Planning for below freezing travel

garyac

Member
Planning trip to Florida for the month of March. I have many questions I need to have answered. My 2900Mk has been winterized and is sitting for us to load up and go. The problem is leaving from Central NY in winter. Can I add water to my tank, can I run the furnace going down the road to keep the tank and the plumbing from freezing. What else should I be asking about as this is the first time we will be using the
trailer in winter, (even if just trying to get south of the cold).
Thanks for any help anybody can give. Gary
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Re: Plannig for below freezing travel

Welcome to the forum Garyac. There is a lot of good information here.
I am sure that other people have their own way to travel in winter.
We leave the rig winterized when traveling south in winter. We carry a gallon jug of water for flushing the toilet.
We also carry a couple gallons of water for coffee and wash up.
Once we get far enough south I will de-winterize if the daytime temps are above freezing.


Peace
Dave
 

Sumo

Well-known member
Re: Plannig for below freezing travel

I would leave it winterized for the first day of driving. Than stop at a RV Park far enough south that sub zero temps would not be a problem before adding water to the tanks and
de-winterizing.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Re: Plannig for below freezing travel

I would leave it winterized for the first day of driving. Than stop at a RV Park far enough south that sub zero temps would not be a problem before adding water to the tanks and
de-winterizing.


I agree. You could also use the RV park's facilities, rather than your plumbing, until you are in warmer climes.
 

garyac

Member
Re: Plannig for below freezing travel

Thanks for the advice. But I thought of another thing, what about canned food or other food that can freeze. Can I run the furnace going down the road to try and keep the temp above 32?
 

Westwind

Well-known member
Re: Plannig for below freezing travel

Gary - we have made the trip for the last 10 years, 8 towing a one season TT and 2 towing our Bighorn, we leave RI and usually make it to North Carolina, I chose to stay the first night in a hotel, this year a Hampton Inn off I-95 in Wilson, NC. It has a large parking lot and depending on the time of the month you travel you shouldn't have any problems. I've never had my furnace on (uncomfortable with that) just our refer. After 12-14 hours behind the wheel I'm not crazy about a freezing trailer to sleep in nor setting it up. Most years the temps were either freezing or below.
The second night we are in Florida, this year Georgia and I de-winterize and clean up the truck and trailer. Good spot is Coastal Georgia RV Resort, Brunswick, Georgia or Flamingo Lake, Jacksonville, Fl.
 

rgwilliams69

Well-known member
Re: Plannig for below freezing travel

We are taking the same approach this coming weekend. Leaving Northern Illinois in freezing weather still fully winterized on our way to Florida, and stopping overnight at a KOA in Alabama where we will de-winterize and fill up with water before we head to the race track in Florida. Following race week reversing that procedure and stopping at the same KOA overnight to winterize before we get back up into freezing Illinois temperatures again. Already have the four gallons of RV anti-freeze in the basement ready for use on the return trip!
 

olcoon

Well-known member
Re: Plannig for below freezing travel

When we are traveling in cold weather, I leave the fridge turned off while traveling during the day & turn it on at night. The reason I do this is that it's cold & I don't have to worry about stuff in the fridge getting too warm, and I'm saving on any propane it might use while on the road. Also the possibility of a fire with the propane. During the hot weather in the summer it's almost always on.
 

Rrloren

Well-known member
Re: Plannig for below freezing travel

Just did the trip 2 1/2 weeks ago from near A C , NJ and we usually get to the NC border and then add water to the tank and had no problems. As previously suggested we take a gal. of water for toilet the first day then we are on the water tank. Even if really cold in the AM leaving NC the movement of the water prevents icing and for the second nite we are far enough south it's no longer an issue.
 

traveler44

Well-known member
Re: Plannig for below freezing travel

When we leave Illinois in the winter we turn the furnace on and turn the thermostat down and it runs 50* to 60* until we stop for the night and then we turn it up to the mid 70s and run the fireplace and an electric heater at night. We have done this for the last 4 years without any problems. We winterize the water system and leave the fresh water tank empty until we get past the freeze zone. We carry a couple of gallons of antifreeze for flushing the toilet and a case of bottled water for drinking etc. Our fridge is on auto. from the time we leave until we get home in the spring. We have a diesel truck so I don't worry about the fridge or furnace being on when we stop for fuel.
 

noobee

Well-known member
Re: Plannig for below freezing travel

Welcome to the forum Garyac. There is a lot of good information here.
I am sure that other people have their own way to travel in winter.
We leave the rig winterized when traveling south in winter. We carry a gallon jug of water for flushing the toilet.
We also carry a couple gallons of water for coffee and wash up.
Once we get far enough south I will de-winterize if the daytime temps are above freezing.


Peace
Dave

Ditto... except use windshield wash for toilet flush (only use the toilet for liquid refuse).
 
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