Lynn1130
Well-known member
There are numerous questions and discussions about making it through freezing conditions while camping. I just returned from an elk hunt in Northern Arizona where temps were down to 9 F two nights and 12 and 18 F two other night. Keep in mind this is dry camping so there is no help except a generator if you decide to use it for inside heat. We do not during the nights but do in the mornings for the coffee and catching up on FOX News 
This is not the first of these trips so each year I learn more about how to prevent freeze ups. Low point drains are the first and foremost issue. They have to be wrapped with insulation. They will freeze and wick ice back up the line to the T and stop all water flow. Your first indication is when the pump comes on and keeps running. The basement will stay warm enough to avoid freezing but the UDC needs insulation in it to prevent cold air coming off of the ground, up into the UDC and freezing lines from that location. I stuff it full of insulation on the bottom and inside. One night at 9 F were were fine. The next at 12 F I had removed the insulation in the UDC to add water to the fresh water tank and forgot to put it back. We froze up at about 2:30 AM. The next night at 9 F we were fine with the insulation back in the UDC.
Because the garage is not insulated we keep a Big Buddy heater going, on low, back there for my son-in-law and grandson sleeping on the bunks. It will drive the guy on the top buck out of his long johns it gets so warm on low. It also adds to the heat in the main cabin but it is still important to keep the thermostat at at least 55 degrees to keep heat going into the underbelly and avoid using excessive amounts of propane. We go through a 30 lb tank in about 4 days with the day time temps in the 40/50s nights in the teens or below. A few nights were were in the 20's and a couple in the 40's. Those were not issues at all. The good thing about Arizona is that days are generally warm with our latitude but nights can get cold. I am not sure how this would work when temps do not get above freezing even during the day and I probably would not want to tempt fate with those conditions. The biggest issue would be propane usage. I had considered taking a 100 lb tank but our forecast was not that bad.
single digit temps can be done with these units but it take some prep to avoid thawing lines to get water flowing again.
This is not the first of these trips so each year I learn more about how to prevent freeze ups. Low point drains are the first and foremost issue. They have to be wrapped with insulation. They will freeze and wick ice back up the line to the T and stop all water flow. Your first indication is when the pump comes on and keeps running. The basement will stay warm enough to avoid freezing but the UDC needs insulation in it to prevent cold air coming off of the ground, up into the UDC and freezing lines from that location. I stuff it full of insulation on the bottom and inside. One night at 9 F were were fine. The next at 12 F I had removed the insulation in the UDC to add water to the fresh water tank and forgot to put it back. We froze up at about 2:30 AM. The next night at 9 F we were fine with the insulation back in the UDC. Because the garage is not insulated we keep a Big Buddy heater going, on low, back there for my son-in-law and grandson sleeping on the bunks. It will drive the guy on the top buck out of his long johns it gets so warm on low. It also adds to the heat in the main cabin but it is still important to keep the thermostat at at least 55 degrees to keep heat going into the underbelly and avoid using excessive amounts of propane. We go through a 30 lb tank in about 4 days with the day time temps in the 40/50s nights in the teens or below. A few nights were were in the 20's and a couple in the 40's. Those were not issues at all. The good thing about Arizona is that days are generally warm with our latitude but nights can get cold. I am not sure how this would work when temps do not get above freezing even during the day and I probably would not want to tempt fate with those conditions. The biggest issue would be propane usage. I had considered taking a 100 lb tank but our forecast was not that bad.
single digit temps can be done with these units but it take some prep to avoid thawing lines to get water flowing again.
