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Old 09-20-2015, 03:26 PM   #1
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Name: Martin
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Cold Weather Question

We are interested in purchasing a Casita Spirit Deluxe 17', but have heard that it is not insulated. That's fine for the folks in the southern United States, but we're from Canada and would want the trailer to help us camp longer into the shoulder seasons. I'm expecting there might be some nights with temperatures down to 0 degrees C or 32 degrees F. We don't mind a chilly room at night and the trailer does have a heater. We'd love to hear from anyone with colder weather experience about whether the lack of insulation might be an issue for us.
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Old 09-20-2015, 04:35 PM   #2
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Trailer: 1996 Casita 17 Spirit Deluxe; 1946 Modernistic teardrop
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We have been in our Casita a few nights when the temps went to about 30 F, but that was in the southern US and daytime temps were about 50 F. When we knew it would go below freezing at night we left the water trickle overnight (hooked to a spigot with a hose, gray tank drain open) We use an electric heater and were quite warm.
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Old 09-20-2015, 04:55 PM   #3
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We've spent a month in night temperatures that dropped below 0 degrees C every night without any problems; it was winter in the southwest. It did require that we disconnect the water every night to prevent it from freezing.

When it's below freezing we usually choose electric sites. We have a twin sized electric blanket for our bed. We rarely find the need to run the electric heater at night. Usually we run the heater before going to bed and early in the morning before getting up.

We cook breakfast every morning and that's more than enough to almost immediately bring the temperature to 20 C.
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Old 09-20-2015, 09:12 PM   #4
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Here is a related thread:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...nfo-71694.html
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Old 09-20-2015, 09:33 PM   #5
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Even down here in SoCal we don't consider 0 C. to be all that cold and will anticipate that temp at nearby nearby mountain and desert campgrounds in the fall through spring seasons. As I mentioned elsewhere, you best friend is a good furnace, such as the Atwood Everest Star or other similar sized forced air furnace. Not to mention a good down comforter. And as a tip, we leave the cabinets open a bit to let the warm air get into the area where the plumbing is located, Not a big deal.
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Old 09-21-2015, 07:52 AM   #6
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I have camped in some freezing weather and found that a small electric cube heater was more than enough to keep the trailer comfortable. no need for electric blankets and no power drain on the batteries.
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Old 09-21-2015, 08:28 AM   #7
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Cold Weather Responses

Hey, thanks so much everyone for these great responses! Lots of good ideas! We've always been tent campers so I had never even considered the possibility that plumbing might freeze. And as far as temperature is concerned, between cube heaters, propane furnaces, and electric blankets we'll easily find a way to keep warm. Next step, start shopping!
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Old 09-21-2015, 08:39 AM   #8
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I am in Edmonton and had our 1998 Casita 17 SD out this weekend and it was down to 0 and maybe a bit colder with no problems. Just make sure that you leave the bathroom door ajar as there is no heat in there and makes for a shock to system when you have to use it in the night. I want to change out the suburban furnace with a quieter one as these ones roar to life! We found a great product for the trailer, fleece sheets, they are Brunswick Sheets and are they ever warm. We were VERY happy with them and we had the furnace set to 50 and were comfortable. They are available here Brunswick Sheets
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Old 09-21-2015, 08:46 AM   #9
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Ah yes the misconceptions. Once the air temperature gets below 0°C or 32°F everything is going to freeze instantly. That's just one big myth. It takes time to dissipate all the heat energy.

