Cold weather camping?

[gearhead]

Leaving Houston area for Tulsa OK on Jan 9. Predicted night time lows are in the low 20's. It's been since the late 1980's that I've RV camped in cool weather. Then I was too young to know anything, and now too old to remember it. I'm not terrified about it, but would like some advice. I'll be at the Tulsa Expo Center on an asphalt lot with RV's and race car haulers packed in pretty tight. The RV lot has full hook-ups. They say they will turn off the water when temps get below freezing.
I'm thinking I'll just disconnect the water hose before freezing temps about sundown, keep my freshwater tank full for my after the races shower (dirt track), and leave gray and black tanks empty. Should I leave the gray and black tank valves open?? I'll run the furnace at night for sure, and the electric "fireplace" during the day when it's cool but above freezing.

[bobbecky]

I would make sure your pump works OK first. Then, just use fresh tank water for your stay, fill daily or as needed. Leave your drain valves closed, only drain as needed. You don't say what your rig is, but if you have an enclosed bottom area, where all the plumbing is covered underneath, you shouldn't have any problems. If you are all exposed under your rig, and the temps don't get too cold, you should be fine, but on the edge. Good luck.

[Nuke]

Hi Gearhead:

I'm curious too. I just can't stand to see our unit sit under shelter until Spring... While I don't think I would do a long trip in freezing weather, I would like to go out for a weekend or two (or three...) over the cold months. I don't know where to start - I've seen heated water hoses, etc. - what kind of special gear do I need? Other than re-winterize, is there something special to do once we return to storage?

Our unit has the polar (winter, or whatever the cold weather package is) and I figured I'd like to put it to use.

We have several campgrounds locally that have full hookups and leave the water on year-round (although I've been told to turn the site water off overnight).

Anyone have suggestions that can help out gearhead (who has forgotten) or me (don't know diddly to begin with)?

Thanks in advance!

[gearhead]

I would make sure your pump works OK first. Then, just use fresh tank water for your stay, fill daily or as needed. Leave your drain valves closed, only drain as needed. You don't say what your rig is, but if you have an enclosed bottom area, where all the plumbing is covered underneath, you shouldn't have any problems. If you are all exposed under your rig, and the temps don't get too cold, you should be fine, but on the edge. Good luck.

I just finished sanitizing the tank. The pump works good. I have a 63 gallon fresh water tank and could make it for the duration of 8 days including 2 days travel on both ends. I just re-filled the tank with about 15 gallons for travelling. Just me going so not a big draw on the utilities. (***And no 28 pair of her shoes!! Just a pair of cowboy boots for driving and a pair of walking shoes!***)
The belly of the Montana is sorta covered with the chloroplast stuff. I assume it has a furnace outlet hose thrown under there somewhere. I'm not going to bother with a heated water hose for just this trip.
I have been going to this race for many years but always stayed in hotels. Thought I would have a big adventure and pull the 5th this year. I got caught in a terrible ice storm there about 12 years ago, not fun.

[Festus2]

Nuke-
Some people who like to take the occasional, short "winter outing" and who have winterized their RV, don't bother to "de-winterize" it. Instead, they take bottled water for drinking purposes and take a couple of 5-10 gallon containers of water for washing - hands and dishes.

If you are going to a campsite that has its washrooms open, you can use that facility for showering and toilet usage. If the campground water system is open, use that water to fill up your water containers. In essence, what you are doing is keeping your unit winterized but still able to provide yourself with water either in containers filled at home and/or at the campsite.

I wouldn't put much faith in the "Polar Package" or any other "Package" sticker that appears on the side of your RV. Essentially, it is nothing more than an advertising gimmick that leads the buyer to believe that the RV is able to withstand prolonged periods of "arctic or polar" conditions. It isn't.

[gearhead]

Hey Nuke, just for conversation, what brand of nuke are you, or were you? Pic looks subs.
I was ETR-R. Not nuke though.

[chuckster57]

As stated the polar package sticker qualifies the unit for a huge mark up in the MSRP.

Be prepared to use lots of propane at night. If your not being charged by the amount of electricity your using, I would use space heaters. We use oil filled for pet safety, but ceramic ones would work too. Just be cautious of how much power they draw, as the Romex isn't the highest rated in RV's.

