Yeti Pack

Serenity

Member
So we are in MN just south of Minneapolis & though we are leaving for FL in a few days, we are currently experiencing cold weather here. We specifically bought our 427 with a "Yeti Pack" which we were assured could handle the weather we would encounter in the fall/spring (not deep winter) here. I'm having a hard time finding exact specs, but so far the Yeti Pack is not so impressive. First there are 2 switches (only the one in the control panel cabinet is labeled - the other is just a clear red switch that glows when on).
We have a heated hose from the water hookup into our rig (which, stupidly, is on the GFCI outlet in the bathroom so if it pops the breaker we don't know until the water freezes) & we have water flowing in the bathroom. But if it gets below freezing the water lines in the rest of the rig - kitchen/garage - freeze too. So no dishwasher, no washing machine, no flushing of garage toilet... I was under the impression the Yeti Pack was there to prevent those hoses from freezing. Heck if we can buy hoses with heat tape for use outdoors, wouldn't it make sense for the Yeti Pack to include heat tape on water hoses in the trailer? It isn't deep winter cold here - these are temperatures that should be reasonable for the Yeti Pack to address...
~Sara & Devlin
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi Serenity,

The YETI package includes tank heating pads on the holding tanks, and a relatively short piece of heat tape on the underbelly section of the fresh water feed line from fresh tank to water pump. There's also some additional insulation in front and rear cap and possibly other locations.

Apart from getting water to the pump, there are no other heated water lines. To keep those lines from freezing, you have to run the furnace enough to keep them warm. There is a duct from furnace into the underbelly area for that purpose. If you don't run the furnace, or if you keep the thermostat on a low temp setting, the underbelly won't stay warm.

Of course if it gets cold enough, even with the furnace running, at some point the underbelly water lines will freeze.

If you'll routinely be camping in temps in the mid-teens (F) or lower, you should look into adding heat tape on your water lines. Alternatively, if staying in one place for a while, set up mini-skirting using foamboard and place a heater inside the mini-skirt to keep the water systems warm.

Take a look at our owner-written Water Systems Winter Usage Guide for more complete information and other tips.

As for the GFCI outlet for your heated water hose, run an extension cord to the power pedestal. If the pedestal has a 15 amp GFCI outlet, get a 30-->15 adapter and plug the extension cord into the 30 amp receptacle.
 

sengli

Well-known member
Also you need to have about a 1/3 of a tank of fluids in those holding tanks, or like danemeyer has explained before...the heating pads will melt the tanks! The only fresh water line that has a heat tape is the short one from the pump to the fresh water tank...alot of dealers are very un-informed on exactly what this package actually is.
 

212Pilot

Active Member
Our Cyclone had similar problems last year so we made some modifications. Dana mentioned the furnace heating the underbelly. Our Cyclone was suppose to have hot air vented into the underbelly but someone forgot to run the vent or open the ducting as designed. There is a 3" flex duct that runs back to the Garage but in cold weather by the time the heated air gets there it is cold. When I opened the underbelly to put heat tape and insulation on the water lines that feed the kitchen sink and Garage bathroom I also cut the 3" flex duct and redirected it between the waste tanks. Since making these modifications we have had no frozen lines even at -15F. Good Luck.
 

RoadJunkie

Well-known member
We didn't go with the "Yeti" package, never thought it was worth the asking price. Also, I felt the package was only one tool in the arsenal of required steps to keep your rig away from the attack of cold weather. That attack is darn right relentless in penetrating unguarded points of entry and it takes a creative mind to second guess it's next step. No one should expect that the "Yeti" package alone will solve their winter living freeze problems.
 
Top