How Much Cold Can Newer Winnebagos Take?

[Chugman]

We have a 2005 Adventurer and are concerned about how cold a weather we can safely operate it in without the plumbing freezing? I have seen on other threads people talking about if you have the furnace set at 70 degrees you can be safe down to 10 or 20 degrees outside. At 40 degrees furnace setting it is safe down to 30 degrees or so?

The others ask if our holding tanks are heated? How do you know? I can't see where it talks about this in my owners manual. Many think that a 2005 Winnebago should be capable of operating in pretty cold weather even if it does not have a special winterization package, which ours does not.

The reason I want to know is that we live in the Chicago suburbs and want to take a trip south this winter in January or February. I am concerned about what I need to do to get out of the northern cold and about re-entry.

Art
2005 Winnebago Adventure 37B

 

[Chugman]

We have a 2005 Adventurer and are concerned about how cold a weather we can safely operate it in without the plumbing freezing? I have seen on other threads people talking about if you have the furnace set at 70 degrees you can be safe down to 10 or 20 degrees outside. At 40 degrees furnace setting it is safe down to 30 degrees or so?

The others ask if our holding tanks are heated? How do you know? I can't see where it talks about this in my owners manual. Many think that a 2005 Winnebago should be capable of operating in pretty cold weather even if it does not have a special winterization package, which ours does not.

The reason I want to know is that we live in the Chicago suburbs and want to take a trip south this winter in January or February. I am concerned about what I need to do to get out of the northern cold and about re-entry.

Art
2005 Winnebago Adventure 37B

 

[skigramp]

Art ...

Look in your storage bays to determine whether your fresh water, black, and gray tanks are "visible" ... if they are then they will be heated by the rectangular furnace duct that runs the length of your coach ...

On our coach the fresh water tank is not "visible" (it is between the rails) ... it took some crawling into the storage area to see that there is a small duct from the rectangular duct down into that space to heat it ...

The point of this discussion is that if your coach does not have electrical heating pads for the tanks then they are heated only when there is some way for the heated air from the furnace to get to them.

We leave Wisconsin in January each year ... we leave our rig winterized until we believe the overnight low will be in the 20's ... until that time
1) we flush our toilet with "purple" windshield washer fluid and pour some down the lavatory drain after we use it.
2) we drink bottled water
3) we have 3 or 4 gallons of water in milk jugs in the shower for washing our faces
4) we use disposable plates and silverware

We have also taken our '99 Adventurer to ski areas ... that requires more precautions ...

I have never "returned" to Wisconsin during cold weather ... but if it were necessary ... I would winterize as soon as I thought the overnight lows would be below 20 degrees ...

SUMMARY: you need to keep warm air circulating through your furnace ducts when you are in cold weather unless you have electrical tank heaters

 

[rvcarpenter]

We go skiing alot inour 2001 itasca 30w and just came back from out 1st trip this year. temps down into the 20's and eveything was fine. We and everyone we know that skis use thier water systems freely when we camp, as long as your heat is on you should be ok. I have been in temps down to 0 and below and have been ok.

When your going I would just fill up with water like normal and just keep the heat on. When you come back you will just have to drain all the water out of lines, and tanks. and either put the pink stuff in or blow them out. But keep your coach heated until you drain all the water out.

 

[Dsouthw524]

If you look in your materials for your coach you will find that Winnebago Industries manufactured MHs are made with the holding and water tanks heated - if the furnace is in use. You can check this easily on a cold day, open a compartment and you will be hit with warm air. We have camped with our 99 Suncruiser in some very cold weather and had no problems. The only problem you may have is when you dump the hose will freeze up if you aren't careful!

 

[FrontRangeRVer]

Even if you run your furnace, the heat moved from your furnace isn't really enough to keep the bays warm...we use a space heater in the bays when we are parked.

We dont use the pink stuff when we use our MH in the winter...regular water in the pipes....no biggie...we use ours all the time in the Winter in the snow here in the Rockies...keep your furnace running and you will be fine...

 

[RVDriver]

I have a 2003 Advnture, I was told if I have the funace set at 70 and fan on high speed, I am good until zero. That said I have been down to 12 above over night, and drove home the next day which never got above 14 degrees. I dumped when I got home (in February), no problems.

Since than I started to wounder about how warm the water (on board) and dump area really were. I now have radio shack remote therometers, one in the refridge, (best thing I ever did and the only thing really tested so far), one by the fresh water tank, and one next to the dump valves. Will let you know the results when I leave for Texas in January.

Bruce

 

[Tom N]

I like to use a 110v light bulb in my water compartment if temps drop for a few days. A 50w is adequate. I monitor the compartment temp with a wireless thermometer sending unit.

