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Old 11-27-2015, 09:39 PM   #1
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Winter camping in my HTT.

Next month I plan on taking the family out for a few days in Mammoth. A local ski area in Central California . Normally we would go to Big Bear, our local mountains, but the snow is not consistent there.
I have read a bunch of posts here and have already installed a tank heater on my fresh tank. I have everything to wire up two more to my grey and black tanks. If I don't get around to it I will use RV antifreeze. I also wired up heat tape along the fresh water line and waste lines up to the valves. I am in the process of insulating the lines inside where they run against the inner wheel wells and out walls. I am debating whether or not to install shut off valves to the outdoor shower and drain it. I have a set of gizmos, but only plan on using the front bunk. I am thinking I will lay down some reflextec and a comforter below the heated mattress and along the sides. I have two ceramics heaters and will run one from the TT and the second from the outlet on the post. I will run the second heater on low and also use the post to run the heat tape. I may run one or the other off the dedicated breaker to the hot water heater.
The park only has power to the sites. I will fill my fresh tank when I get there. We will shower and use the facility restrooms except at night. There's is no way the DW is going to suite up when it is in the single digits to use the restroom.
Other than that I have removed all the dummy panels in the cabinets and plan on leaving everything open with the heaters on. I may close up the cabinets next to the side bed if I install the shut offs for the outside shower though.

Now for my question! The water lines run through the floor below the entrance from the hot water heater to the sink. So in that location there is only a thin piece of plywood between my hot and cold lines and the outside environment. Day time temps are currently in the thirties with night time lows in the single digits. My thought was to insulate some heat tape the bottom of the TT below that area to keep the lines on freezing. Is that overkill? Should I just do the insulation or is this an issue I should worry about?
Any thoughts would be very helpful on this or anything you think I might have overlooked. This will be our first time out in temps this low.

Thanks
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Old 11-27-2015, 09:40 PM   #2
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Old 11-27-2015, 10:22 PM   #3
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I'm not very familiar with your Shamrock but I am going to assume it was never meant be used in temps that low. That being said, it sounds like you've pretty thorough in your efforts. If you have PEX water lines they are fairly freeze tolerant and are easy to repair/replace if damaged. I guess I would go for it and if it doesn't work out the beauty of an RV and being in California is you just hitch up and head somewhere warmer.Good luck!
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Old 11-27-2015, 10:33 PM   #4
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Why carry water in your holding tank if you only want to use it at night for the toilet. Use a 5 gal water jug and pour water in toilet when needed. You will not have any water in your lines. If you need more water in the 5 gal jug can be get water from wash house. To help water from freezing in the holding tanks put a cup or two of rock salt in to tanks.
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Old 11-28-2015, 12:25 AM   #5
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If I could get the DW to use a bucket I would. Did I mention she is also a germofobe and washes her hands often. I will make the drive nearly empty and fill up when we get to the park. On the last day I will dump before I head out
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Old 11-28-2015, 10:22 AM   #6
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I don't think caper meant to use the bucket as a toilet. Rather , use water in the bucket to flush the toilet, thereby eliminating the need to fill your water tank and lines.
Another thing to watch out for is condensation. I've never camped in weather that cold but I have had condensation in the low 30s. You will probably need to keep a window cracked.
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Old 11-28-2015, 11:23 AM   #7
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Oh I know about the bucket. The DW needs to be able to wash her hands and won't get that close to the toilet to pour a bucket in.
I will keep one of the roof vents open, use the fans and open one of the Windows. Also have some desiccant.
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Old 11-28-2015, 11:56 AM   #8
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When we had our hybrid, we winter camped quite often, but that was in SC at the beach!

It did get into the 30's and a couple of nights it got into the 20s, but usually warmed into the 40s and 50s during the day.

We used the gizmos on our bunk ends, we kept a small ceramic heater running during the day and used our quartz heater at night. The water at the campground was on, so we just had to unhook the hose at night to keep it from freezing. We didn't even have a heated mattress, but I did put a reflective emergency blanket under the mattress and added an extra blanket. We did fine and it was actually kind of fun.

Hope your trip goes well.
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Old 11-28-2015, 01:40 PM   #9
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Be sure to turn you water pump off when not in use so there's no inline pressure in case there is any freezing in the line.
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Old 11-28-2015, 02:09 PM   #10
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Nice place winter or summer.
California's Best Skiing & Snowboarding | Mammoth Mountain
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Old 11-28-2015, 08:11 PM   #11
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That is where we are going!!!
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Old 11-28-2015, 10:03 PM   #12
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Not in to the snow thing but fishing is great in the spring and early summer all over with in 30/40 miles.
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Old 11-29-2015, 12:42 AM   #13
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I am camping right now, and have already winterized the camper. We are using the shower house in the Kentucky campground, and using an old Thetford Porto-potty from our pop-up days. That way I won't have to winterize again when we get home.

The heated mattresses work well, so I wouldn't worry about insulation under the mattresses. Reflexfix in the bunk Windows may be helpful, but use bunk end covers if you have purchased them. Expect condensation and take some old towels for drying if needed.

While I ordered the factory tank heaters, I don't plan to use except for occasional nights when it drops into the upper '20's.
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Old 11-30-2015, 10:29 PM   #14
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I spent several winters out and about in single digits with my ROO 21SS. Sounds like you covered all the angles. I never heated my tanks and did unhook the hose at night. PUGs are great but also reflectix panels in the bunk end window panels and under the mattresses makes a big dif. I also found several items to be highly functional as needed. A highway flare in lieu of a MAP torch is very helpful to thaw the CG water supply pipe (really bad set of weather related circumstances) and a heat PAR lamp type bulb to thaw out the dump valves. It's all good once you get past the frostbite!
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