Coachman Dave
Beautiful Eastern Iowa
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Joined: 02/01/2009
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My brother and I are going to try something new this winter. I park my rig outdoors for the winter. It just sits there, but is near an electrical outlet. We were thinking of making a visit to my rig during the deep, dark and cold Iowa winter and staying a few nights.
It is winterized, so using water is out of the question. I was thinking if I plugged it in, we could use a space heater and keep halfway warm. We thought we could use the stove and oven to cook and make coffee.
We are excited about using the trailer because we usually just sit during the winter and dream of camping in the spring.
If any of you with more knowledge than me (and that is most all of you) could tell me if this is a good idea, I would appreciate it. My battery will be not be on the rig and I was wondering if I would be OK with running the electricity without the battery being on the rig. I don't much understand that converter/12 volt battery stuff.
Just don't want to burn up my rig.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Dave
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YC 1
Yuba City Calif.
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Normally you should be ok without a battery if you are very careful about protecting the battery cable positive from shorting to the chassis. Heck, take the battery with you and let the rv give it a good charge.
In the past we have made skirts for the bottom of our rv out of tarps. It can be a bit of a pain but it really helps hold the heat in. Open cabinets a bit to let the air fill those areas too.
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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MOST modern converters will work just fine with no battery in place. Another option would be to leave the battery in the trailer and just remove the negative lead when NOT using the trailer (in case yours needs the battery). Some need the battery to "condition" the power (whatever that means). Instead of trying to stay warm with a space heater there would also be nothing wrong with firing up the furnace to stay NICE and toasty.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Hi Coachman Dave,
Add a porta potty to your list of items to take along.
Heating blankets are your friends 
When you arrive it will take some time for the trailer to warm up. I'd run a 1500 watt heater to assist the furnace. Initially I'd also run the burners on the stove top as a temporary "blue flame" heater.
If you don't have dual pane windows you may wish to cover some of them with thick blankets to cut down on heat loss.
I'm with the "leave the battery in place" crowd.
I routinely use my RV in extreme cold (so far as low as -37 C).
Keep warm and have fun!
Coachman Dave wrote:My brother and I are going to try something new this winter. I park my rig outdoors for the winter. It just sits there, but is near an electrical outlet. We were thinking of making a visit to my rig during the deep, dark and cold Iowa winter and staying a few nights.
It is winterized, so using water is out of the question. I was thinking if I plugged it in, we could use a space heater and keep halfway warm. We thought we could use the stove and oven to cook and make coffee.
We are excited about using the trailer because we usually just sit during the winter and dream of camping in the spring.
If any of you with more knowledge than me (and that is most all of you) could tell me if this is a good idea, I would appreciate it. My battery will be not be on the rig and I was wondering if I would be OK with running the electricity without the battery being on the rig. I don't much understand that converter/12 volt battery stuff.
Just don't want to burn up my rig.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Dave
Regards, Don
Kustom Koach Class C 28'5" 256 watts solar, 875 amp hours in two battery banks 12 volt batteries 2500 watt inverter.
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Coachman Dave
Beautiful Eastern Iowa
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Thanks to all. I am excited to camp in the cold. I usually pull the battery out of my rig during the winter due to it running down during the long, cold winters. I may just leave it in this winter and pull the negative cable off.
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mission mike
fraser valley b.c canada
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Joined: 09/09/2007
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hi we camp in the winter ,and its fun.here are a few tips that help us.we use a colman propane fast cat heater as well as the trailers heat .we leave a roof vent open 1/4.use baby wipes and take a 4gal jug of drinking water.use instant heat back patches down by your feet in bed .sleep together.also the lights in a trailer give off alot of heat.
mike
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another_newfie
Ontario
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Joined: 10/06/2008
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Well we are in exactly the same position as you. Here in Ontario there is a provincial park that has a winter program they term "on site storage" where you are able to park your rig on a specific campsite for the winter season (Nov-Apr). There is electicity on each site, but no water. Water is available from the campground comfort station.
In my particular case I am actually using the water system in my trailer (black side anyway), and I have prepared for this by installing tank heaters and insulating.
For heating, we use 2 1500W heaters which are able to keep the rig quite warm without any issue whatsoever.
Check out my signature for a link to a place where there is a wealth of information regarding this type of camping. See you out there!
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shum02
Burlington ON CDA
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another_newfie wrote:Well we are in exactly the same position as you. Here in Ontario there is a provincial park that has a winter program they term "on site storage" where you are able to park your rig on a specific campsite for the winter season (Nov-Apr). There is electicity on each site, but no water. Water is available from the campground comfort station.
Believe it or not I'm parked beside this guy  What the heck was I thinking!
Really using your rig through the winter is fantastic! It keeps the little voices in my head quiet if you know what I mean 
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LEN Retired
SW Michigan ( Two Paws )
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Joined: 02/24/2009
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Its alot of fun camping in cold weather, Last night I ran out of propane and the temp in the 5er was 45 at 6am and outdoors temp was 25. My doberman was rolled up into a ball on the foot of the bed so I threw a blanket on her. She didnt budge when I fired up the Honda genny.
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Rolling Condo
South Carolina
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another_newfie wrote:Well we are in exactly the same position as you. Here in Ontario there is a provincial park that has a winter program they term "on site storage" where you are able to park your rig on a specific campsite for the winter season (Nov-Apr). There is electicity on each site, but no water. Water is available from the campground comfort station.
In my particular case I am actually using the water system in my trailer (black side anyway), and I have prepared for this by installing tank heaters and insulating.
For heating, we use 2 1500W heaters which are able to keep the rig quite warm without any issue whatsoever.
Check out my signature for a link to a place where there is a wealth of information regarding this type of camping. See you out there!
For sure these guys are hard core about winter camping. I've got some good ideas from these knowledgeable folks.
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