East Coast travel in February

[mwitkus]

My husband and I have camped most of our lives but are new to the Class A motorhome/RV experience. We recently purchased a new to us Four Winds Hurricane and can't wait to begin traveling.

One of the trips we have planned is the journey south from MA to FL during the February school vacation. Obviously we realize snow may be an issue but we are willing to take that gamble. 😉 What we are really concerned about though is proper preparation of the RV for use in the winter month as we work our way South and back North again.

Does anyone have any tips for what we need to do to prepare?

[JoeH]

hilldude wrote:
Wen traveling to Fla and back take Rv anti freeze with you it may be hard to find in Fla. Winterize before reaching cold weather coming north,have antifreeze in tanks.Carry a small electric heater, saves on LP.Also carry windshield washer fluid,some in Fla are only good down to 32 deg.

There's plenty of "pink stuff" down here.... Wally World caries it as well as many other places. It does get reasonably cold here.

[Goldencrazy]

I stay winterized until I get south far enough that a park is open.until then use water containers and windshield washer to flush. Winterize in last open park coming home.

[bigbaddad]

From upstate NY down South at New Years. I put a 10 gal. tank in the wet bay with antifreeze in it. It's hooked up to diverter as in a normal winterize, which I do in October. I put about 50 gal. water in water tank but leave diverter on to antifreeze tank just to run toilet if an "urgency" comes up. Whenever I'm willing to risk it I flip the diverter and dewinterize. Flip the water heater bypass last. Very easy, and makes everything comfortable with a case or two of bottled water to live off. Never give temperature a second thought, even had below zero one year and freezing nights until two days into Florida.

[xctraveler]

We ran from Rochester NY to the south every Fall from 2002 to 2012 when I retired and did not have to wait for year end before getting out of town. Always turned on the heat and refrigerator a couple of days before departure and filled the FW tank as we were ready to roll. Did not dewinterize pipes until we needed them as we rolled. Usually our first overnight was in PA and we just ran everything. The only change we made from warm weather was we did not connect up water and sewer. We would drain black and gray before departure in the AM and stow the slinky. We were going where we had water day two in VA so did not bother about that. We then stayed at our son;s place in the VA mountains for a couple of weeks and often saw temps into the teens. Burned through a lot of propane but never froze anything. That was in an 04 Southwind and an 01 Damon before that. neither had heated tanks but the Southwind did have a furnace outlet in the wet bay. Kept a lit 100 watt light bulb for really cold nights.

[Bill_Satellite]

I guess my Prevost has better heat and insulation than many as well as diesel heat with its own thermostat in the wet bays. Even with that, for a bit of added piece of mind, while camping in Detroit for some part of the last 2 winters I added 2 100W work lights that were on all the time. This kept everything well above freezing (yes, I have a temp. sensor down there to make sure) even during the below zero temps we had to deal with.

[jpmihalk]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
I won't disagree as I don't know how all Class A's are setup. If a manufacturer put plumbing in bays which are not heated when the household heat comes on then this is new to me and the manufacturer should be flogged!
All of the Class A's should have plumbing in the bins (assuming you mean the storage bays underneath) and the areas where that plumbing runs should also be heated. If not, it's pretty simple to add a light bulb or small electric heater to cure the manufacturers errors.

Good point, our previous Class A had the water pump in an outside bay right next to the bay door and it seemed it would have frozen easily if not warmed by a light bulb or other heat source. It was refreshing to find a different Class A with heated and enclosed tanks so we did not have to find such workarounds. We have even brought along jugs of water after winterizing since we tend to use our Class A all year.

[Bill_Satellite]

jpmihalk wrote:
It is all about the weather. We actually go north during the December/January timeframe and boondock as we go to Buffalo Bills games. Last year we stayed for a week in the Orchard Park area and got a foot of snow and some howling winds, but as we were living in the RV everything stayed warm enough. (It also gave me a way to find every access point for freezing air to enter the RV and fix that!) Yes, you will run out of propane if you do this long enough (we were close to a Camping World to go refill) and if you don't have tank heaters or enclosed tanks, your tank contents may freeze (along with the pumps) so just be prepared.

In your case, a one day drive down to PA/MD shouldn't be too hard on you, but you never know about the weather. Be prepared to ride out a storm in a rest area or WalMart. After MD/VA you should be in good shape heading south along the I-95 corridor.

I'm not sure about your Hurricane, but ours has the water pump inside under the bed next to the fresh water tank. It should be safe from freezing as long as you keep the inside temps up and run the water occasionally.

I won't disagree as I don't know how all Class A's are setup. If a manufacturer put plumbing in bays which are not heated when the household heat comes on then this is new to me and the manufacturer should be flogged!
All of the Class A's should have plumbing in the bins (assuming you mean the storage bays underneath) and the areas where that plumbing runs should also be heated. If not, it's pretty simple to add a light bulb or small electric heater to cure the manufacturers errors.

