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Old 08-16-2017, 10:07 AM   #1
Lenny K
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Wintering in the Northwest

My daughter and son-in-law are planning on staying in their 27 ft Coleman trailer for the winter here on Vancouver Island while their house is going to be built. It has about the same climate as Seattle.

So my question is what do you do extra besides putting heating tape on the water hose and insulating it? They don't have heated holding tanks but their trailer is covered in on the bottom.
They are thinking about putting skirting all around but I don't think it is necessary for this climate. Your thoughts on that?
I did recommend they get a good tower heater and a good dehumidifier to control the moisture.
Any and all thoughts are welcome.
 
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Old 08-16-2017, 01:14 PM   #2
Ragtacker
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Lenny I would agree with the heated hoses and your other suggestions but would definetly skirt it with something as well. It will help keep the floors warmer and more comfortable. Where on the Island are you? Wondering about your soalr panel install.
Cheers
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Old 08-16-2017, 03:28 PM   #3
scottandanna
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I live outside of Seattle, and last winter we lived in a 24'er and it was a very cold winter.

We needed to keep a roof vent open to minimize condensation inside. We also bought two one-room dehumidifiers, one for the living area, and one for in the storage area, with fans near both to circulate the air.

Heated water hose, and we had to insulate the drain valve and exposed drain pipe. It froze the valve shut on me a couple times, so I used hair dryer on it to free it up, then left the gray open for the winter, so i only had to thaw the black tank once a week.

Other than that, watch for snow and pull the awning in prior to it getting weighted down (and broken) from excess snow weight.

Our trailer is rated for down to 11 degrees.
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Old 08-16-2017, 03:47 PM   #4
Lenny K
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Reg. I live in Sooke and the kids are going to be in a RV Park near by. PM me with regards to my solar.
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Old 08-16-2017, 03:50 PM   #5
Lenny K
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scottandanna. You didn't say if you used a skirt. If you didn't, do you wish you had?
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Old 08-16-2017, 06:16 PM   #6
PNW Fireguy
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We are north of Seattle as well. We had below freezing temps last year for over almost two weeks. Doubt that we will have that two years in a row but I would suggest something to address keeping tanks and pipes warm.
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Old 08-17-2017, 05:18 AM   #7
granet
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We are in really cold country and I learned a trick from an Alaska full timer-that is to lay down a blanket of the silver insulation directly on the ground under the unit- it keeps frost away from the underneath. We also insulate ,have two heaters,and skirt but our temps reach -40 a number of times in the winter. On the island I would be more concerned about moisture and damp-insulating the slide out might help these issues.
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Old 08-17-2017, 08:40 AM   #8
scottandanna
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lenny K View Post
scottandanna. You didn't say if you used a skirt. If you didn't, do you wish you had?
No, no skirt. Wouldn't have made much difference, I don't think. Maybe would have prevented me having to wrap my drain pipes???

Our biggest issue was we had teens and low 20s for almost 2 weeks straight, and we had a major hassle keeping the sweat off the walls. I later learned that opening a roof vent lets out the exhaled breath, preventing it from condensing on the walls and windows.
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Old 08-17-2017, 10:18 PM   #9
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a couple of points that you didn't make clear:
1- how close is the park to the winds off the straights- if they can see the ocean I would definitely close in the bottom skirt or insulate whichever is the cheapest.
2- if the temp hovers around freezing for any longer than a week I would hard line and heat tape the sewer line-flex hoses tend to crack at this temp.
3-does the unit have a superfan if not the info from scottandanna about getting rid of the condensation is great.
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Okotoks,Alberta,Canada
ps - at the end of this month I will have my unit ready for winter and will post the pictures of camping in really cold temps.
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Old 08-18-2017, 09:27 AM   #10
Lenny K
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Originally Posted by scottandanna View Post
No, no skirt. Wouldn't have made much difference, I don't think. Maybe would have prevented me having to wrap my drain pipes???

