RVing in Freezing Temps

[Sandraze]

Good morning All!
I apologize in advance if this topic has been covered here numerous times. We are getting ready to head out soon and the temps will be in the low 20's overnight for 4 straight nights with highs in the upper 30's In 8 years, we've never encountered that while out in the RV and I have never used any fresh water tanks nor the water pumps in any of the RVs we've owned. We currently own a 2024 Eagle 29RLC. My question is what is the best way to handle this situation in terms of water in the RV and our plumbing? My plan, after reading as much as I could, is to fill up the fresh water tank everyday and drain gray water as (if) needed, run the water pump, and leave the shore city water disconnected. We will have full hook ups where we are going, but figure I would leave the shore water disconnected and only connect up when I need more water in the fresh water tank (I do use a water filter). I figure this is as good a time as any to test the fresh water tank and water pump! Is this a good plan? Any other tips you have? We have plenty of propane to keep the RV warm so hopefully that helps the plumbing. Thank you in advance for any feedback and suggestions!

 

[CAG-JAY]

Does your RV have a heated underbelly or are there water lines exposed if you look up under the RV?
If your unit has a heated underbelly or covering over the entire underside you will have some protection from freezing but anything hanging down or exposed is likely to freeze up and the fresh water line/drain with be the biggest issue as it will freeze back up to the first T in the line and stop any water movement from there. So cover it or stuff it back up inside the bottom covering.

The compartment with all of your water controls that is outside covered by a door likely has little to no insulation on the lower part and the door is like not insulated. Stuff it with towels or a blanket or if you have an electrical connection a 60 watt bulb burning will help. Do the same in the basement with a light or two.

Yes, fill tanks and run off of that/those. It is unlikely that 40+ gals of water, on the underside of the RV will freeze solid at 20F but days of that temp or lower may be a different story. And if it is not getting out of the 30s during the day it can become an issue of not having temps high enough to thaw anything that does get icy.

Basically, you need to be aware of where lines are exposed and provide some cover for them. Even under sinks inside can get cold enough to freeze up considering the lack of good insulation in outside walls.

There are a number of threads that can be found in the search feature at the top of the page and numerous articles and web pages on cold weather camping with a Google search.

 

[Jagiven]

No big deal, we camp in this type of weather every year. We do not have an enclosed underbelly, and have never frozen up.

Fill the FW tank and use it at night. Drain your city water hose and put it in a cargo hold with the door closed. I left it out once and it took all day to thaw out.

We commonly heat with an electric space heater. Most of our pipes run through the inside the rv, we just leave a few caninet doors ajar to ensure a little extra heat gets to the plumbing.

If you have tank heaters use them.

If you have an enclosed underbelly (I'm sure tou do). When you run the furnace some heat is dump into the underbelly.

Coldest we have been out was sub 20's at night mid 30's during the day, no hookup of any type and we did not freeze up, and again we have an open underbelly.

Have fun happy camping

 

[CAG-JAY]

No big deal, we camp in this type of weather every year. We do not have an enclosed underbelly, and have never frozen up.

Fill the FW tank and use it at night. Drain your city water hose and put it in a cargo hold with the door closed. I left it out once and it took all day to thaw out.

We commonly heat with an electric space heater. Most of our pipes run through the inside the rv, we just leave a few caninet doors ajar to ensure a little extra heat gets to the plumbing.

If you have tank heaters use them.

If you have an enclosed underbelly (I'm sure tou do). When you run the furnace some heat is dump into the underbelly.

Coldest we have been out was sub 20's at night mid 30's during the day, no hookup of any type and we did not freeze up, and again we have an open underbelly.

Have fun happy camping

My response was from the point of not having hookups. You depend upon what you have without space heaters and the nice things of a site with electricity and water. If you do, well you are in heaven. If not you are doing what we elk hunters call really roughing it.