What is a safe low temp for camping

I've been in the low 20's with no problem, just remember to unhook the water hose or it will freeze.

We have camped into the 20's as well. Disconnected the water hose like moo2613. I also left some of the lower cabinet doors open to allow warm cabin heat into the pipe area. Never had a problem. I also think the length of time the temp is that low makes a difference too. If it's only going to be below freezing for a few hours or so, then no problems.

AVid

But remember, if you use a space heater, the underbelly doesn't get any heat. Also, remember, schrowang says to put a drop lite in the basement to help keep the pipes from freezing.

I've camped in the mid-teens overnight with no issues other than the heater sucked. Nothing froze except me. Water was fine. The daytime temp was in the high 30's. I set the thermostat to come on at the lowest temp when we were out hunting.

jetskier wrote:I've camped in the mid-teens overnight with no issues other than the heater sucked. Nothing froze except me. Water was fine. The daytime temp was in the high 30's. I set the thermostat to come on at the lowest temp when we were out hunting.

Where do you take your cat hunting and for what?

Eric wrote:

jetskier wrote:I've camped in the mid-teens overnight with no issues other than the heater sucked. Nothing froze except me. Water was fine. The daytime temp was in the high 30's. I set the thermostat to come on at the lowest temp when we were out hunting.

Where do you take your cat hunting and for what?

It's amazing how hard it is to make a cat retrieve game that you shot. Sorry, couldn't resist.

Eric wrote:Where do you take your cat hunting and for what?

meow.

I drove up to NE Oregon to meet my dad. We were hunting for elk, but all we saw were trees. I will not go back. It was a year ago when the fuel prices started to sky rocket. I though $3.30 for #2 was high on that trip.

Luckily I brought my WC or we'd be stuck in a cheap tent with no heat. That would have been miserable. Others used the high end canvas tent with the nice wood stoves. They were locals and knew the drill.

jetskier wrote:

Eric wrote:Where do you take your cat hunting and for what?

meow.

I drove up to NE Oregon to meet my dad. We were hunting for elk, but all we saw were trees. I will not go back. It was a year ago when the fuel prices started to sky rocket. I though $3.30 for #2 was high on that trip.

Luckily I brought my WC or we'd be stuck in a cheap tent with no heat. That would have been miserable. Others used the high end canvas tent with the nice wood stoves. They were locals and knew the drill.

Sounds great, I took my cat to Pennsylvania fot the early goose season and it was alot better than staying at a hotel

Earl,

The DW and I camped in Swannanoa, NC all last winter. It's up in the mountains of western NC at approximately 2,400' above sealevel and the temperatures in January got down to 17*F. Here's what we did:

1. I use two electric, oil-filled radiators. I put one in the kitchen/dining hooked to an exterior 20A circuit that I installed and the second (smaller one) set up in the bedroom. I regulate these so that the Cat's furnace comes on about every half hour. That ensures that the underbelly stays warm and none of the tanks freeze.
2. Remember to check the shower head connections. On my 29 RLBS they were not insulated. They're behind the little door w/the lock on the outside of your trailer. I solved this with some fiberglass insulation. Worked like a charm.
3. The belly insulation around the lowpoint drains was missing and allowed cold air up into the connection to the CW & HW line going to the HW heater and the kitchen. It froze, but thanks to the PEX connections and piping nothing cracked. I used a hairdrier to thaw this out and repacked with fiberglass insulation. No more problem.
4. Even though there are holes cut into the duct that passes throught the basement compartment, I hang two 60W bulbs in there using metal guard drop lights from Lowes. The temperature in the basement never got below 50*F even on the coldest night.
5. I also sealed the bedroom slide and livingroom slide windows with that quilted silver insulation. It's really bubble wrap with foil on each side. It's about 3/8" thick and does a great job of sealing the leaky windows.
6. I also used this insulation on all of the access doors to the basement and on the door to garbage receptacle.
7. And last but not least, whenever the temp is going to fall below freezing, day or night, bring the hose in. It'll split pretty quick if it freezes.

We kept pretty warm on even the coldest night up there in the mountains.

Best of Luck

schrowang wrote:Earl,

The DW and I camped in Swannanoa, NC all last winter. It's up in the mountains of western NC at approximately 2,400' above sealevel and the temperatures in January got down to 17*F. Here's what we did:

1. I use two electric, oil-filled radiators. I put one in the kitchen/dining hooked to an exterior 20A circuit that I installed and the second (smaller one) set up in the bedroom. I regulate these so that the Cat's furnace comes on about every half hour. That ensures that the underbelly stays warm and none of the tanks freeze.
2. Remember to check the shower head connections. On my 29 RLBS they were not insulated. They're behind the little door w/the lock on the outside of your trailer. I solved this with some fiberglass insulation. Worked like a charm.
3. The belly insulation around the lowpoint drains was missing and allowed cold air up into the connection to the CW & HW line going to the HW heater and the kitchen. It froze, but thanks to the PEX connections and piping nothing cracked. I used a hairdrier to thaw this out and repacked with fiberglass insulation. No more problem.
4. Even though there are holes cut into the duct that passes throught the basement compartment, I hang two 60W bulbs in there using metal guard drop lights from Lowes. The temperature in the basement never got below 50*F even on the coldest night.
5. I also sealed the bedroom slide and livingroom slide windows with that quilted silver insulation. It's really bubble wrap with foil on each side. It's about 3/8" thick and does a great job of sealing the leaky windows.
6. I also used this insulation on all of the access doors to the basement and on the door to garbage receptacle.
7. And last but not least, whenever the temp is going to fall below freezing, day or night, bring the hose in. It'll split pretty quick if it freezes.

