Winterize on the road?

[MarkS]

This year we are going to push the limits of the camping season. We have a trip planned for Nevada and Utah in late October. On our way back, we will be going over several high mountain passes. If it snows, we will just add camp days until the roads clear. (its good to be retired.)

I am not worried about the days we are stopped. Travel days do worry me. The combination of below freezing temps and 60 mph will probably freeze the trailer.

I am planning to bring a small compressor to blow out the water system on cold travel days.

Has anyone found a better way?

[notanlines]

Sounds like a plan, Mark. I built a Quick connect adapter to just plug the air hose in at city water with an on-off valve and it works great. Probably take you all of ten minutes.

[SteveC7010]

Originally Posted by MarkS

This year we are going to push the limits of the camping season. We have a trip planned for Nevada and Utah in late October. On our way back, we will be going over several high mountain passes. If it snows, we will just add camp days until the roads clear. (its good to be retired.)

I am not worried about the days we are stopped. Travel days do worry me. The combination of below freezing temps and 60 mph will probably freeze the trailer.

I am planning to bring a small compressor to blow out the water system on cold travel days.

Has anyone found a better way?

I agree that you've probably hit on the best possible solution short of pumping the thing full of anti-freeze every day.

I carry a Craftsman 3 gallon compressor which fits quite nicely in the basement compartment right next to the water hookups so blowing out the lines and the black tank flusher is really, really easy. (I have the Firestone Ride Rite air bags on the truck and they need to be inflated after I hook up if we've been camped for more than a day. They have to be lowered to 5 psi without the trailer and brought up to around 45 psi with the trailer. If I had to replace it, I'd get a smaller one that doesn't pull quite so many amps at startup. The Honda eu2000i struggles a bit to get it running.)

If you have an enclosed underbelly, the FW tank and other holding tanks probably won't freeze solid unless the outdoor temps really plunge. The piping from the FW tank to the pump is flex hose so it can handle freezing. If you can shut off the supply line from the FW tank, run the pump for a few seconds to remove the water in the chambers. It's doubtful that it would freeze solid, but why take a chance?

Just read this in an old thread: Make sure you blow out the toilet valve. It can freeze and easily breaks the little parts in there.

[Desert185]

Originally Posted by MarkS

This year we are going to push the limits of the camping season. We have a trip planned for Nevada and Utah in late October. On our way back, we will be going over several high mountain passes. If it snows, we will just add camp days until the roads clear. (its good to be retired.)

I am not worried about the days we are stopped. Travel days do worry me. The combination of below freezing temps and 60 mph will probably freeze the trailer.

I am planning to bring a small compressor to blow out the water system on cold travel days.

Has anyone found a better way?

Wind chill is only a concern for living tissue. 60 MPH won't affect the trailer at all.

[MarkS]

Originally Posted by Desert185

Wind chill is only a concern for living tissue. 60 MPH won't affect the trailer at all.

Desert, it's not wind chill that I am concerned about. It's the general leakiness of trailers. Full timers go to great lengths to block wind from the under belly during the winter.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[MarkS]

Originally Posted by notanlines

Sounds like a plan, Mark. I built a Quick connect adapter to just plug the air hose in at city water with an on-off valve and it works great. Probably take you all of ten minutes.

I was thinking 15 minutes, but I am slow.

Thanks


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[MarkS]

Originally Posted by SteveC7010

I agree that you've probably hit on the best possible solution short of pumping the thing full of anti-freeze every day.



I carry a Craftsman 3 gallon compressor which fits quite nicely in the basement compartment right next to the water hookups so blowing out the lines and the black tank flusher is really, really easy. (I have the Firestone Ride Rite air bags on the truck and they need to be inflated after I hook up if we've been camped for more than a day. They have to be lowered to 5 psi without the trailer and brought up to around 45 psi with the trailer. If I had to replace it, I'd get a smaller one that doesn't pull quite so many amps at startup. The Honda eu2000i struggles a bit to get it running.)



If you have an enclosed underbelly, the FW tank and other holding tanks probably won't freeze solid unless the outdoor temps really plunge. The piping from the FW tank to the pump is flex hose so it can handle freezing. If you can shut off the supply line from the FW tank, run the pump for a few seconds to remove the water in the chambers. It's doubtful that it would freeze solid, but why take a chance?



Just read this in an old thread: Make sure you blow out the toilet valve. It can freeze and easily breaks the little parts in there.

Thanks SteveC, unless it gets really cold, I'll just keep my fingers crossed on the FW.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Barbell]

Be sure to set the compressor regulator to around 30 lbs; much higher and you will blow holes in your plumbing.

[rhagfo]

well I see two options;
Run the furnace while traveling with the t-stat at about 50 to 60 degrees, will keep pipes warm, and when you get to the next stop the trailer is already warm.

We have an onboard air compressor for our Pacbrake, and use this for blowing the lines. The portable will work fine.

[RK1978]

We were in NC last December and carried a small compressor and antifreeze. On our last night (which got down to 18 degrees), I blew out lines, opened drains, and put antifreeze in drain lines. this worked just fine to get us home to Indiana where I topped off antifreeze and put big compressor on and blew lines again. No problems found this spring. Good luck.
PR

[JRTJH]

A couple of recommendations have been to operate the furnace while towing. I'd urge you to check for vent clearance with the slides pulled in before making that decision. Often, the floor vents are covered by the slide floors during towing. If that's the situation with your particular floorplan, you may be reducing the air flow to a point where the furnace would overheat and engage the upper limit switch. So long as that safety device is functional, your furnace would not 'superheat" but, if the upper limit switch happened to fail (a common problem with furnaces that are exposed to wet weather and corrosion) you could create a fire hazard.

This isn't intended to say, "Don't do it" but rather to suggest that if you look at the option, be aware of the possibility of restricted hot air flow and decide accordingly.

[thewhitehat]

Ok, I’m camping right now in north Texas, and it is forecast to get down to 34 degrees tonight, with 25 mph winds. Should I go to the trouble of blowing my lines? Or will just keeping the furnace and hot water heater help?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Desert185]

Wouldn’t worry about 34 degrees. Wind chill only applies to living tissue.

[notanlines]

You will generally find that temperatures in the 30 degrees on up won't freeze anything in the RV. I know that water freezes at 32 but it would have to be at 30 degrees for quite some time to affect your lines. You might also keep in mind that you have to have faith in the weather lady concerning the future temperatures.

[MarcS]

Originally Posted by thewhitehat

Ok, I’m camping right now in north Texas, and it is forecast to get down to 34 degrees tonight, with 25 mph winds. Should I go to the trouble of blowing my lines? Or will just keeping the furnace and hot water heater help?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'd keep camping and not worry about winterizing at that temperature right now. If it were to get down into the 20s for a few to several hours, and I was not using camper, I'd at least blows the lines out and maybe pour some antifreeze into gray and black tanks.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[sourdough]

Don't worry about it at that temp. I've camped in weather well below freezing and not had an issue with frozen lines as long as I'm staying in it and using things.