Cold weather camping

I'm looking for input into cold weather camping, well living in this case. We have a 2011 Bighorn 3670RL and have been in Arizona in 110 degree heat, Texas with 100 plus temps and high humidity and have done pretty well. My question here is without the Yeti package and no thermal pane windows how will the Bighorn do in South Dakota winters? We are talking low temps that could be down in the teens and possibly below zero for a short time(hopefully). Not sure if I want the position or not but thought I would see what others have experienced in their cold weather camping.

Thanks for any input (except for the ones that call me crazy) lol

With single pane windows you will certainly experience some condensation issues. You will also want to buy a ceramic style electric heater to help - and cut down on use of LP. Your biggest concern will be water - but I'll leave those comments to more experienced members.

It might be okay for about a week but it will eat you alive with your propane expense. One 30# tank about every 2 days...I've stayed in our Big Country which has the same insulation package, in temps down into the teens. With an electric heater heater going in the basement area it still froze up the water line coming from the tank. After it warmed to above freezing it still took a couple days to thaw. It was cold and drafty in the trailer even with the fireplace on and electric heaters running. These things are just not made for severe cold weather. If it stays below freezing for any length of time it just won't work. Save your propane dollars and rent an apartment or go further South. Even a Yeti pkg and double pane windows won't help. Don

I went under my Cyclone 3950 and filled every gap imaginable with foam insulation.
Just running electric heaters upstairs may not work to well where no heat is put under the floor to keep pipes from freezing. A vinyl skirting would probably help or a bunch of straw bales. Heating cords on all hoses and exposed pipes is a necessidty with insulation around them also. Just go south.

One of the "perks" is free propane. But I'm afraid you might be right in the water lines freezing. We have a heated hose but if anything in the belly freezes I'm done.
As for going south, we have managed parks in Florida and Texas and just looking for something different. Just not sure how that white stuff will look on my Bighorn.

Danemayer will need to chime in here! They are traveling but he can make some good recommendations, they've stayed in Breckenridge, Co for months in the winter.

I agree, anything below 25* for a while and you will potentially be fighting the freezing pipes in the belly. We've added heat pads/tape ourselves in our belly for our winter camping, but usually only a 10-day trip... Seeing first-hand how the pipes are routed, I don't think they can withstand "real cold" without some help.





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Hi BillnSue,

You might want to look at the weather history on http://weatherspark.com/#!dashboard;q=sioux falls, sd, usa

Looking at January in Sioux Falls, the mean low is 6*. You will definitely get below zero at times and the record low temps are in the -26 range. S. Dakota's a big state. Aberdeen, further north gets quite a bit colder. Last year's lows were -10 to -11 and record lows go to -45.

Tank heating pads will protect your water tanks from freezing. A heated water hose and a drop light in the UDC along with a heating lamp above the water pump and plumbing behind the basement wall will keep a lot of your plumbing from freezing. The lines to the kitchen may survive down to 6* if there's enough heat from the furnace and you have some insulation in the underbelly, or a skirt.

If temps drop below zero, the dump valves are likely to freeze, depending again on insulation and furnace heat to the underbelly.

Your best bet might be good skirting. Plan on running the furnace a lot to keep the underbelly warm. And even with all that, if it gets to -15, you might still freeze water lines to the kitchen or bathroom as well as the dump valves.

Thanks for the info, it's actually just south of Rapid City. Am thinking I might have to have them put me in a cabin for December through February and winterized the Bighorn.
Again many thanks.

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Billnsue,
PM me your number an I can call you and let you know what I did with my Bighorn 3370RL in Alaskan winters to-30F

Bill

We camped once in winter in NY for a week and won't do that again. We were able to stay somewhat warm using electric heaters and the propane, but I was fighting frozen pipes each night. Before we camped I even put a heating rod in the basement and added some additional insulation. It was chilly to say the least and we have double pane windows. Just not enough insulation for prolonged sub freezing temps. If you do decide to camp then I would suggest getting some insulated skirts put on and still expect to be chilly.

Hi Bill,

Sounds like you guys are "on the move again". What CG will you be managing?

Guess we'll miss you in San Antonio when we're through that area in February.

The cabin is a great idea. If it doesn't work out, I'd advise you to go with some sort of skirting. Then maybe a couple of small and safe electric heaters underneath. Maybe keep the UDC light on and maybe another light or small electric and safe heater behind the UDC area.

Of course a heated and insulated water hose, PVC sewer line, dumping only when above freezing.

This said, I've never done this - but I read alot

BillnSue,
The Jim is right, I never had a freeze up in Alaska, the key is to skirt your unit and make sure to run your propane furnace. I also put a small heater in the pass-through that was electric with its own thermostats (got is a Home Depot). Then you want to make sure your water line is heated, I purchased a black pvc water hose from a local dealer and put heat tape and insulated the line, then I put the line through ABS pipe to give it that added protection. I then built a blue board foam box around the water faucet and put a heat lamp in it to keep it warm. I have attached some pictures of the custom skirt I had made for mine.



Bill

Brrrrrrr . . . I get cold just looking at that!

Thanks for all the input!
After weighing all the pro's and con's we have decided not to take the position.
Thanks again for all the good information.

billnsue said:

Thanks for all the input!
After weighing all the pro's and con's we have decided not to take the position.
Thanks again for all the good information.

Click to expand...

Cool - hope to stop by and say "hi" to you guys in February.

BTW Jim, we left San Antonio 6 weeks ago to help out a new KOA conversion and now have decided to stay. If you get the chance take a look at onalaskakoa.com
Come out and visit, it's just 20 miles from Rainbow the escapees park. Getting ready to start construction on a 3200 sq ft club house with full kitchen and excercise room, large glass doors overlooking the most beautiful sunsets in Texas and seating for 175. Have to get this built so we can host a Heartland Rally!

Heartland says on the BH forum, "Heartland’s laminated construction has been subjected to rigid testing in the famous DOMETIC Extreme temperature testing chamber, where it passed with flying colors![FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]The testing chamber temperature is set to 0º to test the heating system, followed by setting it at 100º to test its cooling ability.
The interior of the Heartland coach remained warm and comfortable through out the sub-freezing testing and nice and cool during the extreme heat test!

But from reading these posts it seems that perhaps Heartland's claims might be overly stated?

azdryheat said:

Heartland says on the BH forum, "Heartland’s laminated construction has been subjected to rigid testing in the famous DOMETIC Extreme temperature testing chamber, where it passed with flying colors!The testing chamber temperature is set to 0º to test the heating system, followed by setting it at 100º to test its cooling ability.
The interior of the Heartland coach remained warm and comfortable through out the sub-freezing testing and nice and cool during the extreme heat test!

But from reading these posts it seems that perhaps Heartland's claims might be overly stated?

Click to expand...

Relative to these posts, the claim says that the heating system will keep the coach comfortable down to 0 degrees. It does. But that's not a statement about the plumbing. If you want to have running water, you'll have to take additional steps.