Winter in the Windjammer

KingFisher · 01-19-2018, 06:20 PM

Spending my first full winter in the windjammer for work. Maybe my last since we've decided to sell the house, buy a fifth wheel, and full time it.

Last year I stayed in the windjammer through the summer and then again in the fall and up until the end of December. Then we took it to Florida with the plan of leaving it there, but in May we changed our mind and brought it home. We decided we didn't like the idea of it being there all summer and not being able to see if a leak had developed while we were gone.

A little background: I'm retired and drawing my pension but allowed to work 1000 hours a year at my specialty trade to comply with union pension rules which have to comply with federal law. so I do it to make more money. Health insurance increases are eating me up. This year there's a lot of money to be made at the refinery so we're not gong to florida, I'm staying in the St. Louis metro area and my wife is holding down the house.

So as not to have a novel in one post I'll continue in the next one.

KingFisher · 01-19-2018, 06:39 PM

I pulled the trailer the 135 miles up here on the weekend of Nov 4. Unfortunately the place I usually go to was full and had to try a new one. When I got here the place they sent me to had no sewer, so I went looking for someone to give me another spot. No one in sight. After 2 hours they pulled up in the driving rain and told me to follow them. yeah right.
They drove about 50 yards and stopped so I ran down there, they said this was the place.
Got the trailer parked in the pouring rain and set up. It was turning cold at the same time so I got sick and managed to miss 2 days work. turned the heat up to 75 and stayed in bed for 2 days feeling miserable.

Looked around the park later. It's a mobile home park with 8 rv spots and the utilities are ancient. They quoted me $425 per month which I paid. $50 more per month than my favorite place I usually stay at which is a lot nicer. So I'm paying more money for less. but I'm only 3.5 miles from work. Not sure that's doing my duramax any good since I never get over 45 mph on my way to work every day.

There's a fairly new Columbus fifth wheel, next to it an apparently abandoned converted city bus, then a 16 foot trailer from the late 70's occupied by a gal from the Army Corps of Engineers, then an empty spot, then a junker. I'm across the road. Next to me on one side is a park model and the other side of me is empty. the park model guy has all kinds of pumps on a trailer he's always coming home with and washing out on the ground. I don't think he likes me since I took his utility trailer parking space.

KingFisher · 01-19-2018, 06:57 PM

My heat traced and insulated water hose rig is only 15 ft long, and I'm a full 25 ft from the hydrant. I decided right off to just run on my water tank when I had to. That came real early this year. As I type this we've already had several times the temps got down to zero. I priced some heated hoses and decided to just deal with running off the tank. That means no showers when I can't fill the tank since I can only go 5 days on the tank while washing off in the sink. It's not ideal or convenient but it's doable.

I had already put reflectix on all the windows when I was in florida. I've experienced some frosting of the windows but it doesn't seen to be a major issue. On the zero and below zero nights the windjammer got as low as 63 degrees inside and I burned as much as 4 30 pound propane cylinders in one week. That's $80 worth.

I've had to take a heat gun to the dump valves twice to empty the tanks. No interior problems with the water though. I've been leaving the tank heaters on.

KingFisher · 01-19-2018, 07:05 PM

When it was really cold my refrigerator quit. I started using my dorm fridge I have sitting on the counter. I could get the refrigerator going again my turning all the power off and also using the battery disconnect. Then the next zero degree spell and it would quit again, my ice would start meting in the freezer. Research led me to buy a reflector lamp, take off the reflector, put a 100 watt rough service bulb in it, and clamp it in the outside refrigerator compartment. I haven't had any trouble with it since.

My only real problem is my 30 amp service. I have 2 oil filled electric radiator heaters and can't run them on full power or I blow the main breaker.I can run one on 1 power and the other on 2 power, but neither on 3 power. (or both on 2 power). I have one in the living room and one in the bedroom so I just throw the second setting to the one in the room I'm in. In fact when I go to bed I turn the living room one off.

I'm keeping the thermostat on the propane furnace at 72.

KingFisher · 01-19-2018, 07:12 PM

I almost forgot to mention my best winter purchases to enhance my experience.

The best one is the propane line extensions so I don't have to lift the tanks into the compartment they fit in. It was killing my back having to do that so often, and they're not really easy to hook up in there. Now I just undo one and hook it up to another on the ground, no lifting them in there. I have 4 30 pounders and 2 20 pounders locked to my trailer tongue. I switch as need be and them load them up and take to get filled.

KingFisher · 01-19-2018, 07:23 PM

I considered getting a bulk tank but I figured that was just hexing myself. I can get laid off at any time. Even though I'm the #2 man in the shop active members get to stay during a layoff (as it should be) and I could lay out money for a propane lease and then get laid off the next day. It happened to me on this same job last year with my winegard pathwayx2. i got up here early on a sunday to set it up, got it working, was so happy with myself and got laid off the next day. then I got to take it down and pull my trailer home.