[Javi]

We camp periodically all winter and it often gets into the 20's at night with highs in the low 30's during the day. Easiest thing to do is run off the fresh water tank and fill it before the temp drops at night. We do have a heated drinking water hose and I'll use it and wrap the faucet with an old towel and tape if we're staying a week.

Leave all your dump valves closed and dump when full

We have a fireplace in this trailer and keep it going till we go to bed at night, so we don't use a lot of propane for heating. Our last trailer didn't have the FP we'd use about 60 pounds of propane for a week. We usually keep the thermostat at 68 during the day if we're in the trailer and 64 at bedtime.

[gearhead]

All good info...thanks folks. My usual routine is to go shopping during the day....Bass Pro, motorcycle shop looking, etc. Then walk through the pits late afternoon before the evening races. I'll use the fireplace during the day then kick the furnace on at night. Keep the water tank full.
Crossing my fingers for no iced over roads. During the big ice storm I was driving the Mustang and just following the ruts in the roads. I-40 was shutdown but once I got to Indian Nation Turnpike they had sprayed and it was hammer down. We don't get much practice driving on ice around Houston.
330+ race cars entered:
http://www.chilibowl.com/

[JRTJH]

One thing to consider when towing on ice covered roads is the salt put there to help melt the ice. It will cause "havoc" on the undercarriage if you don't clean it off the first chance you get. I've seen "new" units sitting on a dealer's lot in September that were delivered in winter conditions. Just that 6 months of sitting was all it took to turn the undercarriage a "rusty orange". So, if you tow in icy or slushy conditions, find a place to wash the trailer before storing it after your trip.

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

As a full-timer I think the recommendations pretty much have everything
covered. Except for opening the doors and panels that access the water
lines, Do that so some warm air gets to them.
Just be careful on the road and stay wary of "IDIOTS" there's more of
them out there than we thinks there is ... :eek:

hankaye

[Desert185]

One thing to consider when towing on ice covered roads is the salt put there to help melt the ice. It will cause "havoc" on the undercarriage if you don't clean it off the first chance you get. I've seen "new" units sitting on a dealer's lot in September that were delivered in winter conditions. Just that 6 months of sitting was all it took to turn the undercarriage a "rusty orange". So, if you tow in icy or slushy conditions, find a place to wash the trailer before storing it after your trip.

A wash, and then if rust forms use this (or another brand) to kill the rust. A body-guy friend of mine told me about it. Works great.

http://www.mrochem.com/BlackStar-Rust-Converter_p_16.html?gclid=CIDRgbe9hsoCFc1ffgodL9QP wg

[dirt33]

gearhead,

I don't have anything to offer by way of advice; it seems like everyone pretty much has it covered here, and I know you already know what to do. But, just wanted to say have fun at the Chili Bowl. I have never been, and don't plan to go, but I do enjoy watching Saturday night on MavTV. I hope you have a good time, and that the weather doesn't get too cold (or worse, snowy and icy)... I'll look for a review on here in the days after. I am curious to know how many RVs you estimate to be on the grounds. I did not realize they had full hookups there.

[gearhead]

gearhead,

I don't have anything to offer by way of advice; it seems like everyone pretty much has it covered here, and I know you already know what to do. But, just wanted to say have fun at the Chili Bowl. I have never been, and don't plan to go, but I do enjoy watching Saturday night on MavTV. I hope you have a good time, and that the weather doesn't get too cold (or worse, snowy and icy)... I'll look for a review on here in the days after. I am curious to know how many RVs you estimate to be on the grounds. I did not realize they had full hookups there.

I'll wave at you from section H on the front stretch! LOL
Tickets for seats have been sold out since June as usual. I remember the RV lot looked full in the past.
The weather forecast changes daily but it's looking OK. My plan is to stop overnight at Winstar Casino just into Oklahoma on I-35. That is a 5hr pull from home per Google map. But....knowing me, I might just blast on to Tulsa.
I've done a bit more prep. I have 2 trouble lights to plug into the 110volt outlet in the storage bay. I turned on all the storage bay lights, the 2 trouble lights, and the "fireplace" to check for trips and it was good. Also put pipe insulation on the water lines going to the washing machine. They were exposed in the cargo bay right next to the door. I also bought an electric blanket. Right now my plan is to run the furnace at 62-64 and use the electric blanket. During the day I'll run the fireplace on high. Probably low overnight. I want the furnace to cycle over night and throw some heat around the tanks and piping. I've got a ceramic heater for back-up. I'll experiment and see what works.
Yeah, I'll post some pics. I would say in the motorsports section of "community", but not much happening there.

