For what it's worth, Grand Design told me that keeping the furnace set to 65 or greater will keep the underbelly from freezing. What I've found from my own testing down to single digit temps is I can set the furnace to 62 and have one electric heater AND the fireplace set to 64 and the water lines won't get below 40 degrees. The higher the wind speed the more furnace you need to use (and the more propane I'll tell you h'wat!). If I'm not using any electric heat (in the case of boondocking or dry docking) I'll set the furnace to 60 and again my testing has shown the water lines are safe. Your mileage may vary; this is just my expierence in as low as -9 wind chill with no skirting. I can suck a 30 pound propane tank dry in about 24 hours in these conditions so I tried to find ways to save on propane but not risk freezing the underbelly. For reference I'm in a 43' toy hualer 5th wheel.
To add to all that, get a heat lamp (the kind used for reptiles) and put on in the pass through, and keep kitchen and bathroom cupboard doors open overnight when the outside temperature is at its lowest. Also Todd has suggested before to keep the furnace at 65f - this helped us during the last big freeze over the holidays.
I just jumped out of bed to turn my water heater on! Thank you for sharing! I’m so worried about fires. I always turn the water heater on to shower and turn it off once I get out.
I dont understand why nobody talks about it.ive done a little trick now for the past 30yrs.all you have to do is leave water trickling. It won't freeze running water. And I've never used the under belly heat. Saves hundreds in propane at $4 a gallon. 👍
@KingofKings193 yes I live in mine full time .and year before we had 7deg up to about 25deg weather for a week straight and no problem at all with no under belly heater and no wind brake of any kind.
Higher elevation freezing is a harder freeze, for sure ! I remember leaving the drip on overnight in the house. On an Rv, does the sewer hose need insulated so it doesn’t dam up ?
We are in a stick and tin unit in the midwest with subfreezing temps all day and night. We have been here since September. We are leaving in a few days. We are in a stick and tin unit that is not 4 seasons rated. There are exposed water lines underneath. If you have any exposed lines, try to wrap them is insulted pipe wrap. It WILL help out. Also, after you skirt the outside with foam board or other stuff and make an access port, you will want to put an electric heater underneath there also. We have just a 750W utility heater on lowest setting and it keeps underneath from freezing. Right now, it is 3 degrees and a -6 wind chill outside. Underneath the camper it is 36 degrees. As long as it stays above freezing, it's good. The only time we had problems is when we had the -40 degree temps come thru for a few days but even people in stick and bricks were having problems with that so understandable. I hope you are making it ok.
Thanks, I was wondering how I was supposed to handle an upcoming trip we have. It will likely be cold along the as we make our way south from upstate Ny. Your insights make me feel much better’ 😮💨
Question if your RV doesn’t have floor vents. How do you keep pipes and tanks from freezing? We do have a heated water hose. Can you create an enclosed underbelly? Our Forest River doesn’t have enclosed underbelly.Can you also add tank heater pads? Ty
My situation may be unique. We use our Class A Jayco Precept a few times a week to travel within the state of VA/NC. With the cold temperatures approaching, how can we keep the RV from freezing if it sits for a few days? Do we need to drain the tanks every time? Do we need to put a quart of anti-freeze in the grey and black tanks? All of our camping is boondocking so no external hookups will be used. Any help is appreciated. We do not have the ability to hook up electric when it's parked. I don't mind setting the furnace to 65 if needed. I'd rather pay to refill the propane than winterize it every few days. Our RV has all the bells and whistle like tank heaters, 200W solar, etc. Should I buy some lamps for the storage, wet bay, and other areas.
Depends of what part of the country your Rv is in, right ? Comments should include their state. Or even like the Rocky Mountains, the desert, the Plains, PCNW, New England , the South East ect
My keystone montana 3685fl fith wheel with a heated underbelly and arctic package keeps letting the pipes freez once its lower than 10 degrees and i have the furnace set at 70 and I live in it in maine. My year round fith wheel camper with the arctic package heats the underbelly off a 2 inch duct pipe from the furnace so i dont understand why it wont keep the pipes from freezing in a insulated heated underbelly
Scenario: First time camping in winter weather. The temp will drop below 32 for a few hours min 27f. Question can we still have a non water heater house running into the camper with the faucets still on and Grey and black valves open?
