Some questions about cold weather travel in a 2007 Itasca Navion. Over the Christmas weekend we will be traveling from central Georgia to northern KY and then on to northern Indiana. This will be our very first trip in this RV. We will be staying at night at my dad's place the first night so we won't need to carry water in any of the tanks. So we have winterized the RV. The overnight temperature there will be in the low 20s. The next night we will be in northern Indiana and the overnight lows will be in the low teens.
My question is does anyone know how much propane I can expect to use for the 4 day trip? I can use shore power so I don't have to run the propane generator for the first night and we won't be doing any cooking on the stove. Our only use of propane will be to keep the coach warm. I think the RV has an 18 gallon propane tank. Will that be enough for the 4 days?
I have learned the furnace blower runs off the coach batteries. If I am not able to use shore power the second night will the coach batteries be able to supply power for the blower for an all night stay? They seem to be in good shape but of course I won't really know that until I have a chance to use them for an extended period.
Thanks for any advice you can give.
I should add that we will be staying in the RV at night. So we need the heat on to be comfortable for us and our two granddaughters aged 8 and 10.
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Carroll and Ann
2007 Navion 23J
I think you will be fine on the propane as long as you realize that you can't hold the motorhome at 75 degrees. You will have to make sure the batteries are charged each day (drive the coach, run the generator for a few hours, or use shore power).
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Roger & Mary
2017 Winnebago Navion 24V
2014 Tiffin Phaeton 36GH (Sold)
I found that my propane tank (same size as yours) tends to run low after 5 days or so in low 20s temps. I bought a Stay-A-While setup that allows me to heat with 20 lb standard gas grill tanks. I liked this setup, because I could quickly find/fill these bottles more conveniently versus moving the motor home.
You can also supplement with small electric space heaters, but still must use propane to keep your basement plumbing from freezing.
Thanks for the advice. I do appreciate the voice of experience. I have found a heavy curtain that attaches to the bottom edge of the overhead bunk to block off the cab from the coach. That should help a lot in keeping the cold out and making a smaller space to heat. I also have learned that our two granddaughters will not be going with us so at night we can keep the dinette slide in to conserve heat also.
Thanks again.
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Carroll and Ann
2007 Navion 23J
A little update. We made the trip fine. We had shore power each night and used a small ceramic heater for heating the coach. The heavy curtain really kept the cold from the cab from coming into the main coach. The last night it was expected to go down to about 10 degrees F. We turned on the propane furnace and set it to 60 degrees so it would come on if the electric heater didn't keep it warm enough. I heard the furnace come on only twice during the night.
When we got up it was 10 degrees just like forecast. We turned the furnace thermostat up a little to take off the chill while we ate and then got on the road. I did learn you can't start the engine if the furnace is turned on. I guess that is a good safety feature. The engine won't even crank over. Turned the furnace off and the engine fired right up.
Over all we had a great time getting used to our RV. Thanks to everyone for all the good advice.
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Carroll and Ann
2007 Navion 23J
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