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Old 10-26-2021, 01:49 PM   #1
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Maryland to Colorado Dec/Jan

We will be traveling from MD to CO late Dec /early Jan. Our trip will be 4 days and 3 nights and we'll stay along I-70 probably at Harvest Home spots. We do this trip a couple of times a year, but this will be the first in the winter. We will travel when the sun is out, but the temps may be in the teens. We just got our Winnebago Minnie in June she is 16 yrs old, but has less miles than her age times 1000 (only 14k). She is in great shape, but husband and I are disagreeing on our plans. He wants to put the antifreeze in and stay in hotels (did I mention our 3 dogs?). I think we can add pipe and tank heaters and get through it all. In your response, can you tell me if I will be able to keep in warm enough to sleep at night (60s are fine for us)? Will showers be an option (will the water be warm)? Any recommendations for brand of the heaters or advice for installing? Any other heating units I should consider? If I am using the forum incorrectly, please let me know this is my first post.

Thanks
Carrie
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Old 10-26-2021, 02:05 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by MsCarrieC View Post
We will be traveling from MD to CO late Dec /early Jan.
In general, I think you're risking frozen pipes on this trip. However, you could get lucky and hit warmer weather.

Question is... do you feel lucky? What if you aren't lucky, what then?

Lastly, Harvest Hosts are great. I haven't found many that are near major highways but if you've done the trip before then you know where you'll be going. BUT... there's always a but, HH don't provide power hookups so you're not only counting on luck in regards to the weather but you'll be essentially "boondocking" as you go.
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Old 10-26-2021, 02:31 PM   #3
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Thanks - I am not much for counting on luck and we will be taking a bit of a southern route through Louisville. Trying to figure out what I should expect. We can plug in Louisville, and can find other places to plug, but I understand that plugging in doesn't get it all done.
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Old 10-26-2021, 05:49 PM   #4
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I think your biggest problem may be driving. At 60+ mph in morning weather in the teens you have a tremendous wind factor. An RV that may be fine overnight in the teens may freeze up solid when you head out in the morning. FWIW 18 deg at 60 mph is equivalent to -7 F in terms of how it feels and how fast it may freeze up.

I think I would follow your husband's advice. Keep the MH winterized and if you do stop at HH sites then plan to get by with water bottles and minimum peeing in the toilet. Peeing and flushing it down with a pint of water followed by a cup of antifreeze will keep it from freezing up. Do your #2 elsewhere.

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Old 10-27-2021, 03:38 AM   #5
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I am going to be blunt here! Are you nuts!!

In the winter be ready for parts of I70 to close down due to snow and wind. Mainly parts of Kansas and the plains of Colorado.

I know you stated you do it many times a year so you should know the route I would find out what if any rv parks are open on your route.

As for heaters any of the newer electric heaters will work just keep size in mind when purchasing. My question is are you running the generator to provide electic. You should also have a propane furnace, they however use alot of propane to watch that level.

Not sure what you are referring to about pipe and tank heaters. I really think you should winterize with the pink stuff and use bottle water. Maybe poor alot of pink stuff in the drains to help keep them from freezing. The RV antifreeze does however get slushy.

I wish I could be of more help Good Luck and safe travels
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Old 10-27-2021, 04:17 AM   #6
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I'm hoping you do many shakedown runs prior to your trip!
We have winter boondocked our TT & Minnie many times.
Winterize (1 gal of freeze in the black) & fill propane before you leave.
Propane works best in the cold when kept above 1/2 tank.
Our 25B warms up fine driving down the road with just the cab heater so long as we have a roof vent in the rear open by an inch or 2. Recheck the vent as they tend to vibrate closed going down the road.
Dress for summer sitting in the cab.
Have house batteries that are in excellent condition.
Run your generator for an hour at night to top off batteries and to cook.
Public restrooms when ever possible. Try to poo there too.
DO NOT use gray tanks.
Flush toilet with rv antifreeze-it doesn't take as much.
Pee--empty the bowl then put the antifreeze in.
No showers--take sponge baths with large disposable wash cloths warmed up in front of the heat ducts.
Bottled water to cook & drink.
Keep slides in, curtain off cab & overcab bunk areas.
No tank heaters--use too much battery.
Disposable dishes, silverware & cups.
Heat set to minimum at night and pile on the blankets.
Bump up heat when you get up. 75 is our comfy zone.
When we cook it throws off our thermostat FYI.
If possible put the Minnie's side to the east for morning sun.
If wind is blowing like crazy when you park for the night (like it does out here) point the cab into it when possible.
Build in an extra day for weather.
Always refill your chassis fuel tank at 1/2.
Check out the devoted RV pulloff loops in the KS rest areas for overnights. They are a hidden gem.
We make the same trip to & from the east coast every summer from SD picking up 70 near the CO/KS border. You'll have a great time.
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Old 10-27-2021, 08:01 AM   #7
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We live in Minnesota. It's damn cold here in the Winter. When we head South, here's what we do and we've done it many times.