The discussion of freezing here is mildly humorous. I use a very old 26’ Dutchcraft with ~R14 walls and ceiling in Vermont. I have to antifreeze the tub drain/trap when it’s far below freezing, but 1/3 cup of salt works down to about 25*F Without electricity running heat blankets around tanks or keeping the ‘underbelly’ warm there’s only two ways to insure damage-free wintering over: no water in the lines, or replumbing them to be ABOVE the floor in a heated camper. That’s what I did. Water doesn’t freeze if it can’t get cold. The advantage of an old well-made cold season built camper over 95% of all new RV’s can’t be understated. While a bit heavier than ‘modern’ campers, an old solid RV can be gutted and remodeled with foam insulation, a waterline plan that works, and an electric fridge. With how inexpensive a few kW of solar and ~5kWh of batteries are these days you can sustain almost indefinitely and not be cold in the winter. Last season I was full time here and used around 125gal of propane Nov-April and I’m in a very cold winter region where it’s been as low as -38*F. Only my shower drain is vulnerable and like I stated- I handle that. A piece of crown moulding hides the L to R overhead pass of hot and cold waterlines bypassing all the “cold spots” with poor air movement that cause typical freezing problems and the added insulation not only keeps it comfortable at well below zero, but my heating expenses are quite low. The next two aspects are important: ‘storm’ panels for the windows, and an air-to-air hrv exchanger system to keep the now tupperware-sealed box from having moisture issues. Not everybody has the skills or tolerance for updating an old RV, but you can better virtually every new RV in appearance and performance on the interior. I just don’t have the tolerance for high heating costs and frozen waterlines, and I wanted home-like quality and decor, not RV / mobile home decor and finish. Ymmv
I have a DC refrigerator and a Winnebago 25 FL. It is at the medic. They told me that it would freeze if it got down to 32° is there any way that I can keep that from happening?
Hey. I also have a Winnie 25FL. I winterize, so no worries about the waterlines. Never had any issues with the fridge. I live in NE Ga. so rarely have to deal with extended periods below freezing, usually a week or less continuously. Have used a mid-sized space heater to mitigate lower temps on occasion.
@@NationalRVTrainingAcademy ha!😂i went back again and i noticed the subject changed after tank heaters and image of tank heater buttons then afterwards you said 140-160 degrees for "water heater" 😂
For what it's worth, Grand Design told me that keeping the furnace set to 65 or greater will keep the underbelly from freezing. What I've found from my own testing down to single digit temps is I can set the furnace to 62 and have one electric heater AND the fireplace set to 64 and the water lines won't get below 40 degrees. The higher the wind speed the more furnace you need to use (and the more propane I'll tell you h'wat!). If I'm not using any electric heat (in the case of boondocking or dry docking) I'll set the furnace to 60 and again my testing has shown the water lines are safe. Your mileage may vary; this is just my expierence in as low as -9 wind chill with no skirting. I can suck a 30 pound propane tank dry in about 24 hours in these conditions so I tried to find ways to save on propane but not risk freezing the underbelly.
For reference I'm in a 43' toy hualer 5th wheel.
To add to all that, get a heat lamp (the kind used for reptiles) and put on in the pass through, and keep kitchen and bathroom cupboard doors open overnight when the outside temperature is at its lowest. Also Todd has suggested before to keep the furnace at 65f - this helped us during the last big freeze over the holidays.
I just jumped out of bed to turn my water heater on! Thank you for sharing!
I’m so worried about fires. I always turn the water heater on to shower and turn it off once I get out.
I dont understand why nobody talks about it.ive done a little trick now for the past 30yrs.all you have to do is leave water trickling. It won't freeze running water. And I've never used the under belly heat. Saves hundreds in propane at $4 a gallon. 👍
That's what we always did too
Yes, but are you living in a RV where there is Freezing Cold day and night in the Winter like Colorado? 🙂
@KingofKings193 yes I live in mine full time .and year before we had 7deg up to about 25deg weather for a week straight and no problem at all with no under belly heater and no wind brake of any kind.
In Colorado the Gray & Fresh water Lines Will FREEZE if they aren’t HEATED Guaranteed…
😩😱
Higher elevation freezing is a harder freeze, for sure ! I remember leaving the drip on overnight in the house. On an Rv, does the sewer hose need insulated so it doesn’t dam up ?
We are in a stick and tin unit in the midwest with subfreezing temps all day and night. We have been here since September. We are leaving in a few days. We are in a stick and tin unit that is not 4 seasons rated. There are exposed water lines underneath. If you have any exposed lines, try to wrap them is insulted pipe wrap. It WILL help out. Also, after you skirt the outside with foam board or other stuff and make an access port, you will want to put an electric heater underneath there also. We have just a 750W utility heater on lowest setting and it keeps underneath from freezing. Right now, it is 3 degrees and a -6 wind chill outside. Underneath the camper it is 36 degrees. As long as it stays above freezing, it's good. The only time we had problems is when we had the -40 degree temps come thru for a few days but even people in stick and bricks were having problems with that so understandable. I hope you are making it ok.
Thanks, I was wondering how I was supposed to handle an upcoming trip we have. It will likely be cold along the as we make our way south from upstate Ny. Your insights make me feel much better’ 😮💨
Thank-you for these great videos.
