camping with a winterized camper

[pip]

Anybody from the north that camps with camper winterized, I thought I might try it this year but don't know if its a good thing or not. The thought of waiting about 5 months to go again is sad.

[j2detroit]

yes it is sad our season runs from the first on may to the middle of oct as far as winter camping in a witerized camper no water means no stool so you better be close to a bathroom\shower area and besides the campers are not exactly made for winter thin walls single pain widows the gas for heat will kill your pocket book but if you want have as much fun as you can ill be waiting till may up here

[capebuff]

Good post! Was wondering this very thing. Trying to squeeze a few more weeks out of the season down here. My first ever trip was this past weekend and we had a blast --- don't want the season to end!

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by j2detroit

the gas for heat will kill your pocket book

I went camping a couple of weeks ago. Lows of -2 celcius and the high on the Saturday was +7 C. The furnace was running from about 9:00 friday night until noon on Sunday. I used under 5 pounds of propane including fridge and water heater.

As for using the toilet, a friend of mine suggested you could flush using windshield washer fluid, and then add warm water when you are close to dumping.

If I was going camping right now I would de-winterize it first; but you do want to be careful about how cold it's going to actually get.

[skgeorgy]

I have gone a couple of times in the winter. The campground I went to has power and good camper centre (washrooms). The only advice is to ensure you have enough propane, electric heater, bottled drinks, microwavable food, paper plates. Temps were in the -10 - -25 Celsius. It just kind of sucks not having water.

[KyDan]

We have camped "dry" several times.
If your destination camp ground has electric you can use a little heater
to warm you and save on the LP and battery power.
You can even use 2 heaters if you have a larger RV.
You can run a heavy duty extension cord out thru your slide out
seal and plug it directly into the extra outlet on your power post.
This should keep you from kicking out your main breaker.

We bring drinking/coffee water in blue water totes by Alliance.
They come in 2 sizes and can usually be found in the camping or RV isle
of your favorite big box dept store.

IF it's not going to be much below freezing we still pee in the RV toilet but
hit the rest rooms for the heavy stuff. IF I'm really worried about freezing
at night I can drain that small amount into a bucket and pour it down
the toilet in the bathroom before turning in for the night.

How much of a camper are you
Sitting on the toilet seat of an un-heated pit toilet in winter can
be an exhilarating experience or not.
We just say it's all part of the ADVENTURE.

Flannel sheets or flannel lined sleeping bags are wonderful in cold weather.
We also use a down comforter on the bed and turn the thermostat down
to 55 F at night.
You can use a down sleeping bag that zips open and flat for a warm
comforter.
In the morning we turn up the furnace and light the oven to bake
biscuits and also are perking coffee. These things quickly warm up
the trailer.


PS-- don't forget to pour some RV antifreeze down any drains you might
have used when you are finished. Stop at a dump station or use a bucket
to get remaining liquid out of your holding tanks.

[MtnGuy]

Use water from containers......I use washed out milk jugs to carry my water.

Heat water for bathing and dishwashing on the stove.

Sponge baths.

Catch all gray water in a pan or tub. If not camping at a place that you have access to proper gray water disposal, store the water in a blue tote......stored inside the camper to prevent freezing if necessary.

Use a camping porta potty.

With these suggestions, no water is added to either the fresh water lines or the waste tanks. A little inconvenient, but much better than some frozen lines.