ZacharyB93
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2024
- Messages
- 5
This past fall, while I was in South Louisiana, I was notified that I would be spending January in the middle of Indiana. Recognizing that the temperatures would be vastly different from what I was experiencing at the time, I began researching everything I could about living in an RV full-time during freezing and negative temperatures since I had never wintered in an RV.
I'd like to preface what I'm about to write by saying I'm NOT an expert on RVing. There is a good possibility that what I did to prepare my trailer could've been done better. But I did what I thought was best, and it has worked great so far. I've learned quickly, after living in an RV for 7 months and traveling/living in 9 different states during that time, that sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.
Also, so you will know what kind of weather I'm currently surviving in, the temperature here over the past couple of weeks has ranged from 32 degrees Fahrenheit to -11 degrees Fahrenheit, averaging around 23-25. My rig is a 2015 Sandpiper 371REBH, a 43.5-ft 5th Wheel, and it does NOT have the polar/all-seasons package. We also have had as much as 9-10 inches of snow on the ground, and wind gusts up to 40mph.
#1: Before coming to Indiana, the first thing I did was to drop my underbelly and install R19 insulation from one side to the other, all the way from the front to the back, and everywhere I could. I then drilled extra holes across the bottom of the trailer and used screws and large washers to help hold up the extra weight of the insulation. I then drilled holes through my outside frame rails and bolted four 2x4s across the bottom of my trailer to help support the underbelly. The insulation was a little over $100, and the drill bits, screws, washers, bolts, and 2x4s brought it up to closer to $200 I believe.
#2 I measured my trailer and all of my slides and ordered new 20oz vinyl from billboardtarps.com. Shipping was expensive (about $100), so it cost me about $400 total for the vinyl plus shipping. Now, it should be noted that my 5th wheel is over 42 feet long and has four slides, so it's possible someone else could get their vinyl cheaper since they may not need as much. However, doing it myself was MASSIVELY cheaper than using a company like EZsnap, which wanted $1700+ to make a kit for my trailer. I also spent about $120 on a snap kit, a snap tool, and some HVAC tape from Amazon. So, all in all, it was a little over $500 to do it myself. I screwed the snap studs into my trailer at various intervals and then used the snap kit tool to punch my holes, attach my snaps, and snap them into place. I did this with my wife, and I am NOT very good at stuff like this, so I was intimidated at first, but it actually was pretty easy. We have had 40mph winds at times here in Indiana, and I have a massive flat field on 3 sides of my trailer, with barely any trees, and the vinyl has not come unsnapped. I used the HVAC tape to tape up the seams, and to tape the pieces that go on the sides of my slideouts, (can't drill anything there for obvious reasons), and the tape has withstood the wind.
#3 I cut four pieces of insulation to match the size of my basement double doors. (One piece per door.) I took each piece and tied it up inside of a large black trash bag, and stood them up in the grooves directly behind my doors. This helps keep my basement insulated, and my wet bay. I also bought the 6ft pipe insulation sleeves and put them on as many of my PEX water lines as I could.
#4 I bought a Camco heated water hose, which promptly broke after 2 weeks of use, so I'm returning it. It was the worst $180 I've ever spent, and Camco customer service is non-existent, or at least that's been my experience. So I went to Menards and purchased a 25-foot water hose, a 30-foot length of heat tape, some extra strength black electrical tape that was rated for higher temps, some duct tape, and 5 pieces of foam pipe insulation. (Not the stuff that comes in a roll, but the stuff that comes in a 6ft length with a slit in it) All together it was about $100.
#5 I bought a 200w heater for my wet bay and a Bluetooth thermometer. The heater has a tip-over safety, and the thermometer comes with an app for my phone that allows me to monitor the temperature, heat index, and humidity down there. Altogether, they were less than $40.
#6 I already have an electric fireplace in my fifth wheel, but I purchased an additional four space heaters. Now, I only have 50 amps to work with, obviously, but because of my location, I can use a little extra. I'll explain how. First, I can run my fireplace and two of my space heaters together without hurting myself electrically. But there is an extra unused electric pedestal next to mine, and I purchased a 30-amp male to 20-amp female adapter, which allows me another two space heaters (they pull about 12-amps maxed out). One of them is behind my skirting under my trailer, pointed at my black and gray tanks, and the other one is inside my trailer, with a heavy-duty extension cord running through the corner of my slide-out, where it meets my main floor.
