Winterizing Tips? October 26, 2016, 01:57:26 pm Cheers, everyone and thank you all for the wonderful information provided here.I own a 1990 MB 27' LD. I have had her for just about a year and will be spending my first winter living in her as I travel between Northern California and the PNW. I am a bit of a rookie in the RV world and count on forums like this to hold me hand along the way at times. I'd like to request any information that you think might be helpful for winterizing my LD for living and travel in the rainy and cold north west.Even the most basic tips sometimes elude me so don't feel silly about staying some of the more obvious methods. Although I am not very mechanically inclined, owning my LD has turned me into a sponge for this kind of knowledge.Thank you all so much in advance. 1 Likes
Re: Winterizing Tips? Reply #1 – October 26, 2016, 04:20:33 pm Welcome to the LDO forum. I've just finished 6 hours of work on our LD so my fingers and brain are both tried. But I'll try to suggest a few points and no doubt others will add to your post. My suggestions are for Winter temperatures at 25 degrees F. and above. I don't have much experience with temps below that. Secondly, if the day time temperatures remain below freezing for several days, then it takes some extra work to secure your RV.So we're really thinking about water freezing. So I disconnect city water after making sure the water tank is full. That is 60 gallons of fresh water will not freeze in the conditions I mentioned above. I also make sure the gray and black tank are at least 1/2 full. I'd like to repeat this step ... remember to disconnect the city water.If you have shore power, then an electric heater inside the coach will certainly augment the propane heater and might even warm the coach enough that the propane heater doesn't run. Open the cabinet doors under the kitchen sink and bathroom sink. We even open the access door to the water pump at night. A good many folks have fitted their LD to run an inside propane heater, which is more efficient that the LD propane heater. We haven't done that upgrade.We use sun screens in all the windows at night and then close the blinds. Most Class C owners will drop a heavy blanket or quilt from the cabover and behind the driver/passenger seats since that area of the coach is not well insulated.We bought a sheet of Styrofoam insulation and cut pieces to fit into each of the fan/vent areas on the ceiling to include the shower skylight and escape hatch. We have snap-on covers for each of the ceiling areas which helps keep the insulation in place and adds a bit more insulation. Btw, we use these in really hot weather too.Finally, some of Faithful have used a similar winterized setup with much colder temperatures and without problems. So now my brain and fingers are running on empty. I hope this helps a bit.
Re: Winterizing Tips? Reply #2 – October 30, 2016, 02:44:00 pm To Ed's (Traxless) point about sunscreens behind the blinds--I had some of that 1"-2" ish sized foam bed egg crate that came in some miscellaneous auction stuff; it works well behind the blinds along with the reflecting sunscreen thingies. I also scavenged some big sheets of that ginormous 1" bubblewrap from my bodyshop guy (he'd received some big parts wrapped in it & was just going to pitch the stuff), so I've also used that. I like the idea of Ed's snap on vent covers--so far I've just used sheets of cardboard over the bubblewrap with packing tape to the ceiling...I do wish the crank handles were more recessed; it's been a pain to fit stuff over/around those. I just roll up the foam or bubblewrap inserts from the windows during the day & stash in the shower.Good luck with you winter travels.Lynne
Re: Winterizing Tips? Reply #3 – October 30, 2016, 02:51:17 pm Are you planning on living in long-term freezing conditions or just in cold, rainy places?Will electric power be available or will you boondock a lot?These things makes a big difference in how you prep your rig.Larry 1 Likes
Re: Winterizing Tips? Reply #4 – October 30, 2016, 10:43:40 pm Quote from: Traxless - October 26, 2016, 04:20:33 pmWelcome to the LDO forum. I've just finished 6 hours of work on our LD so my fingers and brain are both tried. But I'll try to suggest a few points and no doubt others will add to your post. My suggestions are for Winter temperatures at 25 degrees F. and above. I don't have much experience with temps below that. Secondly, if the day time temperatures remain below freezing for several days, then it takes some extra work to secure your RV.So we're really thinking about water freezing. So I disconnect city water after making sure the water tank is full. That is 60 gallons of fresh water will not freeze in the conditions I mentioned above. I also make sure the gray and black tank are at least 1/2 full. I'd like to repeat this step ... remember to disconnect the city water.If you have shore power, then an electric heater inside the coach will certainly augment the propane heater and might