Its cold in here!

[Old GI]

Dave, here in Florida winter has not yet arrived. Our winter starts around the middle of January and goes through the middle of February. I think we are a little late but it will come, keep your propane tanks topped off........Pete

[dsprik]

I know these are near record highs right now. We'll take 'em. However, I would be perfectly happy with the norms of 71. That's what we came down here for. The 80 is just frosting on the cake. Remember, I lived most of my life in one of the most prolific snow belts in this country. We only see green 4-5 months out of the year and only mow lawns for 3 of those months.

[smc]

Here in Yuma, we have broken 100 year lows. Feel for the agricultural people, they are losing crops. Water hoses in the park have been freezing, we are even thinking of pulling out the long johns. This is definately not your usual Az. temps.
Skirting: You can get just the nose skirted here for $179. Some people get the nose and door side done. It stops dust and wind. They have a zippered door in the nose, and use it for storage.

[Army Guy]

Mike,

The skirting didn't take to long to put up. This is the first winter I've had it so I don't know what to say about the time to take down. I'm set up in one place for the whole winter so it didn't matter much to me. As far as storage, it comes in a couple of bags to store. I'll fold up and keep in a foot locker in the back of the TV. I cut the PVC pipe into 4' lengths and then couple them together, this way the storage space is at a minimum. I'll have to revisit the storage space come the spring to see how that goes.

Since my situtation is a little different, I'm living in my rig but stationary, some of those concerns have not been addressed yet. I want to be able to take my rig out on weekends when the weather is a little better, yet still camp in the cold areas. I'm not sure if it will be worth it for you if you are moving around every 2 weeks. Good luck and stay warm. Rick

[Bob & Lee]

Rick,

was thru your area over the new year and it was cold. We picked our 3400 up in KC MO and then to our son's in White City Ks for about 3 days. Where we lived for 15 Yrs. Stayed till the road re opened and we could get back to CO, It is cold also.

[Mike-n-Jen]

Thanks Rick, Thats the info We were needing. That skirt really looks sharp on your rig!

Mike

[exav8tr]

Mike, I too, like that skirting, might I ask where you bought it and what the attachment mechanism is?

Thanks for sharing....

[Garin1]

Army guy, I did the same thing to my old Cougar. I was amazed at the rise in temps after the first snow. The campground owner told me about this but I really didn't believe him till I saw it myself.

[William Schelling]

I just bought a 3650rk '07 with the artic package. The dealer gave me a certificate from Keystone saying the rv would stay warm down to 0 degrees. Since we got our rv we have only been in the 20's and were warm. We did use the fireplace. And we reversed the fan so it didn't blow down on us. We were ok.

[Bill and Lisa]

Montanna Sky: You wrote - Another trick, keep your day nite shades closed. Having single pane windows and your day night shades drawn will give you the same R factor as the dual pane windows with the shades up. Your propane useage sounds pretty normal for the temps you are in. Depending on your electric rate, it might be cheaper to run more space heaters than your furnace set at 70. Try setting your furnace at 50 - 55 to keep your basement warm enough so your pipes dont freeze. During the months of April and October I get temps in the 30's - 40's during the day and 20's - 30's at night. Between the heater on the fireplace, a space heater in the kitchen, one in the bedroom and my furnace set at 52, my coach will usually hold 70 - 72 degrees. Just a thought...

I am not sure I understand how the set up keeps the basement warm. If the temp holds at 70-72 you never get as low as 55 to kick in the gas heat. If the gas heat doesn't have to run it doesn't put heat into the basement....What am I missing?

[Bill and Lisa]

On the topic of the Arctic package, the 2007 brochure has on the rear page a section titled "ZERO DEGREE - Tested and approved features enhance four-season living" and then lists

• Vented Attic
• Enclosed heated dump valves
• Enclosed heated holding tanks

• Insulted water lines along furnace duct
• Digital Thermostat
• Heated Stool room

• Arctic insulation package with higher R-values
• Enclosed low point drain shut-off valves
• Fully enclosed underbelly ABS

Of interest that is the only place that mentions Arctic insulation package - and it appears to be a standard feature as the Optional Features start right after the Zero Degree box. Dual pane safety glass windows ARE listed under Exterior Options.

