Weather question ASAP

[kfrere]

My van is kept in our RV garage. We are expecting snow/sleet/freezing temps tonight and tomorrow. It is imperative that I be at my office tomorrow. I have a 30 amp plug on the side of my office building and am thinking about parking the van there to be there in case roads are treacherous tomorrow.

Im not worried about staying warm, and will turn tank heaters on. But, Am I risking any damage to equipment outside my van such as the solar panel, etc. because of the ice factor?



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[AnnArborBob]

If you can keep the inside of the van heated to avoid frozen pipes, nothing on the outside will be affected by snow, sleet or ice unless a tree branch falls on it.

[paiceman]

Airstreams are designed to be used, outside - what AnnArborBob said

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by kfrere

Im not worried about staying warm, and will turn tank heaters on. But, Am I risking any damage to equipment outside my van such as the solar panel, etc. because of the ice factor?

The only things affected by freezing temps/ice will be:

1 - Macerator pump. It traps some water and is not heated, so it will freeze. Not a problem as long as you don't try to use it until it thaws. The small amount of trapped water won't break anything inside the pump if you ran it dry for a few seconds last time you dumped, but it will cause you to blow the fuse if you turn it on while frozen.
2 - Municipal Water Inlet. The check valve and pressure regulator can trap a small amount of water, and even with the interior heated, the inlet itself can freeze. Keep the galley lower cabinets/drawers open to allow furnace heat to reach the fitting from inside.
3 - Exterior Shower Fitting. Ditto.
4 - Discharge Hose. The hose is coiled vertically on the drum, so if you didn't unreel the entire hose last time you dumped your black and gray tanks, it's possible for water to be trapped in the loops of hose on the reel. That's why I've gotten in the habit of unreeling all 20 feet of hose every time I dump the tanks even if the sewer connection/dump station is only five feet away.

Try to avoid using the sliding side door if there is a glaze of ice on the van; the retractable step can be frozen in place and its motor may not be strong enough to break it free. Another chance for a blown fuse. This is really only a problem in the case of freezing rain/sleet, but forewarned is forearmed.

I've been camping in my Interstate in below-freezing temperatures, and those were the only things that ever caused me problems then.

[gmillerok1]

Protag, I agree with you on every point but one: Because the pump is at the same level as the 3" PVC pipe to the tank, when the level of the water being pumped falls below the top of the pipe, the pump starts pumping air. At that point, the macerator cannot ever be drained of all the fluid and it can possibly freeze in extreme cold and ruin the pump, no matter how long you run the macerator. Water can't be pumped when there is half air in the pipe. I would guess that a good two or three gallons are left in the 3" pipe back to the tanks that never fully drains out because the pipe is at the same level as the pump. It will expand and break the seals. The only way to protect the pump of extreme cold is to drain it by pulling off the hose (hence my mod to add a Flex-T and adapter). Even with anti-freeze, it will still freeze if it get extremely cold unless you use many gallons of the stuff since there is so much water left in the pipes behind the pump. I learned that lesson the hard way. If Airstream had simply placed the pump about 1.5" lower, then the level of the liquid would be below the top of the pipe, and all the water could be removed. To make matters worse, they rivet the mounting plate to the floor, so you can't lower it, either, without a major job. It is a very poorly designed system and does not function as it should.

[InterBlog]

For the most part, I agree with the other posters, but I add this caveat.

While parking under the conditions you cite should not present an issue, IMO the Interstate is not designed to bear the kinds of frozen slush accumulations that can occur in conditions such as you describe.

You will often hear the responsive comment "your Interstate was designed to be used outdoors" but I believe that represents an oversimplified analysis where winter is concerned. Your plumbing, generator, tanks, etc. were not designed to bear the weight of the ice that can get plastered beneath a vehicle from driving in certain types of wintry conditions. That is the possibility that I would be most concerned about if I were you.

I grew up in northeastern Canada, and we were always dealing with big ice chunks building up under vehicles.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by gmillerok1

Protag, I agree with you on every point but one: Because the pump is at the same level as the 3" PVC pipe to the tank, when the level of the water being pumped falls below the top of the pipe, the pump starts pumping air. At that point, the macerator cannot ever be drained of all the fluid and it can possibly freeze in extreme cold and ruin the pump, no matter how long you run the macerator.

Maybe they changed it on the 2012 models, because I've had the macerator pump freeze while winter camping at Poverty Point State Park, LA, and after it thawed it was perfectly fine. No leaks, no damage to the wastewater systems.

[gmillerok1]

No, it's the same. There's a big difference in a freeze in LA and MN or other colder climates! While it may get below freezing in LA, it does not get as cold, or for as long, as it does in northern climates. It may be yours was not fully frozen, but enough to keep the motor from turning. My macerator wasn't damaged the first year, which in Oklahoma, was a pretty typical winter. But in the next winter, it got to about 0F for a week or more and when spring came, the macerator was toast. When I called Airstream about it, since it was in warranty, they said it would be covered, unless the damage was caused by freezing, which it definitely was, so they obviously have had the issue reported before. The leaks were around the seals where the point is attached to the motor. I just replaced it myself.
In a hard and long freeze, it definitely won't survive unless the liquid is drained completely out of it.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by gmillerok1

In a hard and long freeze, it definitely won't survive unless the liquid is drained completely out of it.

Well, at Poverty Point, the high temperature for the four-day trip was a paltry 27°F. I wouldn't have even bothered with the macerator pump except that I arrived with nearly-full waste tanks from my previous trip, and not enough remaining capacity to last the full four days.

Obviously your experiences are different, but I can only go by my own experiences. If I was the OP, I'd be conservative and take the most pessimistic reply as gospel just in case, because unfounded optimism can prove expensive in the long run if that optimistic opinion is proven wrong.

[xrvr]

Make sure the thirty amp is 120 volt.

[gmillerok1]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Well, at Poverty Point, the high temperature for the four-day trip was a paltry 27°F. I wouldn't have even bothered with the macerator pump except that I arrived with nearly-full waste tanks from my previous trip, and not enough remaining capacity to last the full four days.

Obviously your experiences are different, but I can only go by my own experiences. If I was the OP, I'd be conservative and take the most pessimistic reply as gospel just in case, because unfounded optimism can prove expensive in the long run if that optimistic opinion is proven wrong.

I would think that the heat in the cabin also helped keep the pump from damage. In my case, the high was in the single digits and the interior was not heated. It was simply too much for the pump to handle.

[NevadaGeo]

Originally Posted by kfrere

My van is kept in our RV garage. We are expecting snow/sleet/freezing temps tonight and tomorrow. It is imperative that I be at my office tomorrow. I have a 30 amp plug on the side of my office building and am thinking about parking the van there to be there in case roads are treacherous tomorrow.

Im not worried about staying warm, and will turn tank heaters on. But, Am I risking any damage to equipment outside my van such as the solar panel, etc. because of the ice factor?
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If you are thinking about it, your intuition may be telling you to get some heat on it. Don't count on "just a little freeze", you might be in the odd hollow that's 20 degrees colder than the rest of the county. If you're driving in slush and you're outdoor air shows 17 degrees, think you are driving in enough salt to keep slushy at 17 degrees. Do more than you need and be happy that you wasted some effort keeping your unit from freezing.

[MILATV]

I just run a gallon or so of RV antifreeze through the pump after the tanks are drained. If staying in cold I flush with antifreeze. Tank heaters use a bunch of battery .

Also, I don't put antifreeze in the fresh water tank any more. Did that once and even after flushing 3-4 full tanks it still tastes nasty.


Mike