Living in my Scamp in the snow...

[Monica M]

Hey all, I know I have been away for awhile, but internet service got pretty expensive and I chose to forgo it. Well, now I am at my sister's house in Santa Fe, NM and plan on staying for awhile. My question is, I am living in my Scamp, showering at my sister's house, but still using the sink in the Scamp. It is supposed to freeze here by the end of the month and it snows here. What do I need to do to keep my Scamp safe from freezing temps? I read about winterizing, but that seems to be for storage, what about if you are still living in it? Any advice would be helpful in my preparing for the weather.

It is good to be back here, has taken a couple of days to filter through all the missed threads. Hope to keep up better from now on. Thanks for any help in advance. Me

[Frederick L. Simson]

What do I need to do to keep my Scamp safe from freezing temps? I read about winterizing, but that seems to be for storage, what about if you are still living in it?

I don't have any 1st hand experience with freezing temperatures over the long term in a travel trailer.
What I've read is that the plumbing system needs to be winterized and not used while you use the other features,
and go to a "Plan B" such as a dishpan and bottled water.

I only encountered freezing temperatures (27^oF) for just a few hours over one night while camping in Victorville, CA in November. It warmed back up the next day, and my plumbing wasn't affected.

[Robin G]

Monica, some friends who travel between Montana and Az Summer/Winter. Only have to deal with it for a short time in the Montana Fall early winter while they close up their home they move into the trailer so it's for a week or two and can be a pain. I would think temps wouldn't be as low as Montana so you might get by just wrapping all exposed pipe with heat tape and staying plugged in. We had some winterized sites and that is what was on the water lines. Never had guest year round, but some brave souls would come in early spring. What you want to avoid is freezing solid for long periods. Black/Grey tanks for sure. People do it all the time so it can be done, it's just about finding the right method to keep your's in proper working order. You have to also think about keeping your water heater going at all times to keep it from freezing if your going to have water running threw the lines unless you can bypass it.



I know that some people skirt (some put hay bales under) their rv's which helps reduce the blowing cold winds. How long are you planning on staying?

[Darwin Maring]

I did this for 5 winters, Monday night thru Fridaay morning.

1. I had an electric heater running 24/7.
2. I left cabnet doors open where U can see water pipes annd drains..
3. I put rock salt in all drains to include the toilet drain because It lowers the freezing point of water. Even though I had sensors in the holding tanks, the salt did no harm.

4. I applied a Heat Tape with a built in thermostadt on the water lines and drain pipes that are exposed outsind and under the camper. That will work for the one's along the wall inside the camper if U can get to them.

[Donna D.]

Monica, for some tips and tricks, check out Charles Watts tutorial about Winter Camping.. In case anyone wonders, I found the link on the left nav bar!

[Lee Senn]

Hi Monica Lee here again. My wife, Norma, and I have some experience in living full time in a 29 foot Holiday Rambler Savoy in of all places Santa Fe New Mexico. We lived for five years at Rancheros Campground, which is about 8 miles out the old Las Vegas Hwy ( just about 2 1/2 miles past the "Bobcat Bite" best hamburgers in the USA but a little quirky but as you have by now discovered so is the town of Santa Fe). First weather varies can get pretty cold but below zero temps are somewhat rare but certainly not unheard of. Snow fall has wide swings, some years very little other years a few storms of 6 to 12 inches but due to the fact that the sun shines almost every day almost always the snow is gone same day but can stay on the ground maybe two to three days at the max. Now to winterizing your trailer FORGET THE INSIDE TOILET! use a porta potti. Norma and I did for the following reasons. In normally traveling the movement of the trailer agitates the ,shall we say product, in your holding tank and when you dump; out it all goes very nicely. Now visualize this and immediately after visualizing it erase it from your mind. When parked with no motion to agitate the "product" as you use the facility the toilet paper and "solids" have a tendency to pile up directly under the toilet. Now when you dump mostly the liquid goes out and the toilet paper and solids remain and dry out until enough new liquid temporairly stops the process but the buildup continues over time. What is occuring is you are building a minature paper mache Mount Everest which will eventually have to be dealt with. Our neighbors at the campground had this happen and it was very expensive and messy to deal with. We always used the porta pot and hence had no problems. We dumped it in the outdoor pottys at the campground ( you can actually dump the porta potty in a house toilet if you are very careful ). Water line we wrapped in heat tape. Our drain line never froze but it was considerably larger in diameter that what I suspect you have. I would suggest insulation around the trailer (I don't recommend hay or stray as it gets wet and can attract critters and when dry can be a fire hazard) what we did was to purchase two inch foam insulation and cut it as appropriate to wedge between the frame and the ground. Worked quite well for us. My typing skills are limited and I am exhausted from this lenghty dissertation and must lay down now for awhile. Best of luck and hope this helps. Lee

[Monica M]

Thanks all, very helpful info. My brother in law is reading and coming up with ideas from all of this, he is a pretty handy guy. Lee, yes, this town is quite strange. Went to a pet parade this morning and there were more single 50 yr old men there stepping over baby strollers to get a better view (and blocking the kids view). All new, don't think I could live here, but I can survive a couple of months. Keep any and all ideas coming, I am keeping an eye on it all. Lee, as for the potty, I don't put TP in it, and most "solid" waste, I use the bathroom inside the house for, so that shouldn't be a problem. Thanks again.

[April Wilcox]

When I stayed in a VW van for the winter in Washington a few years ago, I used pieces of scrap wood around the outer edges to block the wind from blowing up under the van, and kept the snow out too. I just leaned them against the side, and used bricks to hold them in place, simple and won't attract critters. I can't help you much on winterizing, but if you are activly staying inside the trailer keeping the heat running inside should keep your inside lines from freezing up, not sure if it will help any holding tanks. Best of luck to you!