We do not fill the fresh water tank until we leave the snow line.

We carry gallon jugs of water to use flushing the toilet, washing dishes, ect.

We can usually find campgrounds that are open but will supply electric only.
Many times these campgrounds are at Casinos and we eat there as well.

We have an electric heater that we run in the front to keep warm in the evening. If the bedroom is cool, we use quilts and each other to keep warm.

If it snows and the roads are bad we hole up until it gets better.

We have driven on icy snowy highways with no problem just being cautious.

We have driven when the temps were well below zero and once jelled our diesel. That was bad, but we use additives now.

We have slept comfortably in weather below zero, and with deep snow on the ground, using our gas furnace and electric heater.

Of course we're used to this kind of weather, but anyone can do this if you just be careful and take your time. Be prepared to hole up a day or two in you need to.

Safe travels to you.
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Old 10-27-2021, 08:06 AM   #8
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And one more thing, by using campgrounds we have available bathrooms and showers. These are usually available all Winter long while the water at the sites is turned off.

Roughing it without some amenities is not in our vocabulary. We only do that in the Summer where we boon dock for music get togethers.
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Old 10-27-2021, 08:06 AM   #9
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Thanks to all of you. This is incredibly helpful. We bought the Minnie to carry our dogs back and forth and we are probably nuts too. So what I am hearing here is

1. Don't waste the money or frustration trying to heat the tanks and the pipes. Just winterize them, use truck stop bathrooms and bring bottles of water and add more antifreeze to toilet if used. I will precook our food, so we'll microwave & eat from fridge.

2. Heat - we have propane heat that works great, generator and the F450 tuck front end. Should I get a floor heater or bring an electric space heater?

3. Sleeping in the RV should be ok especially if we can plug in to keep the house batteries full. Does anyone have good recommendations for websites to find sites to plug in? I need some of the old style motels where they open to the parking lot. I currently use recreation.gov but that is only the state parks (and we have the senior discount). Any experienced recommendations welcome.

4. Parking positioning and driving times- thank you for wind and easterly facing recommendations, I might not have thought about it until the following morning. We also only drive about 6 hours a day, so we will have the luxury of waiting until the temps rise a bit before we head out. Usually find a dog park to let the beasts run themselves out before hitting the road.

Again, I appreciate all of your kind help. Truly fantastic

Carrie
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Old 10-27-2021, 10:09 AM   #10
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I might look at a combo of doing with water and without as weather si a funky thing that can't be predicted well in advance, so maybe it works fine to leave home with water---or not!
So some thoughts on how well you can do the winterize if you are trucking along and find the weather for the rest of the trip is too bad to risk it?
Can you get to a point where you can drain it all, suck the pink in all the lines and continue the rest of the trip on jugs and the other suggestions?

Most of us do like the comforts of a having a motrhome so the beds, etc are semiwarm when we get to the stop, so I favor a combo and wait to see how it works out. But that is based on knowing for sure where and how to drain so that it takes less than an hour to fully do it without worry of missing something.

I would not consider going dry camping without power during the winter as cold batteries run down far faster than warm and using space heaters is one way to put the heat in the open spaces like under the cabinets to get those pipes protected when still able to use water for a few more days. You might make the whole trip, but I would plan on not!

We have used a free online park called RV Parkey and find it okay for most cases. NOT perfect nor fully complete but worth the try for the money!

Be aware that New Jersey may be part of the warmer sections of the trip and be aware that Kansas often bails out of the Harvest areas and headed for South Texas in the winter, leaving far fewer spots open. It's cheaper to go South than try to heat the house!
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Old 10-27-2021, 11:11 AM   #11
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Niavete or ignorance

Again, many thanks

If I winterize the "house" (and I like that term it is easier to differentiate from the "truck"), I was under the impression that only affects the water supply and the heating systems were still good. Our heat blows hot, even though we are happy at 68. There are many places along the way to top off the propane to keep it above our 1/2.

I will definitely map out my campgrounds plan in advance where we can plug in each night
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Old 10-27-2021, 10:17 PM   #12
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Very interesting thread. Have often read of traveling with water jugs and gallons of the "pink stuff" but the responses to the OP had a LOT of "seasoned winter traveler" details that are invaluable.

One thing that wasn't mentioned was condensate on the inside of the (single pane) windows from breathing, cooking, etc. Is this not a big deal; or should one consider a dehumidifier (that takes considerable 110v power)?

