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Old 08-22-2022, 09:00 AM   #1
Columbo
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Join Date: Jun 2022
Location: New Hampshire
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M.O.C. #31128
Preparing for winter

Hi all, we (my wife, our dog and I) will be wintering in our Montana Big Sky this year while working on our house building project. We live in central New Hampshire where temps can fall to -10 degrees. The rv will be under a carport and partially shielded from the wind. I’m planning for my winter preps now so I have time to adequately prepare. A few questions for those crazy enough to have done this before

1- I’m planning to skirt the rv with rigid foam insulation board. Where I’m confused is the slide outs. Should I skirt around them so the underside is protected or should I not include the slide outs in the skirting and insulate them separately?

2- I plan on placing 1-2 “milkhouse” style heaters under the rv after it is skirted to help keep the tanks and pipes from freezing. Alternatively, it was suggested in one of the threads on the topic to consider a marine bilge heater located in the underbelly of the rv itself. Thoughts on which is best?

3- I’m sealing up all the gaps and perforations in the rv with spray foam. I noticed that the “basement” storage area is very poorly sealed from the “heated” mechanicals area under the rest of the trailer. Is it best to compartmentalize the rv and then heat each compartment or leave it more open so the heat flows through naturally?

4- final question! This model has the generator prep but no generator installed. There is a junction box underneath that the electric feed from the generator would have been connected too. Has anyone connected a traditional residential portable generator to this existing circuit to power the rv in emergency?

Thanks for the help!
 
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Old 11-14-2022, 10:58 PM   #2
TomHerod
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M.O.C. #31290
Survive so far

This my first winter so I’m learning. To answer your questions: Yes to skirt. We had one made by a couple in Villa Grove, Colorado, that snaps on with sailboat snaps. I bought 2 DeLonghi sealed oil heaters (seemed safest to me). I use one in the living/kitchen area to cut down on propane use and one in the basement (pass through under storage). When I leave, I use the anti-freeze function that turns on when the temperature goes below 5 C or 41 F. There are pipes in the kitchen area and the grey and black water systems are adjacent to the basement—all near oil electric heaters. I completely drained the on board water tank. And I dump the grey and black water if I’m leaving for any length of time. I have full power and water. The power takes care of the heaters. For the water, I use city water through 2-50ft and 1-25ft Camco heated hose. I’ve hooked them together (power to each hose) and connect them to the Colorado freeze prevention yard faucet (one of those funny looking orange C-shaped handles on top of a metal pipe leading to the real faucet below ground). Make sure the rubber insulation sleeves are over the metal hose connectors. I also put a small ceramic heater next to the metal pipe coming from 4 ft underground on the yard faucet and then put a trash can over the faucet. Last night it was below 20 degrees. And water was available all night long. Just in case some part of this system does freeze, it does so outside of the Montana because of the heaters keep the inside pipes warm. I also keep a few gallons of water for the toilet and washing, in case the outside water supply (hoses, etc) freezes, until the sun unfreezes them the next day. If leaving, I unhook the water and drain what water is in the system. This my first winter, please correct any foolish suggestions tha I have just made. Keep warm.
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Old 11-15-2022, 06:58 AM   #3
Daryles
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M.O.C. #24086
1. Slideouts. You can put the styrofoam on the top, sides and bottom of the slide.
2 & 3. I have tank heaters. I do use 120vac 65w plug in battery heaters in the basement and battery compartment. I just set them upright on their edge so air can circulate around them. We had 29⁰F the other night. The battery compartment stayed at 40⁰F.
Using milk heaters or small ceramic heaters underneath is good too.
4. Plug your generator into your receptacle at the back end.

Make an insulated tent out of Reflectex to put over your faucet. Make sure the thermostat (on a pigtail) of your heated hose is OUTSIDE of the insulation so it turns on/off appropriately. Put a couple of wraps of your heated hose around the faucet.
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