Heading south in winter.

[obsail]

Planning 2 month trip to Florida. Our first extended journey with our 2013 International Signature. AS currently winterized and stored in CT.
Best to tow in current winterized status vs flushing out antifreeze and utilize furnace as needed. Concerned that towing with furnace on may not be safe. Recommendations appreciated.
Obsail.

[ctaulborg]

I was doing some "research" on furnaces/propane usage yesterday and came upon a post on here where someone had accidentally left their furnace on while driving, and it burned through the entire tank in a single day of driving (because of the wind constantly pulling heat away from the unit and forcing the furnace to run on full the entire time) - with that in mind I wouldn't recommend driving with the furnace on unless you plan to stop frequently to recharge your tanks. If it were me I would probably either keep it winterized or do a very complete drain of all of the tanks before the trip, but keep in mind that I'm pretty green to all of this (just started a full monty of our 84' Excella a month back).

[HowieE]

Look at the weather down to SC for when you want to leave. If it is above 28 degrees when you want to leave Co. and will remain above that, at night, you can flush before leaving and should have no problem No reason to run the heater while on the road.

I general feel safe at night temperatures above 25 degrees as long has the day time temperatures are up around 40 degrees. That day time temperature will put enough heat into the trailer to carry it through the colder snap during the night.

Making ice is not a linear function It takes 80 time the energy to turn 32 degree water to ice as it did to drop water from 33 degrees to 32 degrees so time is on your side.

And I don't want to hear someone chime in about wind chill while traveling a 60 mph. Wind chill effects bodies with moisture on the surface so don't wash the trailer just before leaving.

[tevake]

Since it is already winterized, why worry about encountering freezing weather on the way. Just carry a few gallons of fresh water in jugs to cover your needs on the road. And then flush out after you are well south.

Cheers Richard

[Lily&Me]

What everyone else said.


Maggie

[obsail]

Thanks for the good advice. Will likely follow Richard's suggestion.

[2dabeach]

Obsail.....We travel down south during the winter from NJ and keep the systems winterized until were sure that temperatures where we are heading will be above freezing. We use the toilet on the trip down and flush the toilet with pink antifreeze that we bring along with us. Using water to flush during freezing temperatures can result in the water freezing in the tanks or in the black water plumbing lines which will result in a job you will not want to fix. Spend the $4.00 and use the pink antifreeze and you will be fine.

[obsail]

Originally Posted by 2dabeach

Obsail.....We travel down south during the winter from NJ and keep the systems winterized until were sure that temperatures where we are heading will be above freezing. We use the toilet on the trip down and flush the toilet with pink antifreeze that we bring along with us. Using water to flush during freezing temperatures can result in the water freezing in the tanks or in the black water plumbing lines which will result in a job you will not want to fix. Spend the $4.00 and use the pink antifreeze and you will be fine.

Will do. Thanx

[pmclemore]

We are leaving next week for the south as well. I will not dewinterize until we reach Charleston, SC - our first destination.

Pat

[ASaddiction]

We leave coastal MA every February for Florida and have the furnace on because we boondock on the way down. Our first trip we made the mistake of not turning on the heat until we pulled over late at night. The trailer didn't begin to warm up until the following morning when we were getting back on the road. Too much cold aluminum and interior surfaces to warm quickly. Ever since then, we turn on the furnace a few days in advance and it stays on until we are in a climate that doesn't require heat. We've never used more than a half a tank of fuel in doing so. We have been using a polanis heater to preheat trailer before turning on the furnace. We blow our system out with air and just use the pink stuff in the drains. So once we arrive, we can fill the water with no worries. Usage of jug water on the way down, for drinking and flushing the toilet. Maybe others stop and get hotel rooms? Why have a trailer then?

[obsail]

Thanks for your input re: furnace use.
Could you recommend stopovers for trip down ?
What is your typical daily mileage?
Where do you cross the Hudson R. ?
695 to avoid Baltimore tunnel?

Thanks, Howie Simon

[greghoro]

If you have the capability to blow out the antifreeze with compressed air before you leave, it will take a less water when you complete your dewinterizing

The antifreeze has already done its job, mixing with any latent water on the pipes. Pipes full of antifreeze offer no more protection than pipes full of air.


Greg

[ASaddiction]

Hi Howie,
We typically drive 8hours/500miles per day. Stop overs depend on where we are in a particular day. We travel with 2 kitties so I don't like to disrupt their schedule so we stop at dinner time and hunker in for the evening. I suggest you get a Walmart app on your phone to show you where you can stay. They are sometimes noisy, but in a pinch it's generally a good place to overnight. (I'm sure you know the rules, no grills, awnings, generators etc., you want to remain as inconspicuous as possible). The Virginia State welcome centers and comfort stations are always clean, well lit and it's our preferred stop for the night. A lot of the rest areas now have signs that state no overnighting, and if there aren't any big rigs there, you can't stay. Florida does not allow any overnights in any of their rest areas or welcome centers. For that reason we usually stay in Jacksonville at Paradise Park once arriving in Florida for a few nights. Mainly because they allow hubby to wash both the AS and his truck! The next day we drive to our southern destination. Normally when leaving MA we get on the MA trnpk and take I-84 through CT and cross the Fish Kill bridge. This trip, leaving in a few days, shows bad weather in central MA so we'll take I-95 through CT and cross the Tappenzee. Crossing from East to West is free, so it doesn't matter, but the further you go North on the return, the cheaper the toll to cross back is. Happy trails and honk if you see us! Sandi

[Wingeezer]

We are also leaving for Florida next weekend.

Have been going south each winter for the last 18 year or so. The trailer is winterised and we don't consider running the furnace as we leave home.

We usually stop the first night at a Flying J. We leave the trailer winterised but sleep in it overnight and run the furnace overnight on the coach to keep it "just" warm enough inside - maybe 55-60F.

Never had a problem doing this. Now I have a Honda gennie, so during the evening at the FJ we can run the furnace full bore to get the trailer nice and hot, watch tv etc. I don't like to leave the gennie out and running though even though it is chained to the trailer tongue, so we still run the furnace on the coach batteries overnight,

In the AM before we leave, I put the gennie out again and get the coach batteries well charged up again (using the built in charger in the AS.

The second night, if not at destination, we stop at a regular campground and then I de-winterise the trailer for the rest of our trip.

Usually, when we return home for 01 April, I winterise again. Probably not necessary but I do it for peace of mind as we can still get a cold snap in April where we live.

I have winterised/dewinterised so many times now that it doesn't take long at all and just takes 1.5 gals antifreeze!

Actually we just went out yesterday to check on our trailer in storage so that I won't get any surprises next weekend when we bring it home to leave! I just check for any damage, check the tires, plug it in to the truck to ensure lights and brakes are working.

All looks good so now I have my fingers crossed for good weather next weekend. We have not had good luck for the last two years so maybe this year we will be lucky!

Last year, what with driving snow and tie-ups on the Interstates we only made about half our planned distance on day one!

No big deal though, I just drive according to the weather as best I can and if it gets too bad,
hole up someplace and wait 'til it passes!


Have a great trip, safe travels!



Brian.

[woodenicol]

We are also planning on leaving this Friday or Saturday. I like the idea of blowing out the antifreeze instead of running all the water to clean out the lines. This will be our 3rd year in a row headed south. The first year it was 5 degrees out when we left and we were in the North Carolina before we could dewinterize. Last year it was warm enough in the second half of February that we dewinterized before we left and had no problem. It all depends on Mother Nature !!
Happy travels, Neil