My next best purchase for my winter experience was replacing my 211z receiver with a wally.
I can control the receiver while I'm in the bedroom now and change channels. I watch a lot of tv in bed. Plus the wally is smaller and will fit in the cabinet although I haven't done it yet. I'll be able to pull my big slide in without having to unhook the dish receiver.

It also seems to remember what I like to watch. When I get home and turn it on Drew Carey reruns come on laff tv even though when I left in the morning I was watching old westerns on get tv or grit tv. and visa versa. It took it a week to start doing that. Maybe a week and a half.

KingFisher · 01-19-2018, 08:20 PM

In December some of the junkers moved out. A huge fuzion toy hauler moved in, and another windjammer moved in across the road. The fuzion had a smart car in the toy hauler section and was pulled by a ford srw that was several different colors from body panel replacement.

The windjammer owner was asking me how to thaw his trailer while I was out changing tanks and the fuzion owner's wife came over and interrupted. she said they had froze up, ran out of propane.

After her very talkative and knowledgeable self finally went away I resumed my talk with the windjammer guy across the street. he said he was afraid to use his tank heaters because the fuzion owner had told him that:
His cold water might be hot.
all the tanks aren't heated, you can't heat the sewage tank.
so no use to turn them on at all.

I told him that I considered them idiots, after all they did run out of propane at zero degree temps, and that I couldn't tell him what to do but that my tank heaters were on and that there was no way my cold water would get hot from a 12v heating pad.

It was from this same guy that I found out that every rv site had had heat rods put down next to the hydrants and then the hydrants covered with a 5 gallon bucket full of insulation. All but mine, that is. Mine still isn't.

I told the office but nothing has been done yet. I told them I'm drawing water from the empty spot next to me.

KingFisher · 01-19-2018, 08:29 PM

I went in to pay my third month's rent of $425. the woman says "Our rent is $450".

I said Look here I was quoted 425 when I called, I paid 425 when I got here and I paid 425 last month also. She says "Oh that's that damn Molly I guess, she doesn't know anything, I'll go ahead and keep yours at $425 then".

I'm fairly disgusted with this place but I'm already set up and it's cold.
I took the time to drive by my old and favorite park the other day and saw some empty spots, but I also saw trailers in the temporary spots down by the maintenance shed.

I'm mulling around the idea of if it's worth calling and trying to get a spot at my old place before my next rent comes due the 4th of Feb.
It's a pain to move this thing in the dead of winter.

KingFisher · 01-19-2018, 08:45 PM

Forgot to mention that the park model next to me left about 2 weeks after I got here. I was happy about not hearing his pressure washer running every night.

A big sunset trail travel trailer moved in a few weeks later. 2 20 pound tanks, this guy's been using tank exchange to get them filled.
He froze up and bought a salamander heater ran off propane and turns it under his trailer.Told me to use it anytime I want, I told him my heat gun did the job ok. he told me he hadn't had water since he'd been here inside his trailer. I don't know how he gets by that way.
I haven't seen him lately or I'd tell him I think they shut his water off with the above ground shut off since the site was empty when the guy fixed every site but mine.

Jay2504 · 01-19-2018, 10:40 PM

Wow! Thanks for the story/info. Can you run one of the electric heaters off an extension cord run through the slide rubber and plugged into the post? Jay. PS I’m not going to show this to the DW or I won’t get to camp in the winter. Ha ha

merrykalia · 01-20-2018, 11:12 AM

I was going to tell you that we utilize a 5200 BTU, 1500 W infrared quartz heater (https://www.amazon.com/Duraflame-9HM...+quartz+heater) in our 43' fifth wheel and it keeps it toasty warm, down into the teens. We run a heavy duty extension cord through the slide in the kitchen area straight to the electric post and plug it into the 20 amp plug. That gives us the rest of the 50 amp to do all the rest of the stuff that we need to run inside. We've only done this for a couple of weeks at a time and our lowest temps were 12 one night and 15 the next night but it did stay below freezing for four days straight.

rockfordroo · 01-20-2018, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by merrykalia

I was going to tell you that we utilize a 5200 BTU, 1500 W infrared quartz heater (https://www.amazon.com/Duraflame-9HM...+quartz+heater) in our 43' fifth wheel and it keeps it toasty warm, down into the teens. We run a heavy duty extension cord through the slide in the kitchen area straight to the electric post and plug it into the 20 amp plug. That gives us the rest of the 50 amp to do all the rest of the stuff that we need to run inside. We've only done this for a couple of weeks at a time and our lowest temps were 12 one night and 15 the next night but it did stay below freezing for four days straight.

If you have a 5th wheel with 50amp service, you actually have 100 amps available, 50 amps on each of your two 120VAC circuits. Your 1500 watt heater pulls about 12-13 amps. So unless you're using a LOT of power on those 2 circuits, you shouldn't need to run the extension cord.

See wmtire's post #7 here. Click on the two links he has posted there.

merrykalia · 01-22-2018, 06:26 PM

Thanks FordfordRoo.

