Hot water pipes Frozen 01 bunkhouse sprinter

[Gunsup31s]

Fully skirted, insulated with heat lamp and heater running underneath trailer near black and grey tanks. Hooked up to water and heat taped the entire way to the trailer. Cold water at the bathroom sink and toilet but no hot water anywhere. Just located the panel in the storage compartment underneath the bunks that gives me access to the lines that the water hose hooks up to. Its at the rear of the trailer and just aimed a heater at them. I believe this may be where the problem is and where the water/heat pump is located but really not sure. Below zero temps currently here in eastern WA. and will be for a week or so. Temp underneath trailer sitting at 44 degrees. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

[jesse.m.jm]

No hot water, or no water at all when hot faucet only is turned on? If you get cold water from hot faucet, then it's a problem with your heater not running, if it's no water at all from hot faucet, then you may have a frozen line or water heater...

[Gunsup31s]

No water at all when any hot water handles are turned. Cold water at toilet and bathroom sink handle, no water cold or hot at the tub or kitchen sink. Have a feeling its the water heater just no clue at where its at.

[Gunsup31s]

Water heater located, at 2 am not so easy to find. Electric heater in place time for bed. I guess i"ll see what the morning brings. Thanks for the quick reply Jesse. New to the forum and new at living in a trailer at these kinda temps.

[FullTimer]

If it's like my 02 Sprinter, the lines drop below the trailer floor at the back of the trailer, covered up with a thin material tape. I still haven't rerouted mine, but the tub is really bad about wanting to freeze up. Open up an access panel under the tub and shoot some heat in there. Take a hair dryer and shoot some heat down the opening under the bathroom cabinet where the lines come up, until the water flows from the tub faucet. The hot air will spread out along that small pipe chase. Hope that helps.

[jesse.m.jm]

Let us know how it turned out Guns. Hope it's all flowing good for you now.

[Gunsup31s]

Not the water heater. Water lines were located under the tub that go underneath the trailer . Heat blasting in that direction and cold water handle at the tub now has water. Thanxs for the advice FullTimer. Hopefully my next post is one of success. But at these temps who knows, snow expected with increase in temps next couple of days.

[Gunsup31s]

Hot water at last...... The only slightly exposed area froze (insulation missing) underneath the trailer. It was where the water line ran up into the trailer. Thanxs for the advice to the both of ya. I aimed the heater i run in these temps at the lines plus insulated the pipes hopefully it stays thawed out but at these temps who knows, snow expected with increase in temps next couple of days. Just insulated the skirting a little more by shoveling snow up against it as someone suggested on this site. By the way the plastic you can purchase for your windows and put on with a hair dryer is well worth the investment the dehumidifiers not so much.

[Steve S]

Gunsup31s, I'm glad to hear that you have your water problems solved.
As for the plastic on the windows can you actually notice a big difference?
My back window takes up most of the wall and as I very well know windows are a major heat loss.

[FullTimer]

Glad to hear water is flowing again, I also installed the plastic on the windows. Our bedroom, at the front of the trailer takes full impact from a north wind. The head of the bed is right under the front window, the long one under the fiberglass cover. I could feel the cold flowing down off the window, right on our faces while in bed, ALOT. By the second morning I had a sore throat, I snore and was breathing really cold air. So I went and bought several patio door insulating kits, the plastic is much bigger than window kits. It took about an hour to remove the blackout blinds and install on 3 bedroom windows. HUGE differance. I didn't do the windows on the slide, the booth/ couch area, and I can literally feel the cold flowing down out from under the blinds. One of the best investments a person can make.

[Steve S]

Hey that's good to hear Fulltimer, I'm going to see if I can find some on my travels tomorrow.
Is the stuff clear or tinted and can you see very well through it?

[FullTimer]

I wasn't trying to hijack the thread lol. But yes, the plastic is pretty clear, not that heavy milky stuff. I could tell the difference in the bedroom, immediately. We almost bought another Keystone, that had huge bay windows at the rear (rear living), and if we had, I wouldn't hesitate to do this to them also.

[JRTJH]

Chuck,

I don't remember if we talked about this or not, but you just mentioned your slide windows and not winterizing them. A couple of things that I've done in the past to improve insulation in the slides:

1. Get some of the foam pipe insulation tubes, pull the slide in about an inch, put the foam tubes between the facia and the trailer wall, extend the slide. That will give you an additional weatherstrip to help where the slide seals are more solid rubber and transfer the heat/cold faster. The foam will help slow down that heat transfer.

If your slide walls are cold (they are usually 1.5" thick foam), you can buy 1" pink foam sheeting and install it on the outside of the slide walls and roof. That will give you an additional R5-R7. That would bring your total R value up to the same as your trailer walls. The foam is easy to fit to the slide measurements, and you can hold it in place with a couple of pieces of 1/4" rope around the ends and roof. For the sides, we used a 1x4 top and bottom and c-clamps to keep it in place. If you cut the window openings, size the end sheets slightly larger than the measurements, they will help seal the outside of the slide opening and even protect the slide seals further.

I don't know if you're even in need of this kind of added insulation, but it is a super easy way to improve inside comfort. We did it on an RV we left in the mountains in Colorado back in the 70's. It was the warmest trailer in the mountains those couple of years LOL

[FullTimer]

Thanks John, we usually keep a pretty stout heater in that area, so that helps keep the cold back. I do have more plastic to install on the windows if needed, but I have to remove the window treatments to get to the blinds to get to the windows. Just being lazy on that one lol. Honestly we usually keep the trailer cooler than others would, we sleep better, but there are times when I kick the heat up for the wife during the day or the visiting kids or grandkids. I reassessed everything last night, comfort vs how much propane we have used and I'm pretty pleased. I heard my wife bragging last night to the Dil about what all we have done to the trailer, made me feel pretty good lol. :)