I sure hope the OP will remember to give us the benefit of their "lessons learned" (+ do's and don'ts) after the trip. It will be great reading.

Good times and safe travels to ya.
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Old 10-28-2021, 03:25 AM   #13
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Boy the best of luck you have really gotten some great info to work with. I did not see and forgot in first post.

Where in Colorado are you ending up? Reason I asked if anywhere in the mountains you may want to think about "chains" as the roads and hwy's at time require them.

Have fun on your adventure and please let us all know how it ended up.

Good Luck and safe travels
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Old 10-31-2021, 04:21 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MsCarrieC View Post
We will be traveling from MD to CO late Dec /early Jan. Our trip will be 4 days and 3 nights and we'll stay along I-70 probably at Harvest Home spots. We do this trip a couple of times a year, but this will be the first in the winter. We will travel when the sun is out, but the temps may be in the teens. We just got our Winnebago Minnie in June she is 16 yrs old, but has less miles than her age times 1000 (only 14k). She is in great shape, but husband and I are disagreeing on our plans. He wants to put the antifreeze in and stay in hotels (did I mention our 3 dogs?). I think we can add pipe and tank heaters and get through it all. In your response, can you tell me if I will be able to keep in warm enough to sleep at night (60s are fine for us)? Will showers be an option (will the water be warm)? Any recommendations for brand of the heaters or advice for installing? Any other heating units I should consider? If I am using the forum incorrectly, please let me know this is my first post.

Thanks
Carrie
Winterize. pour more antifreeze in all drains. pour a gallon of antifreeze in the toilet before you start. carry 2 or more gallons of antifreeze in the bathroom. rinse down each urine flush with antifreeze. Do not use and water in sink drains. nothing but antifreeze in grey tank. I e no sink use. we came across I-10 in November 2020 and it was still not safe .
Frozen lines are a $$$ cartrophy. More $$$ than using hotels! Lines will freeze day and night.
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Old 11-01-2021, 09:21 AM   #15
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We live in Colorado and often travelled in our Class C during the winter, so I offer these ideas:
It is doable by experience people with good planning.
Winterize tanks
Carry portable water
Portable electric heaters plus a propane buddy heater
Heated tanks are nice
RV park hook ups
Tire chains, required by law
Be prepared for last minute weather issues that could last days
Fridge issues, consider not using, or a light fixture running behind fridge.
Monitor weather channels

It's doable
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Old 11-03-2021, 11:11 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by youracman View Post
Very interesting thread. Have often read of traveling with water jugs and gallons of the "pink stuff" but the responses to the OP had a LOT of "seasoned winter traveler" details that are invaluable.

I sure hope the OP will remember to give us the benefit of their "lessons learned" (+ do's and don'ts) after the trip. It will be great reading.

Good times and safe travels to ya.

Yes!!! I will plan to document and report how it goes. It is the least I can do for all of this advice.
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Old 11-03-2021, 11:14 AM   #17
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Can you elaborate a bit on the fridge issues? We are leaving one home and moving to the next. With planning I can eliminate the fridge and freezer use altogether, but it is helpful to have it. It is a 4 maybe 5 day trip for us. We will not drive in a storm as we have flexibility in the travel.
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Old 11-03-2021, 11:19 AM   #18
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Larger MHs, Class A mostly, have residential type fridges with ice makers. The icemaker is plumbed to the MH's fresh water system and both can freeze in continuous freezing conditions. Fridge's without ice makers, absorption and compressor fridges, won't have any problems in freezing conditions.

In any case since you will be inside your MH during the trip, I doubt if it will ever get that cold whether you have an ice maker or not.

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Old 11-03-2021, 11:38 AM   #19
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Boy the best of luck you have really gotten some great info to work with. I did not see and forgot in first post.

Where in Colorado are you ending up? Reason I asked if anywhere in the mountains you may want to think about "chains" as the roads and hwy's at time require them.

Have fun on your adventure and please let us all know how it ended up.

Good Luck and safe travels
Our home is in Dillon, but we keep the RV in Denver. We have lots of friends that are up and down the hill during ski season that use our house and can have them bring our cars down to us. After reading these posts, it just seems that this will be the smartest and safest plan.

Thanks
Carrie
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Old 11-03-2021, 11:41 AM   #20
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Larger MHs, Class A mostly, have residential type fridges with ice makers. The icemaker is plumbed to the MH's fresh water system and both can freeze in continuous freezing conditions. Fridge's without ice makers, absorption and compressor fridges, won't have any problems in freezing conditions.

In any case since you will be inside your MH during the trip, I doubt if it will ever get that cold whether you have an ice maker or not.

David
Oh, thanks, we are Class C, with the smaller fridge and freezer which work great, but no ice maker. Thanks
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