Living in 5th in winter, toy hauler or not?

Hello everyone! In a few months im going to be looking into buying my 1st 5th wheel to live out of instead of buying a house. I just have a few questions, first all i live up by lake erie and we get alot of snow and i was wondering how much snow can lay on the roof or slide outs? or do i need to clean them off? My parents just put awnings on thier slide outs would that be enough? And also whats heating cost for those of you that have been camping in the winter? My uncle's took his voltage out to Colorado and keept his set at 70F at -4 and had to get 2 tanks every 2 days. I mean here in erie the coldest it got last winter was 10.

Also i have a motorcycle(wr250x) and i dont know if i want a Cyclone or a Landmark. If i was to get a toy hauler, how cold does the back part get? are the seals really good?

Thanks!
~Cory

Hi Cory,

It's a good idea to clean the snow off slides before it builds up more than a few inches and compresses or melts and freezes. It can be hard to get off after it turns into ice. Also, I wouldn't want a water source sitting on top of my slide for months at a ime with interior heat slowing turning it to water.

If you get slideout toppers, they need to be supported as the weight of snow can damage them. Sometimes the snow will just cause them to sag, but sometimes toppers get damaged by heavy snow. It's pretty easy to build PVC supports that slide in between the top of slide and bottom of awning.

I usually clean off the roof after a snowfall for the same reasons. If it's allowed to melt and refreeze, it becomes harder to clean off and you'll get some pretty large and dangerous icicles on the sides. If you want to run the bathroom fan, you''ll need to clear the snow around it regularly.

If you're regularly going up on the roof you'll want to either use a purchased ladder, or support the RV ladder. Here's a link to what I do.

Propane consumption is going to vary a lot depending on choice of trailer and options. Our Landmark has dual pane windows and a fireplace option. Our first winter in the Colorado mountains we went through a 40 lb tank in about 3 to 3.5 days.

I don't have experience with Cyclones, but I will say that the further away from the furnace, the harder it is for hot air to stay hot as it travels.

These units are not going to be that great to stay in during the cold winters we have here. I live in northern indiana, so I understand the winters here. Your idea of living in the RV, might be go if you have insulated skirting put around the bottom of the unit. Plus as cold as it gets, I just dont see how you are going to keep it warm enough to not freeze some of your pipes eventually. I know alot of the coaches advertise they are four season rated. But its not like a house. Staying in them for a shirt time, ya you can crank the heat. But living thru a PA winter, thats a tall order.

For help on keeping the water running in winter, see our owner-written Water Systems Winter Usage Guide.