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Old 08-31-2010, 01:51 PM   #1
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Insulating Tanks

Hey campers,

Just getting used to our new Shamrock, and working things out to camp smoothly. We bought this camper brand new on the lot and liked what it was equipped with. Only thing it did not come with was the heaters for the tanks.
After summer is done and fall/winter sets in I will be deer hunting. Plan on using the camper out at my lease and have no power/water there at all,but was rerally wanting to be able to enjoy the features it has then and be comfortable.

What can I do to bring water out there in the campers fresh tank for showers and dishes/what not? Is it possible to wrap the tanks with something to provide a type of barrier from freezing. It gets cold in NC during the deer season that stretches to January and I have seen ice on the ground many times and usually expect it too. What are my options?

I will have the truck there and my buddy has a generator so we should be able to keep the camper battery charged and warm inside hopefully.

Sam and Tonya
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Old 08-31-2010, 02:11 PM   #2
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Without 110VAC you will not have tank heaters even if they were installed. 12VDC heaters (if you could find them) will MURDER your batteries.

Buy a GOOD propane fueled generator with a LARGE (100 Gallon) propane tank. You will need it to heat the camper and fuel the generator.
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Old 08-31-2010, 02:19 PM   #3
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Water, Winter in campers do not get along to good together. You will need to run the generator 24/7 to keep things warm. I would not try and fill your fresh water tank, or use the water lines at all. To me it seems you are asking for trouble with frozen this or that either way you go. Sorry
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Old 08-31-2010, 02:20 PM   #4
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Where is the water tank located? In many RVs it is within the heated area of the rig so as long as you keep the heat on you will be fine. You will more than likely find out like I did at elk camp when the temps were below freezing at night that the furnace can drain your batteries in just one night. Bring lots of blankets or sleeping bags that will keep you warm and lower your thermostat to 50 or less at night. You may be running the generator all day to keep the heat on as we also found out. During exteemes in weather (temps below 50 or above 80) you really need hookups as they aren't insulated to cope for that and the batteries can't keep up with the demand.
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Old 08-31-2010, 04:57 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by samsc03 View Post
It gets cold in NC during the deer season that stretches to January
Cold in November/December in North Carolina...I guess I have a different cold temperature reference.

Camping in the cold weather without a electric hook-up will not be fun unless you like the sound of a generator to fall to sleep to and wake up to in the morning!

Add on tank heater pads 120 or 12V are great but not without electrical hook-up.

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Old 08-31-2010, 05:54 PM   #6
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thanks ya'll. I am devising a plan to deal with this. At night after the hunt we will fire the generator up,get the camper warm, and comfortable. Call it a night,shut the generator down,turn furnace off, bundle up and try out these mattress warmers it came with and hope batteries can handle just those. Then during lunch or what not I can hookup to the truck and run that for a little bit to charge up the battery a little without firing the generator and being overly noisy as we are right in the woods we hunt. Also can turn heat on for a bit too.

We just got this and I know where the black and grey tanks are located and they are under the camper but the fresh is under the dinette bench I believe so I would think thats gonna be fine because it won't get below freezing in there I hope. So the grey water which will just be shower water or from washing the hands I can handle that and I know it won't be a whole lot anyway. I will just pour some antifreeze in there or just crack the dump vent a little to keep it moving some. I am leaning to the antifreeze method.

Also leave with two full LP tanks and an extra also. Thinking max time there would be three days. Hopefully enough to fill the coolers.

Sam and Tonya
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Old 08-31-2010, 06:09 PM   #7
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We camp all winter in North Carolina without tank heaters or enclosed underbelly. If you have heat inside the camper, from whatever source, the water lines should not freeze. We often camp in temperatures that dip overnight to the 20's and have never had a problem. However, we don't carry fresh water in our tank, and we unhook our city water hose after dark so it won't freeze. We were told by our Forest River service people that if the fresh water tank did have water in it and did freeze, there would be no damage unless the tank was full at the time.
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Old 08-31-2010, 06:23 PM   #8
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Thanks. Wow that was a whole nother look at it. Sounds good. Thinking the extra care will be taken after looking at the weather. Early in the season starting mid October I will be fine and can evaluate the scope of it then.

Appreciate it campers.

Sam and Tonya
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Old 08-31-2010, 06:30 PM   #9
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Just a heads up if your matress warmer is like mine it uses 120 volts and will not run off the battery. Bundle up!
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Old 08-31-2010, 06:42 PM   #10
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Oh yeah,damn that is real bummer about the heaters. I don't think we will be real cold. We did this the past two years with a pop up and were fine. We were actually using a colemen lantern to heat it up. i got a parka thick sleeping bag.Lantern worked well actually we just cracked a vent and a window. I know how the fans in it run off 12v I believe just makes me wonder why they would not have the heaters running on 12v also. That's definitely something the dealer never said. He said the only stuff that is 120v is the microwave and A/c and the 2 way fridge.

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Old 08-31-2010, 07:10 PM   #11
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OK, a couple of things.

The Coleman Gas Lantern should not be used inside the camper. Not only is filling it dangerous, (I have some pictures of a travel trailer burned to the frame due to fueling a coleman latern inside the camper) but the carbon monoxide is odorless and poisonous. The camper is much better sealed than a tent or popup. Opening a window will vent more heat than the lantern produces in any case.

Another issue is the battery. Not sure what the amp hour capacity is on your unit (the one shipped with my camper is a Deka DC-24 rated at 75 amp hours), but there are several very good discussions here about battery capacity and usage.

Running the furnace is one of the biggest 12 volt draws in the camper.
The blower will deplete the cheap deep discharge battery they install pretty darn quick.

It can take a day or two, not hours, to replace that charge.

I think you will be running that generator a lot longer than you think, so
bring lots of gas for it.
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Old 08-31-2010, 07:23 PM   #12
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herk, I think i misled you on the lantern thing. i won't be using that in this camper so just pointing out that that kept us warm enough in the other camper at night till we turned it off. So we should be fine.

The generator thing though. I am starting to wonder on that. So I should go get a much better grade battery? Do you think I will end up struggling? I mean if I stayed in the popup with no power at all,no heat,no fridge I would think we can handle this comfortably. It can't be a downgrade.

Sam and Tonya
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Old 08-31-2010, 09:48 PM   #13
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So I should go get a much better grade battery? Do you think I will end up struggling? I mean if I stayed in the popup with no power at all,no heat,no fridge I would think we can handle this comfortably. It can't be a downgrade. Sam and Tonya
Well guys, I think you will be ok if you understand what is going on with the battery. When dry camping you should run the generator during the day to replace what you use at night. If you are very frugal with power use you should be able to run the generator for only 4-6 hours to charge up the battery enough to get you through the night.

Find out the power draw on your furnace in amps. Find out the amp hours on your battery and use the formula below.

Deep cycle batteries are often rated in Amp/Hours. Amp/Hour rating of battery capacity is calculated by multiplying the current (in amperes) by time (in hours) the current is drawn. For example: A battery which can deliver 4 amperes for 20 hours before being discharged would have a 80 amp-hour battery rating (4 X 20= 80).

Search the forum for TM-2025 and you will find a long thread on battery management.
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Old 09-01-2010, 10:42 AM   #14
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I will be on shore power and water this winter still. going to insulate under the grey and black tanks, just dump rv antifreeze in the fresh tank since it wont be used, and use heat tapes. I am also going to put my trailer on blocks and skirt it to before the freezing temperatures of canada set in lol
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