RE: Adding heat pads to waste tanks
I added pads on last trailer. Google Ultraheat. Washed tank bottoms, peeled off paper from pad, stuck on pad. Ok, under half an hour gone. Now wire it up via fuse and switch, hummmm. That took several hours. Worked great for years and still working when traded TT 7 years later.
As I recall it needed to be warm to install pads, hope you have a heated location. Ask Ultraheat about minimum apply temps.
One more point, if you have long dump pipes between valves and tanks, may need pipe heaters also from same people.
RE: my first travel trailer ???
Make storm windows either using the shrink plastic temporary kits you can find in building supply stores or have plexi-glass cut to fit and a foam seal again from a building supply store and hold them in place with mirror fasteners. I have usedReflectix to line the trunk area and all other hidden storage areas on outside walls including the backs of closets. It's easy to cut to fit and staple or hot glue in place. Your supply and waste tanks are another matter. Not knowing if your trailer is equipped with an enclosed and insulated underbelly or heated tanks, check outUltraheat . For skirting, foam insulation boards glued to some exterior plywood and cut to fit and held in place with stakes (suggest re-bar). And in low temps as you experience, a small heater with a thermostat underneath. JMHO
p.s. A bulk propane tank with a connection like THIS.
RE: Fresh Water Holding tank in Winter ?
I just found out that the Arctic Pack that is in our MH only heats the Gray/Black tank. It does nothing for the Fresh water tank. Fresh water tank actually sits over our propane tank under the floor in living area. Anytime we have been camping and the temps are going to be under 32 the campground always tells you to put water in your holding tank and disconnect your water line. Now if you are camping and it is 32 degrees you would more than likely have your heat on and I guess that would protect your fresh water holding tank. We leave next Tuesday to head south and I wanted to put 1/2 a tank of fresh water in tank but not turn water pump on since water lines in MH have been blown out so I don't want to run water through them till we are in warmer temps.
How do you keep the holding tank from freezing when temps are 18 - 20 degrees other than running furnace? I guess I'll have to wait till just before we leave to put any water in tank or wait till we get south. I just find it strange that they sell you the arctic package and do nothing to keep fresh water holding tank protected.????
If you do have the "Arctic Pack", I would be surprised if the freshwater tank is not protected somehow by possibly running the furnace. If you want to be sure and add extra protection then heating pads would be the way to go. Here are some sites that sell 12v/110 powered pads. http://www.ultraheat.com/ and here http://www.dyersonline.com/c-148-holding-tank-accessories.aspx:)
In addition, I agree with others to not add water to the tank until the day you leave.
RE: Camping in the Cold
IMO it is a lousy idea. If your waste tanks fill, you can get a flood, some folks reportedly have. If you leave waste valves open, you can still get a flood if/when hose freezes.
Why not use antifreeze, the RV kind NOT the kind for cars which is poisonous, for your plumbing if you can not leave furnace or electric heater on inside?
Or, if you will be staying in the RV, just keep the heat on so you, AND pipes, don't freeze. Then only 3 issues to worry about.
1) Fresh water, is tank inside where it is heated? Some idiot manufacturers put it outside. If it is inside, your fine if RV heated, if outside just drain and use bottled water. Note you can fill water tank during day, but disconnect and drain water hose at nite to avoid it freezing. Onboard pump will supply water.
2) Gray tank. Is it heated? If so, just turn on heat pad. If not, use a dish drainer to catch sink water, and do not use shower. Empty dish drainer in toilet.
3) Black tank. Is it heated? If so, just turn on heat pad. If not, empty each evening and drain sewer hose. Minimal use of toilet at night will be fine. If you plan on doing this much, get heat pads on waste tanks (Google UltraHeat).
Hope this helps. Have fun.
RE: Weekend Warrior LE 3305
You will have to do a few mods to deal with the cold weather if you use in freezing temps. As i sit here atop my poopsickle in colorado awaiting my ultraheat pads to arrive...
biggest issue is actually the fresh water pull from the underside of the tank, freezes up fast.
