Keystone RV Forums - View Single Post - How to keep pipes from freezing over winter while living in trailer

tweetzone86 · 08-17-2019, 08:05 AM

Hello all!

I have a 2019 Keystone Hideout 26lhs TT that we're living in while we build our house. Our house is cash-flowed so the shell will be up before the snow flies and we'll be working on electrical, plumbing, insulation, etc over the winter, which means we can't move in yet (county won't let us put insulation in until electrical and plumbing are done, and with funds the way they are I doubt we'll be done with electrical and plumbing before Christmas at least, and house likely won't be finished til spring at the earliest).

I also live in northern Kootenai County, ID 2 hours away from the Canadian border, so it gets cold and snowy, and our property and all the surrounding farms are cleared (used to be 4000 acre ranch that was subdivided into smaller parcels) so it gets windy too.

Rent is outrageous, and living with family isn't an option. Besides, we're building the house ourselves and don't want to drive 25 miles out of town (well, we are closer to a town of less than 700 and it doesn't even have a streetlight, so that doesn't count) every single day to work on the house-hence living in the rv.

So my question pertains to keeping the pipes from freezing. We can use an electric heater no problem- all our utilities save natural gas are in (that won't be done til next spring due to cost, needing shell up before installing gas meter, and the whole "trying to dig in frozen ground" thing).

But I was told by my mom, who has a TT, that an electric heater inside won't be sufficient to keep water lines and pipes from freezing and that we have to use the furnace as well to do that. Plus, our water connection to the frost-free hydrant is halfway up the back of the trailer, and we have an exterior showerhead that only has a plastic hatch to close it.

So what is the best way to keep things from freezing? Underside is insulated (we have the cold weather package on this one), and we plan on skirting it with boards with screwed-on rigid foam insulation (keeping a little door where the holding tanks empty, but will put insulation on said door too) to deal with both wind and warmth. We also have two kids, so to avoid claustrophobia this winter the slide-out will have to be out, unfortunately. We can use heat tape on hose as well, and if need be we can fill freshwater tank and use it so hoses can be drained after filling it up, rather than being hooked up to city water connection.

So I plan on:

1. Heat tape on hose
2. Rigid foam insulation screwed onto boards for skirting, with dump hatch for access
3. Space heater inside
4. Running furnace if need be (I have 100 lb propane tank plus a 20 lb plus the two 30 lb ones that came with trailer, but hoping not to have to fill too frequently, as I need to borrow a pickup to haul the 100 lb one).

Any other tips? And approximately how many gallons of propane will I go through running the furnace (with space heater during the day at least) at temps between 10-32 degrees? I'm not sure what the BTU rating of my furnace is, or how often it will kick on with slide-out out.

Thanks!

08-17-2019, 08:05 AM	#1
tweetzone86 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Athol Posts: 13	How to keep pipes from freezing over winter while living in trailer Hello all! I have a 2019 Keystone Hideout 26lhs TT that we're living in while we build our house. Our house is cash-flowed so the shell will be up before the snow flies and we'll be working on electrical, plumbing, insulation, etc over the winter, which means we can't move in yet (county won't let us put insulation in until electrical and plumbing are done, and with funds the way they are I doubt we'll be done with electrical and plumbing before Christmas at least, and house likely won't be finished til spring at the earliest). I also live in northern Kootenai County, ID 2 hours away from the Canadian border, so it gets cold and snowy, and our property and all the surrounding farms are cleared (used to be 4000 acre ranch that was subdivided into smaller parcels) so it gets windy too. Rent is outrageous, and living with family isn't an option. Besides, we're building the house ourselves and don't want to drive 25 miles out of town (well, we are closer to a town of less than 700 and it doesn't even have a streetlight, so that doesn't count) every single day to work on the house-hence living in the rv. So my question pertains to keeping the pipes from freezing. We can use an electric heater no problem- all our utilities save natural gas are in (that won't be done til next spring due to cost, needing shell up before installing gas meter, and the whole "trying to dig in frozen ground" thing). But I was told by my mom, who has a TT, that an electric heater inside won't be sufficient to keep water lines and pipes from freezing and that we have to use the furnace as well to do that. Plus, our water connection to the frost-free hydrant is halfway up the back of the trailer, and we have an exterior showerhead that only has a plastic hatch to close it. So what is the best way to keep things from freezing? Underside is insulated (we have the cold weather package on this one), and we plan on skirting it with boards with screwed-on rigid foam insulation (keeping a little door where the holding tanks empty, but will put insulation on said door too) to deal with both wind and warmth. We also have two kids, so to avoid claustrophobia this winter the slide-out will have to be out, unfortunately. We can use heat tape on hose as well, and if need be we can fill freshwater tank and use it so hoses can be drained after filling it up, rather than being hooked up to city water connection. So I plan on: 1. Heat tape on hose 2. Rigid foam insulation screwed onto boards for skirting, with dump hatch for access 3. Space heater inside 4. Running furnace if need be (I have 100 lb propane tank plus a 20 lb plus the two 30 lb ones that came with trailer, but hoping not to have to fill too frequently, as I need to borrow a pickup to haul the 100 lb one). Any other tips? And approximately how many gallons of propane will I go through running the furnace (with space heater during the day at least) at temps between 10-32 degrees? I'm not sure what the BTU rating of my furnace is, or how often it will kick on with slide-out out. Thanks!