Mallard M185 Reviews? Cold-weather potential?

flyboy47

Member
Hello all,

I am seriously considering buying a 2018 Mallard M185. I plan on hauling it up from Texas to Alaska, where I am moving. (Active duty military, will be stationed in Fairbanks for 3 years).

I was wondering if there were any good reviews on this model from users in this site or elsewhere.

And although I'm not looking for 4-season camping (this little camper is just for short getaways while in Alaska), I *imagine* that it would fare decently in cold-ish weather. One Camping World rep told me it was rated down to 0 deg F. I am mainly looking for a little April/May and September camping in addition to Summer.

Does anyone have winter camping experience in this model, or ones like it?

Alex
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi flyboy47,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

The first thing to understand is the difference between "comfort tested to 0" and having running water. If you crank up the furnace, you'll probably be able to maintain interior comfort down to 0 (F), but you'll either have an external propane tank or will be refilling tanks quite frequently.

Keeping the water running is quite different. I'm not sure if Mallards have a tank heater / YETI option, but without tank heaters, you may have problems once temps get down to the teens. And your water lines may freeze at about that temperature as well.

Take a look at our owner-written Water Systems Winter Usage Guide for more information on how to keep the water running in extreme weather.
 

RossRagan

Well-known member
I just purchased a M245 which is outfitted similarly to the M185 and plan to use it as a 3 season camper here in MN. However my understanding is that it will need to be used dry early spring and late autumn since it is not outfitted for cold weather wet use without significant aftermarket upgrades, including insulating the “basement”, adding pipe heaters and tank heaters, etc.


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flyboy47

Member
RossRagan,

Thank you so much! That is overall great news. It sounds like the M185 could be exactly what I'm looking for. I don't expect to be camping during the "wet and cold" winters...but a little bit of early spring and early fall would be excellent.
 

RossRagan

Well-known member
RossRagan,

Thank you so much! That is overall great news. It sounds like the M185 could be exactly what I'm looking for. I don't expect to be camping during the "wet and cold" winters...but a little bit of early spring and early fall would be excellent.

Just to be clear, when I stated “cold weather wet use”, I was referring to the fact that it is not set up for cold weather use with water or toilet. If the temperature drops into the teens, plumbing and tanks could freeze up at those temperatures. I will be winterizing by the end of October, blowing out all water lines and emptying tanks, putting antifreeze into drain traps, etc. so any camping after that will be “dry” camping using campsite outhouses and using wetwipes instead of the camper shower to clean up. Basically just relying on the furnace and electric heater to keep the trailer comfortable.


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NYSUPstater

Well-known member
flyboy,

1st off, THANK YOU for your service to our armed forces!!! Without you and your brothers and sisters, we wouldn't be able to enjoy all of what we have today---so THANK YOU. The advice given is on par for any RV. IF you wanted to use it during the winter, you'd have to insulate the snot of things via external shelter and skirting. Yes,the RV furnaces are designed to maintain temps for cool weather, but in cold, they will work, but as has been pointed out, you'll go thru propane like water thru a sieve. Keeping water lines/tanks from freezing is a big challenge. Good luck and enjoy!!
 
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