[gearhead]

So far it's good! Left home before daylight and crossed the Red River at noon Sunday and kept driving on to Tulsa. About 10 hours total. Got all set up and relaxed. Put the furnace on 58 and the fireplace on high. Had 2 trouble lights on in the bay. Didn't hook up water until mid day today. The furnace cycled a lot last night, but I guess the interior finally got warm, the furnace hasn't run all day.
Rock & roll!
Edit...the Expo Square campground. It's ok. Some of the sites are pretty unlevel. I didn't have room to park the truck and had to put it in the parking lot. Not enough width to put the awning out. It's all asphalt. Utilities are good. It works fine for what I'm doing.

[bsmith0404]

Sounds like you're in for a great time. I'm going to make it to that race sometime, but for now I'll just look forward to the Winter Meltdown at the Southern New Mexico Speedway in March followed by the ASCS 360 winged sprint car shootout in April.

[gearhead]

Sounds like you're in for a great time. I'm going to make it to that race sometime, but for now I'll just look forward to the Winter Meltdown at the Southern New Mexico Speedway in March followed by the ASCS 360 winged sprint car shootout in April.
I saw one of the New Mexico ASCS drivers here yesterday....Johnny Herrera. May be his first Chili Bowl. The expected NASCAR folks are here...Stewart, Kane, Yelley, and Stenhouse. No Danica sightings yet.

[dirt33]

Glad to hear that it's going well gearhead.

I looked at the aerial map; I assume the campgrounds you are in is the area in the far NW corner of the grounds? If so, I can see what you mean about not being able to put the awning out, as the spots look pretty narrow. But, having full hookups at any dirt track race is of course nothing to complain about! I am guessing the spots in that campground have to be "spoken for" far, far in advance for the Chili Bowl?

Have a good time.

[gearhead]

Glad to hear that it's going well gearhead.

I looked at the aerial map; I assume the campgrounds you are in is the area in the far NW corner of the grounds? If so, I can see what you mean about not being able to put the awning out, as the spots look pretty narrow. But, having full hookups at any dirt track race is of course nothing to complain about! I am guessing the spots in that campground have to be "spoken for" far, far in advance for the Chili Bowl?

Have a good time.

Yes, the northwest corner of the fairgrounds. But there is another area on the southwest corner that has hook ups around the outer perimeter.
The campground clerk told me they have been sold out since July. When I got here Sunday it was maybe 50% full. There is a line to get in now and it's filling up.
You ought to try it one year. 350 midgets from US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The pits are under the same roof as the track.
Kevin Swindell was here yesterday in a wheelchair. Sad to see.

[Festus2]

Since this thread's topic is "Cold Weather Camping", I am wondering if we could steer the discussion about racing, camping layout at the track and race car drivers into the pits and get the topic "back on track".

Thank you, gentlemen, for helping to keep the thread on its intended course - cold weather camping.

[bsmith0404]

I agree that we need to keep this thread on the dirt track..um, I mean on track...enough of that race talk.

I'm planning to do some cold weather camping at a the Chili Bowl someday. I'm assuming most of the drivers are in the Haulmark type RV/car haulers and that they don't have any hookups in the pits. Are they staying in the pits or do they have them set up someplace where they have hookups? There has to be a lot of people with considerable cold weather camping experience just from going to the Chili Bowl year after year, have you seen any unique set ups from the experienced campers that get out there on a regular basis?

Maybe I'll stop by the pits at the SNMS some night and talk with Johnny about his cold weather camping experience while at the Chili Bowl. He doesn't come out to SNMS often because he races in AZ a lot with the 410 winged sprints, but considering that he runs the 410 winged, 360 winged, as well as the non winged events and big races such as the Chili bowl, I'm sure he has a lot of insight on cold weather camping that he can share from all of his travels.

