Hi, I'm new here

[texas law dog]

Hello all fellow members, I'm Greg and I joined to learn new things about all things RV. Specifically, right now obviously, my concerns are dealing with cold weather and it's affects on my rv. So, any info would be of great service to me and I thank anyone who would take the time to help inform me of these things.
Thanks and again, Howdy,
Greg

[Kai in Seattle]

Hi, Greg, welcome! LOTS of people here have great information;what and how much you need of it depends on what your circumstances are.

What do you have in your RV, what have you done so far (winterizing), etc.

WE have just an empty shell right now, frame is in the shop, so no particular effects unless we get a big snow, which we seldom do. We have it wrapped in a tarp with sandbags around the bottom edge because the windows leak a little and without the floor, the door isn't set right any more and it leaks.

Welcome again, best to you!

Kai, Paul, Nimble, Cinder in Seattle (more or less)

[texas law dog]

Hi Kai, is that alliteration? I had that stuff in 10th Grade English?

Anyway thanks for the welcome. You're my first responder. I was used to winterizing the RV but now my cousin is living in the rv and this presents a whole new set of problems. We didn't have time to put skirting up and I know that would help.

Right now, the water line is freezing when the temp gets to about 18 degrees. So far nothing has busted but we are worried they will burst if we don't remedy the situation soon. I have put heat tape to the only portion of the water lines we can see underneath the floor but it hasn't helped.

Is there anything else I can do to help prevent this.
Thanks again Kai,
Greg

[Kai in Seattle]

Hi to you, Greg,

Some here have suggested getting some bales of hay. Run a regular light bulb (incandescent and not too big--60 Watts should work) under your trailer, and shove the bales of hay all around the perimeter.
You can wrap them in tarps first, or not...the hay acts as a thick insulation, the incandescent light bulb puts out a surprising amount of heat.

We used to have an "outdoor dog" who was only 14 pounds and lived in a lightbulb-heated doghouse all winter and did fine--we did make a thick, insulated fabric door flap for him. Also, you could get some rolls of clear plastic and tape it over the windows inside, though condensation might be an issue.

Our son lived in an "airstream" knock-off for a winter and did that--he went through a lot of heating propane, though! And in WA state it didn't get down to 18 degrees that winter.

Boy, 18 degrees is hard to deal with--but check with a local feed store and see about the hay bales...

You could also get those silver insulating rolls and tape them around the bottom edge of the trailer...gotta do something to isolate the underside for keeping the warmth going. Do consider an industrial-type cord for the lightbulb--you could combine hay bales and that silver stuff...most big box hardware stores carry it...you can use that to wrap any exposed water lines outside the hay bale barrier...

Hope others chime in, many have had this issue!

Best luck with this! Frozen pipes are a mess in a trailer! (Well, OK, a mess anywhere!)
Kai

[Darnelle]

Open the lower cabinets to let warm air enter and reach water pipes.

[texas law dog]

great idea about the hay bales, also, thanks Darnelle for the suggestion, thats very easy

[texas law dog]

now, because of the frigid weather, there is a leak where the galley enters into the septic line!!! Keeps gettin worse and worse

[Kai in Seattle]

Oh, no!

Husband Paul suggests a new pipe/fitting..."mobile home" ownership isn't for the faint of heart.

Will you let us know how you handle it and how it works out?

[texas law dog]

Kai and Paul,
thanks for the info, I will let you know how it goes. But, I'm in Maryland and my cousin is in the RV in Ohio so it takes time for a suggestion to me, to tell my cousin, then he considers it and we decide. So, let you know as soon as we proceed.
Thanks,
Greg

[Ironhinge]

as a stop gap help for now - running the water on a trickle will lower the freezing temp of the pipes. Should help with the supply lines, not sure about the drains.

[texas law dog]

Hey IH, thanks for the tip, we just started that and it helped

[bullfrogeh]

Today's weather forecast would seem to indicate that anyone living in a small freezing trailer, in either Maryland or Ohio - should consider indoor and much warmer locations before the 'big one' arrives later today - or, at least consider where you're going to hide the snow blower, within reach. Pleased to hear you're keeping this big-one 'south of the border' - "Thanks" - from someone about 500 miles to the north-west of the 'big-one'.

[Kai in Seattle]

No kidding, hope there's an alternative place for him to stay just in case! Be sure to keep the snow load brushed off the roof as much as possible.

[Jon in AZ]

Hi, Greg! Just got off the phone with my mother in MD… does not sound like good weather for RVing! She decided not to take her RV to FL this year, and she's regretting it now…

Your incoming water line is heat-taped and wrapped with insulation, right? If not, you should disconnect and drain it and use water jugs inside the trailer.

Make sure you have plenty of propane- hate to run out in the middle of a storm- and make sure your battery is fully charged so you can run the furnace if the power goes out.

BTW- what kind of trailer is your Cougar? It doesn't sound like any of the molded fiberglass models that are the focus of this forum… Without knowing more about the trailer, I'm not sure what to advise regarding the holding tanks.