RV Winter use HELP

[NewRVerOH]

Hello, hoping someone can help. I am going to have to start storing my RV (Class A Fleetwood Southwind) in an unheated storage unit. My issue is we use it in the winter for tailgating football games. Previously it was stored in a heated facility so it was never an issue. My question is I need to have water etc kept warm inside the new non heated unit. Should I simply run the furnace in the RV? Is that sufficient for keeping everything warm enough? Should I put a heater in the RV for while it is sitting in storage instead. I do not want any pipes to freeze, etc but winterizing is not an option as I use it for tailgating. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[IB853347201]

Simple answer. Unless you have a heated basement, heated tanks, and all water lines located well away from the outside walls, you will have issues. Even with your furnace on.

Electric heaters may help somewhat but the BTU output of an average electric space heater of 3-4000 BTU's is of nothing compared to your Furnace of 35-45,000 BTU's.

Another consideratino is propane consumption. With your furnace on it won't a take long to empty the tank once the temperature falls below freezing....

[pianotuna]

Hi Doug,

I sometimes find your posts a little aggressive.

SDparkowner came up with a MUCH better reason to not use propane. I.E. CO production. I missed that factor in the OP's post.

For my RV, when I was storing, I had an 875 amp-hour battery bank and 256 watts of solar. That would have been sufficient to run the furnace for quite a long power failure. My duty cycle on the furnace to keep the RV above freezing would be about 6:1 at 0 C (32 f). i.e. ten minutes of run time per hour.

I'm well aware of just how much 120 volt power would be required to keep my own 28 footer from freezing up. But again that may not be of use to the OP as my RV has all sorts of extra cold weather modifications.

I agree with you that keeping an RV at 20 C (68 f) takes a lot more energy than to keep it from freeze up. But my RV furnace would certainly not run constantly at 0 c (32 f). In fact it does not run constantly even at -37 c (-34 f).


In his shoes (or mine) I would make the effort to winterize between trips.

dougrainer wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

If you decide to go the electric heat route, then do leave the propane furnace "on" but at a low setting. That way if the power does fail the RV won't freeze.

Really? I have to explain to MY customers why this is not a good idea. You leave the furnace on in case the 120 power fails. OK, HOW long do you expect the BATTERIES to last when you have lost power and it is BELOW 32 degrees and that means the furnace will run almost 24/7.

[pianotuna]

Very good point.

westernrvparkowner wrote:
RV furnace in an enclosed garage could be deadly. Electric space heaters may work.

[dougrainer]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

If you decide to go the electric heat route, then do leave the propane furnace "on" but at a low setting. That way if the power does fail the RV won't freeze.

Really? I have to explain to MY customers why this is not a good idea. You leave the furnace on in case the 120 power fails. OK, HOW long do you expect the BATTERIES to last when you have lost power and it is BELOW 32 degrees and that means the furnace will run almost 24/7. THEN, you have to be available to react if this happens. What if you have a bad storm that restricts movement on the roads. Then you have a very nasty expensive busted up water system in the RV. I LIKE these scenario's. Keeps me busy and makes good money come spring:B Doug

[wa8yxm]

I would buy an air compressor. at least 6 gallons, and at least 150 PSI peak pressure. also a regulator (pressure regulator) if not so equipped (most 150 PSI compressors are) ..and a blow out plug.

When you finish a tailgate. Find a dump station and empty. If you can lollygag there a while take your compressor and open every valve you got (Faucets, Low points. Water heater drain) and bypass the heater (Open TPR valve too (manual lever) let the water heater drain.. See note below.

Now blow gabriel Blow, Blow the lines till the compressor runs out of air. Then go inside and open the water pump inlet strainer and run the pump for a minute. OH, make coffee before you do all this. Have a cup. while the compressor builds back up pressure.. Then BLOW again, and again and again. After the first blow if you used the ice maker cycle it (Forced cycle) then go out and shut off the water feed after it has drained back.

DO this till you get no more water out (5-10 times) and then go home and park it.

