Cold weather use, heated tanks..............

[Mr. Cob]

Howdy All,

I'll be taking a trip in October crossing many mountain ranges between western Washington going to and from central Kansas, I am sure I'll run into some freezing weather along the way.

My 3818 came equipped with the "all weather package" but reading through all the information that came with the toy hauler I still don't really understand what this amounts to and how to use it. The water and waste tanks from what I can gather are heated by the 12 volt electrical system, but I can't figure out if they are heated by the furnace when its in use. As I am traveling will the charge from the tow vehicle keep the toy hauler batteries charged enough to use the 12 volt heaters if I am traveling during freezing weather?

Anyone who can shed some light on this subject is kindly asked to do so, THANKS.

Dave

[azdryheat]

Your gas furnace sends ducted heat to the area surrounding all of the tanks as well as the water lines. Last November we were caught in freezing weather in Texas and even though our front cap was covered in a sheet of ice, nothing in our trailer froze. The campground's water supply was also frozen so we had to use internal water, which went without incident. We didn't run the furnace while on the road but nothing inside froze.

[Mr. Cob]

Originally Posted by azdryheat

Your gas furnace sends ducted heat to the area surrounding all of the tanks as well as the water lines. Last November we were caught in freezing weather in Texas and even though our front cap was covered in a sheet of ice, nothing in our trailer froze. The campground's water supply was also frozen so we had to use internal water, which went without incident. We didn't run the furnace while on the road but nothing inside froze.

Howdy azdryheat,

Thanks for your reply, I have a LOT to learn about this new trailer it has way more fancy stuff then any RV trailer I have owned in the past.

Dave

[donzinger]

I am just curious how one knows the 12V tank heaters are working without an indicator? Are they one all year long or are they thermostatically controlled? No one at any dealer can answer this question with any amount of certainty.

[MisterScott]

Great question. I too have the cold weather package and considering doing a few weeks camping in CO over Christmas. I have no idea how to camp with these campers in the winter? Any advice from - Don't do it! - to it can be done but..... would be appreciated.

[sundancer 87]

Originally Posted by donzinger

I am just curious how one knows the 12V tank heaters are working without an indicator? Are they one all year long or are they thermostatically controlled? No one at any dealer can answer this question with any amount of certainty.

My control panel has three tank heater switches, however, I have no idea what switch goes to what tank. I don't use the half bath so that tank only has anti-freeze in it but I wouldn't want to cook it off in any case.

As to knowing if they are working you'll need to take some electrical measurements. I installed a digital volt meter in the panel to monitor battery voltage and drain. I flip the tank heater switches and see the small decrease in voltage on the meter.

[sundancer 87]

Originally Posted by MisterScott

Great question. I too have the cold weather package and considering doing a few weeks camping in CO over Christmas. I have no idea how to camp with these campers in the winter? Any advice from - Don't do it! - to it can be done but..... would be appreciated.

I give the full weather package about as much credence as the R40 in the roof of my 3800. The BS flag flies high on some of the insulation claims.

I was parked in Oklahoma last year during the winter. Snow and ten degrees. One thing I learned, you may be able to stay warm with the fire place and a few blankets when the propane runs out in the middle of the night but the PEX water lines can't. Hot water from the tank froze somewhere between the tank and faucets. Goes without saying about the cold water.

Parts of the hauler will freeze, besides the humans, if the propane consuming furnace isn't fired up.

[hddecker]

The winter package works OK when you set up and not travelling stop to stop. The problem is when your doing 60-65 down the interstate, you have a wind chill factor that can freeze water lines before your water lines solid.

I would suggest you travel without water in the tanks or lines until you get set up, then drain and blow out the lines before you head out again.

Guess how I know.

[Mr. Cob]

Howdy All,

Thanks for the replies, lots of good and useful information is being shared.

Dave

[DesertRat]

Dave
If you are looking for sunny days just bring your RV like lots of snowbirds do down here around Palm Springs Ca. That's how I met my wife. She was here for the winter with her folks from South Dakota. You wouldn't have to worry about froze tanks or lines down here.

[Mr. Cob]

Originally Posted by DesertRat

Dave
If you are looking for sunny days just bring your RV like lots of snowbirds do down here around Palm Springs Ca. That's how I met my wife. She was here for the winter with her folks from South Dakota. You wouldn't have to worry about froze tanks or lines down here.

Howdy DesertRat,

The ONLY reason I don't live on the road following good weather and rallies is because I have a good woman in my life who is still working as a school teacher. If I were single, long ago I would have sold everything and hit the road.

