Winterizing!

[leftyf]

Emme and Ruby had to venture out in snow up their backs. Yep, up to the undercarriage and then some. But they are Chicago dogs
Jim

Heck if there is .25 microns of snow on the ground...the action I get is "You want me to go out into THAT???"...."Uhhhhh, maybe later Fatboy"

And, a quick retreat to the doggie beds.

 

[Forrest Fetherolf]

Forest,

Bebe doesn't know what she is missing. Emme and Ruby had to venture out in snow up their backs. Yep, up to the undercarriage and then some. But they are Chicago dogs

Maggie seems puzzled

That all said, this just won't do for Christmas. I can stay home for a white one. Please turn on the outdoor heaters and restore order - to say, about 70* by 12/24 - or my plane may not land

Jim

10-4 Jim B. I'll make sure the weather is nice here for your Xmas visit...
I have a friend locally that is a weatherman.

Maggie was puzzled because her yard was not like her friend Bailey.

http://www.maniacworld.com/dog-having-a-blast-in-the-snow.html

Forrest

 

[Tankie]

Luckyhat12, are you installing holding tank pads? I am going to start putting insulation in, but the gray tanks are tight against the underbelly cover which provides no room for any insulation. Also I am considering low voltage heat tape for water lines or just rapping with insulation. I want to be able to stay in any temps.
Would like to hear any ideas anyone has thanks.

 

[SmokeyBare]

Best Winterizing Mod I had installed on our BigHorn.. was those...

South Bound Goodyear G-614 Tires !!!

When the Wicked Winds blow from our friends to the North... sending their left over Icy Chill our way... Goose bumps start to appear... and I develop a serious case of "Hitch Itch".... Then the My instincts kick in... being a fully developed SNOW BIRD now... I Hitch up the RV and Make my Migration south bound... Once the tropical air reaches my nose... or would that be... my Beak... I look for a place to Nest in for a few months.... Ahhhhhhhh Da' Life of a Snow Bird.... Ain't it wunderful !!

 

[htneighbors]

Winter in Wyoming!

Howdy all! Thought I'd give a little update on the Winter Cyclone in Wyoming, where the high temp locally is expected to reach a whopping 6˚ today! So far, I've seen lows to -18˚ with wind chills to -30˚! Staying warm in the Cyclone, though! After getting the full skirting, I removed the underbelly in sections and added insulation. I started by wrapping the heated holding tanks with a radiant heat barrier. It looks like bubble-wrap, about 1/4" or so thick and sliver on both sides. Reportedly, it reflects about 97% of the heat it receives back away from it.

I then proceeded to install the 2" thick, pink in color, insulation everywhere I could. There was enough room between the underbelly and the waste holding tanks, but not the fresh water tanks. I'm not using them right now, as I am parked at a KOA and connected to their water! For my supply hose, after installing the heat trace cable I had, I installed some of the hose/pipe insulation - the 'rubbery' type, not the foam.

I wrapped my discharge lines from my tanks, all the way to the CG dump with heat trace cable and insulation, too - although I have yet to turn these sections of heat trace on. The only heat I have used so far is on my supply hose and my waste tank heaters. (On my Cyclone, the dealer hooked all my waste tank heaters to 120VAC and my fresh water heaters to 12VDC.)

For my sewer dump, I ran it all in 3" PVC, with rubber 4"-3" reducers at the (2)connections to the Cyclone. Since I am currently parked forward of the CG dump, I put a 90˚ elbow at my forward dump and ran the line under my rig toward the rear dump to another 90˚ elbow. I pointed this one toward the skirting and attached a PVC "Y" fitting on the rear dump. Then I exited the skirting, installed a 45˚ fitting, ran to the CG dump and put another 90˚ elbow at the end. Also, the rubber couplings are pretty handy.

For the insulation I used over the heat trace on the sewer lines, I got some 4" air-conditioning flex duct, removed (and discarded) the inner plastic coily thing and sleeved the foil-coated insulation over the heat-traced sewer line extending outside the rig. Under the rig, I wrapped the line with some 2" thick x 12" wide x 15' long.

