Winter Camping

[KRockwell]

I own a 2018 Jay Feather 23RL. Plan on taking the trailer out of winter storage in Virginia for a trip to Florida. I want to be able to use my freshwater system while in route.

Can the freshwater system be used in temperature below freezing?
Is their tank insulation and/or tank electrical heating that can be safely applied?
Does Jayco have an official approach for this?

Thank you,

K

[Stingray75]

First, congrats on the Jay Feather and welcome to JOF. Does yours have the Glacier package? If so, you’re not worry free but doing OK if temps don’t fall below freezing for more than a few hours. There are tank heaters you can add but it’s not a simple tack that can be accomplished quickly. The real challenge in traveling north to south in the winter is warming the contents of the trailer to a comfortable level. We travel Wisconsin to Texas for the winter and have learned to do a hotel at least the first night.

[Griswald One]

Tank heaters are useful but they are generally used on the Grey/Black tanks as opposed to the fresh water tanks. If you use your fresh water the first thing in danger is your lines from the tanks to your faucets. A tank heater does nothing to protect the lines. I would not risk using your fresh water system until you are consistently above freezing.

If you want to be able to have water for the toilet and washing dishes I would recommend bringing water containers and some RV Antifreeze. A couple of 5 gallon water containers can go a long way and can be refilled if needed. Pour a little RV antifreeze into each of the tanks before you leave and then use the water from the containers to flush the toilet or fill the sink to wash dishes. Once you are done pour another cup of Pink into the drain to fill the P-Trap and keep it from freezing.

If you don't want to use the RV Antifreeze then find a couple of washbasins that fit inside your sinks, that way you can still wash the dishes but toss the water outside once you are finished.