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dmac · 12-01-2010, 07:32 PM

So far no problems with condensation, although the air in Denver is generally very dry. After each shower I wipe up the water drops with a sponge, open the roof vent, and run the fan for a few minutes to get rid of the humidity. If condensation troubles develop I will purchase a dehumidifier.

frankfarmer · 12-02-2010, 04:14 AM

Gorilla tape works great.

BobOgletree · 12-02-2010, 01:23 PM

You guys (and gals) are amazing! I got my first AS last Spring and am facing my first winter, mild as it may be in North Florida. I had thought about taking it out to Colorado for the ski season......but I guess not. I want to use my trialer this winter on some fishing trips, so I don't want to fully winterize it. After pouring over all 8 pages of comments I think I'll try skirting my 23FB and using a heat lamp while it's at my house and use my furnace when it gets down into the 20's the few nights it gets cold. I really appreciate all the comments on this blog and would love to camp with all of you!

70s guy · 12-05-2010, 09:11 PM

the next three days will be a good test. louisville lows are forcast for mid teens. I've got a heavy vinyl skirt and all glass and roof vents are insulated. insulation in the voids under the bed and sofa. my hose is heated and foam insulated with the slack wrapped at the inlet. i'm using two electric heaters, for and aft and so far i've kept temps above 65o at 28o outside. that s only running the heaters at 50%-75%. if my pipes burst i'm done for.

BobOgletree · 12-06-2010, 09:08 AM

It gets alot colder up there than it does down here, but we're going down into the 20's the next 3 nights, so I'll have a good test, too. I found some rolls of what looks like fairly dense bubble wrap with foil on both sides at Lowe's that I made a skirt out of. It fit nicely into the gap below the aluminum trim on the lower side of the trailer. It went around the corners nicely, too, much better than styrofoam would have been to work with. I left the hitch end un-skirted and put a low, directional space heater under the front of the trailer and turned it on when the temp got down to 33 last night. This morning I could feel warm air seeping out of the wheelwells and other places where there were some small gaps in my skirt. Very encouraging. I'll set my furnace tonight to run when the interior gets below 35 or so if the thermostat will let me set it that low. I'm not sleeping out there, just don't want my pipes/tanks to freeze. Somehow I'm having a hard time justifying putting antifreeze in my tanks and lines and trusting that I can flush it all out so my water will be safe to drink or even brush my teeth. Hopefully this will work for the few days we get below freezing down here......

Gene · 12-06-2010, 09:59 AM

I know I've written this before and probably on this thread, but it's important. It's the air gaps in any insulation anywhere that cause the most thermal transfer, i. e., loss of heat or cooling (depending what you want to keep in). That open space at the front of the trailer will result in a lot of heat loss, especially if there's a breeze.

Bob, given where you are, you probably don't have much of a problem, but that space heater would run a lot less if the underside were enclosed. The thermostat in our trailer goes down to 40˚; it's probably the same in yours. At temps of 20˚ and above the furnace should be plenty to keep the pipes and tanks warm enough. Below that, I'd turn up the furnace. With what sounds like Reflectix around the trailer, you should be good for the teens.

Gene

noreen&sal · 12-06-2010, 10:06 AM

I really hate saying this, but being experienced with Fla. drinking water, the pink stuff might help.

Sal.

masseyfarm · 12-06-2010, 10:14 AM

Somehow I'm having a hard time justifying putting antifreeze in my tanks and lines and trusting that I can flush it all out so my water will be safe to drink or even brush my teeth. Hopefully this will work for the few days we get below freezing down here......[/QUOTE]

RV antifreeze will not hurt you. Thats why they sell it as RV ANTIFREEZE.
When you flush it out in the spring, usually the second flush removes any trace. It does not appear to spoil the filter ability, but does take a full flush to run clear.
I usually run the bleach on the second flush, which I think is always a good idea after the trailer sits for any length of time. (info on this is available on this site)
Dave

pmclemore · 12-06-2010, 12:06 PM

Some folks here have suggested using cheap vodka instead of pink stuff.

Mix with OJ for an eye-opener.

Pat

Gene · 12-06-2010, 12:35 PM

Some say RV antifreeze tastes bad. Maybe the reason is:

1. Buying really cheap RV antifreeze that tastes bad instead of brand name stuff.
2. Not flushing the potable water tank with chlorine in the spring. Chlorine tastes bad too but may mask the taste of the antifreeze.
3. Not flushing the tank enough in the spring. Three flushes works for us—first drain the antifreeze, then fill with chlorine treated water and run through water lines, drain, fill with fresh water 2 times, drain. We also sanitize again in mid summer to make sure all is clean.

