This is the first time I visited your blog. I am so sorry that Jenny was diagnosed with cancer. We have 2 older dogs and we just never know what lies ahead.

I am originally from SW MI and still have family there. It looks like you have done your research. We have never did temps that low. We were in NC where we encountered an ice storm which coated the side of the trailer that had the door and it froze shut but luckily that day the sun came out. I'm guessing you'll get the larger propane tank and have it filled at the site which does save money if you can do that.

Well, last year both of our dogs got heavier coats then ever and you could barely see the chow mix's face through all the fur and we had the coldest winter ever. This year, both dogs still have very sparse hair for October so just maybe we will have an easier winter this year. Their coats have been pretty good at predicting what is ahead. I just kept watching last year in horror as they became balls of fluff!

All of our best and you'll be in our thoughts and prayers.

Jim, sorry to here about Jenny. We have two old ones with us as well.

Red

Concerning you winter camping-
Take a heavy 10 or 12 gauge extension cord like this www.amazon.com/Coleman-Cable-Outdoor-Extension-Lighted/dp/B000A3I3GA/ref=sr_1_28 and run it into your rv. It gives you another 15 amps for an electric heater or other appliance to run.

SnowGypsy,

We both went to Western Michigan University, so I am familiar with Cassopolis. Lots of snow there! Great place to test the winter limits of an RV!

Diana and Jim wrote:

---

We would, except the 15 amp outlet at the post is being used by our heated hose and by the campground's heated standpipe. Otherwise, great idea! We are going to put an oil filled electric heater under the trailer as a backup, and run it off of the 50 amp plug, adapting down to our 30 amp cord, then to a 15 amp standard plug. We actually were pretty toasty last night, after I finished the skirting.

---

 Just trying to get you more power for more electric heat so here's another idea. 

Your rig is 30amp and you're using the 50amp outlet reduced down to a standard cord for the heater underneath the RV.  That 50amp recepticle actually has 2- 50 amp leg for a total of 100amps.  Asking permission from the campground owner of course, why not have a small subpanel made or make it yourself with a 50amp plug and a 4 15amp breakers box that powers 2- 4 gang boxes.  That would give you plenty of power inside or outside for those days when its 35 degrees and your going to burn a ton of propane but don't need the furnace to heat the tanks.

Diana and Jim, have stayed at Woodchip CG several time over the past few years. Matter of fact lived about 4 miles from there for 25 years. Great area and camp ground. Have you checked with the managers about putting in a 120 gal. propane tank? It would be easier and cheaper than those 30 pounders.

When researching the option of setting a 120 gallon tank near your trailer, be sure and check the price differences.  We had one set in Oklahoma City when we lived there the three years on the Mobile Suites.  Our propane there ranged from around $3.50 to $3.90 per gallon to be delivered.  I think the company there wanted to charge us more because we would have a "smaller than normal" (for their business) tank.  By comparison, here at Mountaindale Cabins and RV Resort, there are roughly 20 to 25 of us that will winter in the RV park this year.  Our tank was set about a week or so ago and the price was $1.80 per gallon.

Terry

Nice thread. I've been going nuts trying to anticipate all-of-everything that I'll need for fulltiming this winter. We're south of Milwaukee. Our 5er, a Dutchmen Infinity is "advertised" as having an Arctic package but a serious, crawl-into-everything inspection shows no insulation. "Radiant Barrier Technology" is plasticized aluminum foil above the corrugated plastic belly pan. I wonder which Arctic they're thinking of?

I dropped the belly pan and placed 2 inches of foam core along the inside of the I-beams and under the entire rig. Under the tanks, I put 3 inches of fiberglass R6.7 matt. I used spray-foam to fill all frame holes (keeps out bugs and varmints too). This is a 50A unit so I had the "Cheapheat" system installed which makes the furnace dual-mode, LP or electric. Works great except that the furnace fan doesn't have the uumph to push air through the ductwork to the rear of the trailer. I will add a 240CFM, in-line, 12V fan to avoid that 20 degree differential between the front thermostat (thinking that it's toasty-warm) and the rear-living sofa where our teeth chatter.

Ann-Hank, We love our Eva Drys....we have 2 and they work great and are nice and quite!

BigBoomer,

Great pics! That looks like our winter last year! I was working in Holland, MI last year and they had 151 inches of snow for the season. I noticed your slide toppers with snow weighing them down. How did they fare?

She is sticking to us like glue, so she must know something is up.  It was 76 degrees here today, so she got two tongue-flying, head-out-the-window rides in the Ford today!

 

Speaking of temps, an update on the winter subject:  we had a low of 36 the other night, just after I finished the skirting.  The temperature below the trailer never got below 52 degrees.  I'll take that!

Well, once you get some deep snow around the skirting, that will help insulate as will some on the roof. I'm guessing your roof will do fairly well with a snowload and I'm not following closely but I'm guessing you have a plan to remove the snow if it becomes excessive? Two thumbs up for your prep! Looks like you are right on the mark and, by the way, the dogs coats are still thin here and the squirrels aren't all fluffy either! Hoping for the best and preparing for the worse? You seem to have that covered.