Anyway, Sure sounds like we should expect to be able to camp in "cold" weather!

[dhalley]

I spoke with the factory about the Arctic Package as I went thru the same propane usage as everyone else. They told me it doesn't mean better insulation it only means that they put heat into the holding tank areas to keep them from freezing. So we have the same size heater putting heat into the holding tank area and have less heat in the living quarters. It is not so much the size of the heater but the amount of heat loss, which is very high. The heater puts out a fixed amount of BTU but the unit looses heat fast and therefore the furnace is constantly running. My guess is if I spend more money on a camper I could get a better insulated unit. You get what you pay for and if I use the camper as designed 30 to 90 degree temps you should be comfortable. If I wanted to spend another 40K I could have got a unit rated for fultime use and it would be better insulated. 40K buys a lot of propane. IMO david

[MacDR50]

Zero Degree Package

From the Keystone "Montana" site.
Tested and approved features enhance four-season living.

* Vented attic
* Enclosed heated dump valves
* Enclosed heated holding tanks
* Insulated water lines along furnace duct
* Digital thermostat
* Heated stool room
* Arctic insulation package with higher R-values
* Enclosed low point drain shut-off valves
* Fully enclosed underbelly ABS

Sounds like cold weather capable to me?????

The biggest culprit has to be the floor. The skirt looks good for someone who is going to move around during the cold weather. I intend to stay in one place so if I decide to camp during the winter I probably will go for a less portable solution. The hard part is to make something functional but not tacky looking. Plywood faced styrofoam might work but that is a lot of cutting and fitting. Also, where do you store them when not in use? A mostly natural alternative would be hay bales wrapped in that white home wrap. There are also a number of different types of fibreglass and foam insulation panels. These are used on the interior of ships hulls and in metal buildings.

While I have winter camped and even taken arctic survival training in temperatures, not including wind chill, of -40F, I like my warmth. My wife demands it so I will be coming up with some sort of solution or my main source of warmth after lights out may stay athome

[H. John Kohl]

I lifted the rug on the living room slide and found light from outside. So I put some insulation in there to help eliminate that draft. It was on both corners. The walls have only a R7 insulation factor. I went through 30 lbs of propane every three days when it got cold. It got down to 17 and the water lines did not freeze so I got what I paid for, a unit that would handle the colder weather. I just heated the outside a lot. When above freezing I used the fireplace and a ceramic heater. I did have to plug the ceramic heater into the circuit for the washer/dryer to keep from blowing a circuit breaker.
Good luck and stay warm.
Cheers,

[MacDR50]

Thanks John. I haven't got my rig yet but I will check those corners when I do. Perhaps a little low expansion foam might do the trick.

[H. John Kohl]

quote:Originally posted by MacDR50

Thanks John. I haven't got my rig yet but I will check those corners when I do. Perhaps a little low expansion foam might do the trick.

I do not recommend expansion foam. These corners are where the slide seats to the trailer floor. It has to open up and be able to move in when you pull the slides in. I used the pink spun glass insulation in those two holes and in the bottom hole of the docking station.
Cheers,

[Ozzie]

Hmm...maybe some foam rope insulation would be the ticket?
That would also be reusable and it comes in different sizes.

[mamashappy]

it sounds like you are doing what you need to do to stay warm. we also use a ceramic heater or two, as well as place pillows in the ceiling vents, and keep the night/day shades closed unless the sun is warmer. A few blankies on the couch to cover up with ... and do some baking ....

[MacDR50]

That's a good idea Ozzie. I just used some pipe insulation sleeves to fill in a gap where two roofs meet. Same sort of material. Thanks John for the caution. BTW Ozzie I think your dog has fleas. One got in your message LOL.