Cold Weather Camping?

[Barbarian Coug]

I'm pulling my 2014 Montana 3150 5th wheel to the eastern Sierras of Californian for the weekend. I'm expecting temps below freezing for at least two of the three nights. I have purchased insulating foam to wrap around the water hose and will leave the faucets running. But since I'm in a trailer, not a house, do I leave the shower dripping as well? Faucets in bathroom as well as kitchen?

[JRTJH]

If you leave the water running, you will likely fill your holding tanks and possibly flood your RV. And, if you leave the valves open so the tanks won't fill, you may very well freeze your sewer hose, stop the water from flowing through the system and flood your RV.

The best thing to do is to fill your fresh water tank before the "freezing temps" and disconnect/drain/store your water hose and sewer hose. That way, they won't be subject to freezing and you'll have sufficient water for most anything you'd need to do. During the day, when the temps are above freezing, if necessary, refill your fresh water tank, dump the holding tanks and then drain hoses again. That way, you're ready for the next "round of cold temps"....

Good Luck and have fun.

[chuckster57]

Just leave floor level cabinets open and your water lines should be good to go. You can disconnect the fresh water line and drain it before you go to bed. Then hook back up in the AM.

[Poppy's 5th Wheel]

Where are you going to be? We camp along the eastern Sierras all the time but never in winter months so I would love to hear how it goes. Are you going to Mammoth to ski or what?

[mikell]

I would just fill the water tank and use the furnace. It should be fine if your not freezing at home then drain the tanks when you get back

[Barbarian Coug]

We are staying in Boulder Creek Campground south of Lone Pine, California. The trick is sliding up the 395 between storms to avoid the snow and the heavy wind. Good advice people - thank you.

[Barbarian Coug]

After three nights in the desert cold, we have returned safely from Lone Pine. The last three nights were colder then forecasted. The first night hit a low of 18 degrees, then 22, and this morning it was 16 degrees. Before hitting the rack, I filled the fresh water tank, emptied the wastewater tanks and disconnected the water hose and stored it inside. We kept the furnace set at 45 degrees and slept with the electric blankets. We had no problem with freezing pipes or tanks.

But not all campers were so fortunate. I helped a British camper in Class C rental (Who hasn’t?) get squared away with his set-up. I saw several people leave their white water hoses out for the night to wake up with frozen hoses. (“Did the campground turn off the water?”) This morning, as I was pulling out for home, I saw several people standing around an older Class A. There was standing water behind the rig and down into the next site. It did not look good.

I had a neighbor in a Class A one night with a heavy-duty heated water hose that he created himself. He enjoyed camping in cold weather. If I do any future cold weather camping, I think I may have to invest in a heated hose.

The hydraulic levelers struggled with being raised this morning. It was in the mid-20s when I hit ‘auto retract’ after the trailer was hooked up. The back four levelers did not rise until I went to manual and pushed them up. I heard the hydraulics have struggled with cold weather.

The temperature warmed up to the mid-40s during the day. We had an awesome time exploring the Alabama Hills and cruising around the Eastern Sierras. We drove up behind Independence and waited as a herd of 20 mule deer walked across the road. A good way to end 2014.

[mikell]

Success congrats now do it again!!. usually as long as you have electric you'll survive. Were headed out tomorrow for a few days and the high is only 16 last I looked.