350 of the best midget racers in the world would be a great show and an amazing experience and I can only imagine what the camping must be like.

[gearhead]

Well, I survived. There were a couple below 20F nights. Still some snow on the ground when I got there last Sunday night. I kept the furnace on 58 mostly. A couple mornings I bumped it up to 62 to knock the chill down. I kept all the cargo bay lights on and 2 "trouble lights" with 70 watt bulbs on the entire time. The "fireplace" ran on high most of the time. The propane bottles never switched! Electric blanket worked great.
Left at 7am this morning and got home at 6pm. Only issue during the 7 days was the TV. We last used it on cable and it took me a couple hours to realize/remember that the coax plug behind the TV was labeled backwards: antennae and cable/satellite wrong. I need to re-do that.

[mfifield01]

I had my fresh water hose freeze over the weekend at a campsite. The low was forecasted for 33, but was 28 when I woke up.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[Pull Toy]

Speaking of Cold Camping!

Spent Christmas week 2014 in a campground in Jersey City, NJ (Easy access, right on the Hudson River!)

No Kumbaya moments here, no fire ring, no grass, no rec. no dance. Just 50 amp level blacktop parking level lot with clean, safe, heated restroom/showers and 24 hour security, plus a real grass "dog walk" area. Ferry to Wall St. across the parking lot.... or PACE to Manhattan 5 blocks easy walking.

Neat having morning coffee with the Statue of Liberty, and the Manhattan Skyline too right outside the camper!


Clean...Safe... Good value!

[gearhead]

Speaking of Cold Camping!

Spent Christmas week 2014 in a campground in Jersey City, NJ (Easy access, right on the Hudson River!)

No Kumbaya moments here, no fire ring, no grass, no rec. no dance. Just 50 amp level blacktop parking level lot with clean, safe, heated restroom/showers and 24 hour security, plus a real grass "dog walk" area. Ferry to Wall St. across the parking lot.... or PACE to Manhattan 5 blocks easy walking.

Neat having morning coffee with the Statue of Liberty, and the Manhattan Skyline too right outside the camper!


Clean...Safe... Good value!

Liberty Harbor RV Park?
Looks interesting.

[CrazyCain]

This is what we have doneso far this year. It got down to 28 degrees this past weekend and the insulation blocked all the drafts coming from the window. We used R value 3.0 1/2 inch insulation. Brought temp up to 68 with furnace and then maintained that with a 360 degree electric heater. Bathroom vent opened a bit with fan running.. All is well with very little condensation on windows. The little thing on the table is a small de-humidifier.

[Desert185]

This is what we have doneso far this year. It got down to 28 degrees this past weekend and the insulation blocked all the drafts coming from the window. We used R value 3.0 1/2 inch insulation. Brought temp up to 68 with furnace and then maintained that with a 360 degree electric heater. Bathroom vent opened a bit with fan running.. All is well with very little condensation on windows. The little thing on the table is a small de-humidifier.

A pellet stove would be a nice touch.

I miss a real wood fire when I'm in the trailer, but the phony fireplace helps. We burn wood as a primary heat source and will never wear out the furnace in the house. In fact, I can't remember the last time it ran. (25dF this morning in the Sage and Piñon high desert.)

[RK1978]

We stayed in the mountains outside of Asheville, NC in December, and it got down in the teens at night. We had full service, so ran small electric heater at night, used furnace to get temps up in morning, and left electric on during the day. We used city water until the last minute, then blew out water lines and drained tanks in the evening, and used campground facilities instead of our own. When we were ready to head back home (Indiana), we put antifreeze in the drains and blew lines again to be sure they were cleared out. This seemed to work OK, except for having to carry a small 110VAC compressor along to blow out the lines. Found that even with antifreeze poured down the drains, black tank valve froze up and had to be heated to get it open, and wastewater turned icy going through flex pipe to drain. Would not want to do this on a long term basis, but was OK for a short time. On the bright side, the furnace seems to put out quite a bit of heat and would take inside temps from 50's to 70 in a short time.
PR
2008 Hideout 26B
1996 K2500 6.5 TD

[rhagfo]

Well, I survived. There were a couple below 20F nights. Still some snow on the ground when I got there last Sunday night. I kept the furnace on 58 mostly. A couple mornings I bumped it up to 62 to knock the chill down. I kept all the cargo bay lights on and 2 "trouble lights" with 70 watt bulbs on the entire time. The "fireplace" ran on high most of the time. The propane bottles never switched! Electric blanket worked great.
Left at 7am this morning and got home at 6pm. Only issue during the 7 days was the TV. We last used it on cable and it took me a couple hours to realize/remember that the coax plug behind the TV was labeled backwards: antennae and cable/satellite wrong. I need to re-do that.

