Extreme Cold

[klinner28]

US is about to be hit with some record breaking cold this week.

Here in central PA, it will reach a low of -8 at night.

Any concerns I should be aware of? Will it break a TV in an outside kitchen? Will fixtures get damaged?

I've noticed the handles on the side compartments become harder to move...

[Flyrotor]

You should be fine, for the past two years I was in Montana and both winters had periods of temps colder than -20f, no issues at all, my trailer was winterized by blowing out lines, and the batteries were on a solar trickle charger.

[Tunce the traveler]

Originally Posted by klinner28

US is about to be hit with some record breaking cold this week.

Here in central PA, it will reach a low of -8 at night.


I've noticed the handles on the side compartments become harder to move...

Don’t move them if you don’t have too, just leave well enough alone. At least that’s what I would do.

[Kim Gass]

There probably is ice around the handles and the gaskets
If youve had rain then cold
You wont break anything but Id leave well enough alone unless you are headed out as we are from Maine
We have had many minus mornings and had to beat on some things like the hitch wheel while a hair dryer worked on the compartments
Not a fun job it was right at zero
Your gear will be fine. No doubt when it came to the assembly plant it was not in temperature control

[TCNashville]

Originally Posted by klinner28

US is about to be hit with some record breaking cold this week.

Here in central PA, it will reach a low of -8 at night.

Any concerns I should be aware of? Will it break a TV in an outside kitchen? Will fixtures get damaged?

I've noticed the handles on the side compartments become harder to move...

Same here in Indiana and I'm not touching anything until temps go above freezing which looks like that'll be around May.

[norty1]

My neighbor from Allentown, Pa here in Georgia just left for Miramar, Florida.

He said the way he deals with it is to go to Florida for 2 months!

[SkyBound]

It's that cold here right now and everything is fine. Like mentioned, just don't touch anything. Wait it out. Stare at it out the window while drinking whisky beside the wood stove while wearing wool socks, browsing the RV section on amazon on your phone.

[North of 49°]

I win. Here's a snippet from our local weather forecast. When it's that cold, it doesn't matter if it's Fahrenheit or Celsius.

A bitterly cold Arctic air mass is moving into southern Manitoba. Northerly winds of 20 to 30 km/h will combine with the extremely cold temperatures to produce dangerous wind chill values near -50 across southern Manitoba.

These dangerous wind chill values will remain in place over much of southern Manitoba for the next few days with gradual improvement beginning on Thursday.

[Chiggins]

Originally Posted by North of 49°

I win. Here's a snippet from our local weather forecast. When it's that cold, it doesn't matter if it's Fahrenheit or Celsius.

A bitterly cold Arctic air mass is moving into southern Manitoba. Northerly winds of 20 to 30 km/h will combine with the extremely cold temperatures to produce dangerous wind chill values near -50 across southern Manitoba.

These dangerous wind chill values will remain in place over much of southern Manitoba for the next few days with gradual improvement beginning on Thursday.

And I complain about Western mountains of Virgina being cold hahaha. You can keep that weather.

[Quantum]

I look at it this way, the trailers around here sit on the dealers lot all year long in the cold and snow. If they're okay on the dealer lot, than they're okay in my driveway 15 minutes away.

[Kim Gass]

Mt Washington in NH regularly has wind chills at -60 to -100 in the winter but I'm not camping there!
The Observatory staff has to go out every hour to chop ice off the instruments

[nko2000]

I have lived in northern IL my whole life (exc. 3 yrs with Uncle Sam) and I have rarely seen the temp go to -10 or maybe -15, never -20. So I winterized my trailer with -20 RV antifreeze, should I look forward to plumbing repairs this spring?

[Kim Gass]

Looks like -30 for you
Will a fifth of Jack Daniels help?
For the RV of course

[Screwby]

Originally Posted by nko2000

I have lived in northern IL my whole life (exc. 3 yrs with Uncle Sam) and I have rarely seen the temp go to -10 or maybe -15, never -20. So I winterized my trailer with -20 RV antifreeze, should I look forward to plumbing repairs this spring?

I can’t imagine, from what I understand it doesn’t expand if it tries to freeze like water does so it won’t put pressure on pipes and fittings. I’ve got a brand new unopened jug sitting in the storage bay. I’ll keep checking on it and see what it looks like as we are expected to get close to -40 wind chills here.

[Kim Gass]

-35 antifreeze is 50 percent water
so below that temp it will freeze
-20 antifreeze is then more than 50 percent water

[North of 49°]

Another day of -50 degree wind chill, but the weather guessers "say" the end is in sight. It's going to be closer to seasonal by the weekend. It's hard to believe I'll be starting to book our campsites in a month and a half.

But getting back to the OP's question: weather like this is why I go to extraordinary lengths to winterize my trailer. I blow out the water lines with compressed air, pump the pink antifreeze through, then blow them out again. That way, if there's anything left in the water lines, it's just a residue of antifreeze. Sort of a belt-and-suspenders approach. I've been doing it like this ever since I first bought a trailer with plumbing, and it's served me well. The extra effort in the fall is nothing compared to having to repair or replace a burst water line in the spring. I also remove anything that can be damaged by freezing: flashlight batteries, bug spray, sunscreen, anything. When overnight temperatures drop to -40 without the wind -- like what we're having now -- you can't be too safe.

FWIW, I work for trucking company, and we haul exclusively tankers. Half of what we did in the office today was just trying to solve problems with frozen equipment.

[RetiredLEO]

Originally Posted by nko2000

I have lived in northern IL my whole life (exc. 3 yrs with Uncle Sam) and I have rarely seen the temp go to -10 or maybe -15, never -20. So I winterized my trailer with -20 RV antifreeze, should I look forward to plumbing repairs this spring?

I live about 200 miles SW of you and we're dipping down to a balmy MINUS 16 tonight.

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by North of 49°

I win. Here's a snippet from our local weather forecast. When it's that cold, it doesn't matter if it's Fahrenheit or Celsius.

A bitterly cold Arctic air mass is moving into southern Manitoba. Northerly winds of 20 to 30 km/h will combine with the extremely cold temperatures to produce dangerous wind chill values near -50 across southern Manitoba.

These dangerous wind chill values will remain in place over much of southern Manitoba for the next few days with gradual improvement beginning on Thursday.

Tonight's low is predicted to be -25 oF. And a calculated windchill of -61oF. Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder.

Originally Posted by North of 49°

But getting back to the OP's question: weather like this is why I go to extraordinary lengths to winterize my trailer. I blow out the water lines with compressed air, pump the pink antifreeze through, then blow them out again. That way, if there's anything left in the water lines, it's just a residue of antifreeze. Sort of a belt-and-suspenders approach. I've been doing it like this ever since I first bought a trailer with plumbing, and it's served me well. The extra effort in the fall is nothing compared to having to repair or replace a burst water line in the spring. I also remove anything that can be damaged by freezing: flashlight batteries, bug spray, sunscreen, anything. When overnight temperatures drop to -40 without the wind -- like what we're having now -- you can't be too safe.

I do the same. Historically I store my htt up north, where it commonly gets to -40oF. I have never had any issues.

[TCNashville]

I don't like being cold and I don't like it when it's cold outside but this kinda cold is ridiculous. I need to move.

[cariboocreek]

-25c lol. Here we call that Tuesday.....