Living full time in rv in winter

[cbray]

I purchased my Flagstaff 831 fkbss in May and a woman living in RV park during the week in Dallas while working here for the next 5 years. Now I'm facing making it thru the winter. I am not wanting to use the Propane for heat and I see where some use space heaters for heat. My question is what to do while I am at work during the winter. Although Texas winters are usually pretty mild you never know about the weather in Texas. Advice? I have read so much that I am now confused!,

[crasher]

When I was working in Dallas area in 2000, I got by just fine with a small ceramic heater in my coach. You shouldn't need much heat, if any, to keep your pipes above freezing during the day.

One trick to get some heat in your trailer's underbelly (without running the furnace) is to run the fan in manual mode (either low or high). So if you have a space heater running, that fan will circulate some heat down below. Another trick is to leave your kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors open, so some heat gets to those pipes as well.

[cbray]

Thanks this living full time is all new to me. Got tired of paying rent and it just kept going up. Should have done this a long time ago! After you read up on space heaters it starts getting confusing as there are so many options out there. I don't know, but I don't think I would be able to handle the propane tanks.

[caper]

Another option is to have a 200# propane tank installed at the trailer. Then all you have to do is call the propane company when your propane is getting low. Most times is is more economical to use hydro over propane for heating the trailer. Last winter in BC Canada we had two heaters in the trailer. One was a fireplace with attached heater. We kept this in the living room. In the bedroom area we used the oil filled rad. style heater. With both heaters and a dehumidifier our hydro bill was about $150/month. When using propane for heat our hydro bill was $75/month and we were going through 30# of propane/week at a cost of $1/pound. The heaters are thermostat controlled. so if you leave them on low during the day it will keep the trailer from freezing. If you have a way of getting a 75 watt light bulb into the enclosed area of the trailer this will keep the pipes from freezing. Your water hose can be wrapped with a water pipe heat chase and covered with foam water pipe insulation.

[fanrgs]

If you are just asking about heating the interior of your trailer with electric space heaters instead of using your propane furnace because electricity is included in your RV park rental and propane isn't, you may want to go to northerntool.com to view the capabilities (in BTUs and maximum heated space) and prices of a wide variety of quartz and ceramic space heaters. Most have thermostats, so you can lower the temp during the day while you are at work (to keep the water lines from freezing) and turn it up when you get "home." Once you have decided on which ones will comfortably heat your trailer, then you can shop for price at Amazon, Sears, Murdoch's, Walmart, etc.

Another option might be to add an electric heating element to your air conditioner. You can likely get more information on that from the dealership where you purchased your trailer or from the Camping World store located at 10100 South Freeway in
Fort Worth.

If it is new, your 831fkbss has enclosed, heated holding tanks. So, if you are concerned about how to keep them from freezing, just turn them on if freezing weather is predicted. And your water lines are mostly inside the heated portion of the trailer (but not the water pump), so as long as the interior is above freezing, they should be fine. If you are really concerned about the water pump, filter, and "city water" hose, you can get electric heat tape at any Home Depot or Lowe's that can be wrapped around those critical components. Or, if temps there are mild enough, maybe some fiberglass insulation (the very flexible 1"-2" thick kind) may be sufficient to keep the filter and city water hose from freezing.

My last advice would be to enclose the underside perimeter of your trailer with some type of foam insulation during the winter (and summer for that matter). Your trailer has only R12 insulation in the floors, R7 in the sidewalls, and R14 in the ceilings, so is not designed to conserve much heat during very cold weather. Anything you can do, like preventing cold wind from blowing beneath the trailer, will help keep the inside temps more comfortable.

I looked at photos and the floorplan of a new 831fkbss online. It looks like a great trailer, so I can see where it would a good substitute for an apartment. And, in 5 years, you can move it to Arizona and retire in it!

[cbray]

Thanks, that gives me some more options to consider. And you are absolutely right about being ready to retire in New Mexico after this job is complete! At least I'll have this living in the trailer full time down! It has been amazing to me how many people live in their RV's full time.

[fanrgs]

In your living/dining area, a 5,000 BTU, fan-forced, quartz or ceramic heater or a more efficient, oil-filled, 5,000 BTU convection heater should be sufficient down to 20-30 degrees. Below that, you may want to use a little propane for a night or two and turn on your furnace.

For your bedroom, you may want a smaller quartz or ceramic heater (they are radiant, so the one in the living room may not adequately heat the bedroom). If your trailer is like mine, it may have come with a heated mattress that you could use instead of a heater if you like to sleep in a cool room. For the bathroom, you may want to get a small, space-saving, upright quartz heater (you might even want to move it between the bedroom and bath).

Our experience has indicated that just turning all the 12v lights in our trailer would quickly heat it up on a cold morning. Since we dry camp and boondock in the mountains where there are no electrical hookups, I changed my light bulbs to LEDs to keep from wasting my batteries just producing all that heat. In your case, with an RV park electrical hookup, you may be able to assist your heaters just by turning on more lights. Experiment by turning on all the lights, but not the space heater, when you first get home from work on a cool, but not cold, day and notice how much the trailer warms up.

Where in New Mexico are you planning to retire? I am retired and going to be camping near Santa Fe this weekend.

[cbray]

I am not exactly sure where in New Mexico as that is still 5 years away for me and 8 for my husband. Just know we love the Santa Fe area. Where are you going to be camping?

Thanks for the lights tip. I actually was worried last week about how hot the light fixture over the couch was after only having it on for a hour one night so I see how it could put off some heat.

I do have a ceramic space heater but was concerned about heat during the day when at work. I was not feeling good about leaving it on while no one was there. I was also considering putting down some rugs. There is carpet in the slides but not in the main part of the trailer. Thought that might help a little also.

Thanks!

[fanrgs]

We are hoping to be at the Juniper Campground at Bandelier Natl. Monument near Los Alamos this weekend. But we won't know until we get there since they don't take reservations. If not there, then in a private campground closer to Santa Fe.

Winter is definitely coming--there is fresh snow on the mountain peaks and the low in Denver on Thursday night is supposed to be 37. That's after we broke the record with more >90 degree days than any summer in history.

[joelek]

Put an electric blanket on your bed. I use the Sunbeam ones - buy at walmart, target, etc. IF you can find an older one that uses the dial controls instead of the brand new digital display ones, you can use a timer plugged into the blanket control. Turn blanket on 9pm - 12pm and 6am - 8am. Nice and warm when you go to sleep and warms up again when you get up in morning. Electric blanket keeps you from heating the entire RV/house to stay warm while you sleep.

Type "space heater types" into google and start reading. I liked the text and video here. A Guide To Space Heaters - CBS News

[cbray]

Where is the best place to set your space heater? The instructions say three feet away from anything flamable and I'm looking around thinking, "Where is that in a RV?

[joelek]

Same way you use a propane heater in a fish house for winter fishing on a lake. There is no 3 feet of clearance all the way around the portable heater. It simply uses radiant heat to make you feel warm but they don't heat the entire fish house.

If you want to heat the entire RV try out electric baseboard heaters. They run on 120Vac and are used quite a bit in cabins during the cold hunting seasons. An electric blanket on the bed is a great way to stay warm during the night.

That 3 foot clearance is a warning label to keep lawyers happy and companys out of lawsuits. Not much else. It's not how people use small portable heaters in real life. They plug em in and get real close to stay warm.