What about if you are not planning a trip on winter, can you drain all the liquids and use a compressor to blow (clean) all the lines?
Would adding a water softener help at all since it uses salt?
Question if your RV doesn’t have floor vents. How do you keep pipes and tanks from freezing? We do have a heated water hose.
Can you create an enclosed underbelly? Our Forest River doesn’t have enclosed underbelly.Can you also add tank heater pads?
Ty
My situation may be unique. We use our Class A Jayco Precept a few times a week to travel within the state of VA/NC. With the cold temperatures approaching, how can we keep the RV from freezing if it sits for a few days? Do we need to drain the tanks every time? Do we need to put a quart of anti-freeze in the grey and black tanks? All of our camping is boondocking so no external hookups will be used. Any help is appreciated. We do not have the ability to hook up electric when it's parked. I don't mind setting the furnace to 65 if needed. I'd rather pay to refill the propane than winterize it every few days. Our RV has all the bells and whistle like tank heaters, 200W solar, etc. Should I buy some lamps for the storage, wet bay, and other areas.
Depends of what part of the country your Rv is in, right ? Comments should include their state.
Or even like the Rocky Mountains, the desert, the Plains, PCNW, New England , the South East ect
My keystone montana 3685fl fith wheel with a heated underbelly and arctic package keeps letting the pipes freez once its lower than 10 degrees and i have the furnace set at 70 and I live in it in maine. My year round fith wheel camper with the arctic package heats the underbelly off a 2 inch duct pipe from the furnace so i dont understand why it wont keep the pipes from freezing in a insulated heated underbelly
Scenario: First time camping in winter weather. The temp will drop below 32 for a few hours min 27f.
Question can we still have a non water heater house running into the camper with the faucets still on and Grey and black valves open?
Do we leave our lines open all winter yes i love in our.. but leave town every few weeks for a week..
I use a small ceramic heater in my basement and a heated water hose
I use a a reptile basking light 75W and a Easy Heat temperature controller.
What if I'm in it every 3 days? Do the same ?
Is it dangerous to travel with your gas generator running on a hitch mounted carrier?
The discussion of freezing here is mildly humorous.
I use a very old 26’ Dutchcraft with ~R14 walls and ceiling in Vermont. I have to antifreeze the tub drain/trap when it’s far below freezing, but 1/3 cup of salt works down to about 25*F
Without electricity running heat blankets around tanks or keeping the ‘underbelly’ warm there’s only two ways to insure damage-free wintering over: no water in the lines, or replumbing them to be ABOVE the floor in a heated camper. That’s what I did. Water doesn’t freeze if it can’t get cold.
The advantage of an old well-made cold season built camper over 95% of all new RV’s can’t be understated. While a bit heavier than ‘modern’ campers, an old solid RV can be gutted and remodeled with foam insulation, a waterline plan that works, and an electric fridge. With how inexpensive a few kW of solar and ~5kWh of batteries are these days you can sustain almost indefinitely and not be cold in the winter. Last season I was full time here and used around 125gal of propane Nov-April and I’m in a very cold winter region where it’s been as low as -38*F. Only my shower drain is vulnerable and like I stated- I handle that.
A piece of crown moulding hides the L to R overhead pass of hot and cold waterlines bypassing all the “cold spots” with poor air movement that cause typical freezing problems and the added insulation not only keeps it comfortable at well below zero, but my heating expenses are quite low.
The next two aspects are important: ‘storm’ panels for the windows, and an air-to-air hrv exchanger system to keep the now tupperware-sealed box from having moisture issues.
Not everybody has the skills or tolerance for updating an old RV, but you can better virtually every new RV in appearance and performance on the interior.
I just don’t have the tolerance for high heating costs and frozen waterlines, and I wanted home-like quality and decor, not RV / mobile home decor and finish. Ymmv
I have a DC refrigerator and a Winnebago 25 FL. It is at the medic. They told me that it would freeze if it got down to 32° is there any way that I can keep that from happening?
Hey. I also have a Winnie 25FL. I winterize, so no worries about the waterlines. Never had any issues with the fridge. I live in NE Ga. so rarely have to deal with extended periods below freezing, usually a week or less continuously. Have used a mid-sized space heater to mitigate lower temps on occasion.
I love how “to the point” this video is….
Do you prefer wire nuts or Wagos ?
Did he say 140-160ish degree for tank heaters...?🤔...seems it would "cook" the poo (in black tank) and smell terrible😳
I don’t think so. I was speaking on silicone heating pads in general. 80/90f is perfect for propane.
@@NationalRVTrainingAcademy ha!😂i went back again and i noticed the subject changed after tank heaters and image of tank heater buttons then afterwards you said 140-160 degrees for "water heater" 😂