so impressed with new gateway!!!

[1_oldgoat]

Mike, yea i don't get the new rv to go play. Glad i kept the tent trailer now!!
Preparing for the extremely cold temps on the way but because of a leaking valve have frozen drain pipes from the drain end all the way back up both drain pipes, freaking out now and unsure what to do, i set a small ceramic heater out and made a makeshift box to set around the drain pipe, so far the straight end that sewer line hooks up to has thawed out and ice removed but the smaller drains are still frozen solid. I think i may go get some heat tape and wrap all the drain piping along with some insulation tomorrow, i thought maybe with tank heaters on i could melt the ice from the grey tanks out but no luck not sure how hot tank heaters keep water but since i pipes are frozen all the way back up the drains obviously not hot enough to melt 2 inchs of ice 3 feet long, only reason i noticed is since the tank valve has been leaking i have just left the sewer hose hooked up to a portable waste tank, when i checked it, found my problem. Keeping fingers crossed no pipes break. What a pain. I did pour a couple gallons of antifreeze into the toilet so now thats all the liquid in that tank when it leaks now it shouldn't freeze, i hope.
Any ideas on how to get the rest of the pipes thawed out would be appreciated, have to set ceramic heater back in udc so pump fresh water line dosn't freeze tonight, supposed to get to minus 3, and colder the next few nights. Not what i need right now.
Not whining and still love our Gateway, just a simple valve leaking that caused all this trouble, nothing from a manufacture stanspoint and as long as pipes do not burst will be fine once we get all the ice out of the lines.
Stuck in Spokane!!
Marcus, Shelli and Pretty boy Floyd
Need to get this handled and hit the road.

 

[danemayer]

Marcus,

Get a sheet of 3/4" foamboard insulation from Home Depot or Lowes. Build an enclosure under the frozen pipes by cutting the foamboard and taping it together with duct tape. Use tape to create a hinge for a door. Place the heater inside the enclosure, sitting on a board or other support to keep it dry in case water runs under the RV. The enclosure will trap the heat and the underbelly above the coroplast will warm up to 60 or 70 within an hour or two. The pipes should defrost in a few hours.

Another way to proceed is to drop enough of the coroplast to focus a hair dryer on the frozen pipes. Plug the hair dryer into an extension cord going to the pedestal. Don't use the RV outlets. It might take an hour or two.

Above the pump, you can hang a reflector with a 100-150 watt heat lamp instead of using the heater. Just make sure it can't fall down or contact the floor or anything else.

 

[1_oldgoat]

Dan, thanks for the tip, you have been a life saver more than once, i appreciate all the help, i just got back from lowes, and they didn't have anyheat tape, the local ace hardware was closed, i have a little antifreeze coming out the drain, key word is a little, not enough to help any but put cap back on sewer line and am hopeing it fills with antifreeze if it does fill up again, fighting a loosing battle outside, temp has dropped to 14 frrom 26 the last hr and a half. I'll make another run to lowes in the am for foam board and build the enclosure. We are using a 50 to 15 amp adapter and plugged into a 20 amp outlet in the house so i can run the udc heater and fireplace inside without flipping a breaker. I'll have to buy another extension cord tomorrow morning as well since we only brought the one and plug into another outlet. I may go open the hose drain on the sewer cap so if it does fill and freeze all the way up again there is some expansion room out the hose hole. Almost hate to open anything as cold as its going to get but i do not want a broken pipe or pipes.
We had planned on trying to leave wednesday now but until i get drains open can't do much of anything, i'll let you know how the foamboard works for me tomorrow, sounds like another great idea.
Thanks again
Marcus

 

[1_oldgoat]

