Full timing in a winter climate??? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

debclements · RV-Dreams Community Member

Full timing in a winter climate???

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

We've never wintered, but have spent 2-3 weeks at a time in constant below freezing weather without undo hardship.

I think the key is a well insulated RV with dual pane windows and some type of auxiliary heating. We use 2 Honeywell electric heaters. We have never experienced any condensation inside and have been as low as -14.

Be prepared to go through propane. We were using a 30# tank ever 2 days or so. Neighbors who were there for the winter had 100# tanks delivered. They also installed insulated skirting around the base of the rig to minimize wind chill.

I'm sure many others with more experience will chime in.

Why Colorado? There are many more temperate states.

-- Edited by Luvglass on Saturday 15th of May 2010 04:31:01 PM

Colorado_Kid · RV-Dreams Family Member

I don't know about fulltiming in an RV in the winter but I know about winters in Colorado. Where at in Colorado do you want to go?

debclements · RV-Dreams Community Member

Colorado Springs...

Tell me all you know please!

Colorado_Kid · RV-Dreams Family Member

Colorado Springs isn't as bad as people think although they do get there winter weather. Nights will be below freezing (average in the teens)with days just above freezing and even reaching the 40's. It does snow and will get about 50 inches a year. That is not to say that you will never have cold snaps of temperatures around zero with high winds and heavy snow so if you go it is best to pbe prepared. Colorado Springs is not in the Rocky Mountains but is just East of the mountains. If you go into the Rockies then winter can get nasty.

dream reachers · RV-Dreams Family Member

I agree with what Fred said and I would add to make sure your trailer has enclosed heated tanks, black,grey, and fresh and heated basement. Open vents when you shower or cook to eliminate some moisture. Home depot or Lowes sell Damp-Rid which you can put in your closet, and the void under the mattress on the slide at the head of the bed where moisture seems to accuulate and is exposed to an outsid wall. Heat trace and insulate your outside water hose. Don't leave your black or grey water tank valve open (you can open your grey if above freezing) . Even with double pane windows you can loose warm air if it stays below freezing for long. I taped aluminum bubble wrap insulation over some of my windows which helped,( the ones that opened ) I also put some in my fan vents inside when not in use. Leaving cabinet doors open partially under sink can help protect pipes. If you loose heat in trailer for a long period of time make sure you drain water lines. Like Fred we used electric heaters. Some people use cataletic or blue flame heaters but you need to keep a window cracked open for that. Run your furnace if below freezing , not just electric heaters, you need to keep the basement heated to keep pipes from freezing.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

While it may be true on the 28k btu furnaces on some RV's, there are also a number with 42k as well. So, not all are such small units. Our fifth wheel has a "Canadian" package that includes 2 30,000btu furnaces. One for front and one for the back. In addition to supplemental electric heaters, some units have fireplaces (sorry, they are electric) that also will generate heat.

We have never stayed in freezing weather, but from what I've gleaned from three different forum websites over the last couple of years, I would also suggest looking at the bottoms of the slides to look for areas where drafts can get into the RV. You many need to find something like foam tubes to put into places where a draft can enter. Just make sure that you create a setup/takedown checklist that includes taking them out before bringing in your slides.

Be careful to NOT make your RV "air-tight". That could lead to carbon monoxide problems, not to mention a gas leak.

If you are going to be in an area for a long period of time, see if you can find a propane vendor in the area that will provide a larger tank that is external of your RV. For instance, Jo and I will be static full-timing in the Oklahoma City area for some time (think years), and we are looking at both an RV park and some mobile home parks. I know that in the mobile home parks, there shouldn't be any problem with having a tank supplied and filled when needed by the propane supplier. It will only require getting an extension propane line to go from the external tank to your RV propane regulator. It is likely that the propane supplier can help with that as well.

At the moment, I am having problems with my desktop computer, but after I get it back up and running, I have a couple of articles written by folks that have full-timed in cold climates. Once I get them, I'll private message you and pass them on to you. I found them my searching with a search engine.

Good luck in your efforts and your plans.

Terry

debclements · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks to all your replies....I appreciate the wisdom.

And Terry I will look forward to reading those articles!

Deb
NE Indiana

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Deb,

Just to get you started, I used my laptop (not the computer where those articles reside) and searched out some source material for you. Check out the links below. While I didn't peruse any of them with great detail, they all have information that give you something to consider and perhaps follow up with in conversations with other RV'ers.

The one to rv live and travel.com has a number of online links that you can check, not all of which are related to cold weather living.

Terry

http://www.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/skp.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_2097799_cold-weather-camp-rv.html

http://reviews.ebay.com/Your-RV-Series-Full-Time-amp-Cold-Weather-RV-Living_W0QQugidZ10000000009139563

http://www.rv-life-and-travel.com/winter-rving.html

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Monday 17th of May 2010 07:24:22 PM

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

Might come in handy...

http://rvskirting.com/

-- Edited by NorCal Dan on Monday 17th of May 2010 10:50:15 PM

ali1257 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Hi there Deb

We have lived full time in our '86 Class A Sportscoach and made it through 3 winters in Western WA and traveling to Idaho, Montana and Utah. We do not have slides. We do put insulation on the hoses outside and leave a tap dripping in the bathtub on nights when it is below freezing. We have only had a couple of times where we had frozen pipes. Hubby thawed them just fine (he is a plumber by trade). We use an electric heater either in the front or rear but not both at the same time. We also use our furnace to keep inside temps at 65' during the day and 55' at night. We like it chilly when we sleep.

Because our motor home is older we do not have double paned windows nor do we have anything lining them. Any time the sun is shining I have the blinds open. We have done just fine. I think you will do fine too.

