Southern "Cold" Weather and Full-Timing Issues

[Prairiedog]

Hi all,

OK, I'm in the military, full-timing in the Bighorn in the Southeast, and am looking to go back home (without the RV) for the holidays. Here's the problem. I'll only be gone for 5-8 days at a time, the weather will get below freezing (at night, at least, for a few hours), and I am trying to figure out what the best state to leave the RV will be while I'm gone. My intake water hose is wrapped in insulation at is encased in PVC up to the UDC, my sewer pipe is exposed, and I typically use electric heaters until the temp goes below freezing -- then I kick in the furnace.

So -- what to do for short-time vacations? Putting anti-freeze in the systems seems a bit much, but leaving the furnace on while I'm gone seems a little dangerous too. Plus, I don't know how long at sub-freezing temps it takes for the underbelly tanks to begin truly freezing enough to do damage. Just a few really cold nights has apparently caused my sewer hose to crack a tiny bit, so I'm a little worried now. Any help/thoughts/insight would be great.

Thank you everyone...and have a great holiday season.

Rob
The Prairiedog

 

[jmgratz]

I dont know how much below freezing it will go where the RV is but we have left ours with the temps getting into the 20's for maybe 3 hours and then it warms up during the day. We disconnect the water from the spiket, leave the furnace set on around 50 degrees and made sure all of the tanks were drained and the any drain tubes hanging below the underbelly were wrapped. The other thing I did was left on the light in the UDC with the light cover removed. Seems to work.

 

[VKTalley]

Hi Rob, we have left our Big Country in Alabama in the winter (December) for a week to 10 days while visiting family in Washington state. We do exactly what Jim Gratz mentioned except the wrapping of exposed drains and no light in the UDC. We do leave the furnace on a low temperature like Jim and have had no problems. Hope this helps you and have a wonderful holiday season too!

 

[Prairiedog]

Jim/Valerie/All,

Thanks so much for the replies -- looks like y'all have some good experience(s), so that makes me feel much better. Let me ask a few more "specifics" just so that I can see what y'all did about them (if you don't mind)...

1) Hot Water Heater - did you turn it off, and if so, did you completely drain it too? I haven't had the experience of draining it yet, but I'm sure I can learn how before I leave.

2) Fresh Water Tank - I take it you drained that completely too?

3) Slide-Outs - Did you just leave the slides out or did you bring them in?

4) Inside Hot/Cold Water Lines - Did y'all make any attempt to drain them or just not worry about it (especially if the furnace stays on low)

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Rob

 

[VKTalley]

Jim/Valerie/All,

Thanks so much for the replies -- looks like y'all have some good experience(s), so that makes me feel much better. Let me ask a few more "specifics" just so that I can see what y'all did about them (if you don't mind)...

1) Hot Water Heater - did you turn it off, and if so, did you completely drain it too? I haven't had the experience of draining it yet, but I'm sure I can learn how before I leave.

2) Fresh Water Tank - I take it you drained that completely too?

3) Slide-Outs - Did you just leave the slides out or did you bring them in?

4) Inside Hot/Cold Water Lines - Did y'all make any attempt to drain them or just not worry about it (especially if the furnace stays on low)

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Rob

Hey Ron, I'll answer for what Malcolm and I did/do.

1. Hot water tank off, not drained.

2. Fresh water tank was not drained only have about 1/3 or less in it.

3. Slide-outs out as they cover the heating vents when pulled in.

4. Did not drain any of the lines but did leave the kitchen and bathroom cabinets doors open to allow the heat to circulate into them.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[MCTalley]

Jim/Valerie/All,

Thanks so much for the replies -- looks like y'all have some good experience(s), so that makes me feel much better. Let me ask a few more "specifics" just so that I can see what y'all did about them (if you don't mind)...

1) Hot Water Heater - did you turn it off, and if so, did you completely drain it too? I haven't had the experience of draining it yet, but I'm sure I can learn how before I leave.

We leave ours on (120V) and full of water.

2) Fresh Water Tank - I take it you drained that completely too?

Yes.

3) Slide-Outs - Did you just leave the slides out or did you bring them in?

Out.

4) Inside Hot/Cold Water Lines - Did y'all make any attempt to drain them or just not worry about it (especially if the furnace stays on low)

Left them as-is.

I guess essentially what we did is to turn the furnace on and set the temp to about 50 degrees, unhooked the water hose and stored it away, drained the fresh, gray and water tanks and put the sewer hoses away, locked the door and left.

For southern Alabama, that should be pretty adequate. Temperatures below the 20's are fairly rare in our area and the temps are almost always above freezing during the day. You should be OK.

 

[Prairiedog]

Thanks Malcolm and Val -- great answers that will help a lot. I hadn't thought about keeping the cabinets open but that's a great idea. I'm trying to think ahead to the Christmas holidays too, so your advice is greatly appreciated.

I've got the water hose wrapped in foam and in PVC pipe, so I think that's helped it durability. There are some other folks in the campground that have their sewer pipe wrapped in PVC as well, but I haven't gotten that far ahead.