I do love this trailer though..\
Thanks for the heads up. We will only have it for one winter up here in Alaska, we will move summer '09 to Missouri. Now, we winterize in about October and put it in storage. I teach so not much time to use it in the winter.
RE: Weekend Warrior LE 3305
You will have to do a few mods to deal with the cold weather if you use in freezing temps. As i sit here atop my poopsickle in colorado awaiting my ultraheat pads to arrive...
biggest issue is actually the fresh water pull from the underside of the tank, freezes up fast.
I do love this trailer though..
RE: Winter use of TT
Being familiar with the Boone area you would be well advised to use the Ultra-Heat tank pads and pipe wraps to prevent serious problems (IMHO, I would add additional insulation while installing the heat pads). Check with the web site for the wiring requirements and power consumption. From what I've read most cut foam insulation panels to fit up against the bottom of the trailer and use the hay bales to hold them in place (idea is to seal it up and prevent air flow under the trailer.) Depending upon the extreme conditions, some put a small heater under the trailer.
RE: Skirting TT for Winter usage
Fyi, if anyone is still following this thread. We moved to Tulsa and have been setup for a week now. We purchased skirting for a mobile home and cut it to fit before leaving for Tulsa.
The second night temps dropped to 22 degrees outside and we were comfortable inside. We have used one 35lb tank of propane in one week with the thermostat varied between 67 - 70 depending on whether we were sleeping or not.
We've had no issues with freezing or abnormally low temperatures under cabinets or in other areas with water lines.
I put UltraHeat tank heaters on my grey and black tanks and elbow heaters on the lines to the drain valves and one fresh water heater on the exposed drain/winterizing lines under the trailer.
The only issue we've had is moisture on a couple of windows pooling, but we bought some sponges and will check them every couple of days.
Other than the cramped space we have been very comfortable, I think proper planning and equipment has made everything work quite well even though we do not have a true four season trailer.
RE: RV Holding Tank Heaters
Has anyone used the RV HOLDING TANK HEATERS (e.g.;ULTRAHEAT TANK/PIPE/ELBOW HEATERS) that you can buy and install for cold weather? They are pricey, so I need to know how well they work, how many I would need for fresh tank(25 glls.), gray tank (30 glls), and black tank (30 glls.).
Thanks,
Phyllis
The tank pads are available in different sizes (depending on tank size). I would recommend one tank pad for each holding tank, elbow heaters at the dump valves, and a pipe heater for each drain line leading to the dump valve. Warm holding tank is not much good if dump valve is frozen. Ultra Heat Inc. web site has pictures of where they should be installed.
My Flagstaff came with this set up. It works very well
PS: I started buying tank heating equipment for my last trailer and then traded it before I got all the necessary heaters and installing them. I have two Ultra Heat model 3600 tank pads (rated up to 40 gal) still in unopened packages. Current price from Ultra Heat is 128.75 each (plus tax and shipping). I've been thinking about selling them on eBay. Would you like to make me an offer I can't refuse?
There is one (not mine) on eBay now. Auction ends today.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ULTRA-HEAT-RV-HOLDING-TANK-HEATER-MIP_W0QQitemZ180187713704QQihZ008QQcategoryZ50069QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
RE: RV Holding Tank Heaters
My Ultraheat system was standard equipment on my Rockwood so we didn't add it ourselves but REALLY like the system. It's so much more convenient that using the furnace to heat the tanks. I didn't even winterize last winter since we were planning on leaving for Texas after the 1st of the year so we just turned on the tank heaters and drained the water heater. I'd recommend them for anyone who is camping or especially who TOWS in sub freezing weather.
Your heaters will work BEST with an enclosed and insulated underbelly but I've seen them on open tanks also. Good luck / Skip
EDIT: Forgot the water heater question. If your water heater is turned on it will keep the water from freezing so no problem using the water heater. If you're asking because of electrical load, the tank heaters do not have a HUGE draw even when using both systems. On the 120 volt side my tank heaters are thermostat controlled and can not be turned off. On the 12 volt side, there is a switch right next to the water heater LP switch.
