Cold Weather RV Trailer Living Prep Tips

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71340Duster

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Location
Oak Harbor WA
Shooting to live in an RV this winter, just purchased a used 2005 Komfort trailer. Never lived in an RV through a winter, looking for tips to prepare the trailer. Considering ways to skirt it, wrap water lines, place heat sources where needed. Any/all comments experience would be appreciated, thanks!
 
I have several suggestions to consider...

Turn the trailer so that the ingress/egress side faces south east.

Add tarps in layers witH an air gap in between to block the wind from stripping the heat from the north/north west.

Skirt the vehicle and heat trace any external water lines.

Add a tarp to the top to add an insulating air pocket.

Use supplemental electric space heaters with thermostatic controls at each end of the trailer.

Use 3M heat shrink window film on the inside of all windows.

Open blinds on the sunny side to gain heat during the day and close them tight at night to retain the heat.

Run a dehumidifier as needed to keep the inside moisture below 60%.

Add a wind block air lock to the ingress/egress point if possible.

It’s all about doing small incremental things that add up to make it more comfortable.
 
MOVE SOUTH!!!

I have no advice. When I got out of the Navy I lived in a 10X55 mobile home......didn't know better then......with 2" walls. About froze to death while going broke having propane delivered.
 
In between wives, I bought a 70x15 single wide mobile home.
Was trying to save money and live economically.
1st winter there was mild, no issues.
2nd winter I about went broke paying for propane, running base board heaters, 2 kerosene heaters and closing off the back 1/2 of the home.
Had the shrink wrap on the windows and still had a 1/2" of ice on the inside of them. Heat tape on the water lines, but still froze.
Bought a house shortly after that winter.
Bought a double wide in 2013 thinking I was going to do the snow bird thing, but life got in the way and I wound up with custody of my grand daughter.
Wasn't putting up with another winter in a mobile and bought another house.
 
Spent 2007 & 2008 in a 36 foot motor home in Dayton Ohio. Propane was a bank account killer.
Wound up with bales of straw around it to stop the wind going underneath it. Used 2 electric heaters and an electric blanket. There was a ceptic tank 10 ft away so every two weeks or so I dumped my holding tanks. I filled my clean water system with rv antifreeze during the winter and used antifreeze to flush with. I shower at a friends house nearby during the winter.
I worked 3rd shift so cut the heaters down at night.
 
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is that a 4 season or 3 season RV? if you don't know, your going to find out. your location says Oak Harbor, my oldest daughter lives in lake stevens, so going by what i've seen there in jan / feb. if you have it mostly out of the wind, you'll probably do ok. don't know the rest of the situation, but it you could get parked in a pole barn or something to help keep the wind off, you'd do better.
 
I have several suggestions to consider...

Turn the trailer so that the ingress/egress side faces south east.

Add tarps in layers witH an air gap in between to block the wind from stripping the heat from the north/north west.

Skirt the vehicle and heat trace any external water lines.

Add a tarp to the top to add an insulating air pocket.

Use supplemental electric space heaters with thermostatic controls at each end of the trailer.

Use 3M heat shrink window film on the inside of all windows.

Open blinds on the sunny side to gain heat during the day and close them tight at night to retain the heat.

Run a dehumidifier as needed to keep the inside moisture below 60%.

Add a wind block air lock to the ingress/egress point if possible.

It’s all about doing small incremental things that add up to make it more comfortable.

Thanks, there's some good stuff in here that I can do, and some that I can't. Even though it's on 5 acres, there's still an HOA and it can't have too many tarps, as practical as they are. Will definitely do the dehumidifier, supplemental heaters and heat lamps where needed under the skirt.
 
MOVE SOUTH!!!

I have no advice. When I got out of the Navy I lived in a 10X55 mobile home......didn't know better then......with 2" walls. About froze to death while going broke having propane delivered.

When my wife and I were dating in the late 80's we lived in a mobile, got two $600 back to back power bills, was a Top Ramen time : )
 
Spent 2007 & 2008 in a 36 foot motor home in Dayton Ohio. Propane was a bank account killer.
Wound up with bales of straw around it to stop the wind going underneath it. Used 2 electric heaters and an electric blanket. There was a ceptic tank 10 ft away so every two weeks or so I dumped my holding tanks. I filled my clean water system with rv antifreeze during the winter and used antifreeze to flush with. I shower at a friends house nearby during the winter.
I worked 3rd shift so cut the heaters down at night.

