When we last left him, we were safe and sound in Tacoma and the Christmas holidays were fast approaching. I promised we’d let you know how the RV handles freezing weather.
Cold Weather VR Lessons:
It was December, but freezing temperatures in Tacoma are rare. So when the temperature the first night there dropped to 20 (-9 C) it took us by surprise.
This is what happened:
- The hose that connected us to the water froze
- The plastic pipe leading to the fresh water tank froze
- The gas/propane furnace ran most of the night.
I need to tell you that our Rexhall Aerbus is a good quality motorhome and all pipes are closed off and access is via a sealed outer container. We thought it would be enough if the temperatures dropped to zero or a little less. The truth is, if it had only been a couple of degrees below zero, we probably would have been fine. The problem was that it got more than a little below freezing!
Lesson 1 – How to prevent pipes from freezing
If your water connections or any of your water lines are exposed to the outside, even freezing temperatures can freeze and crack your lines. Even if your fill lines and points are enclosed in bins or compartments, if those areas are not heavily insulated and heated, just having a sewer line or water hose coming out of an access hole can cause sub-zero temperatures. and problems… as we learned firsthand.
Our simple solution was to wrap heat tape with a built-in temperature sensor (about $20.00 USD) around the exposed pipes and valves. We got it at the local hardware store. It is the type designed for water lines outside or in confined spaces. It looks like an electrical extension cord with no plug at the end.
When we’re in an area that has possible sub-zero temperatures, we simply plug the heat tape into our full hookup power box via an extra extension cord (heavy duty) and the sensor takes care of turning itself on when needed.
That’s all we needed to keep the container and connections from freezing up. We don’t hook up the water hose in sub-zero temperatures, we just fill the fresh water tank as needed. If you were to stay in one place over the winter, you could use another heat tape and some insulation wrapped around the hose to keep the hose from freezing too.
For boodocking or dry camping, you can also pack the compartment with insulation or heavily insulate the exterior water lines to prevent them from freezing in all but the coldest temperatures.
Lesson 2 – Heat guns and plastic water lines don’t mix
My dad had a heat gun that he used to heat shrink cables and windows. We decided to use that to heat the pipes and get the water pump working again.
BIG MISTAKE!
Well, using the heat gun was a good idea, we just didn’t know how hot and how fast it could work. Instead of slowly heating the entire compartment, I made the mistake of blowing directly on the plastic water lines.
In less than two minutes, it had heated the plastic water line so well that it softened and with the water line being pressurized by the pump… It formed a bubble like gum and burst.
I was lucky, my dad had just remodeled his kitchen and had the right size plastic water line handy. So all he had to do was finish defrosting things, slowly, and then fix the broken water line. It was just two fixtures, about 8 inches of a new plastic water line, the heat gun to heat the ends, and everything was bolted back together in less than 30 minutes. Like I said, I was lucky to be where I had the tools and supplies to fix it myself.
It could easily have been a couple hundred dollars worth of repairs if I had to have a repair shop do it.
In Conclusion: RVs, fifth wheels, and other recreational vehicles can withstand freezing temperatures. You just need to use a little common sense and have a backup plan for when things don’t work out.
- Don’t let colder weather keep you from enjoying your RV all year long.
- Test your cold weather skills near your home or family, just in case.
- Have extra incandescent lights and insulation on hand for backup and repairs
- Always thaw frozen pipes and tanks slowly – To fast and think they can break
As we travel throughout the year, we’ll keep you posted on what we learn (the hard way) and how you can avoid the same mistakes (the easy way).