Freezing Temps (on the Road) - What Precautions Do You Take?

Hi,

I've done -37 C (-34 F). Both Photo Mike and Moving Sue have done -40. It takes LOTS of prep to boondock at those temperatures, and lots of propane. Below those temperatures some sort of heat for the propane tank becomes important.

I have spent 4 days 3 nights @ 6800' with daytime highs in the 40's and overnight lows in the teens in a toyhauler with everything exposed. NO problems.

We've been out in -10 C (15 F) overnight low a few times. Just set the furnace at 60 F and put a glove over the freshwater tank drain tap after it froze the first time. I was about to say there was no problem but we did get a cracked ABS elbow in a drain pipe from the sink that is under the floor with only the metal skin under it. Freezing water in the elbow might have cracked it. I now put several cups of antifreeze down the sink drain when it is freezing. I intended to get some stick on insulation to protect that pipe but haven't done it yet.

For the exposed freshwater hose, get a slip on foam insulator - inexpensive and very good protection.

smkettner wrote:
If you have easy access you can just add heat to the water line.

www.ultraheat.com

A few years ago we fabricated some heated vests to keep us warm on our motorcycles. Used about 20-25 feet of thin gauge wire, made some PWM's using some online plans, and presto, we were toasty warm at 80 mph during those cold, cold winter rides!

If I had the time, it would be interesting to try something similar with the tanks and pipes.

Anywhoser, smkettner, thanks for the link. It's nice to know this stuff is out there in case we get serious about doing long-term, cold-weather traveling.

If you have easy access you can just add heat to the water line.

www.ultraheat.com

All this cold weather experience passed on by everybody has definitely improved my cold weather situational awareness!

I do have to throw-out a special thanks to greenrvgreen for some especially useful info and options, thanks!

It looks like I *really* need to focus on that very exposed 1/2" ID freshwater hose running from the freshwater tank to the front of the TT. I took another peek underneath and there is nowhere to hide it or reroute it. The only solution I can come up with is to cover the entire length of this hose with that thick, dark-grey/black, foam-like, tubing you see at HD/Lowes that's used to insulate pipes in the home.

Got my fingers crossed for a heat-wave during the cross-country trip we have planned for Oct-Nov. But, if not, and the hose does freeze, well, I'm hoping a few 1/2" inline adapters, radiator clamps, and extra 1/2" ID hose gets our water flowing again!

Mild freeze overnight with daytime temps quickly climbing into the 40s equals no worries. Multiple days below freezing, or DRIVING in freezing weather will freeze your pipes.

Fresh water freezes soonest, grey water somewhat slower and black tank will probably only freeze right at the valve. A little bit of pink antifreeze and your grey and black tanks will behave themselves. During extended stays I keep pouring small amounts of pink into my drains.

If you have exposed half-inch fresh piping, give thought to rerouting it above the floor. PITA, yes, but this is your most vulnerable area.

If the days are mild, the nights can get quite cold without issue. I often camp in the low teens overnight without any special precautions for the tanks, apart from pink stuff. But if the next day if forecast to hover in the low 30s I start to make preps the night before. I'll turn on my tank heaters and locate my aux clamplight. If the night gets much colder than forecast, there is still time in the morning to hit your pipes with the clamplight.

For extended stays in cold weather, I'll put on a skirt. I'm talking about a tarp "skirt" around the chassis that keeps the wind from blowing under your trailer. With a clamp light carefully placed underneath, extended stays in the 20s have gone without issue.

Others on this forum have camped in seriously cold weather in Canada and the Dakotas. My own experiences are mild by comparision, but probably more germaine to the topic of overnight stops. Bottom line, Pink Stuff and a little situational awareness and overnights will go just fine. But keep an eye on that fresh line.

The fresh tanks won't freeze overnight. It's really the hoses you have to worry about. You could insulate the hoses but some of them are hard to reach.

Thanks for all the responses. Nope, I don't have enclosed/insulated tanks or tank heaters. In the year of looking at used/new TT and toy haulers from KS to AZ I've never seen one of these before. Either my budget was too low or I didn't go far enough north :)

After reading through everybody's responses, I think my two areas of concern are the 3 exposed tanks and the exposed 10 ft. of 1/2" ID hose running from the freshwater tank to the pump.

I don't plan on purposely camping where it's below freezing. The scenario I'm referring to is being on the road, too tired to drive, and being forced to stop on a 4,000-8,000 ft. pass somewhere . . . just when a massive cold front moves in with temps way below freezing.

Although I'm not convinced it would be necessary (heat would be on in the TT), I kinda like WyoTraveler's suggestion to do a quick winterization on the spot. I just installed a splice in my freshwater hose line just for that purpose. Would probably take me 15 minutes to get RV anti-freeze flowing throughout the pressurized part of my water system.

As for the 3 tanks (and the freshwater hose), I assume the best course of action is to completely empty them, right? Was also thinking I would make a point of emptying some of the water from the freshwater tank into two or three 5-gallon water jugs and store them inside for use in the morning.

Other options? Thanks!

Dick_B wrote:
Put a couple of gallons of cheap white wine in the freshwater tank beforehand and don't worry about anything.

I can only imagine explaining that to law enforcement after the morning shower