Visit our Popular Forums

Nikkormat · 03-26-2014, 12:06 AM

After having bad experiences sleeping in man camp renta-rooms while interning I am looking at purchasing a new (at time of purchase) Flying Cloud 30 Recliner.

I will be using it for living on oil fields in Texas, ND, Mexico, ECT for 14 weeks (hopefully) at a time...

But... I am inexperienced in cold weather AS'ing (we've always winterized our baby when the temps hit the mid 30's) and I'm worried about issues with cold on the more northerly oil fields.

Would I need to carry a set of skirts and if I did, would they be sufficient in keeping my tanks and pipes from freezing?
Is modern AS insulation and the factory 30k BTU heater be enough to keep me warm and comfortable without chewing through my tank at atrocious rates?
Could solar power be enough to top of my batteries and power a supplemental electric heater during the day?
Am I insane for thinking this idea is even doable?

Thanks for the reply's guys!

nairnchyz · 03-26-2014, 01:13 AM

Greetings,
We live across the border from ND in Manitoba, Canada. We have experienced a very cold winter with lots of days of - 30 and - 40 degree temps. If you factor in the wind chill factor you could be dealing with - 50 degrees. In places here the frost is now down 6 feet and raising havoc with residential water supply lines.
Campgrounds here shut their water supply off in the fall and dumping of holding tanks would pose a problem as well. Even with good skirting, etc, you would have to add on an adequate heat source. Airstreams are not insulated to withstand these temperatures and are known to sweat on the inside and icing up is a problem. If you could arrange to work ND in the summer and Texas and Mexico in the winter that would be very doable. Trailers don't usually get taken out till the May long weekend up here.
Good luck in the oil patches and also with your Airstream.

Nikkormat · 03-26-2014, 01:46 AM

Not being able to control my travels, -50 temps is worrying. It looks like I will have to look else where for housing.

Anyone have experience with Timberline Range Campers? They seem pretty rugged and are decently luxurious on the inside (but there no where near AS quality). Plus they have a wood burning stove and are more designed for cold weather operations. Only problem would be getting fire wood in ND were there isn't a tree in sight. --> Highlander 25′ | Timberline Range Camps™ - Sheep Camps - Sheep Wagons

workerdrone · 03-26-2014, 04:38 AM

Yeah those sound like really tough conditions for anything but a heavily customized trailer for the cold, and even then I'm sure you'd go through a fair amount of fuel just to keep things from freezing up.

Electric heat is really not practical from solar for anything but an electric blanket to keep you directly warmer. Solar's great for keeping your batteries topped off, running efficient lighting and electronics, and very short term high loads like microwaves, blenders, etc.

87MH · 03-26-2014, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nikkormat

After having bad experiences sleeping in man camp renta-rooms while interning I am looking at purchasing a new (at time of purchase) Flying Cloud 30 Recliner.
I will be using it for living on oil fields in Texas, ND, Mexico, ECT for 14 weeks (hopefully) at a time...
But...

I've worked the oil patch my entire career...my first posting was in a company camp about 100 miles SE of New Orleans, my second post was at the mouth of the Mississippi river.

Since retiring from a large oil company three years ago I have been consulting primarily in the Eagle Ford and the Marcellus - mostly living in the '78 31' Sovereign .
Anticipating spending a lot of time in the trailer, I installed two AC's - if you are serious about working in Oklahoma or Texas I highly suggest doing the same.

There is not much of an opportunity to really enjoy the trailer while working. Usually you work a 12 hour shift, then do reports. Usually I just have time to grab a bite to eat and hit the sack.

The trailer has really worked out for me for consulting after retirement, but it would suck if you tried to live in it while raising a family.

There are all sorts of man camps here in the Eagle Ford, some pretty nice, some not so much. Not much lodging at all in the Marcellus except for a bring it yourself trailer. Never worked the Balken, but two years ago I was in the Oklahoma panhandle working with production from fractured dolomite and found enough infrastructure that I did not have to bring the trailer up there.

