How cold is a WBGO 37F MoHo good for?

Sun88 · 09-16-2021, 09:47 AM

I have a 2013 Winnebago 37F that is new to me this year, and am wondering about the experiences of other owners of 37F s as far as freezing goes. Do I have any freezing concerns down to -10C (14F) this coming winter? It won't get any colder than that, but will I be in trouble anyhow with this rig at that temp?

Morich · 09-16-2021, 02:10 PM

You may need to give a bit more info on the question to get closer to the right answers.
Do you mean using it full time or just tripping or do you mean while stored?

If living in it and keeping it heating inside, all the plumbing can take a lot more because a lot of that heat gets to the pipes but if stored and no heat, things definitely need to be winterized. How long it is expected to stay that cold and what the daytime temps are going to be also change the answers.

Sun88 · 09-16-2021, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morich

You may need to give a bit more info on the question to get closer to the right answers.
Do you mean using it full time or just tripping or do you mean while stored?

If living in it and keeping it heating inside, all the plumbing can take a lot more because a lot of that heat gets to the pipes but if stored and no heat, things definitely need to be winterized. How long it is expected to stay that cold and what the daytime temps are going to be also change the answers.

We are full-time in the rig. Going to Vancouver Isl. for the winter, where daytime temps. are always above freezing, and generally maybe -3 (26F) at night, but a cold blast could give an overnight low of -6 to -10 (14F). So defiantly not winterizing, just wondering if -10 (14F) on a cold night is expecting too much - based on anyone with my rig who has tried it.

Journey39n · 09-26-2021, 04:44 PM

Your propane furnace will keep it relatively warm enough, and shoot heat into the water bay too. But you will want to insulate your water supply line, preferably with a heat tape wrapped around it. For personal comfort, you may want to have an electric space heater or two if your electrical system can handle them.

Our rig is a bit more insulated than yours, we spent a Seattle winter with temps mostly in the 30-45f range, but occasionally dropped as low as 9f that year. Wet with high humidity most of the time, so we did use electric space heaters which kept temps ok during the day, but at night the propane heat would come on. I also mounted a 100w lightbulb in the wet bay, plugged into a thermostat that would kick power on at 35f, then back off at 40f. The wet bay never cooled down below 35.

John Mo · 09-27-2021, 07:27 AM

I wintered in my 2009 Sightseer 35J on an out of town job. Here are my winter living tips:

You can be as warm as you want to pay for. The propane furnace does a decent job, but it sucks down the propane.

I put a ceramic heater in my wet bay with a temperature-limited plug on it so in addition to the thermostat on the heater, power was cut when temps were above freezing. This generally kept me out of trouble.

I used a heated hose for fresh water and that worked really well.

During the workday and over the weekend when I was away, I set my thermostat back to 45-50 degrees to conserve propane, but keep things above freezing.

The two biggest comfort items were another ceramic heater and an electric blanket on the bed. I moved the ceramic heater around wherever I was so I didn't have to keep the whole unit as warm. It was especially nice in the mornings in or near the bathroom. The electric blanket on the bed was a gamechanger. I could set the propane furnace lower at night and getting into a preheated, warm bed was great.

This setup got me through three winters - some were milder than others, but I know I had a few nights at or below 0F. I'd recommend that if you're going to have an especially cold run of weather to pull in any slides that you can to reduce the overall volume that you have to heat.

I had one freeze-up. I don't remember exactly how it happened. I think I'd been away for the weekend. The main water line between the wet bay and the kitchen/hot water tank froze. I had all the cold water I wanted in the bathroom, and no water at all in the kitchen. I cranked up the furnace, set a ceramic heater on high in the middle of the aisle where I thought the water line crossed to the kitchen and went to get a pizza. Water was starting to move at the kitchen faucet when I got back and there wasn't any permanent damage.

NeilV · 09-27-2021, 10:35 PM

I camped in the White Mountains for a few weeks in those temperatures and the only issue was the water line which I just swept leaves over and put a section of rubber pipe insulation over the exposed section going up to the thimble in the wet bay.

You will go through a fair amount of propane though however if you supplement too much with electric heaters to save propane that will limit how much heat the propane furnace will put into the basement.

A lot depends on how protected the camp site is from wind since a site that has a lot of wind blowing through can have a wind chill factor making the effective temperature much lower.

**creativepart** · 09-27-2021, 10:59 PM

We camped in the Rockies at 8300’ elevation in early May and saw temps in the 20’s for three days but we had 3” of snow which tends to moderate things. The propane furnace did a great job, but as noted by others really used a lot of propane, fast. While it was beautiful seeing the RV in the woods in the snow, we left for lower elevations on the 3rd day because we were running low on Propane.

CharlesMoore · 09-28-2021, 04:17 PM

We have a 2002 Journey 36DL. Last winter when the furnace was running well we were going through propane at an alarming rate. We noticed a lot of fellow Class A's and others had ability to connect "buddy" tanks via the propane grill connections. Local propane companies swapped these tanks on a regular basis. This keeps them from having to move for just propane needs - food for thought.