Apex Nano 193BHS temperature rating

[RVon]

I just bought a 2019 Apex Nano 193BHS. It comes with R-9 rated sidewalls and R-11 rated floor. What is the lowest temperature you would still consider camping at? It does not have a heated underbelly, so I am suspecting that 0oC (32F) would be the limit or does the floor isulation protect the pipes to a lower temperature? Has anyone made modifications to the RV that would allow them to camp at let's say -5oC (23F)?

[GoingNoWhereFast]

Since your camper does't really have any "Pipes", its all pex, and they are good to a very cold temperature. Turn your pump off, leave the faucets open and the pex will handle any expansion from freezing. What does get damaged from freezing is the Water Pump Filter housing. And the Outside Shower Plastic mixer. If you maintain a decent temp inside the trailer, you really don't have much to worry about. Running your Water heater will maintain a warm area around your water pump and that area.



Also, if your just talking about the temp dropping to -5 in the coldest part of the night, that also isn't going to really freeze stuff up that fast. I have been camping in 25F over night and done nothing to protect my water system. I did check the water pump filter in the morning BEFORE I turned on the pump, and everything was fine. But Again, I did turn the hot water tank on to warm the area and then turned it off when it was hot. Just my Experience, YMMV

[RVon]

Thanks for the reply, I know there are no real pipes, what I meant is plumbing, plus the articles i was readinng called them PVC pipes, so I just went with that. If they can handle expansion from freezing, that is good news. I will want to camp as long into the fall as possible. All the RVs I saw in the spring were winterised, so I assumed any cold weather would be detrimental to the trailer, not just when it's being stored.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by RVon

I assumed any cold weather would be detrimental to the trailer, not just when it's being stored.

Your assumption is correct. Anything below freezing is a bit of a risk, but you can usually camp into the high 20's if you're using the rig without danger of water freezing in the system.

If you want to camp into the fall, take a compressor(tire inflator will do) and an adapter that will allow you to blow out the lines at 40psi in case you run into low temps. Disconnect from the campsite water and leave the faucets open.

[RVon]

Thank you! Good to know in case I experience an unexpected low temperatre weather in the fall!

[jimmoore13]

Other considerations.

If your furnace is running, some heat will be available to much of your plumbing, because much of your plumbing is up inside the rig.

BUT the freshwater tank is protected only by the coroplast, and the fresh tank drain and low point drains are out in the weather. Low point drains in particular are vulnerable because they are out there on their own.

Next, PEX is great, but joints in PEX are NOT flexible. Nor are the quarter turn ball valves on the previously mentioned drains.

An old trick to prevent freezing pipes is to OPEN cabinet doors and pull the panel to the back of your shower faucet/drain. It will let the heat in.

Finally, your dumps are vulnerable. That water may be contaminated, but it's water, and it's hanging out their on its own in freezing space.

Be careful with any rig that's not winter ready.

P.S. You'll need a pancake compressor or better to winterize on the fly. An inflator will not do the job. You don't have a winter rig, so dry camping is the only safe option when temps drop into the mid 20s F.

[jimmoore13]

More:

Prep your black and grey tank dumps by pouring RV antifreeze down both while empty. The antifreeze will end up in the dump pipes and protect them from freezing. Roughly estimate the volume...perhaps 1 gallon in black and 1/2 gallon in grey, and that antifreeze will park itself right up against the dump valves and fill the pipes. The tanks are up inside and relatively safe. And the large cubic volume will prevent freezing for a long time...easily overnight.

Next, for dry camping (no fresh water in the plumbing, you remember tent camping, right?)

Get several Reliance jugs and fill with fresh water. 7 gallons of water weigh 60 pounds (with jug). They make 5 gallon size, too. I usually fill my fresh tank (30 gallons) and bring 4 of the Reliance jugs in the bed of my truck (28 gallons). I can go 10 days without being all that frugal. While you're at it, buy a spare cap and make an easy adapter to dump from the jug into your fresh tank. The cap has 1/2" pipe (NPT) thread. Go to a hardware store and get a plastic adapter with 1/2" NPT on one side and a barb on the other. Buy 18" of clear plastic hose and a hose clamp. This makes an ideal pour spout for filling your fresh tank. Never spill a drop.

Meanwhile, in the winter, you can use jug water for everything. Use dishwater for flushing. (you'll need a plastic dishpan...perhaps two: one wash, one rinse) Now you need not worry about the temps.

Just be sure to winterize with air...for dry freshwater plumbing...and leave your fresh tank and low point drains open so you don't crack the valves. I have a decent compressor at home (this is adequate), and I can winterize the whole rig in minutes. Don't forget to dump the water out of the input screen on your pump, and don't forget to drain filters if you have them inside the rig. You're good to go with no worries.

[jimmoore13]

As for temps in your rig when it's 25 degrees F, expect the furnace to work hard to keep it in the 65 degrees F range. Be sure you have plenty of propane.

[matt2778]

I have the 194 and I went overboard with modifications for cold weather. This included enclosing the underbelly including the dump valves with R-3 insulation board, sealing all the gaps and wrapping it with black coil stock and coroplast for impact protection. We relocated the dump valve controls to under the vanity with the remote style cable operated valves for easy operation. I also added tank heaters as well as blower that would drive the conditioned air to the underbelly. We were able to put this system to the test last Christmas in the mountains of western Virginia. We stayed warm and our water remained unfrozen down to -5 F, -20C. Kinda surprised at the performance of the system, however this wasn't an inexpensive or easy solution. Took a long weekend plus to complete the project and several hundred dollars to complete.

[RVon]

So far the lowest temperature was 12oC (53F) and the limitation was the slide-out and the consumption of the furnace. I found that there was a draft from the slide-out and that the furnace was using a great deal of propane. I went through half of a small tank in one night, even though I wasn't heating much. I will have to check the water heater, maybe it is not switched to gas instead of electricity, that could be part of the reason. A small electric heater did wonders, it seems to have saved me a lot of propane.

Thank you for all the replies, they are super useful, I learned a great deal form them!