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steve68 · 10-18-2014, 08:06 PM

Well, after a few months of looking for the right deal we finally bought this 2013 Interstate. My wife has been obsessed with them for a while now making me pull into every parking lot with one in it just to just so she could see one up close. It's still a little hard to believe we have one parked just outside our house.

After some negotiating over the phone, we finally agreed on a price with a private seller and made the 800 mile trip up to Montana from our home in Northern Colorado. Having never been inside one we were unsure if we were going to be disappointed with the interior space of the living quarters. You can look at a thousand pictures online but until you're actually in one it's hard to get a feel of the space. We were given the grand tour by the soon to be previous owner and had no doubt that this is what we wanted. We did the necessary financial transaction and hit the road back home. The trip back went smooth with no major problems.

This is our first RV for us so learning the in's and out's of all the components onboard can be a little overwhelming. I'v spent the last few evenings reading the manuals and going over past threads on this site which has helped me get familiar with things. I've taken the attitude that this is going to be a journey both figuratively and literarily so I'm excited to get things started.

I have a question I was hoping to get some help with. We will have it stored outside our house this winter and are planning on using it for weekend trips. Is it going to be enough to have it plugged in with furnace and tank heaters to keep it from freezing on cold days or do I need to go ahead and winterize the whole thing?

Ron_CA · 10-18-2014, 10:55 PM

Welcome aboard. Wealth of information here that will far exceed the somewhat confusing and sometimes outdated manuals.

Not real sure on your question but don't think I would leave furnace on.

Have fun with your new baby.

Lily&Me · 10-19-2014, 03:47 AM

Congratulations, and welcome.

You live in Colorado......it's going to freeze there, isn't it? You have a real winter? I would winterize.

Take water for drinking and coffee/tea and use public facilities if you go camping. Or, just use it and the frig for day trips and wait til the spring thaw to really try it out.

Enjoy!

Maggie

Bikerbill · 10-19-2014, 05:56 AM

Sitting outside in freezing weather with only tank heaters and inside heat on will not take care of the drain lines, water heater and the macerator pump. You'll need to drain the water heater and close the by-pass valves, or leave the water heater electric switch on. I'd winterize it and just carry drinking water in bottles and carry some RV antifreeze to flush toilet with. If you winterize you won't have to run the tank heater pads then either.

And rather than using propane for heat, you could place an electric heater in the cabin and keep the inside warmed up that way. We carry a 1000 watt ceramic heater and when we are at a campground with electric we normally heat with that.

73shark · 10-19-2014, 09:27 AM

Welcome to the Airforums.

There is at least one thread on the forum that deals with winterizing in excruciating detail with lots of ideas.

Protagonist · 10-19-2014, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTN Nomads

We will have it stored outside our house this winter and are planning on using it for weekend trips. Is it going to be enough to have it plugged in with furnace and tank heaters to keep it from freezing on cold days or do I need to go ahead and winterize the whole thing?

I've been camping in mine during freezing temperatures, so I'll take a stab at these questions:

Furnace and tank heaters will keep it warm enough - EXCEPT the macerator pump can freeze, and so can the check valves at the municipal water inlet and the black tank flush fitting. Those are not heated by the furnace and not protected by the tank heaters, and so are subject to freezing.

Also, it's generally considered a bad idea to run propane-fueled appliances such as the furnace while they're left unattended. Open flames— including inside the furnace— require a real live person to monitor them, lest you burn a lot more than just the propane! Not to mention, what happens if it runs out of propane and you don't realize it soon enough?

Last winter, I winterized FIVE times, because a week or two after I winterized, there was another opportunity for a camping weekend and when I got back I had to winterize again. You probably ought to consider winterizing that way as well. If nothing else, you'll get very good at it, very quickly!

Kwils25 · 10-19-2014, 02:01 PM

Congratulations on your purchase, a nice looking rig. You're going to love it!

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steve68 · 10-21-2014, 08:02 PM

Thanks everyone for the welcoming and advice! We are really excited and have a trip planned to go explore in the next week.

MILATV · 10-26-2014, 08:29 AM

Congrats!

I live in Illinois & winterized 4-5 times last year. Get a nice air compressor to blow the lines out with & a few gallons of antifreeze to winterize the pump & external shower; and it isn't that hard (except for getting to the dang Hot Water bypass if you need hot water). There are some nice checklists on the forum (here is a good one).

My advise is to always winterize it; but that is probably because the last thing I want to worry about is a freaking broken waterline somewhere when I head out on a trip.

A few $$/gallon for antifreeze and 45 minutes work is worth not having to pull out the cabinets to get to the leaking line.

On two trips I just put gallon jugs in the bathroom and used RV Antifreeze to flush the toilet. You can go without the water tank fine if you don't need the shower; and antifreeze in black water tank will keep the macerator pump from freezing when you pump out.