School of thought / experience with cold weather camping

[Schiefswret]

Could not find a better Topic area to put this, pls move it if necessary.
Im experiencing two different views on the topic of cold weather freezing external water pipes.

1. If the temp dips below 32 after about 6pm and the next morning the temp starts to rise consistently to above 32 for the rest of the day, and does this for each
day of the period in question, there is no need to go to any extravagant measures to protect any part of your system from freezing to a degree that is likely to cause damage. OR;

2. If the temp drops to 32 or below and stays that way for 4 or more consecutive hours, (no other criteria was provided) take the following measures; 1,2,3,4,5, etc,

Pls advise your thoughts and especially those who have had practical experience in this area. TYIA

[Country Campers]

I have had the fresh water hose freeze overnight at maybe around 25 or 30 degrees, nothing else froze, low point drains or the like, so maybe that would be the only issue. I would think that if it got down in to the 20's overnight with wind there may be an issue with low point drains but the warm up the next day would cure that. If this was to go on for a week then maybe all of the outside items, especially under the camper or in the shade would maintain a colder temp than ambient longer and that would cause a problem. Just purely speculation on my part I will again defer to d2reid for his input.

Brian

[Schiefswret]

Thanks Brian!

[Sandridge4]

We spent from January to September in Colorado,January to March we were in our Keystone 5th wheel, March we took delivery of our Solitude. In February we experienced temperatures reaching 18 below. Below is a list of things we did no matter the temperature swings, I prefer to have it all done while it was warmer rather than doing certain things if it was going to get colder. If I knew low 30’s or high 20’s were the lowest I would see I would skip the reflectix,
1. Heated water supply hose, if possible buy the warranty, in that timeframe we went through three camco brand hoses.
2. Filled water tank 1/2 full (just in case of heated hose failure)
3. Use tank heaters at all times
4. Insulated exposed low point drains (Keystone)
5. Air Skirts with small heater installed underneath that was used with an Alexa plug to allow scheduling of use.
6. Thermometer with remote units to monitor temperature in utility bay, underneath, and outside. Ambient Weather WS-10 Wireless... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FX8ZGOO...p_mob_ap_share
8. Had an additional electric heater available for cold areas inside, also used under kitchen island during the 18 below nights to ensure kitchen water lines did not freeze.
9. Reflectix in the windows at night to hold heat in.

[Schiefswret]

Thank you Scott.

[Jlawles2]

Sandridge4 Did you do anything to the vents? I don't camp in those temps, but in my little 23' I had the pillow vent insulators I used when it was in the 20's (thin blooded Texas resident). I now us the insulators year round to hold cold in and heat out, or heat in and cold out. Foil goes to hot side.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

[Guest]

Could not find a better Topic area to put this, pls move it if necessary.
Im experiencing two different views on the topic of cold weather freezing external water pipes.

1. If the temp dips below 32 after about 6pm and the next morning the temp starts to rise consistently to above 32 for the rest of the day, and does this for each
day of the period in question, there is no need to go to any extravagant measures to protect any part of your system from freezing to a degree that is likely to cause damage. OR;

2. If the temp drops to 32 or below and stays that way for 4 or more consecutive hours, (no other criteria was provided) take the following measures; 1,2,3,4,5, etc,

Pls advise your thoughts and especially those who have had practical experience in this area. TYIA

We have camped in these conditions where freezing was encountered for a few hours. We had no issues in using the fresh water tank alone and with the heat on.

Jim

[Schiefswret]

Sandridge4 Did you do anything to the vents? I don't camp in those temps, but in my little 23' I had the pillow vent insulators I used when it was in the 20's (thin blooded Texas resident). I now us the insulators year round to hold cold in and heat out, or heat in and cold out. Foil goes to hot side.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

Thanks Joseph, yes I’ve been using them for a long time but Tks for your input.

[Schiefswret]

We have camped in these conditions where freezing was encountered for a few hours. We had no issues in using the fresh water tank alone and with the heat on.

Jim

Much thanks Jim!

[Cate&Rob]

I now us the insulators year round to hold cold in and heat out, or heat in and cold out. Foil goes to hot side.

Hi Joseph,

Not significant to this cold weather discussion, but somewhere (that I can't currently find) on this forum is a post about reflective foil inside a plastic dome trapping excessive heat in a hot environment and damaging the plastic dome.

Rob

[Canyonlight]

Hi Joseph,

Not significant to this cold weather discussion, but somewhere (that I can't currently find) on this forum is a post about reflective foil inside a plastic dome trapping excessive heat in a hot environment and damaging the plastic dome.

Rob

Rob, was it Jim TucsonJim and his posts about deep tinting or doing something else to the inside or maybe outside shower dome which then did some damage ?

Dan

[howson]

Not significant to this cold weather discussion, but somewhere (that I can't currently find) on this forum is a post about reflective foil inside a plastic dome trapping excessive heat in a hot environment and damaging the plastic dome.

https://gdrvowners.com/forum/interio...ight-insulator

[JBill9694]

For me, this is a risk analysis question and I tend towards the lower risk option when possible. Even before water actually freezes it begins to expand and this expansion, in say the supply hose outside of the trailer, translates into higher pressure in the water system. This includes the soft hose sections and any barbed connections on the PEP hoses (I know it is counter to my first sentence, but I'm also too lazy to replace the soft hoses and barbed connections in advance of a leak. Easier to keep the water pressure at a reduced level). Anyways, because I'm a low risk and lazy kind of guy, I would whether spend a few minutes protecting against freezing than several hours or days repairing damage from freezing.

[Sandridge4]

Sandridge4 Did you do anything to the vents? I don't camp in those temps, but in my little 23' I had the pillow vent insulators I used when it was in the 20's (thin blooded Texas resident). I now us the insulators year round to hold cold in and heat out, or heat in and cold out. Foil goes to hot side.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

That is one item I forgot about. We have an inflatable vent pillow, it’s really expensive for what it is but like the light it allows. https://www.airskirts.com/product/ai...ght-insulator/

[Jlawles2]

Hi Joseph,

Not significant to this cold weather discussion, but somewhere (that I can't currently find) on this forum is a post about reflective foil inside a plastic dome trapping excessive heat in a hot environment and damaging the plastic dome.

Rob

Rob,

I remember that discussion. On the original TT after 5 years using the foil covered vent insulators i had a little discoloration of the vent trim ring, I think this was mostly due to the vent not having a cover over it. The other vent that was covered looked new still. Those vent covers make a lot of difference in the heat down here.

I'll keep the group updated if I notice any discoloration or other thing happening. I just recently added sweing machine bobbins to the under side of the vent trim rings for bungee straps to hold the insulators in place while traveling. The are typically removed when traveiling in high heat areas and the vents opened to help reduce internal heat to increase cooing.