Low Of 1 Degree!!!

[Cmccain13]

Ok so disclaimer I am from Texas and I am not used to cold temps like this. its not going to get above freezing Sunday till Wednesday (its now Thursday) on Monday it will not get above 15 degrees and a low of 1 degree. I am not in a 4 seasons rig I'm in a Class C 2021. SO how worried should I be that **** is gonna freeze and break on me? I will be of course in the rig the full time. We have a space heater that helps but its a pretty weak one. Any help will be appreciated.

[Cmccain13]

hl remington wrote:
Why not winterzie camper, cant take more than 15-20 min.

HL

Well i live in it full time. but i had planned on doing that (well semi winterizing) and when i went to drain the black tank it had already frozen solid.

[valhalla360]

hl remington wrote:
Why not winterzie camper, cant take more than 15-20 min.

HL

A little late now.

Also if the OP was staying in the RV, tough to do it for a week with no water.

[hl_remington]

Why not winterzie camper, cant take more than 15-20 min.

HL

[Cmccain13]

valhalla360 wrote:

Cmccain13 wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
How are you holding up?

We are down in the RGV and been without power since yesterday morning but we've got enough propane and the generator is running. Plus it's probably not quite as cold as up where you are.

well were holding up all right. I had a great plan of attack but all got thrown out the window when I went to dump the black tank it had already frozen solid so I tried to dump some really hot water down the top and start to thaw the bottom as well and now I just added to the ice cube and its completely full. so I'm worried about the condition of it I don't see any leaks or ice sickles down there so I don't think that it ruptured but I'm not 100% sure. I reaaaaaaaaly don't want to have to deal with that mess, so here's to hoping. also we have ice everywhere in the rig, on all the windows and a lot of the corners of the floor and wall. so imp worried about mold in the future. but I think there would need to be a more of an abundance of water than that to really have that affect on mold. but everyone is fine and the snow here is absolutely gorgeous so silver linings. are you in Texas or was your state already prepared for something like this;

Going to be tough to assess until it thaws. Hopefully no major damage.

We are in the Rio Grande Valley at the moment and it's a total cluster around here. Low 20's at night and they closed the freeway, power out, hunger games to get gas or propane. Back home in Michigan, it would be a non-event. Daytime is getting above freezing, so we just left the waste tanks open. We are having to run the generator as the power is out but otherwise no major concerns.

Good to hear but man that gas and propane situation is a bummer. luckily I filled up on Friday and at our current rate I will be good until mid next week before ill need again. its finally out of the single digits up here near DFW so by tomorrow i think we will get some above freezing temperatures. my tanks actually hang out in the open under the rig and i think thats where i went wrong. the wind was just ripping though underneath and i though i had more time than i did to dump before the deep freeze.

[valhalla360]

Cmccain13 wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
How are you holding up?

We are down in the RGV and been without power since yesterday morning but we've got enough propane and the generator is running. Plus it's probably not quite as cold as up where you are.

well were holding up all right. I had a great plan of attack but all got thrown out the window when I went to dump the black tank it had already frozen solid so I tried to dump some really hot water down the top and start to thaw the bottom as well and now I just added to the ice cube and its completely full. so I'm worried about the condition of it I don't see any leaks or ice sickles down there so I don't think that it ruptured but I'm not 100% sure. I reaaaaaaaaly don't want to have to deal with that mess, so here's to hoping. also we have ice everywhere in the rig, on all the windows and a lot of the corners of the floor and wall. so imp worried about mold in the future. but I think there would need to be a more of an abundance of water than that to really have that affect on mold. but everyone is fine and the snow here is absolutely gorgeous so silver linings. are you in Texas or was your state already prepared for something like this;

Going to be tough to assess until it thaws. Hopefully no major damage.

We are in the Rio Grande Valley at the moment and it's a total cluster around here. Low 20's at night and they closed the freeway, power out, hunger games to get gas or propane. Back home in Michigan, it would be a non-event. Daytime is getting above freezing, so we just left the waste tanks open. We are having to run the generator as the power is out but otherwise no major concerns.

[Cmccain13]

valhalla360 wrote:
How are you holding up?

We are down in the RGV and been without power since yesterday morning but we've got enough propane and the generator is running. Plus it's probably not quite as cold as up where you are.

well were holding up all right. I had a great plan of attack but all got thrown out the window when I went to dump the black tank it had already frozen solid so I tried to dump some really hot water down the top and start to thaw the bottom as well and now I just added to the ice cube and its completely full. so I'm worried about the condition of it I don't see any leaks or ice sickles down there so I don't think that it ruptured but I'm not 100% sure. I reaaaaaaaaly don't want to have to deal with that mess, so here's to hoping. also we have ice everywhere in the rig, on all the windows and a lot of the corners of the floor and wall. so imp worried about mold in the future. but I think there would need to be a more of an abundance of water than that to really have that affect on mold. but everyone is fine and the snow here is absolutely gorgeous so silver linings. are you in Texas or was your state already prepared for something like this;

[valhalla360]

How are you holding up?

