First trip next week in Colorado

TDMerrill · 12-15-2017, 08:10 PM

Love this forum!!!! This is our 1st post so hear goes...We're hoping for some sage advice from you old timers!!
We were not able to try out our rig in good weather because of needed surgeries(getting old ourselves!!) this summer.
We bought a 2017 Cougar 333MKS, pulling it with a 2000 Super-duty F-250.
We live at 8900 feet in Colorado and plan to take it to a KOA in Ft. Collins (5400 feet) where we will be for 4 nights starting next Friday, it's a 2.5 hour drive.
The weather is suppose to drop to seasonal norms meaning highs in the upper 20's and lows in the upper single digits. My questions primarily revolve around keeping water from become a solid state of matter and destroying our new toy. We won't de-winterize until we get there. Now comes my questions:
1) I have purchased a heated Camco water hose so what do you veterans believe is best?
A)Do we leave the fresh water tank empty and run off the heated line with city water? or...
B) Fill the tank with our glorious well water and count on the "Polar Package" to keep it in it's liquid form? (Hoping it doesn't freeze in transit!)
c) Wait until we get there to fill the holding tank with their water?

2) I'm not sure I'm clear on the holding tank setup, it would make sense to me that you keep the tanks closed off until you need to dump? Then of course dump the black 1st, etc. That being said, what's the potential of the tanks freezing? We don't have any skirting yet!! Would love advice and or cautions on this.

3) Is it okay to start the main 30K propane heater and pull it with it on? (mid to high teens on travel day) The registers are clear with slides in?

Can't wait to hear back from the experts, Tom & Donna, Bailey, CO.

bobbecky · 12-15-2017, 09:08 PM

We don't leave any waste tank valves open and have never had a freezing problem, but we also use the gas furnace which adds heat to the belly area where the tanks are located, and our drain valves are within the heated belly area. If you leave the grey valve open in freezing weather, the water will freeze in the drain hose, and then you will have a problem. We also travel with the furnace on when in extremely cold conditions, and when doing so have never had anything freeze or had any issues with the furnace operating. We use a Pirit hose in cold weather, looks the same as the Camco, and we have been in cold as low as single digits and the hose never froze. We have also been in parks where they do not want you connected to the water in cold weather but want you to use your on-board pump, then just connect to fill the fresh tank and disconnect when done.

TDMerrill · 12-15-2017, 09:21 PM

Thanks so much, your sample sounds close to what we'll be in for, I'm probably over thinking everthing?
Tom

**JRTJH** · 12-16-2017, 06:52 AM

Something not yet discussed is the refrigerator. If you have an "RV" refrigerator, Dometic or Norcold, you may find it stops cooling when the temperature gets down in the teens or single digits. If so, it's because the propane (or electric element) can't "boil the coolant" at such low temperatures. If that happens, you may need to partially block the lower vent to help warm up the area around the refrigerator chimney.

TDMerrill · 12-16-2017, 11:05 AM

John,
So glad to hear from you, I've learned a lot from your post.
Here's another question for anyone that can help?
John, I see you have a Cougar as well, It seems obvious but the weather report has me pretty paranoid so I could use a vote of confidence from a pro. I was just looking at the city water hook up and on our unit it is a compartment in the cargo bay. It appears I'll need to run the heated hose up through the double drain in the floor and stuff insulation around it to lose less heat in the cargo bay area, does this sound right?

Thanks in advance, I'm nervous, Tom

**JRTJH** · 12-16-2017, 11:31 AM

If it were me, I'd use the hose to fill the fresh water tank and then disconnect it, drain it and coil it up in the "warm storage bay".... My reasoning for that is partly what you identify, the terminal end of the hose where it attaches to the city water connection. At the other end of the hose is a faucet you don't know is heated, has a valve underground or is subject to freeze from the ground, up to the faucet. They may have it wrapped in insulation, but if there's water in an "unheated pipe from the ground up to the connection, it's subject to freeze. Whether you're connected or not, if it freezes, it won't flow water.... And, if they have the "state park style" lift handle faucets with the actual valve 4' underground, if you leave the water turned on, that faucet will freeze no matter how warm the hose might be.....

That's a lot to say about a possibility, not a probability, but for me, I'd just use the Cougar's water supply and fill when needed. You can get 4 showers, wash dishes and use the toilet on a 60 gallon tank of water, so that should get you through at least 24 hours, drain tanks (if needed) and refill the fresh water tank daily if you need to. And, if it's not below freezing, no problem with the hose.

But, in my opinion (for what it's worth) it's not the hose, it's the standpipe and faucet that the campground "owns" that'll be your weakest link......

rhagfo · 12-16-2017, 06:49 PM

To the OP’s question on running the furnace on the road, we have run the furnace while traveling with no issues. I would shut it off if stopping to fuel the TV I would shut it off.

TDMerrill · 12-17-2017, 03:01 AM

Thanks Russ,
Good to know as I'll need it, I just checked weather for travel day(Friday), low of 5 here at home and a high of 32 where we're heading and -8 Christmas Eve, yikes. At least we have no humidity to speak of.

Tom

mfifield01 · 12-18-2017, 10:44 AM

One thing to note is propane use. I went camping two weeks ago with highs in the 60s and lows were upper 20s. I went through a tank of propane in less than two nights (15lb tank). I didn't have hookups, so I couldn't use an electric heater.

TDMerrill · 12-18-2017, 11:45 AM

Thanks for the advice, with my spare 40 lbs bottle, I have 100 lbs. total. I researched and that gives me just under 24 gallons(at 4.2 lbs a gallon). I've also read that a 30,000 BTU furnace goes through a gallon every 3 hours if on non-stop so I'll have around 70 hours of furnace time and of course knock off a bit for hot water and oven usage.
We were planning on a KOA so we'd be able to refill as needed, we'll see, the weather report continues to deteriorate and the kids and grand kids are all sick and gramma is worried, LOL, might be one of those X-mas stories!!
Tom

mfifield01 · 12-18-2017, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TDMerrill

Thanks for the advice, with my spare 40 lbs bottle, I have 100 lbs. total. I researched and that gives me just under 24 gallons(at 4.2 lbs a gallon). I've also read that a 30,000 BTU furnace goes through a gallon every 3 hours if on non-stop so I'll have around 70 hours of furnace time and of course knock off a bit for hot water and oven usage.
We were planning on a KOA so we'd be able to refill as needed, we'll see, the weather report continues to deteriorate and the kids and grand kids are all sick and gramma is worried, LOL, might be one of those X-mas stories!!
Tom

I would purchase an electric heater. It will help supplement the propane usage. I use a vornado heater and it seems to work well. My DW is paranoid about it, so I put it on the lowest setting at night (750w). My furnace pumps heat into the underbelly, so I still want it running some of the time.

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