20 degrees Lafayette, LA tonite, any special precautions I should take? 31'IB January 15, 2024, 06:12:30 pm I don't think I have time to winterize it, not sure how long that takes
Re: 20 degrees Lafayette, LA tonite, any special precautions I should take? 31'IB Reply #1 – January 15, 2024, 06:43:38 pm Are you staying in the RV? Just keep the heat on, maybe open so drawers or doors around the water tank/pump area. For 1 night you should be fine. If you have an outside shower, consider draining/shaking was much water as you can out of it if you can get the shower head off. Rich 1 Likes
Re: 20 degrees Lafayette, LA tonite, any special precautions I should take? 31'IB Reply #2 – January 15, 2024, 06:58:40 pm "Are you staying in the RV?"Not a problem as long as you keep yourself warm, open the cupboard doors below the sinks to allow air circulation. The forecast is only for two nights, Tues. and Wednesday, you will be fine! 1 Likes
Re: 20 degrees Lafayette, LA tonite, any special precautions I should take? 31'IB Reply #3 – January 15, 2024, 07:20:47 pm No, not camping in LD, so since I posted, I plugged it in, turned on the propane furnace 1/3-1/2, and opened the kitchen and bath lower cabinets.I also turned the pump off (it was off of course) and let any water inside the fixture to drain out to sink Anything else? Thanks in advance and appreciate your response RICH & Lazy Bones 👏👏👏💪
Re: 20 degrees Lafayette, LA tonite, any special precautions I should take? 31'IB Reply #4 – January 15, 2024, 07:47:05 pm Tiger, In April, I took my LD and my daughter to the south rim Mather CG at the Grand Canyon. We were caught in a heavy snowstorm that froze my dump valves closed. My quick remedy was to wrap my dump valves (RB valves are interconnected) with an electric heating pad. I then wrapped the pad with a beach towel and tied it altogether with twine. I ran a 12 foot extension cord out the dinette window (the dump valve side of the rig) to power up the pad set on high. Since the valves were already frozen, it took about 2 1/2 days to defrost the black tank valve and a short drive to one of the canyon sites to defrost the gray tank valve. If your concern is preventing such a “Frozen” state then doing as I did will most likely prevent the valves from freezing.Inside pipes and water pump can be heated by opening the cabinet door (and in the RB case the bottom closet drawer where the fresh water pump resides) to the pump and allowing warm coach air to circulate. This is what I’ve done per Todd’s recommendations. Works perfectly.All this is mute of course if temps only go below freezing for a day or two as it takes a few days of constant cold to freeze interior and exterior from what I’ve heard. But for me, I won’t risk it again.I’ve since installed RV dump valve heating pads to my external dump valves. This really saved my bacon during my recent December trip to Yosemite Valley.If you’re interested in the kit I purchased on Amazon to keep my dump valves from freezing, I’d be glad to link the items for you.Stay warm, friend.Kent
Re: 20 degrees Lafayette, LA tonite, any special precautions I should take? 31'IB Reply #5 – January 15, 2024, 08:06:17 pm If the daytime temps are above freezing, you should be fine. As Kent pointed out, the dump valves are the first to freeze, it doesn’t seem to bother the tanks or valves, once thawed. Our LD has thermostatically controlled, 120-VAC heating tape wrapped around the dump valves and gray tank plumbing for thawing frozen valves and for long-term camping in below freezing weather.Larry
Re: 20 degrees Lafayette, LA tonite, any special precautions I should take? 31'IB Reply #6 – January 15, 2024, 08:31:16 pm I’d consider draining the HW heater, placing a heavy blanket or quilt to block the front cab from the living space, close all the blinds, and as others have said, open all the cabinet doors with plumbing. If the water pump in your LD has an access door, then open or remove the door. Hope this helps. 1 Likes