Headed to lowes again, froze up inside and out last night. Temps got down to -2 with a wind chill of -12 and supposed to get colder today, tomorrow and thursday. Have had the pump freeze up b4 and it usualy thaws out fairly quick once temps get into the teens o not to worried about that, going to try Dans idea of a heat lamp above the pump tonight and see if that works better than the heater did, i didn't open access panel but am going to this morning to try and get pump running a little quicker. Tonight is supposed to get -18 with wind chil so not going anywhere till saturday when its supposed to get back into the 20's. Can't head home because its snowing and same cold temps so worried about roads, should have left last week, story of my life......
Marcus

 

[1_oldgoat]

Well, got a box built out of foam board around drains and a heater going,will keep you all posted on how long it takes to get water flowing, its so cold duct tape froze before it would stick to anything, i hope i am not to late with this, pump is still not working so worried it may be toast after freezing this time, have a heater blowing directly on it with foam board directing warm air straight to it, a little peeved at the moment, the dw seems to think nothing of this and isn't getting the idea we could have some serious trouble if i can't get thawed out. Sorry for venting here.......

 

[1_oldgoat]

Dan, thanks for the help again, the foam board and small heater seem to be working, i ran and.picked up a portable little buddy propane heater ti set under as well and have water coming out of drain slowly so i know its working, it was moving water before i set propane heater under as well, just trying to speed things up a bit. The pump fired up for a second so it may work but this is the tthird time i have frozen up there so i may pick up another pump just in case, it did get to 15 today but the wind is blowing so feels alot colder, feet and hands go numb in a matter of minutes outside.
Looks like the dw wants to stay thru the weekend now, and made plans for tomorrow and wednesday night so not going anywhere for now.she was talking about leaving the rv here until we come back in march but i don't believe we will do that as i need to get into the dealership and get some repairs done, tank valves being a priority after this episode!! I am trying to be patient with her but thats running thin right now so keeping busy or at least trying to with having to come inside to thaw myself out every five minutes.
Thank you again for the help on getting pipes thawed couldn't find heat tape anywhere but won't really need it once the tank valves are replaced and no more leaking into drain pipes so 20 bucks for insulation board was the better investment. The odor from the black tank leaking and thawing out is a bit much but i can't hook sewer hose up to portable tank and keep everything sealed so for now it is what it is.
Usualy pretty laid back and nothing realy bothers me much but a little stressed today so sorry for the earlier rant everyone.
Marcus, Shelli and Pretty boy Floyd

 

[dbbls59]

I don't understand how snow can damage the slide toppers. Rain will pond on them and lay them flat on the slide roof, what is different with snow?????

 

[danemayer]

I don't understand how snow can damage the slide toppers. Rain will pond on them and lay them flat on the slide roof, what is different with snow?????

Might depend on how much slack is available on a particular awning. Mine pool a bit from rain, but that doesn't lay them flat. Also, rain will drain off to some extent. Snow just keeps building up. I've got two feet on the roof of the picnic shelter next to the RV and if I hadn't cleaned the RV 4 times, it would be the same up there.

Whatever the cause, in years with heavy snowfall up here in Breckenridge, a few people have had the fabric damaged.

 

[1_oldgoat]

What an amazing rv, -6 last night with a wind chill of -28, i hooked up to water from the house and everything is runing as it should, need a new pump i believe because that is not working at all, the foam.board with a heater under solved the frozen drain pipe issue. I plan on leaving that set up until we roll,
Last night acording to the news is the worst of this cold snap only 2 this evening and then its supposed to get back into the 20's and 30's, i know we are safe there as thats what we have been in most of this and the last trip.
Does anyone know if the fresh water tank has a heater pad under it or if they are just on the grey tanks?? Not sure but i may have a frozen tank of water as my panel.shows it as empty and i know its full, i'll check the pick up line when i change the pump out tomorrow but it shouldn't have ice in it, the pump is warm to the touch as is the rest of everything behind the access panel with a heater going inside and heat from underneath. I would think the fresh tank would stay fairly warm where its sitting but don't know for sure.
Fingers crossed we are good tomorrow, i will disconnect from shore water and drag hoses inside so they don't freeze solid as well. A couple more days and i can get moving and head home.
Suprised and amazed we didn't burst any lines last night,

