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Old 09-15-2017, 07:16 AM   #1
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Cold Weather Camping

Thinking of camping into the start of cold weather. If 5th wheel is already winterized can you still use toilet if you put a gallon or two of anti-freeze down the toilet? Also, can you use your furnace on the propane setting? Thanks in advance!

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Old 09-15-2017, 07:31 AM   #2
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If you plan on using it in cold weather, why winterized it? The point of winterizing is to get water out of area where if it freezes it won't expand and damage you plumbing. If you use the toilet won't you have to dewinterize or are you using the bucket system? If you use the bucket system then when you're done camping, all you have to do is dump out black tank and pour some antifreeze down the toilet.
Yes you run your furnace on propane.
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Old 09-17-2017, 08:00 AM   #3
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It depends on your trailer.

If it is certified for winter then use it. We do. One key is to use the furnace. Some like to use space heaters, but, they do not put heat down where the tanks (and water lines) are located. We use space heaters until it gets down into the 20's, then we go to the furnace.

But, if it is like our old fiver, then no, winterize the water lines. Exposed tanks, exposed water lines. When I stayed in it during cold weather I used the CG showers and had bottled water inside, including the toilet. I could use the sinks and toilet if I put some antifreeze in the tanks.

Be prepared to go through a lot of propane
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Old 09-17-2017, 08:36 AM   #4
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If warmer [hi 30's] during the day and only down to 25 or so at night, not too much to worry about. Colder then you have a choice. Make the system "wet" and use the furnace. If temp get below 20 get out the compressor and blow out the lines. Operate in a "dry" condition and use a gallon jug of water to flush the toilet and a jug of bottled water at the sink. Nothing to worry about just dump some pink into the ptraps when you pack up.
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Old 09-19-2017, 06:47 PM   #5
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Not sure about your Eagle but my North Point is tested safe from zero to 100 degrees. However, I do assist (during below freezing temps) with a small electric room heater. Side note: I do leave the cap off the plumbing drain, because it does extend below the belly of the RV.
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Old 09-19-2017, 09:15 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by richie t View Post
Thinking of camping into the start of cold weather. If 5th wheel is already winterized can you still use toilet if you put a gallon or two of anti-freeze down the toilet? Also, can you use your furnace on the propane setting? Thanks in advance!

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How cold, is winter where you are at?

I have met a number of people that winter camp around Minnesota. They keep the rig winterized. And pour antifreeze down the toilet. They use jugs of water, and dump the water outside.

Propane, you can use it in the winter for heat. However, be aware the colder gets the less the propane will flow. At -40 propane totally stops flowing. At -10F you can notice it on a grill.
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Old 09-19-2017, 09:28 PM   #7
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Thinking of camping into the start of cold weather.
Yeah - you got to define Cold...

Just about all 'stock' RVs get uncomfortably cold when the weather hits the teens. Yes, you'll run your furnace. Yes, you can pour antifreeze down the toilet.

Yes, you might burn thru a lot of propane.
Some nights, it seemed like our furnace ran every ten minutes.

We'll take our Class C out into the low 20s. But we find a place to plug in and use space heaters, electric blankets and the furnace to make the nights a bit warm.
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Old 09-20-2017, 06:50 AM   #8
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How cold, is winter where you are at?

I have met a number of people that winter camp around Minnesota. They keep the rig winterized. And pour antifreeze down the toilet. They use jugs of water, and dump the water outside.

Propane, you can use it in the winter for heat. However, be aware the colder gets the less the propane will flow. At -40 propane totally stops flowing. At -10F you can notice it on a grill.
In Wisconsin we grill all year long. Propane must be kept in the garage when it get zero or below. We stop camping once the water is shut off in the parks. We start Easter weekend and stop end of October each year then winterize and cover the RV and rap the tires.
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Old 09-20-2017, 07:44 AM   #9
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We cold camp every year during hunting season. (There's already some snow on the ground). I always winterize the camper, then we use a blue 6 gal. water jug that comes with a faucet and set it by the sink for washing hands, dishes, etc. You can get them at Walmart and elsewhere. For the ****ter . . . we keep a gallon of water (old milk jug) to rinse toidy out. I put car antifreeze in black water tank as well as some sidewalk salt. Might not be advisable . . . but it has worked with no damage to system.
If your propane bottles are exposed to the elements, you might have a problem with the valve not working properly in very cold conditions. Our old bumper pull had such issues. Our 5er has a compartment for the tanks and there has been no problems since. BUT! Make sure and have a spare tank of propane cause you will use a lot more and it always runs out in the middle of the night. Also need to keep batteries charged up cause the furnace fan eats up juice too.
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Old 09-20-2017, 08:18 AM   #10
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Not sure if car antifreeze harms the rubber seals on the valves. We flush with rv antifreeze in cold weather.
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:20 AM   #11
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Some great advice and information here. To add to the list; we live in Alaska. I have used my rig and previous rigs (other TTs, a 5er, a cabover, and a popup) in temps below freezing and even below zero. The issue of propane flow diminishing the colder it gets can be problematic as the temp starts dropping below zero (you just have to have a plan in place for that).
Another problem is batteries. Extreme cold affects batteries hard. So if you are dry camping and trying to use your furnace things can get really interesting, really fast.

