Water during cold weather - Fiberglass RV
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Old 08-28-2019, 10:06 AM   #1
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Name: Shaun
Trailer: 92 casita freedom 16
Utah
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Water during cold weather

I am having a hard time searching the forums but I'm curious as to what any of you do for water when you travel at times that the nights may be below freezing?

I would like to have some water for showering and kitchen clean up. I just don't want to damage water or drain lines if anything freezes.
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Old 08-28-2019, 10:42 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Swmalone View Post
I am having a hard time searching the forums but I'm curious as to what any of you do for water when you travel at times that the nights may be below freezing?

I would like to have some water for showering and kitchen clean up. I just don't want to damage water or drain lines if anything freezes.



I don't now about Caita but my Scamp has been in 5°F temperatures and not had a problem. The fresh water tank is inside and I always keep the inside between 40° and 50°.

I once camped in a RV park where the hose going from the water connection to the trailer froze. But never have I had the fresh water tank freeze or the plumbing inside freeze.



A lot of people get really concerned about freezing. To freeze it takes a while well below freezing. Think about how long it takes to freeze ice cubes.
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Old 08-28-2019, 10:43 AM   #3
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I use a garden sprayer. About 15 - 20 bucks at any store with a garden center. Heat some water on the stove, add it to cold water in the sprayer to the desired temperature, pump up the sprayer, then you can shower, wash hair, clean dishes, whatever with warm, running water. Place a dish pan in the sink, and you don't have to worry about the drain plumbing either, just dump the dishpan outside when you are done.
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Old 08-28-2019, 12:43 PM   #4
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Name: Gordon
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When damage occurs will depend on many things such as the construction of the trailer, how much of a water system there is (or is not), the volume of water, the outdoor AND inside temps, the wind, etc.. Some people claim (perhaps unconvincing) to suffer no ill effects as low as 5°F but I know in my trailer one overnight with a low of 5°F would damage it. In fact I am pretty sure that the water heater shutoff valve started leaking after freezing even though the trailer was winterized because a small amount of water remained in the valve or pipe next to it, since it was off when I winterized. A small amount of water inside a valve, pump, etc will freeze much sooner than a full 10 gallon water tank.

So you have to consider all these things and decide how much risk you want to take.
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Old 08-28-2019, 02:05 PM   #5
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Name: Shaun
Trailer: 92 casita freedom 16
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I have only had the casita for a year and last year I winterized in October. This year we plan to take it down to the Moab area around Thanksgiving. We have gone down there the last few years and stayed in hotels. One year was really cold with hard freezes the other two had minor frosts. I guess I will just have to decide what I am willing to risk. I may talk to my wife about the idea with the sprayer. I usually take a large water jug of drinking water it would be easy enough to bring a second.
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Old 08-28-2019, 03:11 PM   #6
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We spent a few days boon docking in Horse Thief BLM CG in the Moab area last year. There is a private campground on the Highway just north of town. I believe they charged $6 for a nice hot shower. I'm sure there are many more like that around the area. We found it convenient since we had to come to town to get water anyway.
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Old 08-29-2019, 02:29 PM   #7
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Name: Jann
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Swmalone View Post
I am having a hard time searching the forums but I'm curious as to what any of you do for water when you travel at times that the nights may be below freezing?

I would like to have some water for showering and kitchen clean up. I just don't want to damage water or drain lines if anything freezes.
In our Casita we open the cabinet door under the kitchen sink and by the hot water heater. We try to keep the inside temp at least 50-55 or more. Always unhook the hose from the faucet to the trailer and use the pump when it is cold. If you freeze up the campgrounds faucet you will pay for it. We put at least a half tank of water in so it won't freeze so easy. Our water tank is under the dining seat but we keep the bed made up all the time. Keeping the cabinet door open by the sink allows heat to the tank. Keeping the door open by the hot water heater allows heat to get to the pump or you could open the door by the pump for more protection. We keep the hot water heater on so it can't freeze. We don't go out though if it is extremely cold unless we are just passing through an area.
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Old 08-29-2019, 08:10 PM   #8
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do some research on "4 seasons" units. Then add some modifications to your trailer to bring it up to those standards of what keeps the plumbing systems working in winter time.
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Old 08-30-2019, 05:35 AM   #9
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They make heated water supply hoses that can be used if the cg has heated water bibs.
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Old 08-30-2019, 08:33 AM   #10
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Name: Shaun
Trailer: 92 casita freedom 16
Utah
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We won’t have any hookups. I will look up 4 season and see if there is anything I can do to our trailer to make it a bit more weatherproof. I was thinking of placing some chemical handwarmers in strategic areas as a bit of insurance policy. I’m mostly worried if the temps drop a lot while we are out hiking which happened the first time we were in Moab for Thanksgiving. We were out hiking for a few hours and came back to a thick layer of ice on the windshield. Of course the next time we went it didn’t seem to drop below 50.
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Old 09-04-2019, 03:52 PM   #11
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Name: larry
Trailer: Casita, but in the market for a bigfoot
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casita in the cold

We encountered cold weather with our casita. Not sure how cold but into the upper 20s for sure. Enough so that ice formed on the exterior. We never had any trouble. We did have a furnace to keep the inside warm. As all of the plumbing is inside the hull, I would think that you would be safe into the lower 20s. Provided you kept your furnace on (assuming that you have a furnace).
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Old 09-07-2019, 08:15 AM   #12
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Name: MJ
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K corbin,

Have you done this? Did the 4 season modifications work for you?

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