Besides the above the Reflectix can also be used on the outside between the bottom of your 5er and the ground to keep the wind from blowing underneath the RV...I would also suggest contacting a local propane company and renting from them a 100# propane bottle and setting up a regular schedule where they will come back and refill as needed...
Electric heaters do help but make sure you keep your furnace on from 38F degrees and lower to keep your basement from freezing...
Quote: Temperatures in summer (particularly in July) can reach 80°F (25ºC); while winter lows can hit 36°F (2°C), particularly in January, which is the coldest month.
Ummm, this ain't "cold", I wear shorts and a sweatshirt around in this.
Outside of insulating the rig for some drafts, using Relfectix in strategic spots, maybe some window insulating tricks I wouldn't really worry about these temps much at all.
I camp for a week at -20C/4F in a R9/7 rig with a basic forced air heated enclosed underbelly using all my tanks with no issues what so ever.
If you have decent electrical hook up the use of 120VAC electric heaters will save you a whack of propane while keeping the inside of the rig nice and dry as well as avoiding the noisy furnace fan.
I was in Frankfort KY. at Elkhorn campground till Middle of Jan last year.
I bought a 100 dollars od 1/2 inch black fiber board for 7 bucks a board and som 1x2. Skirted the whole underside. The park supplyed 2 100 lb tanks. Never froze up. My neighbor did and he skirted his with a tarp cut and taped to his camper.
Ron
2008 keystone Everest 345s re
2002 F350 4x4 7.3 diesel crew cab dually. 135,000 miles extra leafs.
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Keep it toasty and you should be good to 25 and maybe less. I added tank and pipe heaters to my fully exposed waste system and fresh water tank. I have been as low as 0F with minor freezing issues.
I'm thinking condensation will be your greatest enemy. We often winter camp and humidity will build up on walls and windows if there isn't a way for it to release from the interior.
We've camped in a 3 season RV in temps to -40. Yes, minus 40.
Used rigid styrofoam insulation cut to snug fit into the window frames.
Didn't have a heated basement so used area carpets to help insulate the floor.
We let the black and grey tanks freeze, but tried to use other facilities whenever possible since there wasn't the option to dump a frozen tank!
The water pump was inside the RV but still would get slushy on the coldest of nights. A handwarmer placed on it and wrapped in fleece kept it working well.
The propane regulator would freeze on occasion, due to humidity inside the propane tank. Having the propane tank purged with methyl hydrate resolved that issue.
Having a couple of dogs to sleep with helped too! They're warm
sue t.
Pictures from our manyRV Adventures to Yukon & Alaska
Travelling with either the 25' fifth wheel or the 8' truck camper.
i "wintered" over in my 1996 32 ft 5th wheel twice soemtimes down to 9 degrees
couple things i did
i used an electric oil heater in the living area and a small ceramic heater up in the bathroom bedroom area
dont leave the valves for you tanks open or all you will end up with is frozen sewer pipe...only dump when necessary and hand walk the pipe to make sure you get as much moisture/water out of it as you can then reclose the valves
i went to lowes and got an electric heat strip a little longer than the hose pipe and taped it to the pipe and then insulaterd the whole thing with the black pipe insulation stuff....i then went over all that with silver tape for weatherazation,,, when you hook up this water pipe, make sure you insulate the part of the camps water supply from the ground up to and around the the spigot as well...was nice to have water all the time
with my 5th wheel being 30 amp, i cheated a sturdy drop cord by the slide and used it off the 15 amp plug on the power pole to run the front oil heater and a small electric convection oven/hot plates etc
i tried to ultiiize everything off of electric if i could since it wa s included in the camp ground fees, though i did leave my propane heat set on 45 or so in case a breaker popped
best learning is through experience and boy did i learn
Why use a hose for water? You are going to be in one place for a long time! Build the water supply line out of hard copper tubing, install heat tape on it (follow the directions that come with the tape), and wrap it with pipe insulation, either fiberglass or foam. If you aren't sure you have the soldering skills necessary, a local plumbing shop would be glad to do it for you. The job should take an experienced person less than 2 hours.
We spent two Montana winters in RVs, once in a 32 foot Class A, and once in a 32 foot fifth wheel, and that's what I did both times.
I also:
Rented an 80 gallon propane tank from a local distributor. They placed it on site, hooked it up, and kept it full all winter.
Left the gray water valve open all the time. We never had a problem with the sewer hose freezing, and since we were in a mobile home space, the hose was almost 40 feet long! We opened the black valve only when the tank was full.
We used one small ceramic disc electric heater for extra heat when showering. Since we were in a mobile home site, we had to sign up for and pay all utilities.
I don't recall that it ever got colder than 20 below zero, F.
"Wintering over" CAN be done. It HAS been done, many times, by many people. IMO, the biggest requirement is to THINK, and PLAN AHEAD.
For instance, keeping the pipes from freezing requires that the furnace be running in many RVs. If you use electric heaters for most of your heat, the furnace will not run. Repairing the frozen pipes will likely cost more than the propane to run the furnace would have!
THINK and PLAN AHEAD!
Good luck.
CM1, USN (RET)
2002 Fleetwood Southwind 32V, Ford V10
Toad: 2006 Jeep Rubicon LJ
Other toad: '06 PT Cruiser, Kar Kaddy dolly
Toy: 1977 Dodge W100 CC SWB, 3/4 ton axles & springs
"When seconds count, help is only minutes away!"
mowermech wrote: If you use electric heaters for most of your heat, the furnace will not run. Repairing the frozen pipes will likely cost more than the propane to run the furnace would have!
THINK and PLAN AHEAD!
Good luck.
PEX takes an enormous amount of pressure to burst and 9.9/10 when anything in the water lines in an RV burst due to water freezing it's fittings/connectors and pumps not the PEX itself. The area the OP is in does NOT get a hard freeze from what I see so running the furnace occasionally if the underbelly is covered and insulated with tanks will be a non issue.
Also of note if you care to bother you can buy electrically heated pads 120VAC/12VDC to warm the tanks automatically. Remember the belly of the camper and the tanks only have to be kept above 0C/32F not to freeze.
One other thing to do, CAREFULLY, is to put 2-3 100w bulbs under your FW, inside the skirting. Try and do this right near the tanks, to help keep them warm.
Lyle
2002 GMC Sierra 2500 HD Duramax Crew Cab 4x4
Banks Bullet Tuner and Monster Exhaust
B&W Turnover Ball with 5th Wheel Companion
2004 Komfort 25FSG Fifth Wheel
1936 John Deere Model A
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