even warm the coach enough that the propane heater doesn't run. Open the cabinet doors under the kitchen sink and bathroom sink. We even open the access door to the water pump at night. A good many folks have fitted their LD to run an inside propane heater, which is more efficient that the LD propane heater. We haven't done that upgrade.We use sun screens in all the windows at night and then close the blinds. Most Class C owners will drop a heavy blanket or quilt from the cabover and behind the driver/passenger seats since that area of the coach is not well insulated.We bought a sheet of Styrofoam insulation and cut pieces to fit into each of the fan/vent areas on the ceiling to include the shower skylight and escape hatch. We have snap-on covers for each of the ceiling areas which helps keep the insulation in place and adds a bit more insulation. Btw, we use these in really hot weather too.Finally, some of Faithful have used a similar winterized setup with much colder temperatures and without problems. So now my brain and fingers are running on empty. I hope this helps a bit.Just listen to you, Ed. A year ago you were asking all the same questions and now you are the expert! I went through the same experience 14 years ago. I had never spend a night in an RV when we bought our LD. Chris 3 Likes
Re: Winterizing Tips? Reply #5 – October 31, 2016, 12:07:07 am Quote from: Chris Horst - October 30, 2016, 10:43:40 pmJust listen to you, Ed. A year ago you were asking all the same questions and now you are the expert! I went through the same experience 14 years ago. I had never spend a night in an RV when we bought our LD. ChrisDitto that, Chris. Our first RV night ever was in our new TK at a Caravan Club outing where we were welcomed, leveled, and settled in by none other than . . . Larry Wade! Talk about a fortuitous encounter for a newbie. -- Jon 1 Likes
Re: Winterizing Tips? Reply #6 – November 03, 2016, 03:05:49 am Quote from: Larry Wade - October 30, 2016, 02:51:17 pmAre you planning on living in long-term freezing conditions or just in cold, rainy places?Will electric power be available or will you boondock a lot?These things makes a big difference in how you prep your rig.LarryThanks Larry. I do plan on living the winter in the RV and I anticipate that it will be rainy. I would say that I will probably be boondocking 50% of the time and plugged in at other times.
Re: Winterizing Tips? Reply #7 – November 03, 2016, 09:15:34 pm Long-term winter boondocking, in the PNW can be difficult during periods when the temperature stay at or below freezing.Holding tanks can freeze, the interior water system can freeze if the interior doesn't have a near content heat supply.A catalytic heaters, such as a Wave 3 or 6, can help but you will need a good supply of propane. Installing an Extend-a-stay propane adaptor enables using eternal propane tanks when staying in the same spot for a period of time.How do your plan of providing electrical power, while off-line. Solar provides less power in the northern latitudes,, with the low sun and short days, even worse when near tree or under cloud. Even in Southern Arizona, it's hard to keep your batteries fully charged unless you have a large array or tilt. Winter can be tough anywhere, just a lot tougher up north in the cold and wet.Convert the lights to LEDs. Reduce your electronics consumption by switching to more efficient devices.If you plan on using the generator a lot, install a bigger charger and install more batteries, if possible.You would be surprise how much gas the generator can use, minimize the run time as much as possible.Make sure the carbon monoxide and propane detectors are still good and not out of date.What are your plans on getting water and dumping? Most campgrounds and RV facilities are closed during the winter, except on the coast. In many places, dump stations are hard to find in the summer.Keep a list of year-round RV parks and service stations with dump stations and water supplies.Personally, if I was planning on winter living, in the NW, I would make sure 30-amp power was always available during the cold, dark and wet months. Electric heat can be used for interior heating and heat pads, on the tanks.I would also make a set of exterior skirts to fully enclose the undercarriage. Blocking the cold wind makes a huge difference in interior comfort. The floor is coldest part of an RV, especially in the winter.Something like this.Custom Fit Rugged RV Skirting | RVskirtingSearch the LD Companion for winter camping tips and the LDO's archive, there are hundreds of informative postings on this subject. Learn and equip yourself for winterizing, just in case things go south and the rig is in danger of freezing and heat is unavailable.There are good reasons why so many full timers winter in the southern deserts....and so few in the PWN.Insulate everything. Eliminate every draft and leak. Keep your plumbing from freezing. Rent several small, furry pets.Larry
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