Part time full time

[Caffeinated]

So, my wife and I are in a bit of a unique situation. We are having a house built and we had to sell our old house to do this, and we are living in our AS while the new house is being finished, hopefully by early April. We are in Western Oregon, with full hookups and all is good. We are burning through propane keeping the trailer warm, night time temps have been mostly between 30-35.

In late March we need to head to Palm Desert for about two weeks, without the trailer, and I’m wondering about keeping the trailer warm and undamaged during that period. Should winterize it? If I leave the electricity plugged in, and on propane, I’m worried I’ll run out of propane before I get back. My regulator does not auto switch to the fresh tank. Although maybe if I filled the tank just before leaving, and set the temp for 45 degrees, it might make it?

Thought I throw this out to the brain trust and see if there is a consensus.

Mike

[DKB_SATX]

If you're confident in your winterizing skills, that shouldn't be too hard.

Another option is to check with your local gas company and see if they'll rent you a large propane tank and fill it for you. My sister and her husband live in a big 5th wheel, traveling around doing pipeline inspection work. In the wintertime they generally rent a big tank as a convenience.

And you should definitely replace that bad regulator.

[skyguyscott]

Does it often get below freezing for long periods of time in that part of the country at the end of March?

Would an electric ceramic space heater keep your pipes from freezing?

If you completely winterize it, and blow out all your plumbing lines, empty your tanks And pour some RV antifreeze in your toilet bowl & drain traps, you should be able to leave it parked unpowered and turned off safely even if the temperatures dip below freezing. The cost of doing this would be a jug of RV antifreeze, and perhaps an air compressor and fitting for your water intake if you don’t already possess these items

While you could leave it heated somehow via propane or electric, there is always the remote chance of some fire. Airstream owners can effectively winterize their trailers and leave them out in Minnesota winters all season long with no damage.

[57Vintage]

For your own peace of mind I would winterize and enjoy your trip. Average temps in March are above freezing and even an occasional cool night shouldn't cause problems.

Here's weather data for March in Portland.

https://www.weather-us.com/en/oregon...-weather-march

[Rocinante]

I recommend winterizing so you can be sure nothing can go wrong while you're away. After all, it is an RV. You're never more than one bad sail switch away from a cold trailer.

[Ken G]

A propane distributor - not just a retail outlet can provide you with a hundred pounder. You will pay a large deposit on the bottle but get it back later, you may need a longer hose as the tank will sit on the ground next to the tongue. Oh yeah, I would lock it up as well.

[Caffeinated]

Thx guys. I’m thinking winterizing is the way to go. Disconnect batteries, water, and electric, and just put it back together when we get back.

Mike

[SYC2Vette]

Went through the same situation with our AS in storage and just ended up winterizing which is honestly pretty simple to do. I was just not comfortable leaving propane on while absent. After all, the propane detector does not do much good if there is no one there to hear it. Good suggestion though on the large propane tanks for when you are home, many folks that are in place for long periods in cold weather use the large tanks for convenience.