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Old 12-11-2006, 12:49 PM   #1
SKOOBDO
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Living in your Montana this Winter?

Since some folks aren't as lucky right now to be camped out in the nice weather states this winter (like me). I'm sure others including myself would like to know what other members are experiencing so far and how you guys are getting along in the snow and cold. The information will give others who have thought about full-timing in the middle of winter some first hand information on how your Monty got through the winter of 2006/2007. I will start this thread by saying that so far, in central Ohio (where i'm staying), it has dipped into the single digits and my Montana is getting along just fine! Nothing freezing up...still toasty inside. The basement storage stays on average between 40 and 50 degrees. I'm keeping the furnace on 55 at night (with the sliding door closed), and the bathroom and bedroom gets HOT!...like really hot . So I sleep fine in there. I also have a space heater in there I have to turn down at night or I start to sweat. I have plastic on all windows and that has helped out a lot. I put the furnace at 65 while I'm up and about and use space heaters too. Anything above 65 is too warm for me right now. I will post again to update everyone when the tempartures get below zero. Looking forward to your posts throughout this winter! Allison
 
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Old 12-11-2006, 01:12 PM   #2
illapah
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That is a comforting post Allison. I was wondering how Montana held up in the cold. Ours is winterized but we are just a driveway away in case of need if something goes wrong in the stick home.
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Old 12-11-2006, 01:15 PM   #3
stiles watson
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Good report. Thanks for the information. Do continue to update your outcomes.
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Old 12-11-2006, 01:30 PM   #4
SKOOBDO
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....as far as Propane Usage...I hooked up a 100lb tank on October 25th and it was empty on December 4th (5 weeks and 5 days). I'll see how long the replacement tank last that I hooked up the evening of December 4th, and I'll post back. By the way, I keep a vent cracked at all times and have had no condensation...none at all. Humidity is averaging 30%-50%. Right now the interior humidty is at 38%.
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Old 12-11-2006, 02:17 PM   #5
rvfirefighter
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skoobdo, how does your furnace run at night. The temp. here has been as low as 11 degrees. The furnace set at 55 runs for 3 to 5 minutes, rests for 2 to 3 minutes. I don't know what is normal, these are the coldest temps. I have been with my Montana. I do not have plastic on my windows and my basement temp is colder than yours.
I run a ceramic heater during the day, but just the furnace at night to protect the pipes. I did have pipes frozen somewhere to prevent water to the toilet and bath fixtures. I fixed some things and have not had that problem again.
Let me know how your furnace is operating. Thanks
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Old 12-12-2006, 01:01 AM   #6
rvfirefighter
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My question did not show up last night. Resending a reply.
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Old 12-12-2006, 12:07 PM   #7
SKOOBDO
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rvfirefighter,

I will time my furnace next time the temps drop in the teens, but I'm sure it's not every 2-3 minutes...I'm actually certain because I would definetly noticed that. It might be every 15 minutes...but I will time it when the temps drop again. We're in a warming spree right now that started saturday. last friday it was very very cold which would have been a good day for me to have timed it. do you have a window or slide near your thermostat? mine is right by the steps going to the bedroom. I have plastic over the window in the door also. I'm telling you guys the plastic helps...NO DRAFTS. if nothing else, I would at least get some weatherproof tape and cover those little slits on the outside that are used to drain the water from the window casings. Before i put the plastic up, i noticed that air was coming from those little vents. these units a lot of windows and my unit has 15 windows and 3 vents. also have you plugged all your vents..except for one (for ventilation)? I used those furry covered vent cushions to keep the heat in. maybe try some of my suggestions, and your furnace shouldn't run that much. i taped some R19 insulation on the inside of all the basement doors and they are air tight...so tight I have to really push the door in to open the locks. good luck and i will post back about the duration of the furnace cutting on and off. Allison
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Old 12-12-2006, 01:04 PM   #8
rvfirefighter
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I did a few things that you were talking about. I put new weatherstrip around my basement compartment doors. As far as putting plastic over the windows, if I were going to be here longer I would do something, I agree about the drain holes in the windows. I know that the artic insulation is more hype than fact.
The temp. is back to normal here also, I hope it stays that way for a couple of weeks, then I will be heading south.
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Old 12-12-2006, 01:14 PM   #9
SKOOBDO
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can I go with you guys? ha!
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Old 12-12-2006, 01:44 PM   #10
Cat320
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As richfaa has stated on several occasions, these things are not designed or intended to be 'lived in' at length, during the winter. The insulation is lacking as is the heating system. The only time we intend to stay in ours when it is really cold is going to some place warm or returning home from some place warm.
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Old 12-12-2006, 02:05 PM   #11
richfaa
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Our 3400 will perform just fine this winter as we are on our way to Arizona. It did not perform very well along side our house with no modifications.. One 30lb tank of propane in 3/14 days temp set at 70.. an experiment we will not repeat. Out hat is off to all of you who spend the winter in the camper..perhaps you all should let Keystone know what they really need to do to make them livable in cols weather.
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Old 12-13-2006, 01:31 AM   #12
DonandBonnie
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Allison,
Just curious. Do you have the Arctic Package and dual pane windows? We are about 100 miles east of you and are considering full timing next winter. We will be watching your experience over this winter. It should be a real education.
Don and Bonnie
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Old 12-13-2006, 11:21 AM   #13
rickety
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We live in "Western Washington (little town called Allyn). We have had temps down to 11 above, and other than putting plastic on the windows and leaving a little water runnning at night we had no problems. We have two space heaters, and use them full time our electric ran 36.00 last month and propane ran 50.00 total of 86.00 for month of November (our stick house used to run 200-230 month). We had snow, sleet, rain very cold temps for multiple days and high winds. We are very pleased with our Monty. We also use a dehumidifier and seems to help with heat also.
I have since wrapped the hose coming into the Monty as I use a wash down hose also. We sleep with the bedroom door closed and the temp on the furnace set at 55 deg. We do not use the space heaters in the bedroom as we both like to sleep cold with 2 blankets piled on top of us. The heater during the coldest periods came on once or twice a night for a short period of time. We are very , very satisfied with our model 3280, or "the apartment" as we call her.
As I write this we ar having veryu heavy rains and high wind gusts andhave had two short hailstorms. the rain has been pretty continuous for the last two days.
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Old 12-13-2006, 12:27 PM   #14
illapah
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I know about heat tape on the inlet water. What keeps the drain from freezing up, especially if water is left on to help prevent freezups?
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Old 12-14-2006, 03:13 AM   #15
ARJ
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I recently was working on my TT in low temps and noticed that an extreme amount of cold air came in around the HW heater. I jammed fiberglass insulation all around the heater and no more cold air infiltration from that source.
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Old 12-17-2006, 10:31 AM   #16
sreigle
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We had freezing water lines in our 2003 Montana in temperatures to 5 below (F) until we took some measures to stop that from happening.