#7 I bought three reflective vent pillows for my vents and also a magnetic insulated door cover for my front door, which is where a lot of heat can escape.
One of the more popular things that most people do that we DIDN'T do is putting reflective insulation across the windows. My wife absolutely refused to cover the windows with the foil-looking stuff, and if momma ain't happy, well, you know the rest
Honestly, I'm glad we didn't because winter is depressing enough without having no sunlight coming in.
That said, my furnace has not run at all since the first day I arrived. When we first got here and set up, it was 36 degrees inside the trailer after a 5-hour drive from Missouri, so we turned on the fireplace, two of the space heaters, and the furnace. Once we got it up to 72, we shut the furnace off. The coldest it has gotten inside the 5th wheel during this time is 66 degrees Fahrenheit, and it typically stays at 70-72. Again, we have not used our propane furnace ONE TIME. Our wet bay has not dropped below 38.3 degrees Fahrenheit. So the only propane we use is for our hot water heater, which makes my two 40lb propane containers last a really long time. Also, because my heat tape is about 5 feet longer than my hose, I can wrap it around the water spigot where I am staying, and my water stays unfrozen while protecting the spigot from busting.
Now, obviously, my setup may not work for everyone, and there are things that you would have to do differently based on the design of your camper, whether or not you have 30 or 50 amps to deal with, whether or not you are paying for your electric usage (which I am not), etcetera. And I'm sure there are many of you who would've done something differently and may not like some of the choices I've made. If you wish to comment those concerns, feel free to do so, I don't mind constructive criticism as long as it's civil. But I wanted to share this to maybe give some ideas about what is possible, and even though I haven't been in the extreme north or cold, I have been down to double digits below 0, and myself, my wife, and my two small children have stayed snug as bugs in rugs.
Hope this can help in some way.
P.S. pics of camper with skirting was before we got to Indiana, before the snow hit.
I'd like to preface what I'm about to write by saying I'm NOT an expert on RVing. There is a good possibility that what I did to prepare my trailer could've been done better. But I did what I thought was best, and it has worked great so far. I've learned quickly, after living in an RV for 7 months and traveling/living in 9 different states during that time, that sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.
Also, so you will know what kind of weather I'm currently surviving in, the temperature here over the past couple of weeks has ranged from 32 degrees Fahrenheit to -11 degrees Fahrenheit, averaging around 23-25. My rig is a 2015 Sandpiper 371REBH, a 43.5-ft 5th Wheel, and it does NOT have the polar/all-seasons package. We also have had as much as 9-10 inches of snow on the ground, and wind gusts up to 40mph.
#1: Before coming to Indiana, the first thing I did was to drop my underbelly and install R19 insulation from one side to the other, all the way from the front to the back, and everywhere I could. I then drilled extra holes across the bottom of the trailer and used screws and large washers to help hold up the extra weight of the insulation. I then drilled holes through my outside frame rails and bolted four 2x4s across the bottom of my trailer to help support the underbelly. The insulation was a little over $100, and the drill bits, screws, washers, bolts, and 2x4s brought it up to closer to $200 I believe.
#2 I measured my trailer and all of my slides and ordered new 20oz vinyl from billboardtarps.com. Shipping was expensive (about $100), so it cost me about $400 total for the vinyl plus shipping. Now, it should be noted that my 5th wheel is over 42 feet long and has four slides, so it's possible someone else could get their vinyl cheaper since they may not need as much. However, doing it myself was MASSIVELY cheaper than using a company like EZsnap, which wanted $1700+ to make a kit for my trailer. I also spent about $120 on a snap kit, a snap tool, and some HVAC tape from Amazon. So, all in all, it was a little over $500 to do it myself. I screwed the snap studs into my trailer at various intervals and then used the snap kit tool to punch my holes, attach my snaps, and snap them into place. I did this with my wife, and I am NOT very good at stuff like this, so I was intimidated at first, but it actually was pretty easy. We have had 40mph winds at times here in Indiana, and I have a massive flat field on 3 sides of my trailer, with barely any trees, and the vinyl has not come unsnapped. I used the HVAC tape to tape up the seams, and to tape the pieces that go on the sides of my slideouts, (can't drill anything there for obvious reasons), and the tape has withstood the wind.
