Cold Weather Advice

We have moved from Southern California to Tennessee and are staying in our 5th wheel until about May, Temps here get no lower than the 20s and I am wondering if I need any real precautions from freezing water lines. We
do have access to an electrical outlet for a hose if I need a heated one but wondered if I’m only exposed to a few days at a time that I would run on tank water. I don’t have a Yeti package but tanks and lines are enclosed of course and the heater will be on when needed. I have a vent in the basement so figured heat gets in that area as well.

You should be fine with a heated water hose, we survived Colorado's bomb cyclone, the entire trailer was encased in ice, and we did fine.

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You'll want to run the furnace so hot air gets pushed into the underbelly.

It's a good idea to hang a drop light in the UDC to keep the water connections warm. A 60 watt bulb should be fine.

If you have a water feed line to the refrigerator, and the refrigerator is in a slide, the feed line probably goes under the slide and is exposed to outside temperatures. You need to cut off the water to that feed line and evacuate the water.

You'll want an external propane tank so you don't have to schlep tanks all the time.

Take a look at our Water Systems Winter Usage Guide for more tips and techniques to keep the water running.

This may be an odd suggestion in regards to an RV, but what about adding skirting all the way around the bottom portion of the coach? What's the consensus say?

NYSUPstater said:

This may be an odd suggestion in regards to an RV, but what about adding skirting all the way around the bottom portion of the coach? What's the consensus say?

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Skirting helps a great deal. Whether it's worthwhile for lows in the 20s (F) is another question.

Redrider007 said:

We have moved from Southern California to Tennessee and are staying in our 5th wheel until about May, Temps here get no lower than the 20s and I am wondering if I need any real precautions from freezing water lines. We
do have access to an electrical outlet for a hose if I need a heated one but wondered if I’m only exposed to a few days at a time that I would run on tank water. I don’t have a Yeti package but tanks and lines are enclosed of course and the heater will be on when needed. I have a vent in the basement so figured heat gets in that area as well.

Click to expand...

Info offered is right on. The temps you’re talking about in Tennessee are what we have here in central Texas. However, it can occasionally get cold, so you just have to be vigilant and keep an eye out for the weather. Just be prepared to do some extra wrapping. Since you’ll be in your rv and heating it daily, you shouldn’t have any problems. Unless you just like skirting, that’s just not needed. Following the advice given, maybe wrapping those low point drains for those extended colder days and wrapping your water source while using a heated water hose will cover you.

The information given is right on the spot. I’ve made it through temperatures below zero degrees following the aforementioned advice. Once again: turn off the water supply to the refrigerator and drain that system. I always put insulation behind the refrigerator through the outside access, enough cover the supply lines and valve. Just an extra precaution even though they’ve been drained. Make certain the fresh water tank is empty. Don’t skimp on propane, make sure your furnace runs regularly. You can use electric heaters to supplement and/or an electric blanket at night, however, run that furnace!! Purchase the heater hose that’s all in one, it’s well worth the expense and get the longest one. If your h2o connection is above ground, wrap all connections with heat tape and insulate wrap. As suggested, either rent or buy a large propane tank, you don’t want to worry about propane levels while gone. Check with a local propane company or ask the park manager, or check out the neighbors set up. I never put skirting on, however, many neighbors did and they said it helped with maintaining internal temps. Now, if you’re tank drain pipe/valve is exposed, wrap it with heat tape and insulate. Buy an area rug and throw rugs. The floors get cold.

With gas aborption refrigerators, you don't want to block the vents as that can cause the cooling unit to overheat and possibly be damaged. If adding insulation, it should go on top and on the sides, but not on the back.

With residential refrigerators, check the manufacturer's manual regarding clearances required for operation.