Unexpected freezing temperatures

[RoyR]

Hi all,
We are new to the RV world and are planning our first long trip - cross country from VA to OR, WA, MT, CO. We have a new 3 season TT so it's not for winter camping. I'm wondering what, if anything, you do when temperatures drop below freezing, particularly at night, when traveling/camping in the mountains. We will be traveling out there in August and will still be in the mountains in Washington, Montana, Colorado in early/mid September. Is that late enough in the season to even be concerned about freezing temps in the mountains? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[A32Deuce]

Depends on your unit. I have heated gray/black tanks and heat ducts in my water bays to prevent freezing. That said, we camp late into the year and have had temps in the teens over night with no problem. Have a heated water feed line and keep FW tank full. Hopes this helps.

[RoyR]

As a 3 season TT we don't have heated tanks or lines. We do have a heater, though. I'm just concerned about water lines freezing. Our TT is a Rockwood Mini Lite 1905.

[A32Deuce]

I would be very careful then. We camp in Gettysburg Nov. to March, couple weeks at a time except if it snows! As long as I use the unit heater, Im OK.

[RoyR]

I'm thinking that if it dips below freezing, but not too cold for too long, I could just drain the water lines using the low point drains and not worry about the WH or filter. Or would the cabin heater protect the line enough unless it got really cold?

[merrykalia]

Do you have an enclosed underbelly? If so, it take quite a while for the inside to get below freezing and to freeze waterlines. If it's just a few hours of below freezing weather, you should have much to worry about. Unhook the hose from the spigot, if you are on city water and use the water pump and onboard water. Keep the cabinet door open on water lines in kitchen and bathroom. Keep it warm inside and you should be good.

If you have water in the water heater, it will not freeze (hot water).

[TitanMike]

I lived in a 1995 Terry for 6 months while my house was being built. I went through the winter of 1995/1996 in Denver and one morning I looked out to see my little thermometer show -15 degrees. The water lines were all run inside the heated space and I had to add a tank heating pad to my gray and black water tanks.

Keep the water tank filled and if you don't have a Black/Gray tank heater pour a pound of Rock Salt down the drains/toilet. The salt will keep the water from freezing unless you have a really deep freeze.

You need to make sure you have plenty of propane. The local propane supplier dropped a 250 gallon tank in front of my trailer and made an extension hose to my regulator. Some days the furnace never shut off and there was a solid coat of ice down the sides of the trailer where snow on the roof had melted and re-froze as it dribbled down the side.

That trailer and the new Flagstaff Micro-Lite I took delivery of 3 weeks ago are night and day when it comes to insulation. The Micro-Lite came with tank heaters that run on both 120VAC or 12VDC.

FWIW, these heater pads can be added to existing tanks if one desires to do some cold weather camping and doesn't want to wait until spring to empty the holding tanks

[A32Deuce]

All my water lines are inside and run along side the heat lines plus a line to the water bay.

[RoyR]

Thank you all for the info. I'm hoping we won't have to worry about it but it's good to be prepared.

[Canadiancrew]

I don't think you need to worry. It's going to take a few degrees below and an extended period for things to freeze up. We have had no water in the morning as our hose to the trailer has froze solid but all the lines in the trailer are fine.

[DrLewie]

With tank heaters and heat registers below we did a similar trip with no trouble. The couple of nights the temp was below 20 we disconnected the city water and drained the hose, just in case. If you are really concerned and need to stay on city water, letting the faucets drip should keep the pipes from freezing. A bigger winter challenge for us has been the cold coming through the single-pane windows Brrrr.