Seneca Winter Travel

[Grandpa]

Hey fellow Jayco owners. We have had our 2015 Seneca TS for roughly 6 months now. I thought I would hop on and report that the Seneca does well for winter travel. We are making a loop from Indiana, to Utah, to Texas and back to Indiana. We've been on the road for a week now in sub-freezing weather during the nights and have been able to stay warm and cozy using the furnace and a couple small electrical heaters... We took the scenic route down Highway 191 from I-80 in Wyoming and the Freightliner has handled the mountains fantastically! Here are a few pics...

[Mnwelsh]

Thanks for the information. We have had our Seneca for two months now and plan to depart in two weeks on a long winter trip. I plan to take two small electric heaters also, glad to hear it's working out fine for you. How many miles have you been driving between fuel stops?

[Jagiven]

Wish I could be there. Another 12 years or so until possible retirement.

So what size propane tank does the Seneca have. I would assume it an on board tank.

[Mnwelsh]

Propane tank is 56# on the Seneca

[Mr.Oz]

Very nice! We just got back from a 4100 mile round trip from Indiana to Death Valley and back. 9 mpg towing a 4000 lbs Jeep. We took the southern route. 18,000 miles on our Seneca now. Had a slight coolant leak on the Seneca that I fixed in a couple minutes, other than that trouble free. We had some below freezing nights. Used a Vornado electric heater and were nice and toasty. Hung a thick blanket to separate the cab from the coach, you could feel the cold radiating through the windshield. Worked great.

[Sam]

Hello Grandpa, just curious if you are towing a vehicle, did not see anything in the pictures. Have a great time and be safe. Sam

[Dave_Jan]

My Bride and I take off in 7 days on our longest trip yet. Traveling to CO Springs for Thanksgiving dinner with our youngest(can't make it home for Thanksgiving, military). I am relieved to here the electric heaters work well. Our first winter trip.

[wducat]

Curious how cold it got for you. In looking at my 2016 37HJ, I am not impressed with the insulation near the compartments that house the tanks. Only the 1/4" black plastic of the compartment walls between the tank and outside. The heater duct work does run through some compartments, but in truly cold temps, I wonder if it would be a loosing battle. I am considering having foam insulation sprayed on in strategic places so I can run in Michigan and/or Colorado during the winter. Have also considered wiring some 100w incandescent lights in cages with temp switches in a couple of compartments to help out. Did that on 2 previous rigs and hit single digit temps with no freeze ups.

[Flyrotor]

ya gotta love Flaming Gorge, beautiful pictures there

[rgolding]

Grandpa,
Thank you for posting the pictures and starting this thread. We came north out of Florida to home in Southern Illinois to be with family. Weather has only been flirting with freezing and we have kept unit plugged in at CofE campground to prevent need to winterize. Headed back south tomorrow. Inside truck and cabin everything seems fine. Most concern seems to be control area for water and sewage in the outside control compartment. I've placed a small cube heater in that area, directly under the fresh water filter. This seems to resolve any concerns. That area seems to be the most vulnerable in shoulder temps between freezing temps and above freezing temps. For a couple of days , I'm not concerned about a 70 some gallon tank of water freezing, but small pipes and filters a different story.

Obviously, different areas and climates will vary the concerns.

As far as the light cover that is standard and divides the truck cab from the cabin, I certainly can see where a heavier blanket could be a real benefit and will keep that in mind.

Sounds like a great trip.

This is why we went with the Seneca. We wanted to be able to go north and south for the Holidays in comfort and with the critters. Would like to bring it home for Christmas, but will have to pay close attention to weather forecast to see how far north we will bring it. Even keeping it in Alabama or Tennessee allows us to make a one day trip out of the dash north and south.

[Robbbyr]

To separate the cab from the coach of our Seneca my wife "re-purposed" the original rear bedspread. We did not really like it that much, but it came with the unit. We replaced it on the bed with one of the RV Superbags and we love it!

The original bedspread is fairly thick and does seem to isolate the two areas fairly well. We have used it in both hot and cold weather and are happy we did it. She even cut out ladder bracket holes and reinforced them like you would do a buttonhole.

So if you don't really like your bedspread consider a possible reuse......!

