bobfinch
Ma
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Looking for any advise on winter camping? I'm thinking about parking at a campground in NH during the winter next year.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Joined: 12/18/2004
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Hi Bob,
This may answer many of the questions:
Winter Camping
bobfinch wrote:Looking for any advise on winter camping? I'm thinking about parking at a campground in NH during the winter next year.
Regards, Don
Kustom Koach Class C 28'5" 256 watts Unisolar, 875 amp hours in two battery banks 12 volt batteries, 2500 MSW watt inverter.
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sowego
northwestern corner of the Nebraska panhandle
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Pianotuna's link to a write-up is top notch.
I can tell you from living our in our coach in cold country for 3 years--it is doable but as you can see from all that info--it takes a lot of work and dedication to details on a daily basis to be safe and warm.
You will indeed go through a lot of propane if that is the system you have...we used up almost 2 two hundred gallon residential size tankfulss in a winter! During the deepest cold spells (down to -25) the furnaces never shut off. The best plan is see if a local gas company can refill or deliver larger tanks when you need them.
In a dry winter climate all that furnace running without showers or hot water running in the sink on a daily basis dried the air out to below 20% so we had to run a cool spray table top humidifier 24/7. (we used the shower in my parents house) Even so the best we could hold was about 25%, quite low by humid zone standards and we did get some icing on the inside of all window glass and frames. It was a trade off to keep from having so much static and dry noses. In a humid climate a de-humidifier may be needed. The way to know...your nose, hair and static shock, amount of window fogging/icing will tell you when it's too dry or too damp. But, it's a good idea to also have a humidistat to double check. The icing is made worse by covering the glass with thick insulation material so on a daily basis the window covers need to be removed to let the ice thaw and keep wiping up the water. But, without covering the glass, with extreme cold &/or high winds outside it was impossible to keep the interior above 60 at sub-zero. When temps moderate a bit you can ease up on humidifying and window covering. We found slightly opening a vent was a bad idea at least for us--too much cold let in especially with wind and many times we had a 3 foot drift of snow on our roof!
We also made sure to cover our step well with a piece of plywood. The step well is about the coldest place in the coach so never leave shoes, especially wet ones down there or they will freeze solid!
Another thing to watch is your outside wall cabinets. We had ice form on those walls and the contents would freeze to the walls, even with 20% interior humidity. To stop that we pulled everything away from the walls, put less in there and left one door open to each cabinet space to equalize the temp and humidity. I've heard some people say they have put the foil bubble wrap stuff on those walls but that is the worst thing you can do--ice will form quicker and stay frozen then melt and run down the wall...now there is real trouble brewing!
We also kept a light bulb in the water bay right over the pump when the temp got down to about 10 and below, & would be that cold for more than a few hours. Even with heat from the furnaces blowing into the water service bay area the lines &/or pump can and will freeze solid during a long cold spell.
We used one small electric heater to warm up the colder zones. We also kept our large slide pulled in when a big cold snap came along &/or heavy snow to have less space to heat and help prevent slight drafts around the edges of slides.
Most coaches do ok with cold, some do better but none are really designed to be in extreme cold without "issues". You will learn expactly how your coach will do after the 1st cold snap & big snow storm.
Also be sure to have a few jugs of drinking water and toilet flushing water on hand just in case the campground's water supply freezes or you can't refill your onboard tank.
Some campgrounds in cold country do shut down in winter but near ski areas some will remain open with water supplied protected from freezing.
With proper planning & prep you can have a beautiful winter in your coach.
Ah the days when we did that!!! Now we live in our barnhome and cook on our Majestic 100+ year old wood stove and are cozy and warm. I guess if we decided to take off on a winter trip and go through all that again we would. But we'd rather wait out winter and travel in the spring before it gets hot.
* This post was
edited 02/21/12 04:26pm by sowego *
2002 Tiffin Phaeton
2005 Malibu Maxx toad
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rgatijnet1
Florida
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Joined: 06/22/2009
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We carry tire chains with us when we Winter travel. If the roads are bad, we usually stay put because they will be cleared off in a day or so. The problem was that in some RV Parks, they didn't have a way to deal with snow removal. We have been able to leave, and get into, RV parks where others were stuck. I know some people just stay in the parks and wait for the next thaw but we like to travel and sitting still, watching snow melt, is not what we enjoy. We also use an electric blanket and usually have one or more electric heaters to keep the coach comfortable. We use an outside venting range hood and the bath vent fan to minimize moisture buildup in the coach, which minimizes condensation.
Winter travel is not for everyone but for us the lack of crowds makes it all worthwhile.
I forgot...I also put Winter wipers on both our toad and the coach. This allows them to operate fine even with some snow on the windshield. Rain-x also helps to keep ice and snow from sticking to the windshield when you drive.
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bobfinch
Ma
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Thanks for all the advise, we wouldn't be traveling during the winter, we'd be doing a seasonal in NH and snowmobiling, skiing and XCountry skiing. We won't be staying full time so I would run antifreeze through everything when we leave and shut it back down. I would also have an additional 100# LP tank I use for temporary heat on job sites. I'd also set up the sewer with 4"PVC and run it through some flex heat duct, I wouldn't want to mess with blue sewer hoses in the winter. My coach has a heater in the utility compartment, are you running a light bulb in addition to the heater? Thanks again Bob
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sowego
northwestern corner of the Nebraska panhandle
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Joined: 03/14/2006
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It sounds like you have a good plan to make it all work out ok. It will take a bit of water and time to de-winterize then re-winterize each trip.
If you can do without using the shower and washing dishes you can actually live in the coach winterized and use jugs of water for drinking and it won't matter if you run antifreeze water through the toilet into the black tank. We did that part of one winter. We just put a sock over each faucet to remind us to not turn them on and keep them winterized.
Yes we did have to keep a light bulb in the water bay in addition to the heat blowing in there from the onboard furnace.
If it were me I'd not keep the furnace running or anything electrical while you are gone from the coach with no one to check on it daily. You never know what can happen.
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Lobstah
Northeast
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Bob,
Check into bringing your own tank. Most places won't allow it...has to be provided by the local company that fills the tank. We've winter-camped the past two winters in Ma and love it. It takes a bit of planning, but it's certainly doable. There will be many others up there that have experience at this...a few beers usually brings all the information you need, and maybe some that you don't 
Jim
2005 Pace Arrow 36D
Very Understanding Wife
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tandkj
Full timer
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After reading these postings I think FL is the place for me. Don't think I could handle that much cold and even worst the white stuff.
Tis another fine day to serve in and for the glory of the Corps. Every day is a holiday and every meal a feast.
08 Camelot
07 Ranger Toad
One Golden Retriever at the Rainbow Bridge and a new one traveling with us.
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Scott & Jill
USA
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Is your rig setup for winter camping Tanke water lines?
Life is too short; enjoy it the best way possible
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bobfinch
Ma
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It's as set up as it could be as far as i can tell. I would look for a LP Co. to supply the gas.
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