 

[1_oldgoat]

Dan, you have been so helpful i can not thank you enough for all the ideas and for helping me resolve the frozen drains. I was so stressed yesterday and this morning to be truthfull but once i had water running and was able to drain both grey tanks felt a bit better, we do need to get on the road and into some warmer weather so we can get into a park with full hookups and flush the black tank again, with everything going on i haven't flushed or hauled the portable tank since the drains were frozen and have stopped using the facilities in the rv and going into the mother in laws house. The girls are almost finished in there and are now working on pictures and dividing them between the 4 sisters.Once thats finished i can start loading the storage area with totes of personal items and a couple pieces of furniture, nothing to large.
I see you are in Breckinridge?? I served with a good friend in the Navy who was from there, we still keep in touch. Are you fully skirted with the foam board in that enviroment and is it normaly as cold as its been here, i know Stan left and moved to Whidby Island Wa because he was tired of winters there.
After last nights temps and one more tonight i will feel extremely lucky if all i have to replace is the water pump. Had i known we were going to be here this long and had the forsight to know how cold we were going to get would have bought 20 foam boards and made a full body skirt, 200 bucks would have been worth no aggrevation and stress from worry about freezing up. I know we are supposed to have tank heaters with the gateway to omfort package and they are supposed to be 12 volt acording to heartland but the water from the drains out of the grey tanks wasn't very warm. When Jim from Heartland left a msg telling me the heaters were 12 volt he didn't mention if they had temp control on them so i assume not, just on or off.
Checked my pump and its trying to run, so thinking pick up is frozen and maybe fresh tank, drains r frozen as well by that i am talking about low point drains except the ones inside my foam box, so can't open to try and dump all the water and fill with antifreeze for the next few days. I may open the fresh water drain and see if i get anything out of it, i am assuming its conected to the fresh water tank.
Anyway a bit long winded again but just wanted to let you know how much i appreciate the helpmand advise, i don't know how to repay you but if you are ever through southern idaho please get ahold of me and i would love to buy you and your wife dinner.
Marcus Shelli and prettyboy floyd

 

[danemayer]

I just have a small area enclosed and heated underneath; maybe 3' wide and 6' long. The main reason is to protect the gate valves from freezing when temps get down below -15F. I have gate valve heaters, but when they freeze, it's still hard for the heaters to thaw them out. My tank heaters are 110V and are on black, grays, and fresh tank. I've added heat tape to the fresh line and most of the rest of the water lines. My experience is that without heat tape, my kitchen lines freeze at around -15F and the bathroom lines freeze at -25F. The fresh water feed line has a weak area where the drain line tees into the feed line. The drain valve is an inch or two below the coroplast and the water between coroplast and valve is exposed to outside air. As it freezes, the ice wicks up into the tee connection blocking the fresh feed. The heat tape on your fresh line should prevent this. BUT, if the opening in the coroplast allows enough cold air through, it might overwhelm the heat tape on a really cold night. Also, if the heat tape and insulation weren't installed in an optimum way, you might not get as much protection as is possible. My heat tape is wrapped in a figure 8 around the tee to better protect it. My guess is that you have some ice there and your tank is probably not frozen. You might be able to defrost it with a hair dryer in a couple of minutes. Btw, I know that stressed out feeling. The reason I know all this stuff is because being up here in the winter really pushes the envelope on what these rigs can do. This is our 4th winter in Breck and I've worked through all kinds of cold weather issues. I found out pretty early that waking up without running water is not a good feeling. Anyway, pretty soon you'll be an expert on cold weather camping.

