Protect RV from freezing weather

[jethrobodine]

We have a 2005 Land Yacht XL, and are staying in Northern AZ. It gets down to 20 degrees at night and then 40's during the day. Last night something froze up and we had no water until the temperature rose. Can anyone tell us what froze and how to prevent it from happening again so it does no damage. We are new at this so be gentle...lol

[Mike1997]

Hi saw your post. I just finished 3 years full timeing in West Virginia on a job in my 1997 AS Landyacht diesel. There are a few things you need or should do to get though the winter.
1. Buy a heated water hose if your on a site with hook ups. Insulate all the connections with rolled insulation wraped up as much as possible.
2. Wrap your connections inside and outside of your water/sanitation compartment.
3. Most outside compartments are heated but only if using the furnace. Electric roof units will not keep them warm.
4. If using the furnace, add an external adapter so you can attach a portable 5gal tank. I kept 2 at my campsite and rotated them weekly. Cheapest place to refill them is Tractor Supply.
5. Service your furnace and water heater. Make sure both are starting and cycling as normal.
6. On two ocassions, my freshwater tank froze. Got around this by keeping bottles of freshwater for cooking/washing. Used old milk jugs to refill and pour into toilet for flushing.
7. At one point I placed a small electric heater inside my water/sanatation compartment and it kept things working in freezing temps.
8. If your on a campsite with hookups, let water in sink drip to keep from freezing.
9. Front of my AS was always cold due to air getting in front compartment. Usually kept a small heater up front running on low; bedroom and bath were always warm. My furnace also kept floor warm in bathroom.
10. Daytime I usually switched to electric heat from roof units and saved furnace for nights when its colder.
Hope these things work for you, they certainly got me through some cold winters. Drop a line if you have any questions.

Mike

[Robfike]

On our 1999 LY, there is one of the furnace outlets that blow warm air through the duct that goes under the floor. This duct has the water lines that go to the washer hook up. The warm air comes up in the street side cabinet under the stove.
When we got the unit, that duct was clogged with mouse nesting crap.
I vacuumed all of that out, so now we have good airflow through to the street side. That keeps all the plumbing warm between the bathroom and kitchen.
We also have electric drain heat that keeps all the drain plumbing warm in the water/drain bin. Heated water hose is a must.