[westernrvparkow]

RV furnace in an enclosed garage could be deadly. Electric space heaters may work. Much depends on the weather. A couple of days with lows in the 20s, you would be fine. Three weeks deep sub zero, potential problems. Too many variables for one size fits all answer.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

If you decide to go the electric heat route, then do leave the propane furnace "on" but at a low setting. That way if the power does fail the RV won't freeze.

[Busskipper]

NewRVerOH wrote:
Hello, hoping someone can help. I am going to have to start storing my RV (Class A Fleetwood Southwind) in an unheated storage unit. My issue is we use it in the winter for tailgating football games. Previously it was stored in a heated facility so it was never an issue. My question is I need to have water etc kept warm inside the new non heated unit. Should I simply run the furnace in the RV? Is that sufficient for keeping everything warm enough? Should I put a heater in the RV for while it is sitting in storage instead. I do not want any pipes to freeze, etc but winterizing is not an option as I use it for tailgating. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Just use air - easy and Fast - Or you can leave the Heat on and fill the Propane after every game.

https://www.thefitrv.com/rv-tips/how-to-quickly-winterize-your-rv/

Best of Luck from a former tailgater...............

[gbopp]

ksg5000 wrote:
I winterize by blowing the lines with air. When I want to use I add water and go.

X2, it's easy to drain the tanks and blow out the lines...
Add pink stuff to the traps and you're good.
The process is quick and much cheaper than trying to keep the lines warm.

What happens if there is a power outage during a winter storm?

[wallynm]

So I do not understand why winterizing is not an option. It is always an option if one wants to take the time and effort to do it. We carried water in 5 gallon plastic cans for the potty in the winter. Carried bottle water for drinking and cooking for over 40 years for winter traveling.

If you are in a non heated garage and it gets below freezing for several hours at time then yes you need heat of some sort. We had heating pads in our last RV for the holding tanks. Put a 40 watt incandescent bulb in the back of the refrigerator outside opening if you have an ice maker. Put as many 100 watt incandescent in the tank bays and under the sink area to keep them warm Don"t use new type of bulbs as they don't put off enough heat.

NewRVerOH wrote:
Hello, hoping someone can help. I am going to have to start storing my RV (Class A Fleetwood Southwind) in an unheated storage unit. My issue is we use it in the winter for tailgating football games. Previously it was stored in a heated facility so it was never an issue. My question is I need to have water etc kept warm inside the new non heated unit. Should I simply run the furnace in the RV? Is that sufficient for keeping everything warm enough? Should I put a heater in the RV for while it is sitting in storage instead. I do not want any pipes to freeze, etc but winterizing is not an option as I use it for tailgating. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[NewRVerOH]

Thanks for the replies. I am trying to figure out my best options here. Is a heater for the black and gray water tanks and the fresh water tank an option that can be added aftermarket. I will be able to plug the unit in, while in storage. I even thought of leaving one or two heaters, the oil type that are sealed, in the unit while in storage instead of using the furnace, in order to keep all of the pipes and tanks warm?

[ksg5000]

I winterize by blowing the lines with air. When I want to use I add water and go.

[DrewE]

What you need to do, and what is most economical and the least burdensome to do, really depends a lot on how your particular motorhome is set up and equipped. I'm assuming it's at least somewhat capable of winter operation since you are doing that already, and so has provisions to keep the plumbing systems from freezing when being used in the winter.

If the motorhome is winter capable (and so has the tanks enclosed and heated, the pipes within the insulated space of the RV, etc.), then typically running the furnace ought to be sufficient. Using a space heater is often not as good as it doesn't circulate the heat to the mechanical areas of the RV as well--often there's a bit of duct from the furnace to the wet bay. Some people install fans to circulate air through the ductwork and use a space heater, or put another heater in the wet bay, or rig up some other means of keeping everything warm...what might work really depends on your RV's setup.

Be prepared to use a fair amount of propane keeping things warm. Needless to say, running out would be a real problem. On the whole, I personally think it's preferable to winterize between uses (blowing the lines out with an air compressor rather than pumping antifreeze through them makes that somewhat more palatable to do repeatedly, though it's still a chore) or simply to avoid using the plumbing system when tailgating, but obviously it's your call.

[Mfan]

Of course winterizing is an option. Carry bottles water. Put antifreeze in drain.