traveling and below freezing temps

[mff3429]

Hi,
I have a 2019 Vista LX 30T and will be traveling from Seattle to Arizona soon. Should I keep the RV's water system winterized during my travels south, in case I encounter below freezing temps, or might it be okay to de-winterize for easy travels? Some days driving might be sunny, but below freezing (mid to upper 20's) and overnight lows could be the same. Thoughts or comments? My understanding is that none of the tanks or compartments are heated, nor are plumbing runs insulated.
Thanks much,
Mike

[Marine359]

Our preference is to stay winterized until we reach warm nighttime temperatures. For us, that can be a three day drive. Easy enough to conquer without any real discomfort.

Carry enough water in jugs inside the coach for 3 days. (About 10 gal). Use bottled water for drinking, and jug water for washing and toileting. All water used must go into the toilet. Even if the black tank freezes, no harm is done. No water into the gray water system. Cook if you must, but we usually eat out while winterized. If you need some hot water, do not use water heater. Heat some water on the range top. Make coffee using a pour over or French press. Easy Peasy. Make sure your propane tank(s) are full before departing, and you battery is fully charged.

[creativepart]

It's continuous temps below freezing you have to worry about. If the days are in the 40's and above and only the nights are below freezing but above 25 I wouldn't worry about my water system, especially if running my LP furnace at night.

Your motorhome is less prone to overnight freezes, in my opinion, than a travel trailer would be. There's much less exposed piping.

We recently drove from San Antonio to Tucson and there were hard freezes every night at around 28 degrees. Over a 4-day trip there were no issues. We never winterize unless we expect 48+ hours in the mid to lower 20s, continuously.

Fill your fresh tank and use that for all your water - connecting a hose to city water will likely freeze over night.

[powercat_ras]

I like to wait and just carry a few gallon milk jugs of water to use for cooking, hygiene, and toilet flushing until I get far enough south that below freezing temps are gone. I go ahead and use the grey and black tanks, so long as you don't put much into them they will be fine with a few gallons each in them. Just make sure you don't turn on the water heater until you de-winterize and fill water system.

[Morich]

As mentioned there are lots of vertions of how we can handle things depending on how we travel that trip.
When we do cold weather, we never stay overnight without power connections as it relieves us of so many small worries. We run the propane furnace for sure and often add electric heat at various points if we feel needed.

I did a check of where the furnace and water lines run and it makes me feel you may be bettter than some. One is that the water lines are restricted to a small portion of the rV and not many on outside walls. Those in interior walls will likely be far safer than the couple points on outside walls which I have marked as questions.


One factor is that you do have furnace ducts (which leak air) running through under the floor, making the compartments underneath safer.


So if you want to use the water but leave cabinets and doors open at night, keep the inside above 40F, I would think most of the plumbing would be safe, even if down to 20 at night. Much of the inside heat goes out through those thin little walls where the plumbing is and it heats the pipes in passing!

Black water is slow to freeze and the large amount of water in grey and fresh is slow if warmed durning the day.
One place than "might be suspect is the wet bay, depending how open it is to the heat leaking from the duct but that duct does pass close by the wet bay!
I feel better with a 60 watt bulb in that space, if needed.

[Scotty B]

Having just experienced some really cold temps..
14 in Tombstone - and we were in the mid-20's at nigt for a couple weeks. The day time temps were at least 50 and we had some sun and were OK other than that 14 degree night. I can say good tips from all. I think a key question is how long you're taking on your trip and actual temps. Keep your propane full and use it. We used our heated water hose, but keep in mind that the connection at the tap will still freeze. Wrap the connection in a blanket or towel. Your pipes in the wet bay will also freeze - at least at 14 degrees! Like the idea of a light in there. Safer than a space heater. Don't use your water pump if you might be frozen. They don't like ice. Most campgrounds seem to say disconnect your water hose and use your internal tanks. A space heater in the bath in the morning helps - we don't get much heat in there. It is anxiety producing regardless of what you do when the temps drop low. Safe travels and have fun!