I had my fresh water hose freeze over the weekend at a campsite. The low was forecasted for 33, but was 28 when I woke up.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

This is what we have doneso far this year. It got down to 28 degrees this past weekend and the insulation blocked all the drafts coming from the window. We used R value 3.0 1/2 inch insulation. Brought temp up to 68 with furnace and then maintained that with a 360 degree electric heater. Bathroom vent opened a bit with fan running.. All is well with very little condensation on windows. The little thing on the table is a small de-humidifier.

Wow, I think 20 is cool, but cold would be in the single digits.
Well at 28 degree I don't see a need to block the view with foam board, if I did that the month of January I would have only be able to see out about half the time!!
If we are only talking low 20's then fill FW tank and use the pump. I don't (yet) have a sealed underbelly, but do have UltraHeat pads on all four tanks no issues there. I also put a temp sender in the basement never got below 34 degrees.
We did put interior clear window film (heat shrink) that makes a big difference and you can see out! We didn't film the Escape windows, or the lower opening area, and had near zero condensation in the 30+ days, we always ran the range fan when cooking.
All that and we kept the 5er (32' long) at an easy 68 degrees using our Cheap Heat system.
I have it set at 5,000 watt setting for ONLY 17,060 BTU's less than the 30,000 BTU furnace putting out 23,400 BTU.


http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_223939_0_bc6c983ccffad80a0be65663a060a8f1.jpg

[CrazyCain]

Wow, I think 20 is cool, but cold would be in the single digits.
Well at 28 degree I don't see a need to block the view with foam board, if I did that the month of January I would have only be able to see out about half the time!!
If we are only talking low 20's then fill FW tank and use the pump. I don't (yet) have a sealed underbelly, but do have UltraHeat pads on all four tanks no issues there. I also put a temp sender in the basement never got below 34 degrees.
We did put interior clear window film (heat shrink) that makes a big difference and you can see out! We didn't film the Escape windows, or the lower opening area, and had near zero condensation in the 30+ days, we always ran the range fan when cooking.
All that and we kept the 5er (32' long) at an easy 68 degrees using our Cheap Heat system.
I have it set at 5,000 watt setting for ONLY 17,060 BTU's less than the 30,000 BTU furnace putting out 23,400 BTU.


http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_223945_0_bc6c983ccffad80a0be65663a060a8f1.jpg


Sinced that post we have stopped using the board because Michigan weather once again has lied to us, for the better this time. Forcasted much colder night time temps than what actually happened.. all is well :cool: Hardly any snow where we are at in East Tawas... :nonono:

[gary31]

We were one of only few Campers in the Ashland resort. Everyone else was in Cabins, however we did just fine. I used electric ceramic heaters to maintain about 72 degrees inside, as it was 19 degrees outside most of the time. Let the furnace run a little at night to super charge the room and get everything toasty then turn it down. We used a 5 gallon jug for utility water at the sink and the bath house for everything else. I did learn not to leave the grey water valves open as they frozen and so did my slinky full of water. Overall we had 4 men and 2 kids

[CrazyCain]

We were one of only few Campers in the Ashland resort. Everyone else was in Cabins, however we did just fine. I used electric ceramic heaters to maintain about 72 degrees inside, as it was 19 degrees outside most of the time. Let the furnace run a little at night to super charge the room and get everything toasty then turn it down. We used a 5 gallon jug for utility water at the sink and the bath house for everything else. I did learn not to leave the grey water valves open as they frozen and so did my slinky full of water. Overall we had 4 men and 2 kids



:dance::dance:

[mikell]

Went to South Haven MI this weekend and roughed it. 60 Yesterday and 30 last night. Was soo rough!!!!