Four Season Airstream?

[Gene]

I'm not surprised too much vacuum would cause the glass to flex inward. I once bought an exterior door with a large double pane window. The stained glass was beautiful, but in a year or two it failed and I had spots inside. The door company (Masonite) was informed and without any problems sent me a new insert. We, living at high altitude, always used to ask when ordering windows which way they were shipped to our house because the really high passes would make some windows fail. Most of the time the vendor never had any idea. Failing seals must be more of a problem with RV's (altitude and the bouncing anywhere), but no problems with those in our Nash.

I still have that stained glass insert. Eventually the spots disappeared and I thought of making a frame and backlighting it as a feature in our house. It is low on the endless list of ideas.

[kidjedi]

Originally Posted by Tony Lee

Surely "vacuum" is being used incorrectly when applied to these windows.

It's not so much that there is a vacuum inside, but that they are "vacuum sealed" (air is removed during manufacturing, and sometimes the void is filled with some sort of inert gas like argon). That said, a bell jar doesn't implode when the vacuum is created, nor does a Ball jar during canning. You don't have to have a crazy vacuum for it to still be a vacuum.

[RussRamz]

The Classic with Alde heat is a four season trailer. I've been doing it in Northern Virginia since 2018. With proper preparations, a Classic 30 or 33 (the only one's with the Alde hydronic heating system) will get you through the cold and 50 amp double AC units for the hot Summer.



No problem. Piece of cake.

[Daquenzer]

The vacuum or double pane windows help some. But the R-factor is still pretty low. The biggest issue is condensation and keeping the connections from freezing.

The new AS’s with the composite flooring is a plus. And there are ways to deal with condensation with small dehumidifiers.

So I’m actually going to try some March camping. Our new house may not be finished on time. We are living in a vrbo at 70 a day. So I’m thinking if we can move into our camper mid March (marginal) outside our new house we could use the bathroom in the house, etc. Run the dehumidifier to deal with condensation.

We have stayed in our camper in 20 degree weather before. Just uses lots of lp. And we kept fans going to draw out humidity. Take in hoses at night.

And I will have a dump station in the garage, so I could just back up into the garage and dump. The idea of using RV fluid with water mix to flus toilet is interesting.

[AirstreamCSH]

With close to 60,000 miles on our 2016 FC 25FB camping in extremes of desert heat and currently in Colorado snow, I have to say that people fear this too much. My takeaway is that this forum has plenty of great advice for winter camping and it can be done comfortably.

When we feel the temps are too cold to tow in the cold, we use our Viair to blow out the lines (winterize) followed by a gallon of RV antifreeze using the bypass connection under the refrigerator. We can do it at any rest stop in 20 minutes. Otherwise we keep the water tank full and only use the grey when we know we can dump. We don’t connect the water hose but instead use the fresh water tank and keep showers short.

AS isn’t a four season but most of us just want to extend the shoulder seasons. This year we’ve used it year round. Best advice I have for winter use is:

- keep propane topped off. You can use a regular rest/walk/stretch break to stop at a roadside KOA and refill your tank We never go below 1/2 tank of diesel or one tank of propane without looking to refill and we carry 5gal diesel that almost always comes home unused.

- get a 200w Lasco heater and keep it running in the bathroom as it will keep the bedroom side warmer and the bathroom comfortable for only 200w of draw

- install solar panels and skip the lithium for now but switch to 6v AGM batteries in tandem. AM Solar can get you sorted out. This is what allowed us to boondock for a week at a time and is crucial for winter camping. Of course, we also have a backup Honda 2000 in case we get days of overcast. Winter camping is about keeping warm within your battery and LP constraints.

- Big Buddy portable propane heater to get the interior up to temp and then switch over to the main furnace to maintain temps and keep the trailers belly warmish. Saves on main tank LP and is a good emergency backup when (not if) you blow your furnace circuit board and have to limp to a dometic service outlet for a replacement. As an aside, it’s a trip saver to carry a spare.

- if you have electric hookup, then a mattress warmer and or electric blankets let’s you keep the thermostat at 59 or so, thus conserving LP.

- we use a goal zero 2000w to keep the truck engine heater warm and extend the trailer battery range during low temps or extended overcast weather. It recharges from a solar panel on the roof of the pickup and/or 12v adapter while driving

- We carry water in 2.5 gallon containers for daily use when the trailer is winterized as they are easier to lift and store. Boil water and you can have a modified navy shower

Hope this helps

[PCJ]

We've lived two years in our 30' Classic and have been as cold as 5 above. With a heated hose and an space heater we've been fine

[tjdonahoe]

Yep...17 degrees in a blizzard with 40 mph winds....freeze up at 23 degrees.while parked as the iow water drains hang down outside. Not all season by a long shot

[skyguyscott]

Originally Posted by AirstreamCSH

My takeaway is that this forum has plenty of great advice for winter camping and it can be done comfortably...

- keep propane topped off. You can use a regular rest/walk/stretch break to stop at a roadside KOA and refill your tank...

- get a 200w Lasco heater and keep it running in the bathroom...

- install solar panels and skip the lithium for now but switch to 6v AGM batteries in tandem... Of course, we also have a backup Honda 2000 in case we get days of overcast...

- Big Buddy portable propane heater to get the interior up to temp and then switch over to the main furnace to maintain temps and keep the trailers belly warmish. Saves on main tank LP and is a good emergency backup when (not if) you blow your furnace circuit board and have to limp to a dometic service outlet for a replacement. As an aside, it’s a trip saver to carry a spare...

- if you have electric hookup, then a mattress warmer and or electric blankets let’s you keep the thermostat at 59 or so, thus conserving LP.

- we use a goal zero 2000w to keep the truck engine heater warm and extend the trailer battery range during low temps or extended overcast weather...

- We carry water in 2.5 gallon containers for daily use when the trailer is winterized as they are easier to lift and store. Boil water and you can have a modified navy shower

Hope this helps

Thanks for all the good pointers on winter camping in an AS TT!

I think most here believe winter camping can be done in the North, and indeed many have done it, so it is certainly possible, but how comfortable and easy and how fun it is to do so will vary greatly on just how cold and wet and windy and icy it is outside, as well as how willing or able one is to work to keep comfortable, as your list of pointers indicates. It's something one has to prepare for to a much greater extent than camping in warmer climes or warmer times, and for some glamp-loving snow birds, it's just not their cup o' tea.

Heartier souls seeking a winter trip to challenge their fortitude, skills and endurance will find ways to test themselves, but then, the most hearty likely would dispense with the Airstream(!) to begin with and just hike in with tents and backpacks for real winter camping, eh?

[Northsite]

Winter camping in my previous Titanium 5th wheel, with the low temps in the 20's to single digit, required auxiliary heat. I used a Little Buddy propane heater from about Thanksgiving to March. I was living in the Titanium and cooking accordingly. I kept the bathroom vent open about 1 inch and opened it to 4 or so inches when cooking, and I did a lot of cooking and baking. The Little Buddy did great, but I got some ghosting (dark lines along the ceiling below the ribs) that was extremely difficult to remove. Other makes on other forums complained about the same ghosting when using propane aux heating.