Mallo · RV-Dreams Family Member

We've spent a lot of time in cold weather (Feb in Boston) and had no issues our Hitchhiker isn't top of the line as far as artic packages nor does it have double paned windows but we were happy.

We did burn off propane fairly quickly but we didn't have a skirt around the unit either we find a ceramic heater inside the rig helps cut down the amount of time the propane furnace has to run that said you need to run the propane furnace a minimum amount of time in order to keep the tanks warm.

Mallo

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

As a native born and raised Coloradon I see no reason to submit yourself to a Colorado winter unless you have a job prospect that is very good.Rent in most parts of Colorado is relativly reasonable and you can live in a nice warm apartment for the same money.Colorado winters can be mild and doable but they can also be brutal. Our whole purpose of full timing was to gew AWAY from cold climates. On average a 30 lb bottle of propane is $ 20.00 to $ 25.00 and if it is cold you will use a bottle every two or 3 days even using electric heaters.If you are paying monthly for your RV space to save money then you usually pay electric on top of that rate.Looks to me it could be pretty expensive.I'm not trying to talk you out of it just thought you need to see as Paul Harvey used to say "The rest of the story"

Cindy T · RV-Dreams Family Member

Karen,

My husband & I are fulltime & we did spend last winter in Denver. In the coldest months, our electric bill was around $200 or a little more. We did skirt the RV & insulated the sewer & water lines. We had some problems w/the furnace so we were often just using the fireplace & electric heaters. We did use propane after we got the furnace working, but I don't have the propane receipts handy. We are FTing in a Mobile Suites.

-- Edited by Cindy T on Friday 20th of July 2012 06:51:55 PM

Workinrvers · RV-Dreams Family Member

Karen,

We also spent 2 winters (2009 and 2010) in Central Indiana in our 5th wheel. Stayed at the KOA in Crawfordsville. We wrapped the hose with heat tape and insulation, used a pvc pipe instead of the plastic hose for the sewer and borrowed a 100lb LP tank from the park to use.

We went through the 100lb tank in about 10 days during the colder months. The water never froze up and the using the pvc pipe let us get a good "down hill" drainage on the grey/black water so no water would pool in the hose to freeze.

We also had to pay the monthly electric which ran from $70 - $120 per month. We did use electric space heaters to supplement the furnace and that helped keep things warm inside.

All in all we were pretty comfortable and wouldn't hesitate to do it all again. In fact we are planning to be back around Christmas time for a week or two.

Phil

ps: our unit is not "4 season" but does have an enclosed/heated under belly. Without that freezing pipes would have been likely.

-- Edited by Workinrvers on Friday 20th of July 2012 04:13:28 PM

klhere4u · RV-Dreams Community Member

So Deb,

I hope you are still following this forum. I was wondering how wintering in Colorado went for you. I live in Indiana and we are seriously looking into purchasing a motorhome to live in full time. As of right now, we are going to have to stay put in Indiana because of work. What type of motorhome did you end up with and how did you survive the cold?

If anyone else has any insights I would love your input too.

Thanks,

Karen

Central Indiana

debclements · RV-Dreams Community Member

Hi Karen-

We actually did not end up wintering in Colorado...we did buy a 5th wheel and continue to live in it, but we are living in Southern Oregon. Job opportunities in Colorado did not open up for my husband so we headed further West...stopping in Cali for a couple of months and ending up in Oregon. We left Indiana last July...and I don't mind saying it has been a transition!! It seems to take about one year to 'settle'...at least for me.

We did stay in Colorado for a month at Mountaindale RV Resort which is a delightful place, but no cell phone reception.

Wintering in Southern Oregon is not a hardship at all. We rarely get snow, but it does get cold. We may skirt the outside this year just to see if it helps on the propane bill.

Keep us posted on your journey!

Deb

LandYachty · RV-Dreams Family Member

We spend two winter in the NC mountains. We were overseeing work at a closed RV park being renovated and had other paying work. (not for that we would have been out west!!) Rented 2 - 100# lb tanks, and had a ventless LP heater which we used more than the furnace. We rented from a landscaper bales of straw around the fifth wheel. With the enclosed under belly, and a 100 watt light under the rig we had no problems. We wrapped the water hose and faucet bib with heat tap and insulation. Had two CO2 monitors working for safety inside. Don't want to do it again, but would if we had to.

jjhoyle · RV-Dreams Community Member

We have spent two wintersin eastern Oregon, low temp was in the 5 to 10 degree rannge. We have a Americana 35 ' fifthwheel. The park where we volunteered provided F H S, and provided propane. With that we went through a 7 gallon 30 pound propane bottle every three days. Suplementing with electric heaters. We put a barrier around the skirting of the trailer to stop wind from blowing under the rig. We also put insulation and heat tape in the water hose( it never froze on us). We enjoyed the challenges of the cold environment but now try to stay in warmer climets in the winter.

shontobear · RV-Dreams Community Member

My wife and I are planning on getting a fifth wheel and moving to Soldotna, AK. I plan on installing a quadra fire castile pellet stove when we get there to heat the rv during the winter as we will be living in it year round until we can find a house that we like. I also heard that you can use bales of hay under the trailer to insulate it? Has anyone else used hay bales as well as skirting. The fifth wheel we are looking at is not really an "artic" type, but I am thinking that with a pellet stove going all day it should not be a problem. Any thoughts on this.

Diana and Jim · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have heard that hay and straw attract rodents. We used 3/4" foil-faced foam board in Michigan, along with a small oil filled electric radiator type heater. The lowest it got under our rig was 35 degrees, and that was when it was 25 below zero outside.