 

[Oh-one]

We have camped in our 2003 Itasca with temp below 20deg with only the fresh water hose freezing. I bought a Home Depot heater tape and wrapped the hose with the end of the heater tape left in the water compartment. The hose never froze and neither did the compartment fixtures. The main heat was on all the time and the coach felt warm and comfortable.

 

[GG1]

What did you do for condensation? If a dehumudifier was used what kind was used. We just got back from a month long New England trip and had tons of condensation all over.

 

[Cruzer-WO]

We had a 2003 Suncruiser, which is similar to yours as far as heating goes. Your tanks and water service area are heated. We've left WI and dry camped in Minnesota in 10 degree weather without any problems. The furnace does a great job of heating the basement water areas. Actually, it does a better job of heating them than the upstairs because there's more places for air to leak out upstairs and a whole lot of glass area. Once you are in those kind of temps, open the basement hatch and you'll feel the blast of warm air when you first open it. As long as you have the thermostat set above 60 you should be fine in zero degree weather. If the temps are above 25 you should be fine with the thermostat set at 45 if it is just sitting in the driveway between trips. We would fill up a day or so before leaving and then dump and winterize it a day or two after returning. The hoses get stiff in cold weather so keep them stored until you are ready to fill up or dump and then return them as soon as you're finished.

Be aware though that you will use up a fair amount of propane so you're going to want to start out with a full tank.

As for condensation, we found that if we crack the roof vent open about an inch, the condensation is really reduced. The heat loss through there isn't that huge but the moisture really does dissipate. All the moisture from breathing, showers, and cooking has to get out of the coach somehow. Keeping the drapes cracked open a slight amount will also help to keep the windshield from fogging up because the cold air doesn't get trapped between the glass and the drapes.

Also, you need to keep the tanks warm while driving in cold temps. Winnebago has an auxiliary heat switch on the dash which operates an auxiliary automotive heater. This unit is located behind the hot water heater and uses warm engine coolant and a blower fan. The blower fan blows the warm air through the floor heating ducts, therefore it also heats the basement areas. Be sure to run this while driving in cold temps. If you only use the dash heater you won't be keeping your water service bay from freezing.

 

[DriVer-THOR]

We were comfortable inside the coach down to 20 degrees but we're more comfortable here in Orlando at the Central Florida Fairgrounds for the Fall Good Sam "Samboree".

We also use portable electric heaters but you can't use them exclusively. Don't forget to pump heat with the furnace into the floor spaces. Electric heat won't make it into the nooks & cranies whereas forced hor air will.

It's almost 80 degrees and it's not even 10:00 o'clock yet.

 

[rvcarpenter]

Cruiser, nice overview
DriVer, 80 deg! how can you stand it, thats way too hot. I'm glad I'm up here where it's 40 deg.

 

[Chugman]

Thanks for all your responses, they are very helpful.

 

[Clay L]

We have been okay down to 20 degrees with the furnace set at 62.
We have had the grey water outlet and the water freeze up at 12 degrees.

I added a GFI protected outlet to the service bay and plug in a small Westinghouse heater. It has something called "Freeze Guard" which means when set at the lowest heat and thermostat setting, it will come on when needed to keep the compartment at about 40 degrees. That has protected us down to 2 degrees.

 

[LandHo]

Well, I just went yesterday to put the pink stuff in (RV in storage) and I have some ice damage.
We were planning to go south for thanksgiving and decided that we are not going now...so in anticipation of using the rig again, I only blew out the water in the lines...but I forgot about the water in the water pump and the toilet water valve...yesterday, my pump had ice in it. I took off the strainer (which was frozen solid) and poured hot water into the pump intake hole. Also took a small screw driver and pooked at the pump outlet. The ice melted and the pump still works. Can't say the same about the toilet valve. Must've cracked it...it leaks under pressure...guess I need to replace it (thetford). Hopefully that is an easy DIY repair...All this happened because we had 2-3 really cold nights...Lesson learned...next Oct, I will put the pink stuff in, even if we are planning to RV later...

 

[DriVer-THOR]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LandHo:
Can't say the same about the toilet valve. Must've cracked it...it leaks under pressure...guess I need to replace it (thetford). Hopefully that is an easy DIY repair... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>LandHo,
1. The valve is easy to replace.
2. As I recall it was fairly expensive but if the valve ain't leaking it's gotta be worth it.

Been there and done that!

 

[bobpie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Lesson learned...next Oct, I will put the pink stuff in, even if we are planning to RV later </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
At 3.00 a gallon not a bad idea. You can then blow out the lines and recycle the pink stuff to be used again after you return from your winter trip!