Winter Travel and Camping

[airforceret]

Well it looks like we'll be trying out that Polar Package sooner than we thought! This will be our first cold weather trip in many years so I hope we're ready. Going to wait on filling the water tank till we're ready to head out and the plan is to stop before it gets too late and the temps fall below freezing. We'll be running the I80 corridor from Indiana to western Nebraska, then down to Denver (and back). Funny how everyone else is heading south, and we're heading west... maybe I need my head examined!!! LOL

[WaltBennett]

I full-timed in a TT for about five years & had two small 'brick' electric heaters for most of my heat. I did get a 100 gal propane tank from a local provider when the furnace drained a tank about once a week, but still only used it when it got really cold.

I'd seen a lot of chat on the Montana forum about how quickly one of them will go through two tanks of propane in a day or two when using the furnace and couldn't figure out why until I found out that one duct vents straight into the underbelly - if you've a heating vent in the baggage compartment, it's not directly from a duct, just the air coming from the underbelly. Keystone saved some money doing this instead of putting electric tank heating pads on each tank I guess.

Bottom line, if you use electric brick heaters or a small catalytic heater, be certain to have the furnace set to kick in every now and again to warm your tanks & plumbing. The furnace isn't very effective, but it's the only thing warming them. And if you're going somewhere really cold and use heat tape on your water hose, DON'T double it anywhere or you could melt the hose. I used electrical tape every 6 inches or so to hold them together and wrapped everything with pipe insulation. Went through lots of below zero weather like that and my TT didn't have anything like a Polar Package.

[rhagfo]

Well as for heating the belly, a vent means that you can boon-dock and not have the tanks freeze. Our first 5er used this method.
The Copper Canyon has heat pads, but no enclosure (yet).
The main thing is to make sure that you have chains for both the 5er and the truck.
When winter camping you never know what the road conditions will be like.

http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_102854_0_19e5609f584a011f533928a10c99c090.jpg

[twstdpear]

To follow on that note, when I brought our previous trailer home President's Day, 2011, I wound up with an eight hour drive of a mix of light snow, sleet, rain and drizzle. It was only forecast for rain and upper 30's all the way from Ohio to DC, but the weather slowly got worse the closer I got to home and kept inching closer too freezing too. It wasn't anything I would have really thought twice about under normal circumstances except I was towing our brand new ~5000lb 26' OAL travel trailer and the biggest thing I had previously towed was a 12' box high wall popup (~18' OAL).

I took it slow, left *plenty* of distance in front of me and didn't have any surprises on the road, but I still never thought the pucker in the seat would go away.

Be prepared for the weather to head downhill and don't be afraid to pull over and find an open campground. Fortunately, the conditions on this trip stayed just on the side of drivable, but I did think ahead and bring enough gear that my son and I could have stayed overnight somewhere, if it came to that.

[billb800si]

I salute you "winter campers".. :)
Being from Michigan I understand the feeling of being out in the fresh snow. BUT, being 73 years old my body wants sunshine & warmth this time of year. So Ft. Myers sure looks good to me. Can't wait till January to head South.
Happy trails,

[jlb27537]

Is there a reason you are going to Denver, in the winter, in a RV?

Are there any campgrounds open there?

Might want to re-think your "directions"

or: http://www.rancherovillagecircle.com/

[airforceret]

Had a great time on our trip to Denver and back. Most nights were into the mid 20s and some days along the way it took the better part of the morning to get above freezing. The slides sounded about like how I felt going in and out in the cold.... LOL

We ran the furnace for 6 days and nights without running out, but I do really need to see how empty they are or if it ever switched over to the reserve tank (which I would of expected it to have done).

We did run the ceramic heat fireplace to augment the furnace when we were plugged into electric which I'm sure helped conserve on propane, but keep in mind we do run the fridge on propane while traveling, and we also spent a week on vacation earlier this fall without refilling the propane.

We had clear roads the entire trip, but it did get windy with gusts forecast one day at 90+ mph. Didn't quite get those, but it sure did get windy.

Fuel mileage ranged from 9 to 11 with a low of 8.4 and peak of about 13, but this was running 75 with the cruise. If I was retired and in no hurry, I'm confident I could get 12.5 and up on a regular basis.

Most campgrounds were closed, but the ones we did find still open were great as we had pick of the park! LOL In Denver, the only one open was Dakota Ridge in Golden. There are poor reviews online about this park, but we've stayed here a few times over the years and it is far better than most of the reviews. I would recommend this park to anyone heading out that way.

Working on getting her put away now for winter... :( Can't wait till Spring!

[WaltBennett]

I salute you "winter campers".. :)
Being from Michigan I understand the feeling of being out in the fresh snow. BUT, being 73 years old my body wants sunshine & warmth this time of year. So Ft. Myers sure looks good to me. Can't wait till January to head South.
Happy trails,

Can't agree more - born & raised in MI, a 4 yr. tour at Kincheloe AFB and two tours in AK until I landed in the DC area in '76. Wife's originally from Pittsburgh. Although it does get humid and hot here, we vastly prefer it to snow and ice. I'm not happy that it'll get into the 20's tomorrow & Sat. night and would much rather be sweating at 90! We're thinking somewhere dryer, but certainly not colder. Anyone want's white stuff can keep it!

[Povo]

First, Russ & Paula - I see you are in Portland. Vicki and I are in Bend. I have seen that road (or some facimilie there of) many times. But never with a 5ver in tow. I hate to do it in my truck with nothing behind me. My hat's off to you!!

[204Jordan]

Well it looks like we'll be trying out that Polar Package sooner than we thought! This will be our first cold weather trip in many years so I hope we're ready. Going to wait on filling the water tank till we're ready to head out and the plan is to stop before it gets too late and the temps fall below freezing. We'll be running the I80 corridor from Indiana to western Nebraska, then down to Denver (and back). Funny how everyone else is heading south, and we're heading west... maybe I need my head examined!!! LOL
Hey Roger/Dawn: You should've headed 200-300 miles further north to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada if you wanted winter camping. Our November turned out very cold, with temps in the range of -15 to -20 F. Still extremely cold, about -35 with wind chill this morning. LOADS of snow, too! We can hardly wait for spring!!