Tours Travel

RVs and freezing weather can mix, if you’re careful!

When we last left it, we were safe and sound in Tacoma and the Christmas holidays were fast approaching. I promised to let you know how the RV handles the freezing weather.

Cold Weather RV Lessons:

It was December, but freezing temperatures in Tacoma are rare. So when the temperature the first night dropped to 20 degrees (-9 C), we were totally caught off guard.

This is what happened:

  • The hose that connected us to the water froze
  • The plastic pipe leading to the fresh water tank froze.
  • The gas / propane oven ran most of the night.

I need to tell you that our Rexhall Aerbus is a good quality motorhome and all pipes are closed and access is through a sealed outer container. We thought it would be enough if the weather got to freeze or just below. The truth is, if it had only been a couple of degrees below zero, we probably would have been fine. The problem was, it got more than a little below freezing!

Lesson 1 – How to prevent pipes from freezing

If your water connections or any of your water lines are exposed to the outdoors, even temperatures just below freezing can freeze and crack your lines. Even if your lines and fill points are enclosed in containers or compartments, if those areas are not highly insulated and heated, the simple fact that the sewer line or water hose exits through an access hole can bring temperatures. frostbite and problems … as we discovered first-hand.

Our simple solution was to wrap a thermal tape with a built-in temperature sensor (about $ 20.00 USD) around the exposed pipes and valves. We get it at the local hardware store. It is the type designed for water lines outdoors or in tight spaces. It looks like an electrical extension cord that does not have a plug on the end.

When we’re in an area that has potential freezing weather, we simply connect the thermal tape to our full plug-in power box via an additional extension cord (heavy duty) and the sensor takes care of powering up when needed.

That’s all we needed to prevent the container and connections from freezing. We do not connect the water hose in freezing temperatures, we only fill the fresh water tank as needed. If you were staying in one place during the winter, you could use another heat tape and some insulation wrapped around the hose to keep the hose from freezing as well.

For outdoor or dry camping, you can also fill the compartment with insulation or heavily insulate the outdoor water lines to prevent freezing in all but the coldest temperatures.

Lesson 2 – Heat guns and plastic water lines do not mix

My dad had a heat gun that he used to shrink cables and windows. We decided to use that to heat the pipes and get the water pump working again.

BIG MISTAKE!

Well using the heat gun was a good idea, we just didn’t know how hot and how fast it could work. Instead of slowly heating the entire compartment, I made the mistake of blowing directly onto the plastic water lines.

In less than two minutes, he had heated the plastic water line so well that it became soft and with the water line pressurized by the pump … A bubble like bubble gum formed and burst.

I was lucky, my father had just remodeled his kitchen and had the right size plastic water pipe on hand. So all I had to do was finish defrosting things, slowly, and then fix the broken water line. That was just two fittings, about 8 inches of new plastic water line, the heat gun to heat the ends, and the whole thing was screwed back in under 30 minutes. Like I said, I was lucky to be where I had the tools and supplies to fix it myself.

It could easily have been a couple hundred dollars worth of repairs if you had to have a repair shop do it.

On Conclusion: Motorhomes, fifth wheels, and other motor homes can withstand freezing temperatures. You just need to use a little common sense and have a backup plan for when things don’t work out.

  • Don’t let colder weather keep you from enjoying your RV year-round.
  • Test your cold weather skills near your home or family, just in case.
  • Keep extra incandescent lights and insulation on hand for backup and repairs
  • Always defrost frozen pipes and tanks slowly: to fast and think that it can be broken

As we travel throughout the year, we’ll keep you posted on what we learn (the hard way) and how you can avoid the same mistakes (the easy way).

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