Okay, I have frozen pipes??

[ENG2242]

I have a 2019 TT. Here in Missouri we've had -7 degree temps. I have taken all needed precautions to prevent freezing as I'm a full-timer. I have all accessible cabinet doors open and the furnace is cranked. I know it's frozen on the inside run. Any suggestions that I haven't covered? Also, is the newer plastic water piping less apt to crack? Thanks for any input, David

[allen8106]

DBHMEH wrote:
I have taken all needed precautions to prevent freezing as I'm a full-timer.

Apparently not, you didn't go far enough south. Freeze up was bound to happen.

[westend]

Do some inspection and diagnosis. Frozen pipes typically have a certain location where the pipes were exposed to the cold, allowing ice to form. Use accessory heat in that area and observe for dripping at fittings. It is rare to have multiple locations or a total frozen condition but is possible. Pray that your bath shower piping is still serviceable. It is a bear to restore the shower location plumbing.

Good luck on the plumbing. It was -29f at our house a couple of weeks ago. I haven't even checked the trailer as the plumbing is totally serviced (winterized). I do have to dig a walkway out to it and remove snow on the solar and check battery health. I know the batteries went into that cold fully charged but they are batteries and it was monstrously cold. All of my running fleet needed a jump start in that very cold condition. We are currently checking for land in AZ, lol.

[beemerphile1]

PEX can expand when freezing without damage but the fittings will break.

[TXiceman]

A Sprinter is not designed for 4 season use. Good luck in freezing weather.

Ken

[bobndot]

RV faucets have plastic parts. It's those parts that get replaced most often from cracking.

[BarneyS]

OleManOleCan wrote:
Snip...

If you blow the lines out and fill the traps with the pink stuff, if you pour in a lot in the Freshwater tank and pump the lines until it runs out in the sinks, and toilet.
That stuff might turn slushy, but in the South, that's not a problem.

It turns slushy in the North too but also doesn't matter as the stuff does not expand when freezing like water does. 🙂
Barney

[OleManOleCan]

A small electric heater in a camper at home will keep everything from freezing.
Open any cabinets under sinks too.
When I Winterize I go overboard. The Walmart trailer antifreeze to excess. It's cheap.

If you blow the lines out and fill the traps with the pink stuff, if you pour in a lot in the Freshwater tank and pump the lines until it runs out in the sinks, and toilet.
That stuff might turn slushy, but in the South, that's not a problem.

[time2roll]

I recommend adding tank heaters and a circulating pump if you could be caught in a similar situation in the future. Probably a pipe is in an inaccessible area. To really thaw out you need to get into a heated shop overnight. Most of these trailers are just not built to go much below 20F and even fewer (none?)to keep going below zero.

Keep the pump off and disconnected from water while it thaws out. You don't want to have any extra water damage if a break unfreezes.

[Bob_Olallawa]

Yes the pex pipe is not as apt to be damaged but any of the fittings exposed to the cold could be cracked. Shut the water off for now, and when the temps come back up plan on fixing some cracked parts.

[bguy]

Use a fan.

[pianotuna]

Replace the return air grill on the furnace with twin window fans. That keeps some warm cabin air circulating at all times.

As for unthawing, a radiant heater may be the best--the type with tubes which glow cherry red, with a reflector. They heat the object they are pointed at, rather than heating the air.

[joelc]

If your water is frozen then you might have some cracked pipes too. I had an old camper and the pipes froze one Winter. When they thawed I had water pouring all over. Be careful. It was a MH with a basement, 1988. I had a bulb in the basement to keep it warm and it worked to keep things from freezing until one night when the bulb went out. On the newer RVs they have the Furnace ducting from propane to keep the basement warm and pipes from freezing. I also keep cabinets open. On the outside, use heat tape and foam insulation. So far my 2012 5er has had no issues.

[Dick_B]

or wait another day or so. A heat wave is coming!

[midnightsadie]

you gotta get some hot air moving.