Baby it's cold outside

[stevenjuliehorney]

Brave or crazy? You decide:

My hubby and I are headed south from Indiana in this first really cold snap in the eastern US. Our trailer is already winterized and we are thinking of unwinterizing in southern Alabama where we will stay 2 nights before heading to northern Florida. BOTH states have freezing overnight temps so we'll use our heated hose for hookup.

We are concerned about driving in daytime temps from AL to FL that might dip below freezing. Should we just wait until we get to Jacksonville before unwinterizing?

By the way, we joined this forum when we were just about ready to purchase a Lil Snoozy. I loved all the activity, positivity, and quick replies from everyone. (It's better than Livin Lite IMHO!) In the interest of full disclosure we now have a Camplite 16 DB due to my severe sensitivities (it's all aluminum). Can we stay?

Take care all, S&J

[Raz]

Living in the frozen north I will tell you it will take a very long time to freeze your water lines in the temperatures you are likely to encounter. I would not worry.

What were you sensitive to, to force the sale of the Snoozy? I'm sure folks will be curious.

Can we stay?

Please do. While there are a few who will suggest you might be happier elsewhere, I'm not one of them. We have a number of members who have left the fold for various reasons. Sooner or later most return . Perhaps you will too. Enjoy your trip, Raz

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by P. Raz

Living in the frozen north I will tell you it will take a very long time to freeze your water lines in the temperatures you are likely to encounter. I would not worry.

What were you sensitive to, to force the sale of the Snoozy? I'm sure folks will be curious.

Please do. While there are a few who will suggest you might be happier elsewhere, I'm not one of them. We have a number of members who have left the fold for various reasons. Sooner or later most return . Perhaps you will too. Enjoy your trip, Raz

I concur with all of the above.

As far as temperatures are concerned, they only occasionally dip below freezing in S. Alabama or N. Florida. I live in Central Florida (35 miles north of Tampa). I have been in my current house since the day after Thanksgiving, 2003. Last winter I saw my first freezing temperature. One morning just before dawn the thermometer indicated it was 31 degrees out. Stayed there for about two hours, then climbed into the mid 50s. Right now it is 71 degrees, projected to get up to the 80s by afternoon. If this is your first winter trip to Florida, forget everything you think you know about winter!

[David B.]

Steven, welcome to the forum family, and do stay with us. You probably should change the trailer make in your avatar information area.
Dave & Paula

[steve dunham]

We encountered temperatures at or slightly below freezing when we camped in Northeastern Florida in "WINTER" . The periods of cold came in the morning and at the most lasted 2 hours , not enough to freeze up or damage your trailer.
I would sit outside in the morning and enjoy a cup of hot coffee to the bewilderment of others
.

[stevenjuliehorney]

Originally Posted by P. Raz

Living in the frozen north I will tell you it will take a very long time to freeze your water lines in the temperatures you are likely to encounter. I would not worry.

What were you sensitive to, to force the sale of the Snoozy? I'm sure folks will be curious.

Please do. While there are a few who will suggest you might be happier elsewhere, I'm not one of them. We have a number of members who have left the fold for various reasons. Sooner or later most return . Perhaps you will too. Enjoy your trip, Raz

Hi All. Not sure if I did this right to reply?

We did not go for a Scamp due to inability to deep clean the rat fur lining on the walls and concerns noted here and there of things that could pose a risk for mold (e.g. difficulty draining the hot water heater and the threshold of the entry door leaking). I am extremely sensitive to mold!

We never purchased a Snoozy although we came very close!

A great deal on a more locally available, all-aluminum new-used Camp Lite trailer was best for me (and hubby too 'cause he likes me happy!) so I could sanitize every surface. We don't have any drapes just a small cornice over each of the windows; the vinyl shade is part of the window mechanism. I made all new cushions and covered them largely with vinyl; the new queen bed is encased in an allergy-free cover and we have bed linens that can be machine washed. The rugs are new and I Velcro-attached extra underlayment (from a home flooring installation) to keep the aluminum floor warmer. We will replace the underlayment should it become soiled. The cabinets are a composite material which will be easier to sanitize than wood although the gorgeous wood sure looks sweet too in the Scamp and Snoozy!

To warm things up we have a camper mascot: Kermit the Frog! Here's a picture of Kermie midway through the cushion project!

Thanks so much for the winterizing tips. It's about 8 degrees and has snowed a few inches here in Indiana as we prepare to head south. Yeah God! S&J

[stevenjuliehorney]

Not sure why Kermit did not go through. Here he is!

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by stevenjuliehorney

Hi All. Not sure if I did this right to reply?

We did not go for a Scamp due to inability to deep clean the rat fur lining on the walls and concerns noted here and there of things that could pose a risk for mold (e.g. difficulty draining the hot water heater and the threshold of the entry door leaking). I am extremely sensitive to mold!
Thanks so much for the winterizing tips. It's about 8 degrees and has snowed a few inches here in Indiana as we prepare to head south. Yeah God! S&J

Howdy, post or reply all you want, it's fine with me. Sorry you have such a problem with mold but as I see where you live I can understand. I am from SW Mich a LONG time ago. But now live in the SW desert and don't worry about mold or snow but do watch for snakes and scorpions in the summer. Xlnt tradeoff in my book, no shoveling.
Glad you found something that will work for you. Happy safe travels to you.

[padlin00]

Hi Steve and Julie, welcome aboard. I'd play it by ear, and wait till you get to your destination in Fl to unwinterize if you hear it's supposed to be below freezing. We've spent a few nights dry camping without any problems, it's not like you have to have running water. Just need to find CG's with open bathrooms for the trip down. You can always use antifreeze to flush the toilet at night if you're so inclined.

I've heard good things about the Camp Lite's, nice unit.

[papa-t]

Steve and Julie Welcome. Even though this is a FG forum everyone tries to help everyone. Good luck with the trip.

[TomK]

Steve and Julie, welcome! We just got a Scamp last year, but Camp Lite was on our short list. I never considered the advantage all-aluminum construction would offer to allergy sufferers, but it makes sense. I hope you stick around and let us know how it works out for you. We'll still have camping in common, albeit from different platforms. Plenty to learn and share with the good people on this forum.

Tom

[stevenjuliehorney]

Thanks guys. You rock (and roll!)! S&J

[TomK]

S&J, here's a link that will help you post pictures. Scroll down to post #7. Not too difficult once you've done 1 or 2. Good luck...

Tom

[stevenjuliehorney]

Hi All: Thanks again for sharing your experience and encouragement! Steve and I are back and had some wild adventures on the winter camping side of things. I wrote about it in this blog: It is enough | Hope Beyond Click through the highlighted words, "blog story" inside this posting for a really harrowing incident with faith-filled overtones!


Overall we are pleased that we survived and are REALLY GLAD that our next trip is planned for May not winter! We ended up re-winterizing in a KOA in North Carolina before heading home; thankfully the daytime temps. finally got above freezing. By then we were only using portable electric heating with all 3 ceiling vents opened. We still faced condensation issues (and the little silica-type moisture-absorber thingy could not keep up!) so we will invest in a portable dehumidifier before summer travelling. The biggest surprise was our German shepherd lying on the floor next to the bed caused an unbelievable condensation pool under the insulated rug (rug plus underlayment velcro-ed to the back). Such is life with an aluminum floor I guess! Take care all and keep warm ya hear? Steve and Julie