Help with Artic Package

[MotocrossCamper]

Like I stated before, I'm new to the Sunseeker.

We are getting ready to head out this weekend and it is going to drop below freezing at night. I do have the Artic package with the heating pads on the bottom of the tanks.

I decided to try them out tonight and I'm having a hard time telling wether they are working or not. If I put my hand on the bottom of the pads should there be a noticable amount of heat? I can't tell if they are actually working or not. My other thought was maybe they have a built in thermostat so they don't heat up unless it's below freezing???? I don't know, the Sunseekers manual is very vague compared to our Coachmen. There isn't a lot of info in that thing.

Thanks again for your help! This forum has been very helpful adjusting to a new brand.

[Shawomet3]

Hi-
The arctic pac has a thermostat that will click on when the temp gets a little below 40 F. I felt the warmth a little bit on mine, but they didn't freeze up when we were camping last winter (January) up in the White Mountains. What you have to watch, though, is that if you are dry camping in the cold and are also running your furnace and fridge, the batteries barely last the night..heat takes a lot of juice. Also, don't forget to get into the "cold weather mode", that is if you find a hook-up (yes there are some year round ones), don't forget to detach water and sewer lines and drain them before going to bed...i forgot to do my water hose the first time and froze open the freeze-proof hydrant. Luckily it wasn't real cold and a pan of hot water got things flowing again. I would have had hated to tell that 6 foot 6 lumberjack owner that I just froze open his water line at the beginning of the cold season!. Good luck to you. I hope you enjoy your rig as much as we do.

[threegr8katz]

Artic pac? Is that the same as heat holding tanks? What is the difference?

[The_Stuff]

heated tanks and better insulation me thinks

[jk31668]

i presume that the artic pak runs off 12v and not 120v ?

[MotocrossCamper]

Yes, they pull off the 12v. And yes the tanks on mine are heated and it does seem to be insulated better then my old RV. I have noticed that they have spray foam insulation everywhere they could possibly spray it.

[F and E Damp]

According to the spec sheet I got with my rig, the Arctic pack (and the vendor does spell it correctly) consists of heating pads for fresh water, grey water and black water tanks. They're 12V DC and each one draws between 4 and 7 amps, depending on size.

Their thermostats swicth on when the tank contents drop to 40F and stay on until the contents reach 60F. The "OFF" temp seems very high to me. In my rig, the switch for what FR calls the "Artic" pack is on a panel on the fromt of the sink cabinet next to the one to turn the gas on to the water heater and the switch for "Elctric W/H or Microwave".

BTW, to a Brit, an "Artic" is a tractor trailer rig, known in full as an "articulated lorry".