We have had this heater for 6-7 years and have used it in our last 2 RVs, a 36' TT and a 39' fifth wheel. They were both 30 amp. We just upgraded to the 50 amp Sandpiper in June and running the cord is purely habit.

My niece is also in the USMC and she has her TT in NC and is utilizing the same routine. She says she's been toasty warm so far this winter.

KingFisher · 01-27-2018, 01:40 PM

It got up in the 50's this week, I was able to use my water hose. A lot more convenient not having to conserve water.

My neighbors have come back to their trailers. I can only assume they got tired of not having water and went to motels?

I see people on the internet questioning how someone can live in an rv what with all the maintenance and problems. Well this is my 3rd weekend in a row coming back home to my foundation bound house to fix stuff so my wife won't either freeze to death or have no water or no refrigerator. And also to fix a lock and put a new back door in.

I just got done changing out fusible links on my heat pump emergency heat so she'd have heat.

I can't wait to get this house sold and live full time in an rv.

KingFisher · 02-16-2018, 08:14 PM

Still living in the trailer, we go on overtime next week. going home in the morning for the weekend since I don't know when I'll be able to go back after overtime starts.

A few things have happened. As usual I went to pay the rent and had to argue again, the woman wanted $450 (this place isn't worth $300). She took the $425. I figure this will be a monthly occurrence, her thinking I'll break down and give her the extra. she's wrong.

My propane regulator went bad, wouldn't switch over from tank to tank and also was allowing propane to pass through to the other tank. This naturally happened in a very cold stretch when I had to have the switchover capability. Google helped me find a camco switchover regulator at a menards 20 miles away on closeout for $17. I immediately drove over there and grabbed it up.

Everything was working fine. More propane pressure it seems like. My furnace heats up better. My stove works better. The oven pilot light even lights easier, it was almost impossible to light before.

Then when I got home last night I went to check my propane bottles. Opened the hatch to look at the selector to see if they were both green. heard a hissing sound. I blew a pigtail and propane was spewing out.
Shut off the bottles and got back on the internet. no pigtails anywhere. Drove likean idiot to the camper place that closed at 5, got there at 4:57. Badly overpaid for 2 pigtails, $30 each but I had to have them. I figure if one went bad then the other was soon to follow.
Changed them in the rain and in the dark. It was 77 degrees when I started, it was 35 degrees when I woke up this morning.

Everything working good now though. I unhooked my water hose and went back to the tank since it's going to freeze tonight. warmer weather next week again.

Wobbles · 02-16-2018, 08:44 PM

I have been reading your posts for awhile now. Sounds like you are working hard at retirement.

I am really curious about where you have landed at and I am taking a guess that you are working in Wood River??? Are you a fitter or a boilermaker?

KingFisher · 02-16-2018, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wobbles

I have been reading your posts for awhile now. Sounds like you are working hard at retirement.

I am really curious about where you have landed at and I am taking a guess that you are working in Wood River??? Are you a fitter or a boilermaker?

I am a Local 1 pipe insulator. I just turned 61 and am thinking hard about signing up for social security next year and stopping my part time work. Not getting to go to florida this year is really hurting my feelings.

Wobbles · 02-16-2018, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingFisher

I am a Local 1 pipe insulator. I just turned 61 and am thinking hard about signing up for social security next year and stopping my part time work. Not getting to go to florida this year is really hurting my feelings.

Florida is not so hot this year. LOL... Sounds like the south has had the STL weather... Have you always been a traveler? I have many close friends in the trades and I have spent some time working on flue gas projects around Illinois, about as close as I got to the trades...

KingFisher · 02-17-2018, 06:37 AM

We had a family shop for years doing work in southern IL and southeast MO and around st. Louis. We had a falling out and pretty much shut it down since I took my pension. the work available for me to use up my 990 hours is usually at the refinery so I take it. My job is in the fab shop so it isn't too bad.

KingFisher · 02-20-2018, 08:24 PM

Put in led lights. I ordered 20 from amazon and it wasn't enough. Some fixtures that I didn't realize had the same type plug in bulbs, well they had them. Just ordered 10 more.

The range hood light had melted through the plastic cover, I noticed that when I changed it.
The lights over the bathroom sink are smaller, the led's I bought don't look like they'll fit in there.
I didn't think the big lights in the slide over the table and couch were the same type plug in but they are, they just looked like screw in lights to me. I should have taken the glass globe off. There are 3 plug in lights in each one. I robbed the lights I put in the closet fixture to finish them out.

I also forgot about the reading lights so I need 4 more bulbs for those.

Anyway I'll have 4 spares after I install the new order of bulbs and the only ones that won't be changed are the ones over the bathroom sink and the fluorescent ones over the kitchen sink.
These lights are really white.

Get to leave the hose hooked up all week and don't have to worry about thawing the drain valves to dump the tanks, that's a big relief. Down to 28 tonight but I think the hose will be fine, then it warms up again.

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