Suggest All season travel trailer for work

[bzboy]

Looking for all season travel trailer for work. Will be using it approximately once every two weeks for 1-2 consecutive nights. Gonna park it in a parking lot at work. More concerned about winter use vs summer use. Temps in Denver can get down to below freezing in the city.

Requirements
Mainly boondocking so generator is a must
Needs to survive Colorado winters - snow and temps. Worried about pipes/tanks freezing.
No longer than 17-25 feet range. Slide optional.
Tow vehicle will be Toyota Tundra - 10k tow limit on paper but would like to keep it closer to 7-8k.

Brands I'm looking at
Northwood Artic Fox/ Nash - my top choice so far
Lance - difficult to find one with a generator
Forest River Alpha Wolf? - they advertise a "weather package" option

Any info, suggestions would be much appreciated. Budget around $40k. Thank you in advance

[canoe_on_top]

Thanks for the update on the storm windows. I had them for my 2006 Nash and have them for my 2008 Arctic Fox. The thermal pane windows might not be as effective as the storm windows but, would certainly be more convenient.

[deltabravo]

canoe on top wrote:
Arctic Fox/Nash definitely top choices. Get the factory storm windows.

Northwood stopped offering storm windows many years ago.

What you want is their thermal pane window option.

All ORV models have thermal pane standard. Arctic Fox they might be standard as well. Unsure on Nash.

[lane_hog]

Consider whether or not you *need* water. Are there showers available at work?

We've been doing winter camping for the past 10+ years... It's entirely possible to limit your water use without needing to keep the trailer above freezing temps all the time.

• We bring 5 gallon water bottles for our drinking and coffee water, and found a $10 water pump that seats on the fill tube for dispensing
  
• For the toilet, we have 1 gallon jugs of flushing water
  
• Hot water for washing dishes gets warmed up on the stove
  
• We use Rubbermaid dishpans to contain our wash water, and can either drain that into the tanks or disperse it outdoors if that's allowed
  
• If showering isn't available, you can use stovetop warmed water and a washcloth to manage the "essentials" (I keep my hair USMC short, but you could probably manage to wash your hair in the sink this way)
  

That approach has worked great for short 1-2 night trips where showers are optional or available at the destination.

This year, we didn't need to dump either our black or grey tank between November and March after seven days of use. But... we have 40 gallon black tank and 60 gallons of grey. Smaller tanks might present a different issue.

Frozen black tanks aren't as much of a problem with low usage as you'd think. Gallons of water in a large tank take a lot longer to freeze than what you get in a cross-section of pipe, and the ice contains odor quite nicely...

[afidel]

So here in NE Ohio I went through 20-30 pounds of propane a week, that was with an electric fireplace burning pretty much 24x7 at 1200-1500W, thermostat set at 40 outside of work hours, and all windows covered with Reflectix. If you needed to keep it above 40 without the electric figure closer to 50-60 pounds per week (based on BTU value), and on top of that you'd need enough battery to run the blower that much. Basically you'd be looking at ~28 gallons @~$3/gallon per 2 week use just to keep it from freezing even if you could get a big enough set of tanks and a solar system big enough to keep up with the blower load.

[bzboy]

deltabravo

just saw your video on your nash 17k. your upgrades are fantastic

[bzboy]

Several of you made the point about what to do with the camper when not in use and its freezing outside. Great point and something I never would have thought of. Thank you.

[canoe_on_top]

Arctic Fox/Nash definitely top choices. Get the factory storm windows.As mentioned, the big problem would be either leaving the heat on all winter or re-winterizing after every trip. If you don't have shore power you're going to need significant battery capacity to get you through the night and you'll have to run the generator quite a bit during the day. At least two 6 volt GC batteries. With my previous Nash and current Arctic Fox, I've seen 5,6 below with no problem. Could, probably handle -10. As you know, it, occasionally, gets colder than that in Denver so, plan accordingly. If your trips coincide with extreme temps, 10-15 below, you might have to not use the onboard water system and use portable water containers. Not conducive to showering.

[wanderingaimles]

I didn't winterize my Winnie (27') this year in Virginia. Our temps were pretty mild, we never got below 20. I kept a little 400 watt heater going constantly, which warmed the interior by 10-15 degrees warmer than outside. And set the gas furnace to 45 degrees. I still had to fill the propane 3 times. Our unit sends some furnace heat by the tanks to help keep them from freezing, hence keeping the furnace set at 45.
We used her to go to Farmville va for a week in December for a new grandchild visit. Temps were in the upper 30's low 40's and 10 degrees cooler at night. Had to refill propane every 3 days just to keep the rig in the 60's.
These things dont hold heat all that well (except in August;))

[deltabravo]

bzboy wrote:
Brands I'm looking at
Northwood Artic Fox/ Nash - my top choice so far

Nash 17k with a generator is a nice compact model.

I had one and used it a lot.

Here's a video tour of it.

[Grit_dog]

The biggest issue is the 12 days in between using it. If you don’t leave the heat on you’ll have2 winterize it teice a month for the winter.

[bzboy]

Thank you wanderingaimlessly

What about stuff like "heated holding tanks" or other winter stuff that they advertise? How low of temp are those good for?

[Lwiddis]

X2, wandering.

[wanderingaimles]

Econo Travel or something similar.
A Denver winter will surpass anything a TT will handle for just a 1 or 2 night a week usage.
Tanks will freeze, to get around that, you will have to heat a 25' long box with only 2" thick walls, minimal insulation and you will have the entire spring to look forward to "The great Poopscicle" that will eventually have to be dealt with.
Seriously, a Motel room will be much easier and cheaper than trying what you asked about.