Our biggest issue was we had teens and low 20s for almost 2 weeks straight, and we had a major hassle keeping the sweat off the walls. I later learned that opening a roof vent lets out the exhaled breath, preventing it from condensing on the walls and windows.
Good point about cracking a vent. It does make a huge difference.
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Old 08-18-2017, 09:36 AM   #11
Lenny K
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a couple of points that you didn't make clear:
1- how close is the park to the winds off the straights- if they can see the ocean I would definitely close in the bottom skirt or insulate whichever is the cheapest.
2- if the temp hovers around freezing for any longer than a week I would hard line and heat tape the sewer line-flex hoses tend to crack at this temp.
3-does the unit have a superfan if not the info from scottandanna about getting rid of the condensation is great.
Regards
Granet
Okotoks,Alberta,Canada
ps - at the end of this month I will have my unit ready for winter and will post the pictures of camping in really cold temps.
1.They are going to be right on the water and they are still thinking of getting a skirt. What are you thinking of when you say insulate?
2. Good idea about the hard line. How do you make connections at the trailer and at the sewer inlet?
3. They will have to crack a vent.

Thanks for your input Granet.
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Old 08-18-2017, 12:53 PM   #12
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There are rolls of 4ft by 50ft r7 silver foil insulation available at most home hardware stores - just wrap the whole unit and then cover with the skirt - you just tape it on slightly lower than the skirting attachment points.
As for the hardline the bayonet attachments are available at walmart or any rv store the bottom connector of the flex hose still works for the ground receiver. You will need at least 2- 90 degree elbows to make a tight fit- don't forget to heat tape all plumbing visible under the unit.
Finally-this might sound disgusting but it solves all problems with freeze ups- do not throw toilet paper in the black tank -store it in a garbage bag and the throw it out with the garbage.This will stop all blockages in cold weather and save your tank sensors.
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Old 08-18-2017, 06:58 PM   #13
Lenny K
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Thanks again for the info. Would you insulate the hardline and other visible plumbing after putting the heat tape on?
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Old 08-19-2017, 08:21 AM   #14
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I don't think you need to in your temps Lenny -the main thing is to cut the wind chill coming off the ocean in winter. Our 3 inch white pvc hard line isn't and it doesn't freeze even at 45 below but make sure once you plug in your heat tape you leave it on.
Regards
Granet
p.s. If I leave some necessary info out please forgive me as I,ve had a stroke and sometimes forget to state the obvious and I,m restricted to typing with only one hand and my replies can be slow!
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Old 08-19-2017, 11:51 AM   #15
Lenny K
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Sorry to hear about your stroke Granet and your info has been great.
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Old 08-19-2017, 01:44 PM   #16
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CLICK HERE for a list of things I did when we were full-timing in the winter months in Tennessee/Kentucky.

I didn't skirt the trailer, but I would if I was going to do this again. Man, that floor gets chilly when it's <20 degrees outside.

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Old 08-19-2017, 04:10 PM   #17
Lenny K
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Thanks Army Nurse. The kids have free power also.
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Old 08-28-2017, 11:54 AM   #18
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We went through this for the first time last winter (Surrey,BC) in our 31 ft travel trailer last year. Last year was an exceptionally cold and long cold spell for our area. We had the water lines heat taped, had a hard PVC sewer line. Half way through the season added large dehumidifier. Fans didn't keep up with humidity for our area. Humidity in the 70-80% range and higher in the unit. May consider a second one for upcoming winter. Also skirt for floor comfort when walking around and for the waste tanks added protection. My 2 cents and good luck It was an experience and no real issues other than the humidity problem.
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Old 08-29-2017, 10:40 AM   #19
Lenny K
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Thanks simsy54 for sharing your first hand experience. This is good info for Dave and Heather who are going to experience this. Us, we're going south for the winter in our Montana for our 14th year.
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