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Camper in freezing temps

So we are leaving tomorrow for my son's Valle Vidal elk hunt in New Mexico. We are hauling our 23' camper and weather forecast is calling for night time lows of 10 degrees for the first two nights and then lows of 27-29 degrees for the rest of the week (highs in the 40's and 50's). We were planning on lows in the upper 20's and hoping to get by using the water/plumbing system in the camper without worrying about pipes freezing but with temps down in the low teen's I'm pretty worried about everything freezing up. What would or do you guys do? Just winterize the water system and not use it during the hunt or just risk it and hope the pipes don't freeze up and break? It would be a bummer to not have water in the camper, but I also don't want to have an expensive repair when I get home. The campground (Cimarron) has pit toilets, but is primitive and has no running water, hook-ups, etc. Thanks for the advice!

Sean

Is it a 4 season camper? My 5th wheel has a heated underbelly which keeps the lines from freezing. If it’s not, I’d winterize it to be on the safe side.

Take several 5 gallon containers of water. If it warms up enough that you are not worried about freezing you can put them into your camper then use the shower. If you do this take a big funnel because, at least on mine it a pain in the ass to add water this way without one. You can use one on counter for a "running" sink. Don't think you will have any problems having water going into your grey water tank.

Depends on where the water lines are located. We never had a problem with my uncles 5th wheel or our cabover in temps that cold back in the 80's. When I was an RV tech the only problem I saw was the black and grey tank dumps were a block of ice from water off the road freezing around them. No way to dump the tanks until they thawed.

I assume you will be running the heater so with the plumbing and fresh water tank in or around the trailer I think you will be fine. My fresh water tank is inside the trailer under my bed and haven't had any issues at 15-18 degrees. Good luck on the hunt.

You can get water tank heater pads for cheap.They literally stick right to the water tank and pipes and have an internal automatic thermostat to turn on and off. Cheap and super easy to install. But it also depends on where your tank is located and where the lines run. My new camper has the water tank located inside under one of the seats and all the lines are run inside. But you can also place those heated pads on the black and grey tanks too

Think I'd ruff it the first couple nights if all else fails.

Probably best to winterize it. If for some reason the heater doesn't work you could be in a bad spot.

I use my camper every deer season here in Michigan and have never had a problem. Ive camped down to upper teens just leave the furnace on. My camper (StarCraft) does have climate package

It's not the pipes I'd be concerned with, typically those are the flex blue and red pipes. I'd be more concerned with the plastic fittings cracking. Which, if happens are easily fixed. But I think you should be good.

I've seen people take sheet plastic, wrap around the under side to block air flow to keep the heat in temporarily.

I would winterize and not worry about it.

Eddie... that's a really good idea. A guy could 'skirt' the outside in Tyvek and throw a little buddy under there for a bit in the morning and evening to make some heat

I wouldn't worry with the buddy heater if the camper heat is on. Blocking air flow will help a lot.

Becareful with the Buddy heater. I put one in my ice shack. Heat rises and the area directly above melted and blackened. Note it was in confined space, however I don't want your camper to burn.

Good point, PD. I know of 2 different guys that used their campers in NM during cold nights. They only had issues in the morning with the water, temps in the day thawed the lines. Take an air tank, open the low point drains and blow the lines clear at night.

As long as it is enclosed with the furnace running you will be fine. You may have some in the grey or black tank freeze, but there is around 30gal of expansion room there so not much to worry about. Having said that, tank heaters and pipe heaters are fantastic, and very easy to install as long as you have 12v available. I will be installing several for customers this week.

I know what Id do and I wouldnt want to be dickin around with the possibility of frozen pipes during a hunt.

Winterize. Haul water and when it warms up, then fill with water. You'd be surprised how little water you use by not using the inside crapper

Thanks for the input. I think that we are just going to winterize it real quick and not worry about it. Just one less thing to distract us from the elk hunting!

I lived full time in a 28 foot travel trailer for 6 and a half years (7 winters) lowest temps most winters were right at 0 to maybe a few days with 8 to 10 hours at 5 to 10 below, wind chills sometimes in the double digit minus .... closing the bottom in helps a lot, unhook the water supply, open the cabinet doors below the sinks, and put heat tape on the wastewater tank (if you have power) DO NOT put space heaters underneath. Plan on carrying water when it's much below 20 degrees. Keep plenty of propane on hand, as well as plenty of blankets and a warm sleeping bag. An electric blanket can be a big help. Hay square bales are a great way to block and insulate around the bottom, and easy to move if you need to access

2 days without running water would be horrible but I think that’s the route is go. ;)

LINK I've gone LOTS longer than 2 days

2 days without running water would be horrible but I think that’s the route is go. ;)

My lines are all on one side of the camper so I face that side toward the sun. I don't run my furnace at night and occasionally when it gets into the low-teens the water lines will freeze or slush up. But by midday everything is fine as long as the sun is shining. Which it should be where you're going. Just got back from a hunt where temps got down to 14-15 at night for several nights. No problems.

If I were you I would go and not worry about it.

I wouldn’t worry about putting any water in your tank. Like others have said, just bring 5 gallon water containers to use for your cooking. Buy cheap cases of water bottles for drinking water. You can heat up some water on the stove in a pot to wash with and dump the water outside on the ground.

It will be slow driving going in if the road is as rough as it was a few years ago. It will rattle your camper to pieces! Beautiful place and wish I could hunt there again. The area I killed my bull is now closed because the State and Ted Turner don’t have an agreement anymore.

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