Since the garage is not heated and the underbelly does not go all the way to the back - I took the liberty of insulating where I could under the rig with about 3 thicknesses of the 2" pink insulation panels I had...giving me 6" of insulation there. I got some of the Coroplast underbelly and covered this area. (Now the entire belly of the Cyclone is covered - the only exception is where my gasoline tank is under the garage.) My Harley thanks me for keeping it warm!

To assure I do not freeze up my W/D or rear bath, I do leave my door open between the living area and garage and placed a cheap little tower-type fan blowing warm air back there. I also purchased a couple of the small Pelonis electric ceramic heaters. I leave one sitting at the door of the rear bath. The other I use in the bedroom periodically.

The attached photos show some of what I have described, although they were taken prior to the heat trace cable and insulation on my sewer line. With the addition of the skirting, insulation, heat-trace and a 120lb propane tank (rented locally, $41/yr) - so far I'm staying pretty cozy in Wyoming!

I would like to add that my basement/storage is extremely warm, everytime I have been in it for something. I leave my rear gray dump valve open - so I can use the W/D without dumping frequently. I leave the front tank's valves closed in order to flush the line with the gray water after dumping the black.

Edit 05-13-09: (Updated some of the info above.) Made it through the winter in Wyoming with no problems. Saw temps down to -30˚ - and this was prior to wind chill. Also, I never even turned on the power to the heat trace I had on the sewer dump lines. Stayed warm and cozy inside and had nothing freeze up! I have moved from here and got a little better set-up for my sewer lines. I now use a 3" rubber 'Y' in the line so it is more versatile regardless of where the CG's sewer outlet is located. I have rubber caps that go over all the open ends of pipe when I travel. After rinsing out the lines when breaking camp, I install the caps and carry the pipes in the floor of the garage.

 

[truknutt]

Ht's back! Ht's back!

Man, I thought you'd frozen solid up/out there and that we'd have to wait until Spring thaw to hear from you again!


Welcome back!!

 

[htneighbors]

It's been a while...working 70-90 hrs/wk. Work, sleep, repeat! Usually pass out quick when I get home. Cancelled my AT&T air card contract (w/no penalty ) cause I was constantly roaming and I went over their 5Gig allowance a couple of months in a row. It was pathetically slow out here in the middle of nothing anyway. Got to stick with WIFI for now. The KOA CG has great wifi, satellite service at the job is sporadic.

Thanks to the skirting and the insulation...keeping me pretty comfy - so far. Supposed to hit 7 below tonite! Heat wave tomorrow...up to 12! I have no complaints with my rig.

I LOVE MY CYCLONE!!

 

[htneighbors]

Wyoming Snow!

Woke up to about 8" of fresh snow this morning after already getting a few inches the past few days - and it's still coming down! I attached a couple of shots I took in the dark, upon leaving for work this morning. They just called off the work for the day, I think I'll go get my skis and head to the nearest slopes! I'll take some more in the daytime when I get home and post them later!

PS - Wonder what the snow-load rating of those slide awnings REALLY is?

 

[jbeletti]

...PS - Wonder what the snow-load rating of those slide awnings REALLY is?

Great to hear from you HT! I'd sweep those awnings off soon I'd think some material stretching may not be too far away otherwise.

Hope you can make it to the Goshen rally. We've been taking registrations from Club Members and will do so through January (up to 36 already!). Look for an open registration email to go to all forum members February 1st.

Jim

 

[htneighbors]

I'm still trying to fit the rally into the schedule. Wyoming's a long ways! Biggest issue is, we're taking Micah to Germany for a graduation gift - sometime this summer. Don't know exactly when. Trying to fit everything in!

Here's a few daytime photos. I'll be knocking the snow off the roof and the awnings shortly. Was wondering about the snow covering the vents for the plumbing - no problems so far - but I don't want any to begin with!

 

[htneighbors]

2012



I figured I'd go ahead and add some more winterizing to this old thread...

Upon arrival in Chicago, where I'll be spending the winter, I purchased some 1-1/2" thick insulation sheets and some cotton clotheline rope. I measured and cut the insulation to fit on the top and sides of the slides. Since the bottom of the bedroom slide is exposed and not under the skirting, I cut one for the bottom of it as well. I secured them with the rope and this is what it looks like!