Hello there
I hope you have a good trip and to make it better you might want to
try these suggestions. Actually, don't really ignore any of them or
you may have serious problems.
Many cold weather RVers put straight plumbing anti-freeze (propylene
glycol) in the water tank (after draining the water). Use just the
toilet with the anti-freeze. One of the problems with plumbing
anti-freeze is that most of it will not stay liquid when cold. You
may have to pour some into the toilet each time you use it. Do NOT
use automobile anti-freeze or windshield washer fluid (alcohols) -
both of these are poisonous. Don't even use them for filling sink
traps as the fumes are poisonous too.
To save on propane, you may want to modify the thermostat to keep the
RV just above freezing if you are away from it any length of time.
Park in the sun if you can and leave all interior doors open including
cupboards and closets.
Get a flexible water container (5 gal is best). Keep it in your sink.
That way if the furnace fails causing the container to freeze and
break, it won't be all over the place. You can refill the container
from any safe water source, a gas station for example.
For personal hygine, heat water on the stove and take sponge baths.
I don't know what size batteries you use but if you can install them
in an inside box, vented to the outside, they will stay fairly warm.
You might want to have a battery charger on hand.
Drain the fresh water tank either with the drain valve or if your RV
doesn't have a drain valve, turn on the pump and open a water tap till
the pump is pulling air.
Remove the inlet fitting on the water pump and replace it with an
adapter so you can connect the water pump inlet to a piece of
hose long enough to reach the bottom of the antifreeze jugs.
Start the water pump. Open valves one at a time until color runs from
each. Flush the toilet until its valve is filled with antifreeze, also
the shower. Open the lower bypass valve of the hot water tank and run
until color comes out the drain. For the section of hose between the
water inlet and the pump, take the screen out of the inlet connection
and press the button on the check valve until color shows there..
Bypass the water heater with a kit from your RV store (otherwise, you
will need a lot more plumbing anti-freeze), and drain it as much as
much as you can by opening both the drain valve and the top
pressure-relief valve
Pour antifreeze into every drain trap.
Dump the holding tanks again to get rid of the water that came out of
your traps. Protect the holding tank valves by adding more
anti-freeze to the toilet and sink drain.
Make sure there is no water in the gray and blackwater tanks.
If you do all that, your water system should be good for most any cold
weather.
Now there are a few other things you should do and some of these are
things people neglect and wonder what went wrong later. I don't want
that to happen to you.
Make sure your batteries are in good working order. Do NOT use a
voltmeter. They are not that accurate at low temperatures. Use a
battery hydrometer instead. If you're not familiar with such a thing,
you measure the battery's power reserve by means of specific gravity.
For example, a fully charged battery is 1.260 and at 1.120 you have no
charge at all.
LOL, now this may seem a bit redundant, but it is the cause of many
problems. Make sure you have propane - make sure you have propane -
make sure you have propane - should I repeat that again?
Now I can't give you too much advice about your furnace because I
don't know what kind it is. But I can give you a couple of warnings.
In good weather,you can take the chill out of the air with a catalytic
heater. These require no circulating fan, some require
no electricity at all. But, they dump their combustion products, water
vapour and carbon dioxide, into the living space. So, they
require ventilation to prevent you from suffocating with carbon
dioxide. They simply need too much venting for really cold
temperatures.
Below 0°F, a furnace must be vented to the outside. Older units do
this with convection, but all new units do it with 12V power and lots
of it at that. These newer units also have a very dangerous feature -
if the propane runs low, they leave the fan running nonstop until your
battery is dead, freezes, cracks open and dumps sulphuric acid over
everything near it. So to avoid this - make sure you have propane -
there I said it again.
Take enough extra blankets for comfort if the furnace should fail.
Take extra food and beverages in sealed containers in case you should
get stuck someplace.
Now the following advice has nothing to do with your RV freezing. It
has more to do with cosmetics. But, if you are going into a cold
climate, make sure the underside of your RV gets washed and washed
well. The reason is the salt often used on ice and snow covered
roads. Salt and steel equal rust and salt plus aluminum equals
pitting.
Since you live in California, you may already have snow chains for
mountain trips. If you don't, get a set.
Make sure you have propane.
With these basics in mind - no wrong phrase - with these basics
actually completed, you should have a good trip.
search - Google
terms - RVs +and freezing weather, winterizing RVs
Information above was taken from personal experience and the following
"Cold Weather Travel - Open Roads Forum"
http://www.woodalls.com/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/CFB/1/Tid/482871/DoOnePage/Yes.cfm
"Funroads.com"
http://www.funroads.com/home/feature2.jhtml
RV Motorhome Plumbing"
http://www.americanrvrentals.com/plumbing.htm
Make sure you have propane.
If I may clarify anything before you rate the answer, please ask.
Happy motoring
digsalot |
