Lessons Learned - RVs, Texas and unexpected Cold Snaps

[pconroy]

I must've clicked on one Youtube video "Freezing in our RV in Texas". And then Youtube served up a dozen more.

Watching some of the mistakes made was painful. It's clear a lot of RV owners don't understand their electrical and heating systems. And it's clear, they're more than willing to share their inexperience with the Internet.


I'm got friends and family all over Texas and one said "You Yankees must've found it a bit amusing." I replied "No, not at all. Single digit temperatures are #$%^ cold regardless of which side of the Mason Dixon line you're on."


We winter camp in our motorhome but we're able to prepare.

Part of me thinks we winter campers could do a lot of people some service by sharing maybe some tips or suggestions on how to prepare for the next cold snap.

I'm not casting stones - again, I'm very empathetic. I've been camping when it was 30*F in the RV because the sail switch on the furnace decided to die. In the teens outside and 30*F inside. Not fun.

But, we've learned a little bit.

One thing I didn't see on the Youtube videos were people using the "extend-a-stay" propane tee valves. I'd consider that an essential addition to an RV. A 5 gallon propane tank is in the back for emergency heat.


We also carry four 7-8 gallon water jugs. They get filled and stay inside the RV.

And I carry 3 gallons of RV antifreeze in case I need to do an unexpected winterization.

I don't know, it was painful to watch these videos. Especially the one I saw where they filled the water tank, it froze, it expanded and bent the frame enough to destroy their trailer! Ugh!

[pconroy]

Some other things we have on hand - 60 watt incandescent light bulbs and a drop light fixture. One will go in the 'fridge bay to keep the 'fridge innards warm. Absorption refrigerators don't like being cold.

Small 500 watt portable heaters. I can put a small one in our basement compartment and it will keep the pump, the valves, filter and water works toasty. It'll be 70* in the basement.

Inexpensive thermometers - to keep tabs on the temperatures in areas.

Extension cords up the wazoo. Enough to string together to reach the pedestal across from ours if I ever need to. All of the 50A/30A dogbone combinations. In case I need a little more amperage.

Good quality electric heaters. Two heaters running on low, 700 watts each, keep the RV toasty.

A full gas tank. Always. Full propane tank.
And if I'm worried, a 5 gallon jerry can of extra gas.

When we arrive at the campground, in winter, I fill up those water jugs immediately. Just in case.


I also have a 1500 watt immersion heater that'll warm up 8 gallons of water in 30 minutes, in case I need a new source of hot water.


What do you winter campers do that we could share with others?

[Bookemdanno]

This is a really great learning topic! I learned some stuff not only from the RV perspective, but also from the sticks & bricks perspective that I’ll cross over to the RV. I utilized an old propane tent warmer (no flame) on my pool equipment. I made a tent on the pool equipment with blankets & a tarp with the tent warmer under it all. It kept the pool pump & lines from freezing up! It is now stored in our 5th wheel in case we need it. I ran it for 3 days straight on a 5lb propane tank with the adapter hose and only ran it down half way.

[Kim Gass]

Cold weather camping and driving
We drove across Texas from San Antonio to Big Bend . Feb 12-19. We had trouble on 1-10 because of the hundred or so trucks off the road in all positions and the resulting traffic jams. The mayhem started just west of San Antonio and we could only get as far as Ozona. From our observations people seemed to jam on their brakes just before bridges and come to either a dead stop or smack into a guard rail. No understanding of when on ice do NOTHING. Gentle acceleration gentle braking visualizing eggs under your feet is key. When we were not affected by traffic we just kept going at 45 mph. The trailer was never an issue. But because of the others on the road we pulled out at Ozona and went for a room at a hotel. ( yes you CAN do this with a trailer!) Glad we did because the next morning TV and TT was coated in…ice about half an inch thick. It took an hour to get everything operational and clear. Please clear everything. A peephole does not suffice. We don’t have heated mirrors so we had to scrape those too. And the rear view camera and all lights on your tow vehicle.
We got to Ft Stockton for a Walmart shopping and it was slushy snow about three inches.. Then ascended going south into freezing fog but it abated with warming toward Big Bend. 43 degrees. That did not last. We knew it wouldn’t as we had looked at the forecast ahead. ( there is no cell or wireless in BB).
We had a little water in the FW tank but not much; maybe a gallon. We filled up a 6 gal container on arrival and thought like a tenter albeit with bathroom privileges ( bacteria are your friend. We did not worry about BW tank). We did use campground bathrooms and avoided filling the gray tank. Needless to say that night the temps plummeted and for the next few days did not rise above 22. The campground water system froze up though they must have used an arc welder to open it up. Then there were signs to never turn off the water! Generators in NPS areas do not have night hours so be sure your batteries are up to snuff to run the furnace. We have one OEM battery but.. six blankets. We did not have hookups at that time.
We were bemoaning the Black Cat by Coleman catalytic heater sitting at home in our garage in Maine. It runs on 1 lb propane canisters. We had a genny with us but not allowed to use it aside from the first night when temps were around zero.

So far.
Bring blankets, a back up heating plan if you have insufficient power to run the furnace and water jugs. Large blocks of water don’t freeze as fast as narrow skinny ones.

The big challenge is when you need to rely on fuel. We had a bit of an issue finding a gas station that had power. We were able to hit a station at our campground during the one hour it had power then drive 200 miles before finding another one. Carrying extra fuel if you can is a very good idea. We have a small generator and that 2.5 gal got us to the only open gas station in 100 miles ( in Alpine TX)( we drove an extra 80 miles in a circle. Never assume the next station in the West you have mapped out has fuel. Have alternatives

Later on our furnace quit. Its not the sail switch. Yet to be fixed. A $20 ceramic heater made the last three weeks of our trip enjoyable. It does require an AC source.

And the A/C on the TV quit working. We had not checked it before leaving home It was 10 degrees then. We baked the last day before getting home when it was 75 in New England.

Things are back to normal now. It is snowing again and 10 degrees and we rewinterized the unit.