Cold weather on the road. What to do?

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by JCWDCW

....
If there is some air space then the water expansion while it freezes will not burst the pipes. It's only when the water has no place to expand as it freezes that the damage occurs.
On the new(to me) trailer last year, I missed the line from the city water connection to the valve nest around the water heater, and it did not do any damage....

Over the years, I've replaced a lot of plumbing that burst because of freezing. Some of it in RVs, lots in houses, barns, etc.

The presence of air space is no guarantee against damage.

Damage is often cumulative as plumbing components will stretch up to a point. Some parts will endure a number of freeze-thaw cycles before they burst.

Thorough winterizing is hard to do and requires care and time to be taken. I have had damage after blowing lines only and now do that first followed by pumping antifreeze.

Easiest answer is keep everything warm

[paiceman]

Wind-chill or windchill, (popularly wind chill factor) is the perceived decrease in air temperature felt by the body on exposed skin due to the flow of air. That's it, the key word is perceived as when wind chill is reported it is not an actual temperature.

Run with the furnace on. But as Doug said I'd blow the lines out as well and use facilities in campgrounds until arriving in FL. OR run straight through.

Enjoy

Bud

[mefly2]

Drain and blow ... why risk a bad scenario for the small amount of effort /time potentially saved by not draining ...

[ijustlee]

I would drain and blow out the lines then use jugs of water when needed. Let the pump suck some air to make sure it's empty. Simple risk/reward calculation.

[crisen]

I 100% agree with this advice, we tow on the Alaska highway in winter. The only thing we do differently than this advice is we don't add water to the fresh water tank until we get into areas where the daytime temps get up around freezing, until them just use jugs. The coldest temps we have done this with no water in the fresh tank, but using the gray and black tanks, was -29 F at Llaird River, and the coldest with fully functional water system was -10 F overnight at Dawson Creek. However I realize it is your trailer and your choice.

Originally Posted by Minipad

I pull my trailer in and through the Colorado Mountains all winter long. (I live in the middle of the mountains.) I fill my water and split a gallon jug of RV antifreeze between my gray and black tanks to cover the exposed valves. I set my furnace thermostat to 50°F and have never frozen a line, even in sub zero temps. (It was -14°F when I pulled out of the house on my last trip.)

It is true that the lines used by Airstream today are pretty forgiving to freezing but unfortunately, there are a few components that are not made from that material. The brass hot water shutoff is one, and the low point drains are another. But, still with lots of miles and days in super cold temps, no problems in my experience.

The advice above to shut your furnace off before hitting the gas station is a no-joke good practice and should include the fridge and hot water heater if on propane. Those are three sparks that might be very un-welcomed in the presence of gasoline fumes. I was standing at a pump fueling just two weeks ago when another motorist, filling a small gas can, left the can unattended for just a second. The gas can tipped over and the hose didn't shut off. The can dumped and the hose kept pumping fuel on the ground. It was a matter of seconds before the spill was within feet of my trailer. I was thankful that I had turned all the units off.

Have a safe trip.

[wcrockett]

I agree. I live in Parker, Co. I have traveled the last two winters from Colorado to the south in lots of freezing temps and had no problems. I keep the furnace set to 40 Deg. while traveling and when we are not in the trailer and at 60 or higher when we are in it. I have not put antifreeze in the tanks but if it were in really cold, like maybe below 20 Deg F, for a long time I would add it to the black and grey tanks. I always use the fresh water tank and only use a water hose to fill it. I see no advantage to leaving the water hose exposed and looked up to an outside water tap.

[Gneiss Guy]

Thanks for all the good advice. We are in North Georgia and the coldest weather is behind us. I ran the furnace at 45 degrees night before last and on the road yesterday. We hooked up the water yesterday afternoon, then unhooked before going to bed. We then used bottled water for bedtime routines. Left the furnace at 60 degrees overnight, assisted by a small electric heater and an electric blanket. Even with the heater, the furnace cycled enough to keep things underneath above freezing. I did split a bottle of antifreeze between the two waste tanks. Everything seems fine after two nights in the low 20s.

Richard

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Gneiss Guy

Thanks for all the good advice. We are in North Georgia and the coldest weather is behind us. I ran the furnace at 45 degrees night before last and on the road yesterday. We hooked up the water yesterday afternoon, then unhooked before going to bed. We then used bottled water for bedtime routines. Left the furnace at 60 degrees overnight, assisted by a small electric heater and an electric blanket. Even with the heater, the furnace cycled enough to keep things underneath above freezing. I did split a bottle of antifreeze between the two waste tanks. Everything seems fine after two nights in the low 20s.

Richard

Thanks for the follow-up -- much appreciated. And glad the trip went well!

Peter

[Zybane]

For those that are letting your water pump suck in air to blow out the lines; a lot of water pumps aren't designed to run without any water and could prematurely wear the bearing and seals. We would have to look up the specific pumps manuals to check.