At what temps will it freeze? What spray foam can I use for an unsealed hole in floor.

[firstone]

I want to get the rig ready for a trip. I want to hook up the hose to city water and check for leaks since we have only camped once using the water tank since purchased. If the temps drop down to 30 again will my lines freeze without the heat being on? How low of temps can I camp in without everything freezing up since this seems to be a problem even though the brochure says its good for extreem temps.

I also have a hole in the floor where the low water lines drop down under the tub. The hole is wide open through the floor with no insulation. What can/should I use for this? I have never seen the dark spray foam they use???

 

[danemayer]

Hi Mike,

If the temps drop down to 30 again will my lines freeze without the heat being on? How low of temps can I camp in without everything freezing up since this seems to be a problem even though the brochure says its good for extreem temps.

The brochure probably makes a claim that the trailer is "comfort tested" down to xx degrees. That's about keeping you comfortable, not about keeping water running. We frequently meet people who go skiing in Colorado and don't use their internal water systems - they rely on clubhouse facilities at the resort.

Will stuff freeze at 30 degrees with no heat? Maybe, maybe not. If it's warm during the day, the trailer will get warm and as the internal heat dissipates, it might protect you down to 30. The bigger problem is that weather forecasts are imprecise and inaccurate. For us a forecast of 30 is usually at the airport, which is 20 miles away. We're usually a bit warmer. Other people may be colder. And if they're wrong by 2 or 3 degrees... you'll pay the price. When temps are forecast to hit the mid-to-low thirties, I winterize.

If you have a heated underbelly, you may be able to survive down to the mid 20s as long as the furnace runs frequently. It helps to have a heat lamp over the water pump and inside plumbing lines (just make sure it can't fall down), and a 60watt drop lamp in the UDC. If you don't have a heated water hose, you'll have to fill the fresh tank and then drain the hose or it'll freeze.

Again, weather forecasts can be way off, especially when you get to campgrounds that don't benefit from urban heat islands. It will be very expensive if you misjudge the weather and damage your holding tanks.

You can probably close the gap around the drains by wrapping with pipe insulation. If the gap is large, wrap the insulation the wrong way.

 

[jmgratz]

Same as above. I would suggest you do what we do. We have a wireless thermometer outside and in the basement. That way we can monitor what is going on. If the basement temps get too low we can increase the furnace temp setting. If the temps are going to get below freezing outside (say 25-32 degrees F) then I will turn off the water at the pedestal and drain the water hose. I have a separate UDC with water manifolds and can drain the manifolds if needed. I have also pipe insulated the low point drain line and all other pipes that extend below the correplast. You may not have a low point drain. Also I take the cover off and leave the light on in the UDC when below freezing. So far (knock on wood) it has worked to temps as low as 12. The most important thing is how long will it stay below freezing and how low will it be.

 

[firstone]

OK, thanks......I do have low water lines and I will put a pipe insulation on them. I don't have a UDC just a water heater in the front storage area. I can wait a few days and hope it's the last 32deg morning for the year.


My brochure says all tanks and the gate valves are heated. How. the one tiny air duct from the heater?
I have one duct that goes straight down through the floor that is 1/3 the size of all the others

 

[happykraut]

I dewinterized my BC last spring before leaving for Phoenix, AZ. On the way there we spent the night in Gallop, NM in a Walmart parking lot. Woke up in the morning and it was 14 deg with snow and ice on the ground. We did not run the furnace nor any heater using the generator. I was pretty worried about the water lines. No damage or leaks of any kind. Just my opinion, but I believe they can handle short periods of time at pretty cold temps. Longer stays will probably get you into trouble.

 

[Silverado23]

If your having trouble finding the foam in the normal areas in the store check the landscaping section near the pond supplies. Great stuff Pond and stone is one brand that I have seen and I think may have used this brand or one very similar.http://greatstuff.dow.com/products/pond-and-stone/. It also may be called Waterfall Foam Sealant. All of these are black foam.

 

[Lynn1130]

I have dry camped with temps down to 7 F. With night time temps to 20 and daytime in the 50s we had no freeze up issues. The heat was running during the night. With temps into the teens and down to single digits the low point drains froze, even thought they were insulated, to a point. Once thawed we had water again. There are a number of threads that give tips on preventing freeze ups and if you are in a spot with shore power heat strips will help with city water lines and low points. If you are camping with no power other than the generator you will need to keep heat running in the trailer and insulated those areas mentioned in other threads.

IMHO 30 for short periods is not an issue. 24 hours of 30 degrees is probably going to freeze exposed lines.