I have found that pop up trailer parks are relatively plentiful with both 30 amp and 50 amp available in most areas.

14 weeks at a time is a really long hitch, I can only do about half of that, and am really comfortable being away from home three weeks at a time. As I stated above, I would not try to maintain much of a personal relationship while working and living in a trailer.

In summary to answer your question - an AS would work in relatively mild areas (2 AC's in the heat), but I would not attempt to use it in really cold (<20's) weather. Forget solar - the furnace draws lots of amps.

Foiled Again · 03-26-2014, 06:27 AM

There was an earlier thread which I wasn't able to find right offhand about taking an Airstream out to a worksite in remote oil fields.

The consensus was that the rough living conditions and dust, dirt and oil tracked in can ruin an Airstream or any other trailer in a hurry. One experienced person recommended an Arctic Fox or other well insulated SOB for this kind of work.

Seems sound to me.

Paula

m.hony · 03-26-2014, 06:31 AM

I have often been tempted to work in the oil fields and live in my Airstream, but only in the south. I would never want to live in it full time in sub-freezing temperatures.

Jammer · 03-26-2014, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nikkormat

After having bad experiences sleeping in man camp renta-rooms while interning I am looking at purchasing a new (at time of purchase) Flying Cloud 30 Recliner.

I will be using it for living on oil fields in Texas, ND, Mexico, ECT for 14 weeks (hopefully) at a time..

Hiya... I had a Nikkormat FT-1 once, and visited Evergreen for work some years ago...

Quote:

But... I am inexperienced in cold weather AS'ing (we've always winterized our baby when the temps hit the mid 30's) and I'm worried about issues with cold on the more northerly oil fields.

Would I need to carry a set of skirts and if I did, would they be sufficient in keeping my tanks and pipes from freezing?

I have no experience there. Usually skirts are improvised from available materials.

I would be surprised if skirting by itself would allow you to keep pipes thawed in North Dakota in January. In combination with pipe heaters and pipe wrap, perhaps.

Quote:

Is modern AS insulation and the factory 30k BTU heater be enough to keep me warm and comfortable without chewing through my tank at atrocious rates?

The factory heater will keep you at 70 degrees when it's down to around -20 outside with no wind. At those temperatures problems with heat distributions start to show up. I modified my trailer by adding some ductwork to address that, but I have a Classic, so your situation may be different.

In extreme weather you'll burn 4-8 gallons of propane a day and will need, as a practical matter, to have a local propane supplier deliver a larger tank for your stay. For 1-2 week trips people use 1 or 2 100 pound propane tanks, for 14 weeks the costs would favor something larger.

Condensation is the largest problem for long term use at below-freezing temperatures.

Quote:

Could solar power be enough to top of my batteries and power a supplemental electric heater during the day?
Am I insane for thinking this idea is even doable?

In winter months in upper latitudes there isn't enough room for sufficient solar panels to power the trailer. You have to have shore power.

wncrasher · 03-26-2014, 07:11 AM

Somewhere I saw this article about these giant warehouses they built in the oil patch for people to put their RV's in so they could live in them in the winter. Sounded like a good idea - think they said the rent would be $1700 a month per site - not terrible considering what rental housing is going for up there.

SStar · 03-26-2014, 08:01 AM

Look at the thread by PirateJohn on 5/28/13. It covers about all of the issues that you have questions about.

pappy19 · 03-26-2014, 08:10 AM

As another oil patch worker, my wife and I do easement and permit acquisitions, I agree with what Dennis posted 100%. We had our 31' Classic in San Antonio and used it as a home base for 4 months. One AC unit is not enough. Also, we worked 3 years in northern Ohio and had problems with the water hose connection freezing. North Dakota is much worse in the winter. I do know of a few folks that have bought real spendy motor homes and have done ok. They also towed a small car for running around. I have also seen where some smart person has built enclosed RV parks where you back into an enclosed long buildings along with others. Interesting idea, but so long privacy. all in all, winter camping in the frozen north is not a fun situation. Look on Youtube and there are numerous posts by folks working the oil patch in North Dakota and winter camping.