The only thing I've really gone back and forth on is the hot water heater. I'm leery to leave it on in case anything goes wrong, but then I don't know how it will do if the temps get below freezing (it seems more susceptible to freezing because of it location). Decisions, decisions. ;-)

Thanks again for the advice -- really like reading your blog. You guys have given me great ideas of places to travel...once we can actually travel.

All the best,
Rob

 

[jmgratz]

Yes we left the slides out, water heater off not drained and tanks drained except about 1/3 in fresh water. One year while home it sat that way almost all winter and remember if you put the slides in you will cover the furnace vents.

 

[Prairiedog]

Yes we left the slides out, water heater off not drained and tanks drained except about 1/3 in fresh water. One year while home it sat that way almost all winter and remember if you put the slides in you will cover the furnace vents.

Awesome...thanks Jim! I'm hoping we don't have any serious cold spells while I'm gone, but again...its Alabama not Wisconsin, so I think I should be in good shape regardless.

All the best,
Rob

 

[TXBobcat]

Things you might worry about.. You water pump could freeze. Disconnect the water hose from the shore services and the trailer. Remove your sewer hose and put it in the basement in a plastic bag or box. Put 2 - 150watt light bulbs in the basement and lower or remove the wall in the basement to allow heat to spread through out the basement and belly. If you leave your heater running you may run out of propane. I would leave a couple of good electric heaters with thermostats, on in the trailer set at about 50*.

Just my thoughts..

BC

 

[jmgratz]

Things you might worry about.. You water pump could freeze. Disconnect the water hose from the shore services and the trailer. Remove your sewer hose and put it in the basement in a plastic bag or box. Put 2 - 150watt light bulbs in the basement and lower or remove the wall in the basement to allow heat to spread through out the basement and belly. If you leave your heater running you may run out of propane. I would leave a couple of good electric heaters with thermostats, on in the trailer set at about 50*.

Just my thoughts..

BC

If I were there I might leave a 150 w light in the basement however they do generate a lot of heat as do electric heaters, which could possibly cause a fire. That is my worry about that. BTW the number one cause of house fires are space heaters. We never leave our on when we are not there for that reason. As far as running out of propane if you have both tanks full and set your thermostat on 50 you should not run out if both tanks are open. That would (or should) last you 2 weeks at that low of a temp setting. IMHO

 

[Prairiedog]

Thanks everyone. Its only supposed to get below freezing for a few days, so hopefully it'll be ok. My worry right now is that I'll run out of propane in the 30lb tank. Because there is no automatic switch between the two, there's not much good in having both tanks full (unless I find someone to switch them).

I'm trying to figure out the burn rate on the furnace. If 30lb tanks hold approximately 7 gallons of fuel, how much fuel does it take to hold temp for a few days? I know, i know -- it depends on the outside temp, the insulation, and so forth...but I'm just looking for an estimate/approximate. I've never had it on long enough to tell (and my gauges aren't exactly the most accurate items in my toolbag either).

In any case, I truly do appreciate all the help!
Rob

 

[danemayer]

I'm trying to figure out the burn rate on the furnace. If 30lb tanks hold approximately 7 gallons of fuel, how much fuel does it take to hold temp for a few days?

Hi Prairiedog,

This is covered along with a lot of other useful information in our owner-written Heating and Cooling Guide. Here's an excerpt from page 18.

"a 30 pound tank contains enough propane to supply 646,440 BTU of heat. If the furnace consumes 42,000 BTU per hour of operation, that would give you about 15.4 hours of furnace
operation. Of course you don’t normally have the furnace running continuously. So if it runs for 10
minutes of every 30 at night, and 5 minutes of 30 during the day, the tank might give you

about 2.5days of operation. "

 

[boatto5er]

A 2014 without Automatic Switchover? Even my 2011 has the auto switch. I thought that was standard?

 

[murry135]

IMHO for about $15 buy 3 gallons of antifreeze, drain all tanks including hot water tank, and winterize your unit as described in manual. Fill water lines via pumped protectant into all lines and pump. Then pure antifreeze down all drains to prevent "P" trap problems. Then you can travel and not have to worry about propane, fire or freeze. Well worth it. Probably cost less than propane used.

 

[priorguy]

X2 on the antifreeze. Why worry about the what if when you can just eliminate it. It's quick to do and quicker to undo. This time of year the plumbing antifreeze is usually on sale anyhow. You won't have to worry about running out if propane or a space heater/light bulb fire while trying to enjoy your holiday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Stinger381]

I am in Alabama and I winterize mine. A gallon will run you about $4.50 and will pretty much do it. I drain my water heater and flip my valves to bypass it and turn on the water pump. I then put the hose from the pump into the gallon jug and set it in the UDC. I then go inside and turn on the kitchen sink, hot and cold water separately until I see pink. Then I do the bathroom sink and the shower and toilet. Then I do the outdoor shower last and I am done! Takes all of 5 mins. The first time was the hardest because you have to find the three valves behind the water heater. On mine I had to remove a panel with a screwdriver but I put Velcro on it to secure it back for easier access. I use my RV at the hunting camp and I go through this procedure several times a year to protect mine against the elements.