Gene

dmac · 12-06-2010, 09:26 PM

I will say that living in a travel trailer without the "travel" part is less than desirable! I think it would be a lot better if I could find somewhere else to park it. There just are not many year-round campgrounds near Denver that allow an extended stay.

At least the winter preparations are working okay, no freezups, and it's warm inside. So far the heating costs are acceptable - mostly using the heat pump.

frankfarmer · 12-07-2010, 03:55 AM

Skirt. Simple black plastic sheets can be use to completely seal AS body to the ground, 100% all the way around, no open holes at all. Take long sheet 3-4 feet wide, just cut to fit sides of AS, open space for furnace openings, & hot water heater of course, tape to body, secure on ground with blocks, weights. It works well, seals out any open space.

BobOgletree · 12-07-2010, 05:11 AM

Thanks for the suggestions. My thought about leaving the front of the trailer underside was to create some flow. After your comments I realize the flow would be cold air coming in and the warm air I feel sneaking out around the wheelwells is actually lost efficiency. Duh. I'll learn! One feature of the skirt I'm using that I like is it's relative stiffness. I don't have to use any tape to hold it in place. Less mess. I slept out there last night and set my furnace thermostat at 60 and put another space heater inside. It was toasty and I don't think the space heater ran at all. The floor was even pretty warm. It was supposed to go down to 26, but my outside thermostat read 30 this morning at 5:00, so it wasn't as good a test as I had hoped. Colder tonight.
Why vodka? If I use single malt I wouldn't WANT to flush it out!!

wasagachris · 12-07-2010, 07:11 AM

Bob the same holds true for your skirting. You say that it is not taped into place ( less mess). Well hot air rises so unless you tape and seal the skirt to the trailer all that heat you are creating is just leaking out the top of the skirt. I full timed in mine for 7yrs here in Canada. My skirt was made from rigid styrofoam wrapped in bubble wrap. It boxed in the entire area below the lower trim line and was sealed against the trailer with aluminium tape to the trailer. I used 2 150 watt halogen work lamps under the trailer. By sealing the entire area to prevent heat loss the 2 lamps (300 watts) kept everything underneath well heated and my floor was toasty warm all winter even in - 40 degree weather. 1 roll of tape ($7.00) and some clean up in spring was a lot cheaper than running a 1500 watt space heater and trying to heat the great outdoors.
BTW I cut a small removable acess door in the styrofoam so I could access the dump valves for the waste system.

cclarkego · 12-07-2010, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmac

I will say that living in a travel trailer without the "travel" part is less than desirable! I think it would be a lot better if I could find somewhere else to park it. There just are not many year-round campgrounds near Denver that allow an extended stay.

At least the winter preparations are working okay, no freezups, and it's warm inside. So far the heating costs are acceptable - mostly using the heat pump.

Here's a park a friend told me about....

Denver Meadows RV Park in Aurora, Colorado - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

Gene · 12-07-2010, 01:28 PM

Here are the last 10 ratings for Denver Meadows on RV Park Reviews: "3 1 1 2 1 6 2 1 2". Here are last 10 ratings for the place Dan is now at: "3 3 6 6 4 10 1 3 7 10".

Gene

Splitrock · 12-07-2010, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Here are the last 10 ratings for Denver Meadows on RV Park Reviews: "3 1 1 2 1 6 2 1 2". Here are last 10 ratings for the place Dan is now at: "3 3 6 6 4 10 1 3 7 10".

Gene

What do the review numbers mean? Is 10 best? or is 1 best?

Thanks,

Gary

Gene · 12-07-2010, 05:12 PM

1 bad, 10 good.

We have stayed at Dakota Ridge in Golden a few times. That is a better RV park (8 6 9 8 9 9 9 9 8 9) though it may be quite expensive for long term. Golden Terrace South (6 6 4 9 1 1 7 5 1 1) is nearby and the sites are very narrow. We stayed there once and didn't like it. Both have Golden addresses, but are on Colfax just west of I-70 and not all that near downtown Golden.

Gene

Splitrock · 12-07-2010, 05:53 PM

Good information! Thanks!

Gary

BobOgletree · 12-08-2010, 09:37 AM

There's a gap, kind of a slot, at the bottom of the trim that runs around my trailer that holds my insulation sheeting in place nicely. I put more of the wrap around the front of the trailer yesterday that pretty much seals it up all the way around. I like your idea about the light bulbs rather than the space heater. I ran the heater about 5 hours last night while the temp was below freezing and when I went in to check on the trialer this morning the floor was warm. I think this will work fine for me here and the roll-up insulation will be easier to handle and store than rigid styrofoam. Thanks everyone for your input!