Cold weather April 28, 2019, 08:21:21 pm My wife and I are 6 weeks into our maiden voyage, we are having a great time. Tonight we are in Casper Wyoming and the temperature is set to drop to 22 degrees. Should we be worried about freezing water lines?Randy
Re: Cold weather Reply #1 – April 28, 2019, 11:24:29 pm Coming back from shorts weather in AZ in February, we came up US95 thru NV. Overnight in Hawthorne NV it dropped to 15. We put a blanket over the shade in the cab and kept the heater running to keep the temp in the 50's. Fresh water is under the bed in the 31 IB, I don't know where it is in yours. The only thing that froze was the black water tank which took a couple days to thaw once home in the foothills near Sacramento. If you want to open cupboard doors to circulate the air, it can't hurt.Bundle up and remember Summer is coming.Joel 3 Likes
Re: Cold weather Reply #2 – April 29, 2019, 09:40:15 am I'd winterize your LD.I've had a camper that froze waterlines (outdoor shower) even though we kept a heater in the camper.
Re: Cold weather Reply #3 – April 29, 2019, 10:27:34 am Are Tank heating pads for black and grey an option with the LD's? I would assume that the fresh water tank and plumbing are inside the coach.Hutch
Re: Cold weather Reply #4 – April 29, 2019, 11:00:37 am Quote from: R. L. Day - April 28, 2019, 08:21:21 pmMy wife and I are 6 weeks into our maiden voyage, we are having a great time. Tonight we are in Casper Wyoming and the temperature is set to drop to 22 degrees. Should we be worried about freezing water lines?We've spent many nights below freezing and without a single problem. We kept the fresh water tank at 2/3 full, dumped the gray tank or keep it 2/3 full, unplug city water connections, and keep the inside warm. A black tank at 1/3 with some material will not freeze at 22 degrees overnight. Open the cabinet doors under the kitchen sink and under the BR sink. Run the water heater until it goes off before you go to bed and then again first thing in the morning. Use a heavy blanket to block the cab area from the rear of the Coach and close all the blinds. Even in these temperatures, we keep the lounge vent open about 1" all night to allow humidity to escape. Otherwise, you'll have considerable moisture on all your windows in the morning.Btw, a quick search of this Forum on this topic should list similar guidance. A good number of LDO's have followed these same preparations in much colder temperatures (single digit). I'm confident you'll be fine. 6 Likes
Re: Cold weather Reply #5 – April 29, 2019, 11:13:58 am Somewhat depends on the day time temperature after the overnight. We've camped in mid to low twenties several times without any problems. Run your heater, open the door to the water pump and place a blanket or some other cover to block out the front. That's where most of the cold enters, and be sure to disconnect the outside water.
Re: Cold weather Reply #6 – April 29, 2019, 11:26:58 am We live in and camp three seasons in the mountains of Wyoming. Our practice is as Ed & Margee describes - we’ve had no issues. Do drain your outdoor shower hose/faucet, if you have one (we deleted this option on our second LD). Stop in to the Fort Casper museum if you have time - it’s a good one. Warren
Re: Cold weather Reply #7 – April 29, 2019, 02:03:36 pm Quote from: R. L. Day - April 28, 2019, 08:21:21 pmMy wife and I are 6 weeks into our maiden voyage, we are having a great time. Tonight we are in Casper Wyoming and the temperature is set to drop to 22 degrees. Should we be worried about freezing water lines?Checking Casper Wyoming's weather, it is getting into the high 40 and low 50s during the day, you will be OK .Do follow the advice given before about draining and putting hoses away and cover the cab opening.Larry
Re: Cold weather Reply #8 – April 29, 2019, 02:15:10 pm Quote from: hutch42 - April 29, 2019, 10:27:34 amAre Tank heating pads for black and grey an option with the LD's? I would assume that the fresh water tank and plumbing are inside the coach.12-volt and 120-AC heating pads are available for almost all tanks. If installing, consider wrapping the tanks in foam insulation board to increase the effectiveness of the pads.The fresh water system is inside the interior, the only thing that isn't are the optional showers (that a few folks have and probably never use).Freezing a holding tank usually doesn't result in damage.Larry 1 Likes
Re: Cold weather Reply #9 – April 29, 2019, 03:00:56 pm Thanks everyone, we will follow your recommendations. These are not issues we have at home in Hawaii. 1 Likes
Re: Cold weather Reply #10 – April 29, 2019, 03:26:29 pm Quote from: Larry W - April 29, 2019, 02:15:10 pm12-volt and 120-AC heating pads are available for almost all tanks. If installing, consider wrapping the tanks in foam insulation board to increase the effectiveness of the pads.The fresh water system is inside the interior, the only thing that isn't are the optional showers (that a few folks have and probably never use).Freezing a holding tank usually doesn't result in damage.LarrySo an after market install I assume.
Re: Cold weather Reply #11 – April 29, 2019, 03:36:05 pm "So an after market install I assume."----Yes. LD does not install "heat pads". The factory used to offer an option of a sprayed-on "foam" coating on the black and grey tanks; those that chose this option may comment on how well it worked for them and what the downsides were.
Re: Cold weather Reply #12 – April 29, 2019, 04:25:17 pm Randy, I trust you now know that, as long as you keep the inside of the rig warm, and you open the cabinets and access panels, you do not have to worry about your lines freezing. I have been in -20 temperatures, and for a week, it never got above 0 outside. I kept everything open, and kept it 65 inside. My holding tanks froze, but my fresh water tank and all my lines were just fine.Ken F in OR 1 Likes
Re: Cold weather Reply #13 – May 01, 2019, 11:42:19 am We flew in from Wisconsin the day before our scheduled pick up. The "day of", Steve looked at the sprayed on foam and decided he didn't like it. (Mind you, Wilma had been in their yard, paid for, for almost 3 months before we had enough time to get out there and drive her cross-country home).So off it came. Then in was re-foamed. Then it had to "cure". Then it had to be sanded and squared up. Then it had to be painted. Then it had to dry.Finally! we had the walk through. BTW, the transporter had been waiting around all that time, too.All in all, it was a crummy experience . Sat around all day waiting for something that had plenty of time to be fixed prior.To answer the question, was it worth it? It may have extended our camping season by a month or so, but we are always cautious with the plumbing systems anyway. The paint has flecked off in spots, but we just respray it and good as new. And the foam is starting to show some degradation...