We are down in the RGV and been without power since yesterday morning but we've got enough propane and the generator is running. Plus it's probably not quite as cold as up where you are.

[Cmccain13]

valhalla360 wrote:

Cmccain13 wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
Just convert to metric...1 C and it's not an issue (just kidding)

Where are you in Texas and is there anything stopping you from moving?

We are down in the RGV and our worst day is projected to be around 30F. Even up by Corpus Christie the worst is only around 23F for the worst low. (check the weather maps, it might make sense to head east or west rather than south)

As a full timer, my first choice would be to get to a warmer area.

Yes, 1F is challenging in an RV. If you can't move:
- Fill the Fresh Water tank and disconnect the hose.
- Assuming you are on a full hookup, drain the tanks and leave the valves open just before the first freeze. Try to limit water usage if you can as the waste hose will still freeze up.
- If the water system is in an underbelly compartment consider putting a work light with a 75w bulb inside (be careful that it doesn't rest against anything that could catch fire).
- Open the cabinet doors around any water pipes, so interior heat can get in.
- Fill the propane tanks and plan on where you are going to refill them (We got caught in -5F for a few days one year and we were going thru a 30lb tank per day...the park wound up restricting propane fills to park residents)
- If you have an electric heater, that can help. (during that time we were down to -5F, the furnace running full time and a space heater and we were still only up to the 50F's inside).
- If you don't already have it, go to home depot and pick up some reflectics (it's silver backed bubble wrap insulation). Then fit that to the windows and hatches to help trap heat.

Plan on a few miserable days.

I'm really only worried about the tanks and the pipes. Do you think putting some anti freeze down the tanks? It's only gonna be bad for like 36 hours. Also I was thinking about pulling in the slide outs to make the space smaller.

I was going to come back and add a comment about the slides. As long as it's reasonably livable, pulling them in will help.

The water systems are the primary concern but if you run out of propane, a new set of problems piles on top.

Drain the tanks, close the valves and put a gallon or two of antifreeze into each waste tank is viable. The only issue is how much water will you add. If you aren't going to use the waste tanks (go up to the camp bathhouse), that is perfect. If you use the tanks, as you dilute the antifreeze, the temp it protects against starts increasing. 1 gal of antifreeze in a tank with 30-40gal of waste water is likely going to freeze up when you are down to 1F.

Ok good to know. Yeah I would be dumping the tank the night before it gets really cold and then doing the anti freeze we can hold off on waste tanks for the day and a half it's going to get insaine.

[Bill_Satellite]

For a cold snap of such a short period you really don't need to do too much. If you can keep the furnace running (set to 55-60 over night) it will blow warm air into the wet bay and keep it above 32 degrees. FILL the fresh water tank as it will absorb heat during the day/evening when you have the furnace running and return that heat to the cooling areas at night. You won't need anti-freeze and you won't need to stop using any of the facilities. Just be sure you don't run out of propane! Assuming you have an electrical plug in the wet bay somewhere you can plug in a worklight with a "real" bulb and the heat will help keep things warm. They also sell "personal heaters" that put out about 250 watts. Leave one of these in the wet bay with access to the tanks and plumbing and everything will remain toasty warm.
THIS ALL ASSUMES that your dump lines and pipes are all internal to your coach. If you have any plumbing hanging under the coach then you will want to wrap that with insulation to prevent water in the pipe from freezing. Where is the dump valve located? Inside a heated bay? If so, the outside pipes are of no concern as it/they will be empty.
We have camped in negative # degrees many times for extended periods without issue but all of our plumbing is internal and stays toasty warm. We also put a remote temperature probe in the bay to ensure we are always aware of the temps down there.
Our job has taken us to Minot, ND this year and we are there now. HOWEVER, we chose to drive the car and stay in the company condo as it was -21 this morning and it will have been 2 weeks since they have seen a temperature above 0! "A man has got to know his limitations" (or something like that).

[valhalla360]

Cmccain13 wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
Just convert to metric...1 C and it's not an issue (just kidding)

Where are you in Texas and is there anything stopping you from moving?

We are down in the RGV and our worst day is projected to be around 30F. Even up by Corpus Christie the worst is only around 23F for the worst low. (check the weather maps, it might make sense to head east or west rather than south)

As a full timer, my first choice would be to get to a warmer area.