#3 I cut four pieces of insulation to match the size of my basement double doors. (One piece per door.) I took each piece and tied it up inside of a large black trash bag, and stood them up in the grooves directly behind my doors. This helps keep my basement insulated, and my wet bay. I also bought the 6ft pipe insulation sleeves and put them on as many of my PEX water lines as I could.
#4 I bought a Camco heated water hose, which promptly broke after 2 weeks of use, so I'm returning it. It was the worst $180 I've ever spent, and Camco customer service is non-existent, or at least that's been my experience. So I went to Menards and purchased a 25-foot water hose, a 30-foot length of heat tape, some extra strength black electrical tape that was rated for higher temps, some duct tape, and 5 pieces of foam pipe insulation. (Not the stuff that comes in a roll, but the stuff that comes in a 6ft length with a slit in it) All together it was about $100.
#5 I bought a 200w heater for my wet bay and a Bluetooth thermometer. The heater has a tip-over safety, and the thermometer comes with an app for my phone that allows me to monitor the temperature, heat index, and humidity down there. Altogether, they were less than $40.
#6 I already have an electric fireplace in my fifth wheel, but I purchased an additional four space heaters. Now, I only have 50 amps to work with, obviously, but because of my location, I can use a little extra. I'll explain how. First, I can run my fireplace and two of my space heaters together without hurting myself electrically. But there is an extra unused electric pedestal next to mine, and I purchased a 30-amp male to 20-amp female adapter, which allows me another two space heaters (they pull about 12-amps maxed out). One of them is behind my skirting under my trailer, pointed at my black and gray tanks, and the other one is inside my trailer, with a heavy-duty extension cord running through the corner of my slide-out, where it meets my main floor.
Mainstays 1500W Ceramic Fan-Forced Electric Space Heater, White, New, WSH10C2AWW - Walmart.com
Buy Mainstays 1500W Ceramic Fan-Forced Electric Space Heater, White, New, WSH10C2AWW at Walmart.com
www.walmart.com
#7 I bought three reflective vent pillows for my vents and also a magnetic insulated door cover for my front door, which is where a lot of heat can escape.
One of the more popular things that most people do that we DIDN'T do is putting reflective insulation across the windows. My wife absolutely refused to cover the windows with the foil-looking stuff, and if momma ain't happy, well, you know the rest
Honestly, I'm glad we didn't because winter is depressing enough without having no sunlight coming in.
That said, my furnace has not run at all since the first day I arrived. When we first got here and set up, it was 36 degrees inside the trailer after a 5-hour drive from Missouri, so we turned on the fireplace, two of the space heaters, and the furnace. Once we got it up to 72, we shut the furnace off. The coldest it has gotten inside the 5th wheel during this time is 66 degrees Fahrenheit, and it typically stays at 70-72. Again, we have not used our propane furnace ONE TIME. Our wet bay has not dropped below 38.3 degrees Fahrenheit. So the only propane we use is for our hot water heater, which makes my two 40lb propane containers last a really long time. Also, because my heat tape is about 5 feet longer than my hose, I can wrap it around the water spigot where I am staying, and my water stays unfrozen while protecting the spigot from busting.
Now, obviously, my setup may not work for everyone, and there are things that you would have to do differently based on the design of your camper, whether or not you have 30 or 50 amps to deal with, whether or not you are paying for your electric usage (which I am not), etcetera. And I'm sure there are many of you who would've done something differently and may not like some of the choices I've made. If you wish to comment those concerns, feel free to do so, I don't mind constructive criticism as long as it's civil. But I wanted to share this to maybe give some ideas about what is possible, and even though I haven't been in the extreme north or cold, I have been down to double digits below 0, and myself, my wife, and my two small children have stayed snug as bugs in rugs.
Hope this can help in some way.
P.S. pics of camper with skirting was before we got to Indiana, before the snow hit.