That's the second time I've heard about electric blankets. I'm kinda wondering about my sisters advice, she lives in a much colder climate near Bend Oregon. She said open up all internal cabinets with plumbing, access panels etc. and keep the heat up to get heat to this piping where it comes into the trailer. I expect to use a lot of power this winter, would rather pay the electric and gas bill than deal with trying to defrost a black water tank etc.
 
is that a 4 season or 3 season RV? if you don't know, your going to find out. your location says Oak Harbor, my oldest daughter lives in lake stevens, so going by what i've seen there in jan / feb. if you have it mostly out of the wind, you'll probably do ok. don't know the rest of the situation, but it you could get parked in a pole barn or something to help keep the wind off, you'd do better.

Thanks, we are considering a metal framed roof cover that has siding running partly down one side. Thing with that is one side has the tip out, so it cant go too far, other side has an awning my wife wants to have out. This would keep some of the weather off but the wind will probably be such a pain that we will get tired of taking it in (this one's manual on this older trailer).
 
Here's a couple pics of the trailer. Will likely get something different down the line after we build, either a 5th wheel or motorized, not sure. THEN we can do road trips to places like..... I don't know.....Carlisle!!!

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IMG_4527 (1).jpg
 
nice. sounds like your going to be building a house. if your also doing a shop / garage big enough to get the trailer in, do that first, then you'll be able to live in it, in the shop, while you build the house.

also check out the Garage Journal
 
Something you might consider is a pole shed. And close in 3 sides.
The wind is the biggest thing, and if open side is to the south better yet.
I have spent a few years in mobile homes,water/plumbing is a big thing.
Keeping heat up is an expensive way to go. awnings do not take snow at all.
The insulated skirting and heat underneath wil be the biggest thing to prepare for.
 
Now that I see what you’re staying in, I’d strongly recommend bails of straw all the way around. Not sure where you’re at, but here in south west Ohio when the ground freezes it pushes up. Had a water connection come apart that way. Happened while I was gone. Sprayed water onto the underside of the trailer. Soaked the floor which expanded and became a huge repair. Best advice I can give you is to rent an apartment over the winter. Cuts down on listening to the wife complaining.
 
Now that I see what you’re staying in, I’d strongly recommend bails of straw all the way around. Not sure where you’re at, but here in south west Ohio when the ground freezes it pushes up. Had a water connection come apart that way. Happened while I was gone. Sprayed water onto the underside of the trailer. Soaked the floor which expanded and became a huge repair. Best advice I can give you is to rent an apartment over the winter. Cuts down on listening to the wife complaining.
Fire hazard. Insurance null and void. Attracts rodents. And mould.
 
A few years ago another job.
Heavy snow trashed hundreds of trees in a campground.
We stayed in a log cabin that was heated with a pellet stove.
Worst 2 weeks of my life. Cold,damp,no water and the septic line froze solid in the first 4 days. Dealing with the forces of nature in that case was a losing battle. Dealing with temps near zero farenheit or colder requires a whole different game plan.
Had the brains of the outfit spent time preparing for this situation the outcome would have been much better.
 
If you own the land, and are going to build a new home.
Contract someone out to build you a pole building that you can use later for a garage.
Put the RV in it.
And also if you have not camped before, do not leave the black and grey water lines open, or you will just end up with a big pile of poop in the black tank.
 
Electric heated mattress pad in winter. A lot of cold comes up through the floor, and our queen bed is built so it is sitting on a storage area. No heat can get underneath it, so that mattress pad is the cats pajamas. Also keep a close watch on your drains/valves in freezing weather. If you can supply some warmth to them, all the better. Keep a heat gun handy for emergencies.
 
It is imperative to block off the cold air under the unit. Use heat tape to keep water lines from freezing. They plug in to electricity to keep hot.. Get a skirt on that unit. You wont be sorry....
 
They are doing alot of pipe line, and oil/gas drilling here.
I feel sorry for the family's that are staying in RV's thinking they can make it thru a WV winter, alot of the plates on them say TX and OK, those guys are going to freeze to death.
 
Thanks for all the comments to this point. One thing I will say is that I live on an island in the Puget Sound. I say this because the surrounding salt water makes the winters more mild, not that it can't get to 10 below, it did last winter but that is extremely rare. BUT that is the temperature I am aiming to protect to. I likely will not construct any pole barn, the RV is where the shop is to be built so skirting, insulating the water and septic lines and placing heat sources is probably the majority of what I'll be doing. In addition I have two open trenches because I just got the well pump and two faucets installed. One is from the well head to the pump house and one 300 feet away at the RV/power H frame. Lots to figure out in a few short months, thanks again for the comments.

IMG_4510 (1).jpg


IMG_4511 (1).jpg


IMG_4514 (1).jpg
 
I agree, the one at the H frame actually is but the well connection looks to be less than 18 inches although the center of the ditch is 24 ish. I'm told the frost line here is 18 inches but I want to treat the pipe with insulation all the way from the well head into the pump house. I also need to insulate at the H frame starting down at the bottom up the faucet. Trying to get smart on the best materials for that.
 
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