Here We Go Again

[TYR]

Well, no water in the rig this morning even with skirting, etc.. 60 degrees in the basement. Wondering if our hose heat tape has stopped working, even though its light is still on. Will switch over to water pump in a while and see if it's working. Of course, in consistent subzero temps our tanks are probably frozen shut, so we shouldn't be running a lot of water anyway.

We're supposed to have the Arctic Package on our rig, but makes me wonder, especially if the pipes, tanks and water pump are frozen. Not that it really MEANS "arctic" by any stretch of the imagination.

Skirting, keeping furnace at reasonable temp, heat tape/insulation, supplemental heater in basement, cabinets open, etc. All the things one is supposed to do and we're still SOL. Oh well.

On the other hand, this Winter is the coldest in 15-20 years here and many places. I'm hearing of frozen water hoses in Florida.

At least we do have water in the office trailer and I've perfected the art of the sink bath. Good thing, 'cause we're not going to see above freezing temps for another week.

We're warm, have food, work we enjoy, a bit of $$ in the bank and are safe. We're living a great lifestyle by choice. That's much, much more than so many people have these days. We're good.

Now if I could just get our contracting company to construct one of those indoor RV spaces like in North Dakota . . .

[DQDick]

Any chance your water spigot is frozen before the water gets to your heater tape? Happened to us a couple of times.

[TYR]

Dick and Joyce,

Don't know about that and no way to check. That end of the water connection is at the office trailer, which is skirted with plywood; i.e., the connection is boxed in with the plywood. I think it is also wrapped/insulated.

Quick check of water pump showed pump came on but only initial slight trickle out of taps. Sounds like somewhere we've got a just a bit of blockage/freeze-up in the pipes. Last time it was this cold, the pump wouldn't even come on.

Heck, the fresh tank could be frozen, too! Hahaha! Ah well.

At least the sun's out. Thanks for your thoughts.

[TYR]

Dave just checked . . . we have water up to the rig.

The basement was 60F this morning, at least the big storage compartment up front, so I would think it would be above freezing the entire length of the rig. We took off a partial wall and have a fan-type heater blowing towards the back of the rig.

So we're frozen inside somewhere.

Insane.

[steelpony5555]

I think all the manufactures say their rigs are "Artic" or "Cold weather rated" but most means there is just a little heat vent into the belly and they are good down to 35 degrees lol lol..... There are some rigs though, that are truly made for colder temps. They are the ones that will have switches on your panel for heat pads for the tanks and better belly insulation. But that still will not take care of your supply hose laying on the ground. They do make an insulated heated hose for that but it's expensive just like anything else for our trailers lol lol.... You could get a small torpedo heater from Harbor Freight lol lol but have you tried to put a small heater in under your trailer since you got the skirting up. Since you got no water with your pump it has to be in/under your trailer somewhere, just a matter of finding where it is freezing up. Bad enough it is cold as you know what but problems just make it more miserable,,,,good luck the days are getting longer though

I have read where some folks have taken down their belly covers and found hoses just laying on the cover with no insulation. That thin plastic don't insulate much in that case.

[halfwright]

Sorry to hear about your water problems. But, you have a good work-around and a good attitude. I bet there are some S&B's that are frozen, also.

[TYR]

And now the fridge has stopped working. We had this happen once before when in extreme cold but had dodged it until today. During that time, a tech said to put it on propane instead of electric. Had done that for most of yesterday but changed it back to electric last night.

Duh. Don't know if keeping it on propane would have avoided this, but it's now back on the gas.

External vents are clear, yes.

Again, luckily, we have a dorm-sized fridge in the office. I'll give it an hour or two and then move things over if it's not cooling down. We used to have an extra dorm fridge in the Monty but ditched it after it stopped working. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to get one again. At least I haven't stocked up on a lot of perishable food in light of the water issue. No water = essentially no cooking.

It just keeps getting better and better! Is it April yet???

[HOOK]

My son is in Afganistan and the pipes recently froze in his NEW house. Poppy to the rescue! IMHO, put a 100 watt incandescent light bulb behind water service compartment. Turn it on when freezing temps occur. The heat from the bulb will prevent freezing.

[Bigboomer]

Betty,

Sorry to hear you are still having issues. Good to hear basement is warm but it sounds like maybe either the heat tape on the hose is not working or the valve where the city water and house water come together might be frozen. Is there any way to blow heat behind the white plastic panel in the basement behind the convenience center?

Do you keep the fresh water tank full? We learned last year that by keeping it full it will not freeze or freeze as quick.

Also do you wrap your hose with the heat tape like a candy cane or just tape it to the hose straight? We found wrapping it like a spiral works best.

Is your hose thermostat exposed to the cold? Also make sure if thermostat is exposed that it is not buried in snow.

Hang in there....spring is coming....hopefully soon.

Les

[jimcol]

TxYellowRose, see this link for some interesting comments and solutions: http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...s=refrigerator
Jim

[TYR]

Les, yes, yes, and yes to all of your questions/suggestions. I think we've done about everything there is to do except take off the underbelly covers to see what's up. That's not happening in this cold and snow even if Dave wasn't having neck/back issues. (He fell on the ice 2 weeks ago. We think he has a pinched neck nerve. Taking him to doctor on Tues.)

We'll get through this, just like we do everything else! I restocked bottled water yesterday and got us another dorm-sized fridge.

This is an unusually harsh winter here. We'll muddle through.

[TYR]

Jim,

Thanks for the link to that conversation. Been there, done that.

We had this happen with the fridge during a harsh winter in MO back in 2010. The fridge works, it just doesn't cool.

It's a waiting game. I just turned it off to give it a rest. We did this before in MO. It'll thaw out in . . . ummm . . . about 1-2 weeks when we finally get above freezing for more than 24 hours.

Cheers,
Betty