[Dutch_12078]

We typically leave upstate NY in early January with our coach loaded just as it is any other time. The fresh tank is full when we leave and the waste tanks are empty. We do keep a small 700 watt electric heater with a thermostat in the wet bay for use during over night stops when the temps are forecast down into the mid 20's or lower. We travel down I88 to I81, stopping for the first night at the year round Jonestown, PA KOA.

Since we're usually still living in our coach when it's time head south after spending the holidays with our kids, de-winterizing isn't an issue for us, but in past years when we did winterize, we turned on the motorhome heat st at about 50 degF a couple of days before we left, turned on the fridge, and started loading clothes, non-perishable food, etc. The day before leaving, we loaded up the fridge and freezer with pre-cooled, pre-frozen items and filled the fresh water tank. On departure day, we turned up the heat to 70 degF, loaded any last minute items, unhooked the shorepower, made sure the house was prepped and locked, and headed out. These days, it's much easier and no different than leaving the cottage at any other time of the year. Lock the doors, hook up the toad, and roll out.

[jpmihalk]

It is all about the weather. We actually go north during the December/January timeframe and boondock as we go to Buffalo Bills games. Last year we stayed for a week in the Orchard Park area and got a foot of snow and some howling winds, but as we were living in the RV everything stayed warm enough. (It also gave me a way to find every access point for freezing air to enter the RV and fix that!) Yes, you will run out of propane if you do this long enough (we were close to a Camping World to go refill) and if you don't have tank heaters or enclosed tanks, your tank contents may freeze (along with the pumps) so just be prepared.

In your case, a one day drive down to PA/MD shouldn't be too hard on you, but you never know about the weather. Be prepared to ride out a storm in a rest area or WalMart. After MD/VA you should be in good shape heading south along the I-95 corridor.

I'm not sure about your Hurricane, but ours has the water pump inside under the bed next to the fresh water tank. It should be safe from freezing as long as you keep the inside temps up and run the water occasionally.

[Effy]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
My personal opinion (please re-read those first 3 words) is that once you get your RV ready to travel you need to fill your tanks with fresh water, ensure your holding tanks are empty and hit the road! Class A RV's are ready to travel in cold weather they just aren't ready to sit, unoccupied, in cold weather. So, if you want to travel from MA to FL all you need to do is go! As mentioned above you do need to check to see if there are campgrounds open where you plan to end your day but, if not, you can always overnight at a Wal-Mart, Flying J, rest area or similar location designed for this kind of an overnight (not camping, but parking overnight). The coach will keep you warm and all of your holding tanks warm so chilly/cold weather should not be an issue. Depending upon the size of your tanks and your ability to conserve water you should be good to go for at least a week and as long as 2 weeks without requiring campground hookups. Since it's unlikely you will have any plans to go that long without finding a campground your trip should be completely uneventful!

Sorry but this isn't totally accurate. For some units (Like the OP's) where some water lines and water pump are mounted in bins, freezing is a problem. Travelling with the heat on or sitting with the heat on, won't matter. Like I said, 2 years ago, I had the heat on, water heater on, ran the water frequently, but when the temps dip below the 20's you are at risk for freezing lines or the pump. Ask me how I know. 16 Degree temps and my water pump froze.

[OutdoorPhotogra]

You should be able to get to MD on day one. If you can find parking, perhaps do what is suggested above and stay in a hotel on day one. By end of day two you should find campgrounds.

I've lived in RI and FL. I feel better about someone in MA going to FL than vice versa. At least you know what you are up against if a Nor'easter hits. Be flexible and watch the weather a week out. You have to be prepared to cancel.

Also, the DC metro does not plow/salt like New England. A light snow can cause way more problems in VA/MD than it would in RI/MA.

[tatest]

I would make the trip with the RV winterized and stay in hotels and motels until I got where it was warm. Just because you are trying to move a RV, doesn't mean you have to try to live in it.

[Bill_Satellite]

My personal opinion (please re-read those first 3 words) is that once you get your RV ready to travel you need to fill your tanks with fresh water, ensure your holding tanks are empty and hit the road! Class A RV's are ready to travel in cold weather they just aren't ready to sit, unoccupied, in cold weather. So, if you want to travel from MA to FL all you need to do is go! As mentioned above you do need to check to see if there are campgrounds open where you plan to end your day but, if not, you can always overnight at a Wal-Mart, Flying J, rest area or similar location designed for this kind of an overnight (not camping, but parking overnight). The coach will keep you warm and all of your holding tanks warm so chilly/cold weather should not be an issue. Depending upon the size of your tanks and your ability to conserve water you should be good to go for at least a week and as long as 2 weeks without requiring campground hookups. Since it's unlikely you will have any plans to go that long without finding a campground your trip should be completely uneventful!

[hilldude]

Wen traveling to Fla and back take Rv anti freeze with you it may be hard to find in Fla. Winterize before reaching cold weather coming north,have antifreeze in tanks.Carry a small electric heater, saves on LP.Also carry windshield washer fluid,some in Fla are only good down to 32 deg.