We got caught in 5°F temperatures a few years ago. We spent at least 5 day in temperatures in teens down to 5. Nothing froze. The water tank is inside, the plumbing is inside. The only thing that's outside is the gray water tank.
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Old 09-21-2015, 08:55 AM   #10
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Colder temps make for great rving.We have a Coleman Little Buddy for most warm ups.Nothing freezes instantly inside the trailer.Condensation demands a towel .Warm bedding is a must.My favorite time.
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Old 09-21-2015, 09:00 AM   #11
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Dudley, nice to know that Casitas have successfully migrated north as far as Edmonton! I'd be interested to hear more about the options for quieter furnaces. I hate those heating/AC units in hotels that "roar to life" at night and wake everyone up. On cold nights, I'd probably opt to use an electric heater, but we don't always stay in serviced sites.
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Old 09-21-2015, 09:02 AM   #12
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Colder temps make for great rving.We have a Coleman Little Buddy for most warm ups.Nothing freezes instantly inside the trailer.Condensation demands a towel .Warm bedding is a must.My favorite time.
Totally agree, Milt! Summer is just too darn hot and crowded!
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Old 09-21-2015, 09:13 AM   #13
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Our Casita came to us via Arazona and North Dakota! We bought it from a Gene on the forum when he went for a new Scamp. Don't see too many of them this far north except for the ones heading to Alaska! This is Boler territory! If I was looking at a new trailer, I would like a look at Escape.
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Old 09-21-2015, 09:16 AM   #14
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I am looking for an Atwood furnace from a tent trailer or a Propex from Europe. The suburban is just too noisy for my liking and I even looked at replacing the fans with computer fans to quite the beast.
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Old 09-21-2015, 09:21 AM   #15
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Martin
Our Casita came to us via Arazona and North Dakota! We bought it from a Gene on the forum when he went for a new Scamp. Don't see too many of them this far north except for the ones heading to Alaska! This is Boler territory! If I was looking at a new trailer, I would like a look at Escape.
No doubt about all the Bolers around our neck of the woods! We've taken a look at an Escape, but the challenge is that the bed is too small for our liking (except maybe on those cold nights we've been talking about!), we like the layout of the Casita better, and a new Escape wouldn't be available until 2017. We'd consider a new or used Casita, but somehow we've got to see one first!
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Old 09-21-2015, 09:29 AM   #16
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Martin
Our Casita came to us via Arazona and North Dakota! We bought it from a Gene on the forum when he went for a new Scamp. Don't see too many of them this far north except for the ones heading to Alaska! This is Boler territory! If I was looking at a new trailer, I would like a look at Escape.
(Sorry if this turns out to be a double post!) No doubt about all the Bolers in our neck of the woods! We've had a chance to look at an Escape, but our concerns are that the bed is too small (except on those cold nights we've been talking about!), we like the Casita layout better, and a new Escape wouldn't be available till 2017. We'd consider a new or used Casita, but the first step is to actually find a Spirit Dlx 17 to look at!
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Old 09-21-2015, 09:42 AM   #17
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Interesting concept, Dudley!
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Old 09-21-2015, 09:57 AM   #18
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Frosty two weeks ago

We were camping with friends near Yellowstone two weeks ago. Temperatures got down to 26F (-3 C) three nights in a row.

We noticed that almost all trailers have exposed dump fittings, outside any insulation. We did not have any plumbing problems and did not hear that anyone in these large campgrounds had plumbing problems.

We did not use a heater overnight, just two layers of down comforters. We turned on the propane heater for a few minutes when we got up in the morning. We did prop open the bathroom door at night- it does indeed get cold.
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Old 09-21-2015, 01:14 PM   #19
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Martin
If you are coming to Edmonton, feel free to come and have a look at mine, not much difference in years.
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Old 09-21-2015, 01:55 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Ross View Post
Hey, thanks so much everyone for these great responses! Lots of good ideas! We've always been tent campers so I had never even considered the possibility that plumbing might freeze. And as far as temperature is concerned, between cube heaters, propane furnaces, and electric blankets we'll easily find a way to keep warm. Next step, start shopping!
Have you considered the 17 Escape? Its bit better suited in regards to tank locations when camping up here in the North in freezing temps. They do offer a thermo window package if I am not mistaken as well. They do not claim it to be a 4 season trailer more 3 season though.
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