What do I do in extreme cold (like the January Caribou hunts and we are averaging -20F temps).
1. The trailer is winterized. so pink stuff is all through the lines.
2. For water, I have a 35 gallon portable tank with pump which I put in the shower.
3. To prep the grey and black tanks for use during the trip, we mix the chemicals with RV antifreeze instead of water. We also put water softener salt pellets down the toilet and in the sink drains. Replacing as needed.
4. Whenever we use the toilet we rinse with a 75% percent solution of RV antifreeze and 25% water, dumped in from a gallon jug. We also use the same method for anything dumped in a sink drain.
5. For heat, we have a 20 propane tank (or two) inside (we put it in the shower as well) and run a Mr. Heater brand Buddy heater. They are indoor safe and have low oxygen and tip over shut off protection.
6. we DO NOT run any water through the lines, or any water in the fresh water tank once the rig is winterized.
7. though we have a generator for running things at night, the occasional furnace use (to take the edge off first thing when we come in for the night) and mainly for battery charging. We have gone 5 days on batteries alone.
8. We will also utilize a propane lantern inside (provides heat and light). Always on the kitchen counter (we do crack open a window for air flow) or on the table. (of note, we have never had the Co2 alarm go off).

When it comes to whether a trailer is 'certified' or 'rated' for four seasons, perhaps I am a bit bull headed on this note. To me all trailers are 4 seasons. The issue of rating it so is the amount of insulation it has and the protection it has for its plumbing and other systems. Since I winterize it, the plumbing is protected (I lived in my 5er for over a year and through the winter. I had the municipal water supply heat traced and insulation wrapped, the sewer lines insulated, heat traced, and the whole unit skirted with three 110v drop lights placed underneath which, even at 18 below zero outdoors, kept the underneath of the trailer from ever dropping below 33f.)
Consider this, there are canvas tents made which are "four season" tents (most come with a small wood stove). People claim a trailer can get extremely cold inside, which is true, but one of the "four season" tents gets just as cold, much faster, doesn't hold the heat as well and is more susceptible to elements. Hence why I consider any trailer with hard walls, and even modest insulation and a solid roof and indoor bathroom a 'four season' unit.
You just have to be smart and think ahead in how you use it.

off my soap box now. apologies to all for my long windedness.
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Old 08-10-2018, 05:34 AM   #12
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Sure, you can use the furnace. But if you use the toilet, you'll DEwinterize that part of the system. How cold are you talking? Degrees-wise?
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Old 08-10-2018, 06:02 AM   #13
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A lot of variables involved in answering that question. As far as the furnace, sure you can use it anytime. Water use is another matter. A little water in the black tank may not matter. Is your underbelly covered. Do you have heat vents in the underbelly? Is your unit left outside or is it inside storage? If the inside of your unit is going to be below freezing for an extended length of time, you sure don't wont water left in your toilet bowl. If you dump much water into the black tank, I would drain it.
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Old 08-10-2018, 08:31 AM   #14
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Not sure if car antifreeze harms the rubber seals on the valves. We flush with rv antifreeze in cold weather.
I would never use auto antifreeze in a TT. If it’s the old school stuff with propylene glycol it’s TOXIC. I think there’s newer stuff that’s supossedly non-toxic but I would avoid it too.
I say “use the stuff that’s intended for a trailer”.
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Old 08-10-2018, 10:10 AM   #15
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Temperature probably averages in the mid 30" s, and my underbelly is covered.
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Old 08-10-2018, 10:35 AM   #16
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I would think no problem, camped in 20s a few time!
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Old 07-15-2019, 06:04 AM   #17
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We live on Long Island and usually go to Florida every winter so freezing is not a problem in the Northpoint. We’re thinking about spending the winter on Long Island and living in the Northpoint for the winter. The underbelly is heated and enclosed and rated supposedly down to zero. I was thinking about having the underbelly removed and putting heating pads on the holding tanks as extra insurance. When the temperature drops below freezing we will fill the freshwater tank and disconnect the garden hose and run off of that. The site we’re at has full hook up so we can dump the tanks when the temps get above freezing (usually during the day) And put skirting around the bottom of the fifth wheel. Does anybody have any thoughts on that.
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