Freezing Weather

We will be traveling through northern NM into west Texas the first part of March on our
way to New Orleans and on down into Florida. We're concerned with freezing temps the
first night or so before reaching more temperate climate. We won't be using the trailer
at that point but was wondering if we drain the tanks if we should be alright without
going through the anti-freeze routine. At this time projected low temps could be mid to
high 20's. Any useful experiences would be appreciated.

 

I just ordered a 550 without water in part for this reason (but also for other compelling reasons) but gather from previous posts and videos that it is not just the main water tank but also the pump and the hosing and spray head that can all be damaged by water freezing in the system. I'd say better safe than sorry on this one. Draining all the water that you can and using cheap vodka is one way to do it if you don't have easy access to RV antifreeze. It looks to be a pretty straight forward process though from the video posted a while back:

 

Don't trust long range forecasts or average highs and lows. When we headed north this winter we aimed for a window where the forecast high would be 50 degrees. It didn't get above freezing, and at one point it was at least -4.

I suspect overnight at mid-20 degrees is not likely to do much harm, particularly if the temps are above freezing throughout the rest of the day. If you have the Xenon lighting in the galley, you can leave that on with the hatch down and it will help keep the temperature higher so that the plumbing lines won't freeze (unless it is REALLY cold). It won't significantly discharge the battery since you will be keeping the battery fully charged with all the driving that you will be doing.

If you get close to leaving and find that you will be traveling in temps below freezing for a few days, you may want to see the threads about winterizing with vodka, since it is easier to flush the tank and lines once you are ready to use the galley. And I can also add from recent experience to make certain you winterize the sprayer (if you have one) and unscrew it from the hose until you are back in warm weather.

I would think that the mountains of NM are likely to be the coldest part of your trip. Staying overnight at lower elevations would likely mean temps that aren't as cold and thus the likelihood of problems would be less.

 

Great advice from all. Learned the "freezing sprayer" from last Fall I suppose. Cary just mentioned he had 3 folks with the same problem in the last few days. Unscrewing seems the prudent thing to do. I am interested in the vodka solution as with Bear I'd prefer not to go the anti-freeze way. I mean, how much flushing does one have to do to fully clear out all residue? Did it once bringing the trailer home a year ago. Anyway, how much vodka should one use to keeps things safe? Seems a waste to pour the entire bottle down the drain. Should only be in northern NM into west Texas for a day or two in early March and then back the end of the month so don't know yet what temps we will get. Just looking at norms now. If the tanks are "drained" as best we can without blowing them out would just a small amount of water left over freezing cause damage to the tanks? I would think we could drain the hoses and faucet
enough to prevent a problem. I understand we are dealing with a lot of variables here.

 

If I remember correctly it took about half of a 1.75 liter bottle to get the pump primed, and some coming out the faucet. We don't have the sprayer.

 

The thin sheet of ice that might form on the bottom of the tanks won't harm them. You just need to have anti-freeze or vodka there in order to get the stuff into the pipes and drains.

We don't sweat the anti-freeze issue because most of our drinking water comes from a 3 gallon Igloo cooler (boosting our total water capacity to 11 gallons, plus we have the 5 gallon jug that we bought in order to get fresh water in Mexico if we sometimes feel we need more water). And I suspect any residual anti-freeze in the water that we use for making coffee probably gets boiled off.

 

Part of the inspiration for purchasing our Camp-Inn was to extend the camping season at both ends. We've had our windows frozen open at 10k ft with a light snow; no damage to the water system. I recently became more concerned in a windy 25 F at sea level; I drained the supply tank into a spare 5-gallon jug and left it in my truck cab. Refilled the trailer in the morning. No problems.

I'm curious to know at what temperatures (at or below freezing) people have camped and had or not had problems with their water systems.

Thanks,
--Ken

 

I would drain the water,and you should be fine

 

Typically an overnight freeze is not a problem if the faucet and sprayer hose is drained of all water at night. The tank is flexible enough to be OK so should not need to be drained unless 100% full maybe. What we worry about is the internal parts like the pump and strainer. If camping in temps that are continuous freezing temps through the day you would need to winterize it. Draining the water from the system will not prevent damage in the case of extended freezing temps. The water does not drain out of the pump and strainer. You need either a RV antifreeze or alcohol of some sort to winterize it.


Cary

 

Can you blow out the water with a compressor?

 

No, it is not intended to be blown out, the water would still stay in the strainer for sure. Has to be winterized per the video link above.

Cary

 

This was our first winter of Camp-Inn storage. Portland *occasionally* has several days of hard freeze. Hasn't happened for a while, what with generally warming climate. But wouldn't I feel stupid if I had to replace the water pump for not spending $5 and a half-hour?

Being a little conservative with our new-to-us camper, I did follow the video, using about a half-gallon of RV antifreeze, got it into the various spigots and the sink drain, and unscrewed the sprayer head.

Last night I flushed it all out. If you set up with a good filling system and a drain hose it's low stress and pretty easy. Before long I'd done 3 flushes (with partial fills) and the water was tasting sweeter than it did last fall. Fewer sediments too.

Highly recommended!

 

To add a data point to my own question, we just got 4" of snow overnight at the north rim of the Grand Canyon last week (ca 30 F), no damage.

--Ken

 

Looks like we have parallel threads going on. Check out "Freezing Water?" for more info.