouldn't be a problem and if the forecast if below 25 then I would drain the system.

rr2254545
Explorer
Explorer
ford truck guy wrote:
Like Terry said, if it is only a few nights of freezing temps, you should be fine. As long as the temps are above in the day..


I can winterize with 4 gal of pink stuff or $16 - if the power goes out and it freezes how many repairs can you make for $16 - its easy for other to say you will be fine they do not have foot the repair bill if they are wrong
2012 Winnebago Journey 36M Cummins 360
2014 Jeep Cherokee
492 Campgrounds,107K miles driven in our Winnebago motor homes and 2360 nights camping since we retired in July 2009, 41 National Parks