As the winter months draw near, have you considered the possibility of facing a challenging situation while living in your RV? Welcome to our discussion here on Mars, where we’ll delve into the realities of winter RV living.
Think back to last year—do you recall our experience of spending an entire winter in our RV in the chilly state of Pennsylvania? We faced biting single-digit temperatures that made every outing a test of endurance. Ah, the frozen pipes! A true challenge that had us scrambling for solutions. And let’s not forget about the blizzards—blizzards galore, as I like to say.
Today, we’ll explore essential preparations to make your RV winter-ready. Have you considered the value of skirting? It’s a worthy investment, especially in maintaining your propane supply, keeping your water systems flowing, and ensuring your holding tanks don’t freeze.
Additionally, we’ll discuss the most vital equipment you’ll need when embarking on your RV winter camping adventure. This information benefits those planning to brave the winter months in their RV and anyone who might venture south to avoid the cold and only encounter an unexpected snowstorm.
Don’t worry; our advice will avoid the cliché response of “just move your RV; it has wheels.” I admit, that was one of my earlier suggestions—an awkward moment for sure!
As you finish watching this video, check out our other content, designed to equip you with the knowledge you need to thrive in the off-road camper lifestyle.
So when an RV is listed as having the Arctic package or four seasons… What does that mean?
- When you buy an RV right off the lot, it is not made to withstand prolonged freezing temperatures.
- Periods. So please don’t go out expecting you’ll buy an RV, head to Alaska, and call it good. And that’s a huge thing. Even with the special four-season package—whatever you want to call it—you’ll need some extra items to protect you against the winter.
- Some extra goodies. – I like that.
Skirting was the number one thing for us, the most complex learning curve. So what it does is create a wind barrier when you’re out there in the elements. There could be extra wind just sucking that heat right out from the bottom of your RV.
- Yeah. It’s keeping the bottom portion of your RV nice and warm. So you don’t have all that heat loss.
- Also, you will blow through less propane when you have that extra protection.
When we didn’t have skirting and the temperatures dropped low in Pennsylvania, we went through a daily tank.
- Easily. And we have 30-pound propane tanks. We will get into all that and what it means later. But what you need to know is that it is pricey.
So, you know you need to do RV skirting, but what do you do? Where do you start?
- We started with foam board skirting. Super simple.
- Yeah. So, going over the pros and cons of foam board skirting, it could be more cute. And it was a hassle to put on. You’re saying it wasn’t that much of a hassle, but… You’ve got to dedicate a whole day to putting these on.
- That’s true. When you make all those measurements and cuts, the foam board makes a mess, like when you cut it. Foam went everywhere. It’s just… it’s not fun.
- Yeah. But the pros. Super cheap.
- Yeah, it’s cheap. All the supplies cost us around 200 dollars out the door. They’re easily accessible at Lowes, Home Depot, or Amazon.
- What we mean by “super cheap” is that many companies charge thousands of dollars for professional-looking RV skirting and installation.
- If you are doing winter RV living for multiple years, set yourself up for success and go the professional route. Because hey, you won’t want to keep doing and re-doing this foam board skirting.
- Yeah. – It’s just no fun.
We had mentioned before that we were using so much propane without the skirting, which was so expensive.
- And I know what you’re thinking. Why don’t you use your space heaters if you’re plugged into electricity? Or why don’t you use extra heat that works through electricity? We’ll tell you why.
- How do you know what they’re thinking? Can you hear them?
(inaudible rambling)
- Shhh!
Hey everyone. I can hear you, too.
- See? That’s what they just said.
So even though you’re plugged into an electric heater, whatever you want to call it, you got the heated lamps and all that jazz, you still need to keep the underbelly of your RV warm.
- Even though you might have the insulation and the heated underbelly package, you’ve got to use propane to heat the underbelly.
- When we say underbelly, you’re like, what, what? Does an RV have a belly? Yeah. You’re darn right it does.
And what we’re talking about is all your tanks. All your storage capacity, the insulation, the water lines… It’s all underneath where you’re walking throughout your RV. That’s considered the underbelly. It’s the spacing between the outside and inside of your RV.
- You want to make sure your pipes aren’t becoming frozen. Always keep an eye on that temperature. We’ll get into some best practices in just a little bit.
When it comes to propane, many times, people rent a propane tank from a company, and they’ll go and fill it. And they’ll do all that fun stuff. When you’re done, you will give the propane tank back.
That has not been the case twice for us now. You call these companies, and if you say you live in an RV, they’re like, “Whoa. Hold on.” We do not rent tanks to RVers.
- It’s a liability issue because when they give you that rental propane cylinder, they cannot physically check and test the propane lines themselves.
See what your options are out there. But we have had to purchase a 100-pound propane tank. Yep.
- Which is about 23.4 gallons of propane.
- Wow, you’re laying it out there with all the deets. I love it.
- The downside is that now you have a propane tank that you may want to avoid lugging around the country.
- You bought it out of pocket, but the nice part is that they’re in high demand. If you must purchase one, list it online and sell it before you hit the road again.
- The one we bought was about 200 buckaroos. Yeah, and that’s officially money currency. Buckaroos.