Diana and Jim wrote:

---

Well, after 120 inches of snow here last year, we aren't taking any chances. We didn't have any issues with the snow load on the roof last year, but we also didn't have heat in the RV. I really don't want to climb up there. Any suggestions?

Jim (and Diana)

---

 Well, now.  That one is a plumb simple solution.

Send Diana up instead.

Seriously, I guess you'll have to wait and see if enough heat gets through the roof to melt off some of the snow.  Other than that, I'd have no idea.  This will be our first winter in an area where more snow can occur (Colorado instead of Oklahoma), so I guess I'll be learning right along with you.

Terry

Terry, Diana is the supervisor and she has designated that to be a 'blue job'. :)

Seriously though, melting run off is what normally happens up there. My concern this year is ice buildup. Also, having the roof vents covered by snow could be an issue. I was thinking of extending those somehow.

CJSX, we are not mothball fans, as we can't take the odor, but we are concerned about mice. Bales of hay will call critters; there actually is a lot written on that subject on the web. The foam board seems to be doing the job. We are liking the sticky traps and Altoid mint trick we've read about, but we are concerned that might actually call them. I buried the foam board in the sand on everything behind the wheels, but everything forward is fairly hard gravel. I am considering shooting expanding foam along the edge. I did pile any gravel I could along it.

Jim (and Diana)

We were never in deep snow. With the mice, it has been our experience in both RV and S/B that they usually move in when it first gets cold, find a spot and stay there rather than continue to migrate around in the cold. We use the sticky traps and those little stainless steel box ones (live catch). No mice yet this year so maybe another sign of an easier winter.

As to snow on the roof..

I used to sell rolls of heating cable.... usually expensive. liquidated a Hussman warehouse..

Could be a option.

If interested, look up Southwest Liquidation on ebay.. find the item you want, send them a offer, to Mick, tell'em Steve asked to hook you up.. That is the business I recently sold..
We had big rolls and rolls of the stuff.

 

Looks like only 240v left.. pretty sure he'll let this stuff go for $20

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Raychem-H621050-50FT-WinterGard-Plus-6-Watt-240V-Heat-Cable-/301084891553

-- Edited by The Junkman on Thursday 6th of November 2014 08:45:00 AM

That's for sure. We usually head out to Grand Haven to see the ice piles on Lake Michigan. Most years, you can see open water. Not this last year. We expected to see polar bears coming in off the ice! Solid white as far as the eye could see.

On the mice: I was at Home Depot today and purchased some Great Stuff expandable foam, made especially to repel pests. It has some sort of bitter ingredient in it to keep them from eating it. I am going to spray the perimeter tomorrow and see what happens.

Jim (and Diana)

According to the weather man, looks like your going to get to see how your set-up works. Be mindful of the interior condensation, even if you have to open a vent and turn on a fan.
Stay warm and let us know how it goes!

Thanks, Alie and Jim! It sure does sound like the cold is on its way! We will let you know how the condensation battle goes.

Jim (and Diana)

Thanks, Jessica. That's good news about the vents. I have a step ladder that is 8 feet tall that I am going to try to keep the slide toppers cleaned off with. The bedroom slide is now encased in foam board (topper and all), as it was sweating so bad. That problem is solved. I also put partially inflated beach balls under the remaining toppers, so they are a little higher than level. We will see how that works out.

Jim (and Diana)

That was in the Upper Penninsula. That is a snow flurry to them!

We had 3 or 4 inches of snow here. Everything is fine, but we are still working on the moisture issues. We have a 2200 Eva Dry on the way to supplement our efforts. Other than that, we are fairly comfortable.

Jim

-- Edited by Diana and Jim on Thursday 13th of November 2014 07:28:53 PM

Thanks, Cathy! As soon as we get it and get some results, we will let you know. The Eva Dry Petite we have is working as advertised, but it is really too small for a 5th wheel. We also purchased 4 of the Eva Dry 550's for the cabinets, which seem to be doing nothing. We are still debating how to get a cord inside from the 50 amp plug outside (see Alie and Jim's reply early on), as we can't move the slides with the skirting attached. One more electric heater with it's dry heat would really help. I did notice yesterday that the humidity under the rig was high, so I kicked on the heater that I put down there (oil filled radiator type electric). It is just on 'low', so it just has raised the temp a couple degrees. Humidity down there has remained steady. I have no idea if it is possible for that humidity to find its way inside or not. At this point, we are just experimenting. Until we come up with a solution, we will continue to keep Bounty in business and dry out the cabinets daily.

Jim

-- Edited by Diana and Jim on Friday 14th of November 2014 04:32:07 AM

Yes, Damp Rid seemed to do nothing...but that is all relative.  It could be worse if we didn't have anything there.  With that being said, I may have been premature on my review of the 550's.  I put one in a very wet spot on our desk in one of our slides, and it is dry this AM!  We really are hoping that the 2200 will be the turning point.  The cabinet corners were damp this AM, but not dripping wet like before.

Another thought is that when we had a cat and a litter box in the basement of our house, it does absorb moisture and keeps a musty smell away and isn't very expensive so it might be a benefit under the trailer or maybe not. One of the issues is that weather and conditions are so different that what works for one doesn't for another. We have been in the driest and wettest of environments and it is two different worlds with lots of in-between conditions out there.