Will running heat keep pipes from freezing?

[captbanjo]

We're leaving Rhode Island in about 12 days for the sunny south (Orlando, Charleston and Virginia Beach). If I dewinterize before leaving, is it safe to keep the trailer for a couple of days in cold temps around, say...25-30 degrees as long as I keep the heat running? I have a 3400RL with the arctic package.

[BillyRay]

if it's de-winterized, you shouldn't even need the heat. what you need to watch for is when you re-introduce water into the lines, you really have to pay attention to the temps. if it is only in the mid 30's it's not so bad, but when you get to sub zero temps...watch out..you can camp all year round even in the cold if you know what your doing...not that I'd ever want to.

[Montana_657]

Ahhh... I think he means to remove the winterization and travel wet. Short answer yes... propane on... pipes should be OK .... however,
Unmodified our 03 3670 froze at about 30F... no damage but we lost the bathroom until it warmed up a bit. We moved those pipes.

Saying that... if it's warmer then say 20F I would not think twice about starting the heat, filling the water tank and travelling south... furnace set to about 60F on the road.. warmer at night.

As far as camping all year.... never would try it in a Montana...maybe some can but not this kid.

[CountryGuy]

captbanjo,

We each have our own experiences on this, I agree with the above comments, you are not gonna camp in this unit all year round, unless you head south early enough and do not suffer from temps that stay below 20 degrees for more than a few hours.

Personally we DO not travel with the heat on, although many here at MOC report doing so, quite successfully. Well, I should add one kudo, we did do it ONE time, January 27th, 2005 when we left Michigan, NO WATER, 4 below zero, we put the furnace on about 2 hours before we thought we would arrive at the campground of the night, where the temps were 19 above. We turned on to about 45, and it was kinda nice going into the rig and having it a bit warmer. Note that the tv antenna was still frozen to the roof, and the olive oil in the kitchen rear cabinets had turned to a cloudy coagulated mass.

When we run south from Michigan in January, February and even March, we run with NO water, lots of baby wipes and run HARD for 2 days and pray that at the end of the 2nd day we will have reached temps that are OK for loading on water. We have done this for a number of years, we are comfortable with it, and personally, we just cannot see taking out hoses at 3 above or 4 below and trying to fill the tank before we leave home.

Baby wipes, paper plates, sandwich meats, prepacked meals that need little clean up and a few fast food joints, we do quite well and don't have to worry about running propane all day and worry, are we gonna freeze up or not.

Others have other experiences, and hopefully, they will share them with you, another thought, use the search engine here at MOC, this has been discussed a few times before, maybe those discussions are not in the archives???

OH, the Artic Package, a lot of us feel it is a misnomer. (not sure how that word is spelled), lets just say, we kinda giggle when we hear it, even tho it is an improvement on units build 10 and 15 years ago, it is not gonna keep you that warm. Sorry, but that is our experience.

Carol

[CRUZIN 2]

CAPTBANJO This is our experience. Last December we went to Oklahoma for 2 weeks. The camper was de-winterized and loaded with fresh water and chemicals added to the waste tanks. When we left Ne. it was about 35 degrees and 25 at night. We left the furnace set at about 55. The only thing we did was insulate the enclosed under belly to help prevent freezing. We also put Styrofoam in the ceiling vents. When we arrived at OK. the temps plummeted for about 3 days, several nights it was 6 degrees! Three days it didn't get above freezing. We had absolutely no problems what so ever. Good luck on your trip South and have a great time, wished we were following you!!

[sreigle]

As others have said, experiences seem to vary. If you dewinterize by running clear water through the lines and the nightime temperatures while parked will be below about 28 for more than an hour or two, then I'd run the furnace on maybe 45 or 50. That's what we used to do. Be sure not to have a water hose hooked up unless you have it heat taped, though. When we travel with temperatures below freezing we set the furnace on 45, the lowest setting, and let it run. I don't think it runs much, it never seems to use much propane doing that, and we've never frozen up while driving.

Now we live in ours, traveling fulltime. Unmodified with furnace running on 55 at night we didn't freeze up until about 17 degrees. We've since made some modifications and it can get quite a bit colder before we freeze up. Regardless, we are comfortable inside. Your 2005 may well do better since the newer ones have the water lines up against the floor and not laying across the frame as in our 2003 model.

I don't know when you'll be in Charleston but we'll be at The Campground at James Island County Park in Charleston, SC, from 3/10 through 3/16. If you're in the same area, give us a holler.

Have a safe and enjoyable trip.