Mn winter prep?

I'm working in MN living in my 2016 Key West. It looks like I'm going to be here until after thanksgiving. Just wondering if there was anything in particular I needed to do to prepare for living in the rv in the cold. What about ice build up on slide toppers when I'm ready to leave,..that kind d of stuff? Do I need covers for my ac units? Etc.. thanks

Hi gandmrv,

There are a number of things you should do to prep for extreme cold weather. Many of them have to do with keeping the water running. Let me suggest you review our owner-written Water Systems Winter Usage Guide.

If you have the Yeti package, you'll already have tank heating pads and heat tape on the underbelly portion of the water feed line from the fresh tank to the pump. If you'll be in an area where temps get to -20 (F) you'll want to consider adding heat tape to other water lines. And some skirting will help a lot, even if it's just under the main plumbing areas. At -15 to -20 (F) you may have frozen gate valves unless you add a skirt and heat the skirted area.

You should call the local propane supplier and have a 125 Gallon external propane tank set up at your site so you don't have to schlep tanks around. You'll also probably end up paying much less for propane.

Supplemental heat may be necessary to augment the furnace output. A high quality ceramic disc heater or two will be appreciated.

If you have standard windows, consider window coverings to reduce heat transfer. Dual pane windows do better, but are still responsible for a lot of heat transfer.

You should look into making PVC supports for the slide toppers (upside down T supports supporting a long cross piece) and plan on clearing snow and ice off them frequently. The standard ladder will need additional support if you're going to use it regularly. I find that supporting the lowest standoffs from underneath works well.

If you have an ice maker in your frig, you'll need to evacuate the water from the feed line and close it off at the cutoff valve. Portions of the feed line are exposed to outside air and will freeze as soon as temps go below freezing. If you have a Residential Refrigerator, follow the winterizing instructions in our owner-written Residential Refrigerator Guide.

You may want to have a generator available to keep things going in case of a local power failure. If you lose power, the tank heaters (110V AC) will not operate and the battery will run down pretty quickly from running the furnace, water heater, etc. If you have a residential refrigerator, it'll also run down the batteries pretty quickly. A generator will see you through a potential crisis.

If you have additional questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks for the tips danemayer. Our unit does not have Yeti Pkg. But I did have a skirting made while we were in WY this summer, already have it installed. I just purchased a couple ceramic heaters to place under the rig. I should receive my heated drinking water hose today, and I'm plan on running 3" pvc for my sewer drain..it's supposed to drop to high 20's Friday night but then warm back up, but I know sustained cold weather is not far off. Do you think the ice maker line would be ok since it's inside the skirting..probably not, huh. Thanks again

I would winterize the ice maker water feed line. It's a poly line that is very susceptible to freeze damage. If there's a drain valve under the slide, it's also susceptible.