With this 2007, we have done nothing other than film the windows (we don't have the dual panes). I also have a heat taped water hose and heat taped the park's water supply pipes/spigot. We had a week with temperatures down to 8, 9, 11, and 11, with the rest in the teens and low twenties. We set the furnace at 60 at night and ran a couple of electric heaters at settings that did not stop the furnace from running occasionally but still reduce the amount of propane we burn. The changes Keystone made to the 2007's to help avoid freezing up have worked great!
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Old 12-18-2006, 01:40 PM   #17
SKOOBDO
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by DonandBonnie

Allison,
Just curious. Do you have the Arctic Package and dual pane windows? We are about 100 miles east of you and are considering full timing next winter. We will be watching your experience over this winter. It should be a real education.
Don and Bonnie
My computer has been down for about a week, so I'm replying to your post now. I do have the arctic package and do not have dual pane windows, that's why I have plastic on them and it works. I haven't had any freeze ups and doubt if I will. I have heat tape on the outdoor water line from the spigot to the inlet in the convenience center. I've read the other posts and I'm not sure why other folks are having issues, because I'm not having any with heat or frozen pipes etc. Richfaa, if you don't have dual panes or plastic up, that may be one of the conributing factors to your unit being cold etc.
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Old 12-18-2006, 01:47 PM   #18
SKOOBDO
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by illapah

I know about heat tape on the inlet water. What keeps the drain from freezing up, especially if water is left on to help prevent freezups?
I don't leave my water running, but I read that some folks do, all waste water in my unit is maintained in the holding tanks as I do not leave the valves open so that water is drained constantly. I dump the tanks when they are full, however, on the weekend I wash clothes and leave the valve open for about 2 hours and then I close it. I have my water hose sitting on top of the slinky (where the usual sewer hose goes), but since i'm not using the standard sewer hose now, I use the slinky to hold the water hose to keep it off the ground. So far, so good...everything is dandy! I'll update my adventure as the weeks go on. Allison
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Old 12-18-2006, 03:59 PM   #19
Army Guy
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I've been away for awhile and haven't had a chance to chime in. I am one of those unlucky ones who can't head south for the winter. I haven't had any issues so far. One thing we have to deal with is a cold north wind. There is heat tape and insulation on the park water but I put a wind break to also help. I also keep my fresh water tank full and if the temps drop below 0 for any length of time, I just turn off the park water and use my fresh.

Keep up this thread, there is some good advise. Hope all out there have a very Merry Christmas and a safe enjoyable New Year. Rick & Jana
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Old 12-19-2006, 03:20 AM   #20
sreigle
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Skoobdo, your avatar shows your Montana has the new nose. So it probably has the convenience hookup center inside the basement storage door, too, right? If so, then your low point drains are inside in the heated area. Older rigs have them outside where they freeze quickly. Also, you probably have the new style water line routing in the belly, like we do. Ours are in a separate insulated channel just below the floor and above the subfloor, where they tend to stay warmer. Older rigs had the lines laying loose in the belly, lying on the frame, where they'd freeze rather quickly. With our 2003 we had lots of freezing problems and I had to take serious measures to keep us from freezing up. With the new Montana we've had no problems at all. I'd bet that's why you have no problems but still read about others having freezing problems. Correct me if I am wrong about your rig.
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