RV Holding Tank Heaters
Has anyone used the RV HOLDING TANK HEATERS (e.g.;ULTRAHEAT TANK/PIPE/ELBOW HEATERS) that you can buy and install for cold weather? They are pricey, so I need to know how well they work, how many I would need for fresh tank(25 glls.), gray tank (30 glls), and black tank (30 glls.). Can I use WH if holding tanks heated? How hard are the heaters to install and are they reusable for future winter seasons? I have a Flagstaff 21FB TT and would like to have full access during the winter, but am concerned about water/waste tanks/systems freezing. I will have TT connected to AC electricity from my house so can keep furnace and/or ceramic heaters running.
Are there any resources describing how to insulate under/around TT and/or issues r/t winter useage?
Thanks,
Phyllis
RE: Taking new 4 season TT our in to the teens temperature.
Has anyone used the RV HOLDING TANK HEATERS (e.g.;ULTRAHEAT TANK/PIPE/ELBOW HEATERS) that you can buy and install for cold weather? They are pricey, so I need to know how well they work, how many I would need for fresh tank(25 glls.), gray tank (30 glls), and black tank (30 glls.). Can I use WH if holding tanks heated? How hard are the heaters to install and are they reusable for future winter seasons? I have a Flagstaff 21FB TT and would like to have full access during the winter, but am concerned about water/waste tanks/systems freezing. I will have TT connected to AC electricity from my house so can keep furnace and/or ceramic heaters running.
Are there any resources describing how to insulate under/around TT and/or issues r/t winter useage?
Thanks,
Phyllis
RE: Traveling in winter - with or without water?
If you do tow with fresh water (we do) you might try this, assuming freshwater tank is INSIDE. Before leaving use furnace to get inside up to 70 degrees, with doors open blocking pipe access. Also run water heater for 15 minutes. Now turn stuff off, close up, and go. If day is real cold, stop for lunch and redo above. When you stop for nite, redo above (which you would do anyway).
Our waste tanks are both heated, so we can travel with them on, I think, but we do not. Small amount from potty stops should not be an issue. While parked at night we turn on waste tank heaters so we can dump come morning before we leave. Note if you have long pipes that are unheated between waste tanks and valves you may freeze pipes. Look at Ultraheat web site for solution, but needs to be above 50? to put on their pads.
Has worked for us down to 20 degrees F with no issues.
RE: Any experiences with "Thermostatic Tape"?
Thanks, Woody, and Thanks, Chuck. I appreciate the feedback. An additional search on the site under ultraheat (which maybe I should have done first) confirms this as well. Much appreciated.
RE: Any experiences with "Thermostatic Tape"?
Ultraheat makes good stuff, and will help if you call/email them. They make elbow and pipe heaters for RV's for just what you had happen. Nice folks.
Oops, I forgot to add that they are NOT thermostatically controlled. Tank heaters are, but not pipe or elbow heaters.
Any experiences with "Thermostatic Tape"?
We spent Thanksgiving weekend in Breckenridge and a great time was had by 3 generations. It included Thanksgiving dinner, and an introduction to skiing for our 3 yo.
An unfortunate by-product of the weekend was our waste tank valves freezing up with temperatures that reached as low as -7 degrees on one evening. We spent the last 18 hours hoofing it to the community center which was a bit unfortunate, but welcome alternative. We ended up with what we fondly called a "poopsicle"!
I've tried to do some research, and I've found something called "Thermostatic Tape" that heats pipes via electric current. When it goes below freezing, you flip the switch and supposedly no problems with freezing.
We only camp with full hookups for this time of year, so we are hooked into a 30amp connection. I would not expect to encounter temperatures much colder than we did, the average for Nov and Mar (when we hope to do this in the future) are 30-ish high's and low-teen's low's.
Does anyone have any experiences with this? It will probably be a couple of hundred dollar investment and I just want to make sure it will work.
Here is one example I found. My tanks are enclosed with ducted heating, so I think this would be all I need:
http://www.ultraheat.com/pipe_heaters.html
All thoughts are much appreciated, and thanks in advance!