 

[1_oldgoat]

Dan, thanks again for the information. I made the box under the drains about 18 inch by 60 inchs, just enough to cover the drains and that helped a ton, thawed drains and the grey tanks drained just fine. I really do not want to be an expert in cild weather rv'ing!! Just here out of necessity and got caught not prepared, if it were not for your help we would be screwed for sure. 2 of my low point drains are next to the drains i have boxed in and one for hot water line and heater are further back so its exposed now, with the 2 inside the heated foamboard i would think that would thaw them.out, i know they were frozen when i winterized but thawed fairly quick when temps came up into 40's. Looking at my pump.and fresh pick up line i can not see any heat tape so the factory only did heat pads for tanks, i will look for heat tape at the rv dealership today when i go pick up pump. my service panel shows the fresh tank empty and i know it was full and overflow was not frozen when i filled makes me think it may be frozen. Don't know how the tanks are laid out above coroplast so if fresh is below greys and black it would be the kost exposed of the 4. I understand what you are saying about the drain freezing and wicking up but with it being in a heated area now i would think that should have thawed by now. I'll let you know when i change the pump what i find, only supposed to stay cold, or below freezing for another couple days, the killer is wind chill, hoses kept freezing up yesterday when i had water running so gave up on that but was sure relieved when i had water running. Thanks for the information and i'll let you know how things work out.
Marcus

 

[GWRam]

When Jim from Heartland left a msg telling me the heaters were 12 volt he didn't mention if they had temp control on them so i assume not, just on or off.Marcus Shelli and prettyboy floyd

Marcus, The Heartland rep I spoke with told me our 3650BH Gateway has the ultra heat brand heating pads. 12v as you stated. Fluid must be in the tanks when switched on. Outside temp below 50*, the pads cycle based on a pad sensor, comes on at 44* and turns off at 64*. I was also told that all 5 of our holding tanks have heaters. 1 Fresh,2grey,2black.I am pretty sure from your posts you have a different floor plan, I would guess they are using same brand heaters on all GatewaysDave

 

[danemayer]

Marcus,

I don't know about your floorplan, but on many trailers, the fresh tank is over the axles and the fresh tank drain is on the off-door-side, just in front of the front axle.

On the heat tape, I can't be sure, but I suspect that Heartland puts heat tape and insulation on the section of the fresh tank feed that's closer to the tank. The area around the pump is usually warmer so they may not put it there (although in my opinon they'd do well to heat the entire line all the way from tank to pump). To know for sure on yours, you'd probably have to pull the coroplast down a bit and peek inside. Or when you take it in for service on the gate valves, the dealer can look.

 

[1_oldgoat]

Dave, thanks for the information, i just spoke with a Heartland rv dealer service dept and was told the fresh water tanks on Gateways did not have a heater pad on it so my fresh tank is more than likley frozen, its located back by the axles where the overflow is, i am making another box out of foam board insulation and putting another heater under and try to thaw it out, i assumed it would be by the other tanks but was told otherwise so i am going to open up the belly by the axles and find the tank, keeping fingers crossed its not above the axles, if it is building a box could be a challenge. If it is frozen solid it could take a while to thaw it out and temps are not supposed to get into mid 30's and low 40's for another week. Hope you are correct and the service dept is wrong but with my service panel showing the tank empty when i know it was full has me believing we are frozen up. I was also told the pump is fine as long as i can hear it running, which i can, just not moving water so holding off on replacing it until i get fresh tank figured out.
Thanks again
Marcus

 

[1_oldgoat]