[Dave_Jan]

Probably the coldest I have ever been while camping or rv'ing. Dropped to below 10 a couple of nights. I put a little heater in the water compartment and water heater compartment. One night I forgot to turn on the heater in the water heater compartment and the tankless heater froze, no lines burst but, no water flow. Tubing thawed and all is ok. It was very cold. I am thinking about changing to a hot water tank. Looking for a "kit" of some sort.

[Robbbyr]

Originally Posted by Dave_Jan

Probably the coldest I have ever been while camping or rv'ing. Dropped to below 10 a couple of nights. I put a little heater in the water compartment and water heater compartment. One night I forgot to turn on the heater in the water heater compartment and the tankless heater froze, no lines burst but, no water flow. Tubing thawed and all is ok. It was very cold. I am thinking about changing to a hot water tank. Looking for a "kit" of some sort.

I am surprised your Girard froze, it is supposed to have a freeze-protection feature called the "Winter Use Device" installed where it will fire the burner to maintain the heat exchanger's temperature above 38 degrees F. The water heater has to be turned on (at the outside switch) and have propane available to work of course. I wonder if it was just the lines leading to/from the heater that froze and stopped the water flow?

I don't know of any "kit" to change out the water heater, I researched the issue thoroughly for my coach. I ended up just buying a new heater online and working through the installation myself for my Seneca. A 6-gallon Suburban water heater might fit in the Girard's original cutout, however it is deeper than the Girard. I wanted more HW capacity so I went with a 10-gallon Atwood XT which required a larger exterior cutout and other modifications to get it to fit. I also opted for a gas/electric unit so I also can now use campground electricity to heat my water, other than always burning my propane. I am very happy with how my installation went.

[Dave_Jan]

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

I am surprised your Girard froze, it is supposed to have a freeze-protection feature called the "Winter Use Device" installed where it will fire the burner to maintain the heat exchanger's temperature above 38 degrees F. The water heater has to be turned on (at the outside switch) and have propane available to work of course. I wonder if it was just the lines leading to/from the heater that froze and stopped the water flow?

I don't know of any "kit" to change out the water heater, I researched the issue thoroughly for my coach. I ended up just buying a new heater online and working through the installation myself for my Seneca. A 6-gallon Suburban water heater might fit in the Girard's original cutout, however it is deeper than the Girard. I wanted more HW capacity so I went with a 10-gallon Atwood XT which required a larger exterior cutout and other modifications to get it to fit. I also opted for a gas/electric unit so I also can now use campground electricity to heat my water, other than always burning my propane. I am very happy with how my installation went.

Rob,

Did you do the mod yourself? I am interested in the same mod if I can do it. I like to do things myself where possible.

[WaltW]

If you are still within Jayco's 2 year warranty you should contact them. Not being able to camp in cold weather might be sufficient for Jayco to replace??

[Robbbyr]

Originally Posted by Dave_Jan

Rob,

Did you do the mod yourself? I am interested in the same mod if I can do it. I like to do things myself where possible.

I did all the work myself with the exception of painting the new exterior door. I have another post describing the install here: http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f3...7ts-31841.html

I'm sorry I did not take more pictures, I know "a picture is worth a thousand words" but I didn't think about it at the time. But if you have any questions I would be happy to answer them as best I can. Doing it via the forum might be best so others who might be interested can follow along.

I see you have a Seneca FS. If memory serves, your water heater is located in the same place as my TS. That is good news since you will be able to easily access the water heater compartment to cut an access hole in the compartment so that the plumbing can be connected to the rear of the new heater.

Let me know if I can help!

[Dave_Jan]

Thank you. I may take you up on your offer to help via the forum.

[tjbroussard]

Great looking coach and beautiful pictures. Extremely envious....need to get mine out on the road up that way. Thanks for the info...good to know.

Oooo...46 today...a Louisiana freeze warning.....

[ci4mynewf]

One trick I did was to snake a extension cord through the hole in the top of the water compartment into the back side of the lower cabinet under the closet. I then ran it to the plug outlet where the back TV plugs in. I turn on my inverter and I run down the road with a small heater [ 200 watt] warming the pump and hoses.

[BIGPAPA1970]

Did a little winter camping this weekend. The furnace kept the wet at at 40 degrees with the outdoor temps in the middle 20s. The biggest heat gain was the king sized comforter from Amazon. Kept the cold air trapped in the cab great. Almost 30* difference.