If I got pulled away from a warm winter area to a Michigan type winter can I do it if I am RV'ing it please?
Whats to be done about water lines and sewage?
Is there a way?
Also, if traveling from warm "thru" very cold mountain passes does one have to drain lines and "winterize" just to accomodate the extreme cold temps while driving through please?
Many thanks.
David.

Not a problem but things are very different. I spent 3 very comfortable months in the Colorado mountains between 0 and minus 20 last winter.

Here's the long writeup I posted over on iRV2.com.

Basically--
You'll need a rig with double windows and good insulation. Boondocking is going to be challenging but in a campground w/ winterized utilities it is no problem. Easiest approach for plumbing is to not connect, just fill/dump as needed (for me alone that's about once/week). I've seen all sort of heated line setups but what a hassle. The connections are right there just connect as needed. Depending on your basement situation you might need to take extra insulation steps and add supplemental heating down there to protect plumbing.You'll want to monitor the basement temps with a remote thermo. My LPG refer had no problem at all. Practice blowing out and winterizing your plumbing in case of heating failure as you'll need to clear them fast to prevent freeze damage. Be very careful about ill-thought out throwing of heat cubes around due to potentially increasing a fire hazard. Practioce and be ever aware is all it takes.

It's quite an experience and really turned out to be no trouble at all and the winter scenery can be spectacular!

We've stayed in below freezing conditions many times now, once to -14. The biggest down side is you will really go through propane. No matter how well made an RV is, it's nowhere near as well insulated as a house.

How you handle really cold weather has a great deal to do with how your RV is made. If it has insulated and heated holding tanks you can get by with less protection than if it was built for warm weather recreation.

In below freezing conditions, with heated tanks, it's easiest to fill your water tank and work off internal supply and then dump your holding tanks and then repeat the process. It's the exposed hoses that are most prone to freezing.

When traveling, there's no need to worry about freezing tanks.

Luvglass wrote:

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When traveling, there's no need to worry about freezing tanks.

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Actually, it will depend on how cold it is while travelling and how far you are going. I thought I was prepared for cold rolling and ran into a surprise while travelling in single digits over a period of several days. See long post above.

You're probably right, but the only long traveling I see myself doing when I'm in single digits - is heading SOUTH.

Which is what we're planning on doing just as soon as we finish this family visit in Milwaukee. After a summer in Alaska with 50-60 degree temps the entire time, we are definitely ready for some shorts and sandals weather.

Jeff,


That was excellent and very informative. I never plan on being
in the cold but really just wanted to say it gave me a lot to
think about whether or not I go into a really cold environment. It's people like you that save people like me a lot of mess ups.
I would rather learn from those like you than learn it on my own.

Thanks,

Thanks to H&L for having a decent place for all of us to learn and share ideas!

Jeff,

I couldn't agree more. There are bigger RV forums out there but I do not believe you will find any more knowledgeable people than right here and what's even better here is that everyone is extremely nice and no moderator is needed. That by itself should say enough about the people on this forum.

An excellent thread but I need more.  Starting in 2009, the wife and will start full-timing.  But I'm not retired and will move from job to job (my profession gives me that flexibility).  I won't be able to use the thermometer to tell me when it's time to relocate to warmer climes.  My rig will will be double-insulated, including its bottom, with thermopane windows and heated tanks.  The tanks, I presume but don't really know, are electrically heated.  This removes cold weather boondocking from my list of options.  How does extreme cold affect propane tanks and gas delivery systems?  How much snow weight can the rubber roof take?  Do I need to worry about the rig's tires?  Can the slide awnings take snow?  Without a ladder (no room to carry it), how do I remove snow accumulation?  (One job opportunity is for a full year in Buffalo.)  Keep those cards and letters a'comin'.