Will you be in a permanent spot or moving from time to time. If in a permanent spot, you might consider going with a propane company that can set you up with a much bigger tank so you don't have to fill up as often. Many of them will actually deliver to you so you don't have to pull your bottles and take them for refilling.

I believe your 373FB-R has tank heaters?

You'll want to invest in a heated water hose for your water needs.


Jim

Your unit will have the "arctic package". This does not mean it can stand arctic temps. The insulation throughout the unit is less than desirable. The framing in the walls and floor is aluminum , this will transfer heat and cold easily. Also with all of the slides the slide seals are rubber and offer no insulation factors at all. Skirting would be a great help under it you could also add some kind of heater to try and keep the space under the RV to above freezing , 50 degrees would be great but may not be attainable. d2reid has quite a bit of experience in this matter , they like the cold.

Brian

RVforwork
The "arctic package" comes on all Grand Design 5th wheels, but is more marketing than fact. As Brian Country Campers notes, the 1 1/4" thick walls are framed with aluminum square tubing which has the 3/16" outside wall on one side and the 3/16" inside wall on the other. The frame pattern will be visible in the frost on the inside walls particularly in closed spaces like the closets. The glass is usually single pane (although double pane is available) but the aluminum window frames have no thermal break as would be common in residential construction. What these RVs do have is a very powerful furnace for the relatively small living space. You can make it work if you are prepared to buy a lot of propane. We have camped (for a few days) in our Reflection down to -14C (7F) at which point the furnace was running about a 75% duty cycle.

Rob

RVforwork -- I've tried to resist responding, but just can't help myself. I can't tell if you've lived in this part of the country from your post. The wind when it is cold is what's going to make living in the 5vr a challenge.

It's an extreme example--but on Feb 2, 1996 it hit -25F with wind speeds gusting to almost 22 mph. I can't even fathom being in an RV on a night like that.

From https://weatherspark.com/y/8355/Aver...%20per%20hour.



Winter camping is definitely "doable"--there are folks that get by--but go in with "eyes wide open". It will be a challenge.

The website linked above allows comparisons. Out of curiosity I compared what I know (Rapid City) with Grand Forks. GF has a higher average wind speed!

Howard

aDalls d2reid has done considerable winter camping over many years. Dallas has shared many valued aspects of cold weather camping in many posts elsewhere and here on this new forum as well as I recall . If Dallas does not respond to this thread, you may want to PM and get some extremely helpful real world experiences.

Dan

Me neither, it only got down to -22f. And wouldn't you know it, that was the one night I forgot to plug in the engine heater on the diesel. Froze the DEF tank which caused some interesting warranty work. Anyway;

RVforWork has a good start on the list. First off RV's aren't homes, it's really hard to get them warm enough. We can maintain around 65F in single digit weather but we burn a lot of energy, both electric and propane.

Skirting makes a difference.

Don't rely on electric alone, propane heats the non-residential areas. Don't forget to keep water out of the sewer pipe or heat it. Put sacrificial material under the jack stands, they can freeze to concrete. If you feel a draft find it and kill it.

Study how your RV is put together, where do the water lines run, are they inside of heated insulated areas? Do you have tank heaters? Some RV's the tanks are exposed to the elements, it's worth checking out.

You'll find us once again at Park City, UT for the ski season Dec 6 to Mar 1.

Oh yeah, if you can rent a 100+ gallon propane tank and get regular delivery it save a whole lot of changing tanks out at 3am. Last year it was not available to me so I got a spare 40# tank, total of three. Twice a week I would make a propane run, big tank is much better.

We are in migration mode so I am only checking the forum about once a week.

Thanks for the information guys. I have a plan if I can find a place to park it there. The propane tank is a great idea. Something answers to questions. Yes I have tank heaters, I believe they are also insulated in underbelly. I am going to upgrade my tanks to 40s and keep the 30s in reserve. I have rubber boots for jack stands.

What are thoughts on buying 1-2 acres and putting a pad water electric down to stay in? Maybe put up some kid of shelter that covers and blocks snow and wind from RV?

Just thinking out loud. They have mobile homes there maybe ill just rent something cheap til spring and revisit the idea.

I'm thinking that renting a mobile home that has not been well maintained or well insulated may be more trouble than it's worth. So far, your biggest downside would be a lot of propane use. Setting up a simple windbreak on the windward (hopefully the utility) side would make a very big difference. Skirting makes a big difference. Reflectix on the windows makes a big difference. Owning your own property makes a really big difference.

If you work in this kind of weather you know how to dress for it. Go for it.