Dan, just saw your post after replying to Daves, you are correct sir, i was just told by dealer service dept that the fresh tank is by axles and there is a drain there, i thought it was for the hot water as its red, the back two are red and white i think, would have to look again to be sure so anyway just thought red would be hot and whit cold water drains, the overflow when filling fresh water tank is by the axles and it never occured to me thats where the tank would be, i am going to open the coroplast and see if the tank is directly above the axles or behind, hopeing back a bit or building a box around the axles could be a challenge, i was also told the heating pads were only on the grey and black tanks by the tech i spoke to, why they wouldn't install a pad on fresh is a bit confusing but if he is correct it makes sense why my panel shows empty is everything is solid ice.If i can build a box around the drain and back a bit i may be able to catch enough of the tank if heat will pass through the coroplast, to help try and thaw it out, temps are not going to get above 32 for 3 more days, but are supoosed to get into the teens and 20's where we have had no problems in the past. Had i been thinking, it makes sense the overflow would be by the fresh tank, duh, man do i feel dumb......hope Dave is correct and the tank has a heat pad under it and service dept is wrong, i have enough foam board to make another box 2x5 feet, just need another heater, have to use propane as we are running out of outlets in the house and as cold as its been are poping breakers with 100 foot extension cords and 12 amp ceramic heaters on high so leaving on low for now, once we get back into teens that should change.
Thanks again and i'll let you know if tank is directly above axles, with my luck thats where it will be!!
Marcus

 

[1_oldgoat]

Dave, forgot to mention our Gateway is a 3500RE, single bed and bath basicaly designed for a couple of single nesters as the couch dosn't have a hide a bed and no air matress came with it either, we looked at every model the dealership had in stock and this floor plan fits our needs perfectly, and we do love it, i just got caught with my pants down and was not prepared for this extremly cold weather, we have stayed in cold weather since we picked this up the first week of November, but nothing like this, even in single digit overnight temps have only had the pump freeze up and that was my fault for leaving the access panel for hose and cable hookup open, that thawed quickly once i closed the access and turned heater on in udc. The problems we are having now is my fault, just ask the wife, even though i told her we needed to get to warmer weather last week!! I hope you are correct and we do have tank heaters on the fresh tank and its just the tee fitting frozen and Dan has mentioned can and is usualy the problem with ice wicking up the drains and the line from pump to tank.
Thanks again
Marcus, Shelli and pretty boy floyd

 

[GrumpyOneandTwo]

Hey Marcus,

I have been out of town for a few days with no internet. I caught up on your posts. I am sure sorry to read all the trouble you're having!!!!!! You just can't catch a break!!!! I'll ask the man upstairs to send some warmer weather for you.

Wishing you some good luck,

Mike

 

[GWRam]

Marcus,
Let me know if you do or don't see a heating pad when you look under the coroplast for the tank location. Just got off the phone with Heartland. Told if you have heat pad system it will be on all tanks. If you find different I'll need to pull our bottom and look also. Haven't had any cold wx like you. Our lowest so far has been 10* and haven't had any freeze ups so I was(am) thinking we have all 5 heaters and they are working.
Hang in there,
David

 

[1_oldgoat]

Mike, David, thanks for the support, pulled a little of the coroplast down and can't really see much other than where tank is located, it was after 5:00 when i got started and cold as a witchs, well you know, anyway built another box out of the foam board insulation from behind the rear axle forward to the low point drain, pretty big area, put a little buddy propane heater under but it gets to hot and worried about coroplast warping so changed it out for another ceramic heater. I got a little water out of the low point drain and then nothing so assuming its frozen in the pick up line for sure, still don't know about the tank itself as i was using a flashlight to try and see last nigh and hands were shaking so much from cold just made the box and came in, i need to seal it up a bit better around axles where i cut foam.to fit so might pull more of coroplast down today, i didn't want to have to drop the whole belly but you need to drop quite a bit to see anything just removing a few screws on the side its hard to see much of anything. I am sore as can be from crawling around on frozen ground and pavement, not a spring chicken anymore and my mis spent youth has caught up with me, we are supposed to be at the end of this cold blast today, temps are predicted to be back into the 30's starting tomorrow so i might wait to drop the coroplast till then if we are still without fresh tank water, running 130 ft of hose from the back of the house to the rv worked but hoses froze up at every connection even with water running in rv so i know my lines are ok. Keeping fingers the factory is correct and the service tech is wrong about heater pad and its just the pick up line frozen. I need to start moving and loosen up a bit so i can get back to it. Thanks again for the support and help everyone. Its much appreciated.