We kept pretty warm on even the coldest night up there in the mountains.

Best of Luck

How do you access the low point drains? Do you have to take the plastic underbelly off?

The low point drains should not be under the underbelly liner. I have heard that some do. Mine are not. I have them hand tight so I can easily drain them.

This past summer, my inlaws trailer was leaking when they turned on the water for the first time after winter. After some investigating, we found the water line fitting at the shower was split off the threads. The unfortunate thing was the trailer didn't have a removable access for the back of the valves and I ended up cutting a hole. They have one now. Simple fix since I had a spare barb to female fitting and a hose clamp. If they would have opened the show valve it would have drained out. Seems like the fittings crack before the pex.

jetskier wrote:The low point drains should not be under the underbelly liner. I have heard that some do. Mine are not. I have them hand tight so I can easily drain them.

This past summer, my inlaws trailer was leaking when they turned on the water for the first time after winter. After some investigating, we found the water line fitting at the shower was split off the threads. The unfortunate thing was the trailer didn't have a removable access for the back of the valves and I ended up cutting a hole. They have one now. Simple fix since I had a spare barb to female fitting and a hose clamp. If they would have opened the show valve it would have drained out. Seems like the fittings crack before the pex.

The only drain that is exposed under the camper is the one for the fresh water tank. How many other drains should there be?

There should be a blue and red line that come out side by side and have grey caps on them. On my unit the lines go across the top of the basement, down the back wall and out just behind the basement compartment door on the curb side. You may have to get down and really look up in the area between the chassis the side wall to locate them. Good luck!!

jetskier wrote: If they would have opened the show valve it would have drained out. Seems like the fittings crack before the pex.

My RV service man assures me that the pex pipe is virtually indestructable, and he doubts that you can damage the pipe with freezing. The damage will come from fittings, etc. I am ready to believe him and do my winterizing to insure that faucets and drains are open to allow expansion. I still blow lines and run some antifreeze into the system, but don't try to fill the lines. I figure that the anti freeze will move to the low areas in the lines and that should stop the ice formation. Opening faucets will let any trapped water drop back into the main lines. In our area we aren't as concerned about freeze damage as you people up North.

Because of the pex lines we camp in cold weather without real concern. When hunting we often see temperatures in high teens to low 20's, but day temperatures are above freezing. No problems. Any other cold weather camping we do with full hookups so have electric heater and the furnace. My last unit had no underbelly (exposed tanks with no heat). It takes a lot of cold to freeze 20-40 gallons of water and grey and black water have solids that lower the freezing point. Non hunting cold weather camping usually comes when we push the season a little bit and get caught in a cold front.

This Christmas we will try something new and take the Cat to San Antonio to watch grandchildren at the Alamo Bowl. Generally it is not too cold at that time, but one never knows.

Eric wrote:3. The belly insulation around the lowpoint drains was missing and allowed cold air up into the connection to the CW & HW line going to the HW heater and the kitchen. It froze, but thanks to the PEX connections and piping nothing cracked. I used a hairdrier to thaw this out and repacked with fiberglass insulation. No more problem.

How do you access the low point drains? Do you have to take the plastic underbelly off?

Eric,

The low point drains pass through the underbelly plastic right in front of my water heater and right behind the basement. I did not have to remove the plastic underbelly, but it was easy to see that the insulation that should have protected that area was missing. The low point drains are connected to the lines that travel to the rear to the HW heater and the CW line to the kitchen. They go forward to connect to the shower, bathroom sink and the water closet. Because the insulation was missing the cold air froze the lines at the "T" where all of these connect. I was able to wrap each low point drain, the "T" connections to the HW and CW lines and both of these lines for about a foot in either direction without pulling the plastic down. I have not had a problem since, and we had a week's worth of 15* to 20* weather at night following that. I'm just thankful that it goes above freezing during the day in NC.

My WC has a sticker on the rocker panels that reads "low point drains". I know it's uncommon. I think the east coast models excluded the sticker.

I agree that you have to really look for the low point lines. They are tucked up there near the floor level and not down near the frame. Mine is located between the galley and the bathroom.

schrowang wrote:

Eric wrote:3. The belly insulation around the lowpoint drains was missing and allowed cold air up into the connection to the CW & HW line going to the HW heater and the kitchen. It froze, but thanks to the PEX connections and piping nothing cracked. I used a hairdrier to thaw this out and repacked with fiberglass insulation. No more problem.

How do you access the low point drains? Do you have to take the plastic underbelly off?

Eric,

The low point drains pass through the underbelly plastic right in front of my water heater and right behind the basement. I did not have to remove the plastic underbelly, but it was easy to see that the insulation that should have protected that area was missing. The low point drains are connected to the lines that travel to the rear to the HW heater and the CW line to the kitchen. They go forward to connect to the shower, bathroom sink and the water closet. Because the insulation was missing the cold air froze the lines at the "T" where all of these connect. I was able to wrap each low point drain, the "T" connections to the HW and CW lines and both of these lines for about a foot in either direction without pulling the plastic down. I have not had a problem since, and we had a week's worth of 15* to 20* weather at night following that. I'm just thankful that it goes above freezing during the day in NC.

Thanks alot, I found the low point drains. Mine were located to the right of the steps going into the camper.