Dave

[Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Mr. Cob

Howdy All,

As I am traveling will the charge from the tow vehicle keep the toy hauler batteries charged enough to use the 12 volt heaters if I am traveling during freezing weather?

Anyone who can shed some light on this subject is kindly asked to do so, THANKS.

Dave

Your truck does not charge the trailer batteries at all. I have a battery monitoring system installed which reads all charging and I plugged my trailer into the truck and checked with truck engine running and not- no charging occurred.

Some trailers may be designed to charge through the vehicle connection but I suspect most if not all, do not.

[Mr. Cob]

Originally Posted by Wanderer

Your truck does not charge the trailer batteries at all. I have a battery monitoring system installed which reads all charging and I plugged my trailer into the truck and checked with truck engine running and not- no charging occurred.

Some trailers may be designed to charge through the vehicle connection but I suspect most if not all, do not.

Howdy Gordon,

Thanks for your reply, my old toy hauler had its batteries charged while hooked up to the tow vehicle, then again it also had a dirty laundry hamper and a real pull out pantry, a few things that this new one lacks. I "assumed" the new toy hauler would have its batteries charged while in tow I guess I'll have to hook up a voltage meter of some sort and see if they are in fact getting charged when the truck is hooked up and running.

Dave

[wildwest450]

Originally Posted by hddecker

The winter package works OK when you set up and not travelling stop to stop. The problem is when your doing 60-65 down the interstate, you have a wind chill factor that can freeze water lines before your water lines solid.

From what i've read, wind chill can't take an inanimate object below the ambient temp. It can cool it down faster, but if its 32 out and the wind chill is 15, water lines won't get below 32.

[gsj911]

Originally Posted by hddecker

The winter package works OK when you set up and not travelling stop to stop. The problem is when your doing 60-65 down the interstate, you have a wind chill factor that can freeze water lines before your water lines solid.

I would suggest you travel without water in the tanks or lines until you get set up, then drain and blow out the lines before you head out again.

Guess how I know.

Windchill does not affect inanimate objects. Windchill is a value the weathermen will use to guide us as to how cold it feels against your skin. At -30C a bucket of water won't freeze any faster if there is wind applied to it.

[donzinger]

Originally Posted by sundancer 87

My control panel has three tank heater switches, however, I have no idea what switch goes to what tank. I don't use the half bath so that tank only has anti-freeze in it but I wouldn't want to cook it off in any case.

As to knowing if they are working you'll need to take some electrical measurements. I installed a digital volt meter in the panel to monitor battery voltage and drain. I flip the tank heater switches and see the small decrease in voltage on the meter.

I feel - I looked last night - I do have the three switches on my control panel. I will probably trace and label them this winter when I tackle my list of "to do" items.

[hddecker]

Originally Posted by gsj911

Windchill does not affect inanimate objects. Windchill is a value the weathermen will use to guide us as to how cold it feels against your skin. At -30C a bucket of water won't freeze any faster if there is wind applied to it.

Right, but when your on the interstate doing 60-65 you are pushing that nice cold air into the belly pan, through all the little gaps. We all know what a fine job they do when they seal it up and insulate the belly.

The dump valves have a tendency to freeze up and you then have to get a source heat on them to get them freed up.

Made the mistake once, when we left our sons place it was about 40F, everything was fine until we got into 30F and dropping fast. I knew I was going to be in trouble by the time I find a dump station. I was, by the time I got to a dump station half an hour later, the temp was down to 20 and the the valves wouldn't budge.

I spent all of the next day thawing everything out and dumping the tanks by bucket into the toilet.

A lesson well learned and the only thing it hurt was my pride. Take away from my experience what you will. What I learned don't trust your 4 season package to keep anything from freezing up while travelling and never travel with anything in the tanks.

[sawpilot]

Real world experience..... Priceless!!

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Wanderer

Your truck does not charge the trailer batteries at all. I have a battery monitoring system installed which reads all charging and I plugged my trailer into the truck and checked with truck engine running and not- no charging occurred.

Some trailers may be designed to charge through the vehicle connection but I suspect most if not all, do not.

Most trucks have the charge line going to the trailer, however it is going to be minimal at best 2-5 amps (think about the wire size). On a lot of trucks there is an optional relay or fuse that has to be installed to get the charge line hot. It is usually NOT installed by the factory, dealer is supposed to take care of it.

Aaron

[donzinger]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Most trucks have the charge line going to the trailer, however it is going to be minimal at best 2-5 amps (think about the wire size). On a lot of trucks there is an optional relay or fuse that has to be installed to get the charge line hot. It is usually NOT installed by the factory, dealer is supposed to take care of it.

Aaron

Just one more reason why I love having 400 watts of solar!