Winter camping

[Mr. Goodbar]

Looking for people's experience with camping in cold winter weather. We just got a '22 North Point and wany some info on the reality of cold weather camping. We've done it in the past with our '08 Eagle. We usually just run an electric space heater all day, but it's never been really cold, maybe 30s at night.

Thanks

[Jagiven]

I don't have a NP. How cold are you expecting? You mention 30 degrees. That should be no issue in a NP or any other camper.
In our HTT, we've been down to about 20 degrees at night and high 30s in the day. Water in the tanks, with an open underbelly. No issues. We too tend to use electric heat.

I would be more worried if connected to shore water and sewer, with them freezing up. My suggestion opening the backside of your wet bay, and see how the furnace dumps heat back there. Then consider adding a small electric heat option. Should not need much.

[Kim Gass]

What temperature?
Our lows are between minus 10 and minus fifty
We have camped dry No water except in jugs at zero
Unit winterized
That cold or no?

[kirkelli]

We camp every winter with our 321 RSTS... We use a little heater buddy with the small propane cylinders for heat.. Works well. We stayed over a week near Bishop with temps dipping in the mid/high 20's and the little Heater Buddy made us comfortable. I also insulated my battery compartment to keep the lithiums warm

[Route 66 Traveler]

Kind of hard to think about cold weather camping when our weather here is in the 90’s plus! The colder it gets in the winter the farther South we go.

One trick I figured out when coiling up our cold and stiff water hose in the winter is to connect it to our outside shower and run hot water through it until soft and pliable.

[spoon059]

Before kids we would camp into the single digits. I don't like burning propane if I can avoid it, so we used electric heaters in the camper and essentially dry camped


Brushed teeth with bottled water and spat down the sink. Showers and toilet in the campground bathhouse. Usually in that cold weather there aren't many campers, so you can get a spot near the bathhouse.

Went to the Poconos one year Christmas, then went to NYC one year for Christmas.

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by Route 66 Traveler

One trick I figured out when coiling up our cold and stiff water hose in the winter is to connect it to our outside shower and run hot water through it until soft and pliable.

Try a Zero-G hose, Extremely flexible, easy to round up for storage (even in extreme cold) and drinking water safe. I got one before last winter and will never go back to those round stiff hoses. They are pricey, but well worth it

[gotoworkfromanywhere]

When it's below freezing, I fill up the fresh tank and disconnect the water and sewer. Sorta semi-boondocking. Turn on my tank heater keeps it from freezing. (I never keep my sewer line connected anyways -- just on dump day.)

My heat switches to propane when it's below 40 or so, and it's a big deal to pack up the classC to go get more propane. A little electric space heater works like a charm. I open up the cabinets under the sinks to expose the drains just in case.

Create less volume: Pull the curtains on the cab and front bunk. Pull in the slides.

Oh, and pull in the slides if snow is expected. You don't need that extra weight and/or ice accumulation issues. No way am I climbing up there in the freezing cold to clean it off.

[Yooper906]

Originally Posted by gotoworkfromanywhere

Oh, and pull in the slides if snow is expected. You don't need that extra weight and/or ice accumulation issues. No way am I climbing up there in the freezing cold to clean it off.

Good post. Just one little thing to add about the slides, they won't "squeegee" off any frozen ice or much snow, like they do liquids. It's going to end up inside the trailer and melt off later.

[gotoworkfromanywhere]

Originally Posted by Yooper906

Good post. Just one little thing to add about the slides, they won't "squeegee" off any frozen ice or much snow, like they do liquids. It's going to end up inside the trailer and melt off later.

Yep. Pulled in my slide too late last winter and had a little slush up there. Not too bad to towel off from the inside, but still a PITA.

[Yooper906]

Originally Posted by gotoworkfromanywhere

Yep. Pulled in my slide too late last winter and had a little slush up there. Not too bad to towel off from the inside, but still a PITA.

PITA, but something you can rectify with no problem. Just that folks should be aware in the winter with slides coming in and out.

[Flashdman11]

30's at night won't need any extra precautions. If you maintain sub 32 then you will need to worry about anything with water freezing.

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by gotoworkfromanywhere

When it's below freezing, I fill up the fresh tank and disconnect the water and sewer. Sorta semi-boondocking. Turn on my tank heater keeps it from freezing. (I never keep my sewer line connected anyways -- just on dump day.)

My heat switches to propane when it's below 40 or so, and it's a big deal to pack up the classC to go get more propane. A little electric space heater works like a charm. I open up the cabinets under the sinks to expose the drains just in case.

Create less volume: Pull the curtains on the cab and front bunk. Pull in the slides.

Oh, and pull in the slides if snow is expected. You don't need that extra weight and/or ice accumulation issues. No way am I climbing up there in the freezing cold to clean it off.

Agree... When the night time temps are below 30, we disconnect Water and Sewer and run on our tanks for a couple of days. Dump / Refill fresh at the same time.

We leave our Slides out because we are living inside and want the comfort, but agree that Snow/Ice cause a challenge when breaking camp - and we have slide toppers to help, but the ice is still something to deal with.

We have small electric heaters in the lower storage bays that house our plumbing, and keeping it from freezing is very important.

Originally Posted by Route 66 Traveler

One trick I figured out when coiling up our cold and stiff water hose in the winter is to connect it to our outside shower and run hot water through it until soft and pliable.

I'm going to have to try that this winter... great TIP neighbor!

[gypsmjim]

I don't see a problem. Winterize (drain) the fresh water system and don't use the potty. (outdoor loo) Use the furnace and keep a few spare propane tanks. We do it every year and have a ball.

[snickers]

We put the pink antifreeze down our holding tanks and used the toilet and sink, brought bottled water, heated water and put it in a dish pan for a sponge bath and then used that gray water for the toilet. We brought a few gallons of antifreeze and water with us and used the campers heater, we didn’t run the heat at night. Dumped our tanks when we got home, rinsed them and winterized again.