Yes, 1F is challenging in an RV. If you can't move:
- Fill the Fresh Water tank and disconnect the hose.
- Assuming you are on a full hookup, drain the tanks and leave the valves open just before the first freeze. Try to limit water usage if you can as the waste hose will still freeze up.
- If the water system is in an underbelly compartment consider putting a work light with a 75w bulb inside (be careful that it doesn't rest against anything that could catch fire).
- Open the cabinet doors around any water pipes, so interior heat can get in.
- Fill the propane tanks and plan on where you are going to refill them (We got caught in -5F for a few days one year and we were going thru a 30lb tank per day...the park wound up restricting propane fills to park residents)
- If you have an electric heater, that can help. (during that time we were down to -5F, the furnace running full time and a space heater and we were still only up to the 50F's inside).
- If you don't already have it, go to home depot and pick up some reflectics (it's silver backed bubble wrap insulation). Then fit that to the windows and hatches to help trap heat.

Plan on a few miserable days.

I'm really only worried about the tanks and the pipes. Do you think putting some anti freeze down the tanks? It's only gonna be bad for like 36 hours. Also I was thinking about pulling in the slide outs to make the space smaller.

I was going to come back and add a comment about the slides. As long as it's reasonably livable, pulling them in will help.

The water systems are the primary concern but if you run out of propane, a new set of problems piles on top.

Drain the tanks, close the valves and put a gallon or two of antifreeze into each waste tank is viable. The only issue is how much water will you add. If you aren't going to use the waste tanks (go up to the camp bathhouse), that is perfect. If you use the tanks, as you dilute the antifreeze, the temp it protects against starts increasing. 1 gal of antifreeze in a tank with 30-40gal of waste water is likely going to freeze up when you are down to 1F.

[Cmccain13]

valhalla360 wrote:
Just convert to metric...1 C and it's not an issue (just kidding)

Where are you in Texas and is there anything stopping you from moving?

We are down in the RGV and our worst day is projected to be around 30F. Even up by Corpus Christie the worst is only around 23F for the worst low. (check the weather maps, it might make sense to head east or west rather than south)

As a full timer, my first choice would be to get to a warmer area.

Yes, 1F is challenging in an RV. If you can't move:
- Fill the Fresh Water tank and disconnect the hose.
- Assuming you are on a full hookup, drain the tanks and leave the valves open just before the first freeze. Try to limit water usage if you can as the waste hose will still freeze up.
- If the water system is in an underbelly compartment consider putting a work light with a 75w bulb inside (be careful that it doesn't rest against anything that could catch fire).
- Open the cabinet doors around any water pipes, so interior heat can get in.
- Fill the propane tanks and plan on where you are going to refill them (We got caught in -5F for a few days one year and we were going thru a 30lb tank per day...the park wound up restricting propane fills to park residents)
- If you have an electric heater, that can help. (during that time we were down to -5F, the furnace running full time and a space heater and we were still only up to the 50F's inside).
- If you don't already have it, go to home depot and pick up some reflectics (it's silver backed bubble wrap insulation). Then fit that to the windows and hatches to help trap heat.

Plan on a few miserable days.

I'm really only worried about the tanks and the pipes. Do you think putting some anti freeze down the tanks? It's only gonna be bad for like 36 hours. Also I was thinking about pulling in the slide outs to make the space smaller.

[JimK-NY]

RV=recreational vehicle. Personally I find little recreation that I like when the weather is really cold. I start up the engine and leave.

[valhalla360]

Just convert to metric...1 C and it's not an issue (just kidding)

Where are you in Texas and is there anything stopping you from moving?

We are down in the RGV and our worst day is projected to be around 30F. Even up by Corpus Christie the worst is only around 23F for the worst low. (check the weather maps, it might make sense to head east or west rather than south)

As a full timer, my first choice would be to get to a warmer area.

Yes, 1F is challenging in an RV. If you can't move:
- Fill the Fresh Water tank and disconnect the hose.
- Assuming you are on a full hookup, drain the tanks and leave the valves open just before the first freeze. Try to limit water usage if you can as the waste hose will still freeze up.
- If the water system is in an underbelly compartment consider putting a work light with a 75w bulb inside (be careful that it doesn't rest against anything that could catch fire).
- Open the cabinet doors around any water pipes, so interior heat can get in.
- Fill the propane tanks and plan on where you are going to refill them (We got caught in -5F for a few days one year and we were going thru a 30lb tank per day...the park wound up restricting propane fills to park residents)
- If you have an electric heater, that can help. (during that time we were down to -5F, the furnace running full time and a space heater and we were still only up to the 50F's inside).
- If you don't already have it, go to home depot and pick up some reflectics (it's silver backed bubble wrap insulation). Then fit that to the windows and hatches to help trap heat.

Plan on a few miserable days.

[2oldman]

I'd be worried. Move the space heater to be near pipes on the basement and run the furnace. Keep your water heater on.

That is some serious cold.