Caught in a freeze

[TexasCampers]

I am from south Texas so freezes are not in the norm. I am currently in south OK and tonight the temp is going down to 20 - 24 degrees. Is there anything I should do for tonight? Should I turn the water off and drain the lines? Thanks for any help.

[Festus2]

Yes, draining the water out of your lines would help. If you have an electric space heater, find your water pump and place the heater as close to the pump as possible. Be mindful of placing the heater too close to any combustible materials!! You may have to remove a panel to gain access to the water pump.

To prevent the water in your HW tank from freezing, make sure that you have either the propane or the electricity turned on so that the water in the tank is being heated.

You can also run your furnace - this will allow a little bit of warm air to find its way into the underbelly where the water lines run. These ducts are small and narrow and only a minimal amount of heat will be noticed.

Opening any doors, drawers or cupboards that have water lines running by or through them will also allow some of the "inside" heat to migrate into these areas.

Hope this helps in a pinch.

You just might be able to get by for 1 night of temps a little below freezing but I wouldn't take the chance if it is going to be 20.

[TexasCampers]

Thanks! I will do that. I am going to turn the water off and open all cabinets. I am in the RV tonight with the furnace up to 68 so hopefully this will help.

[Festus2]

Let us know in the morning how you made out. Hopefully, no frozen water lines!

[camper 2010]

We are spending the winter in NM in our Keystone Cougar. So far this winter we have had lows of 14 several nights, most nights it is in the low 20's. We run the heater at night set on 65 and have not had any problems.

[TAZ23]

We have used our camper in northern Wisconsin many times in below freezing temps(as low as 14 degrees f.) and never had a problem with freeze up inside the unit or water lines. We only run our water heater when we need hot water and in the morning it will still be pretty warm from the night before(the water heater tank is well insulated). The only place we have ever had icing problems is on the fresh water hose from the spigot to the trailer. if you are not dry camping you will want to put some water in your fresh water tank or else you may have to wait until the hose thaws out.

[hankaye]

TexasCampers, Howdy;

Hope ya made it thru the night in a satisfactory manner.
You didn't say if you were in a campground or not and if
you had full hook-ups or not.
If your waterlines are inside the cabin area (tucked away
in the backs of cabinets etc.), then you could fill your water
tank 3/4's full and disconnect the hose till it warms up in the
morning or if you are hooked up you could also just keep
a slight stream of water running during the night like alot of folks
do in their sticks-n-bricks units... You should be keeping your
cabinet and other access covers open (just enough to allow the heat
in (1 or 2 inches).
A little common sense about how to get the warm air to where it will
do the most good goes along way to keeping everyone happy.
By the way, disconnect the hose from the source as well and drain it
(hose), and be kind enough to put some (if you have it), insulation
over or around the spigot if you are electing to disconnect from the tap.

hankaye

[SteveC7010]

Folks who have well heads enclosed in a small housing use a 100 watt light bulb to prevent freezing. If the enclosure is weather tight to prevent loss of heat or intrusion of cold, it works exceedingly well.

The same could be done for our RV's. My pump is in the basement next to the city water connection. There is plenty of space to place a light fixture and bulb without creating a fire hazard. There's just a thin plywood panel separating the pump area from the rest of the basement, but it is more than enough enclosure to keep the extra heat where it is needed.

[raytronx]

Better to spend a little more on propane than repairs to burst pipes.

[nuskovich]

I'd experiment with some inexpensive thermometers kept and monitored in the susceptible areas. If you've heated the living space to your usual comfort level, there will be heat loss from your rig and somewhat of a warm envelope surrounding it. Wind will be the biggest enemy so shelter from prevailing winds.

[trucker LOU]

Another area of freeze hazard is the outside shower cabinet. I cut some insulating pad to fit inside door & around the fixture. sorry no pics camera broke, maybe new one from Santa.---Lou---