I’ve seen the 100-gallon ones. They’re the big boys out there. If you guys have experience getting those filled out on the road or have more experience with winter RV living, please share your experiences in the comments below so we can all learn.
- Why don’t you share… the whole thing using your electric fireplace and the propane together?
- Oh, good one.
Okay, this is where we ran into the first problem with our RV water lines, freezing up. If you’re running your fireplace within your RV, and if you have one, and your propane furnace is in your RV simultaneously, you’ll want to set that fireplace at about five degrees less than what the propane furnace set at.
- Yeah.
- This is because the fireplace will never have a chance to catch up to the propane furnace, which will allow the propane furnace to blow hot air continuously through the underbelly.
- Right, right.
(furnace running)
- Because you don’t want that to stop running when it’s below freezing.
When this happened to us, it was like 75 degrees in here. That fireplace was on and busting out that hot air, and it was nice and toasty. But the propane furnace was not running. It was not blowing that warm air throughout the underbelly. And guess what? Our pipes were slowly freezing up.
- You could also invest in some temperature monitoring devices. Like a thermostat where you have different zones, we have one. We keep one in the fridge.
- I forgot about that. Yeah, we keep one outside and one in the underbelly. So you can keep track of the temperature in the underbelly and know if your water lines will freeze.
Let’s discuss the water lines since we addressed the heater underbelly and all that jazz.
- Yeah, because that’s what will give you problems.
Many people are curious to know, for example, whether I need to get a heater and water hose if I live in an RV in the winter.
- We invested in a heated hose. This heated hose is just as good as what you would buy if you were installing heated water lines underneath your RV, which is essential to continue winter RV living. It keeps those hoses warm enough so that they don’t freeze up.
So, we would hook up the hose, fill up our fresh water tank, undo the hose, and then run off our internal water pump.
- The water tank is 91 gallons, which would last us almost a week.
It all depends on how much money you want to dish out and how much convenience you’re looking for. Those heated water hoses are expensive.
- Yeah, but the nice part is that they’re considered safe for drinking.
- Yeah. If you have a high-end water filtration system in your RV and want fresh water, that might be your route.
When it comes to holding tanks, a big key thing you want to know is:
We always recommend not dumping until your tanks are full — whether it’s your black tank, grey tank, or any other tank.
- That goes for your black tank, no matter what.
- Yes. Whether you’re RV winter camping or summer camping.
What we mean by that is constantly leaving your grey tanks open. You don’t want to do that if the temperatures are going to freeze.
- If residual water sits in that RV sewer line, it will freeze. And when it freezes, it will thaw, which could crack your RV sewer line, creating a mess on your hands.
Just something to think about.
This is where we should talk about how tank heaters work.
- Yeah, mm-hmm.
- Why are you pointing at me? You answer it.
Many RVs come with tank heaters, and these are great. They will warm your fresh, grey, and black water tank. The heater works like a heating pad that goes over your tank.
- Yeah.
- And it will kick on when the temperature drops below about 46 degrees.
- Yeah. And it works off your battery if you didn’t know.
- Oh, snap. That’s a sweet little nifty tip there.
What we did was keep those heaters turned on the entire winter.
- Yes. Just leave them on, peace of mind.
As I mentioned, this is the number one tool you’ll need for winter RV living.
- Oh yes.
- And not even winter RV living. This counts for any RV season at all. You’re going to need this tool.
- Yes.
And what we’re talking about is a dehumidifier.
- Oh man, there are so many people… I see them on social media posts with water dripping or moisture buildup on their walls.
- What’s going on is a buildup of humidity in the RV. When the temperatures inside are hotter and more relaxed outside, that fluctuation creates condensation inside your RV. It would help to stay on top of running a dehumidifier to prevent mould or water damage.
We were super careful about making sure we were running that dehumidifier… all the time.
- Get one without wheels.
- That’s good because the first one we bought had four little wheels. And every time we would travel and leave it in the RV, that sucker would roll around.
- The one we have now works great. It’s not super huge and doesn’t roll around when we’re driving.
- That’s a plus.
Some other things you can do to keep your RV nice and warm inside are:
- Take it away, Carl.
- Were you going to say Reflectix on the windows?
- Ooh. The Reflectix.
- How did I know you were going to say that?
- Our RV looked like the inside of a Hershey Kiss.
Reflectix is an additional insulation barrier we put on our RV windows. Believe it or not, you lose heat through those windows and feel a little draft.
- Yes.
- So, this Reflectix creates an air gap between the windows. It’s almost like an aeroplane window. Have you ever noticed dual-pane windows on planes? It’s the same concept—it creates an extra layer of insulation.
- Do we have dual-pane windows?
- No. We wanted them, however.
- Quick side note. Many people say dual-pane windows are worth it, while others do not. Let us know your thoughts. Keep it clean down there, okay?
Another place you’ll lose heat is around the slide-outs. And since we’re not fancy, we just shoved extra blankets, sheets, and towels around the roller slide.
- Yeah, but tell them about that other thing you know I’m talking about.
- Oh, okay. Pool noodles.
- The pool noodles!
- So we went to the hardware store and bought pool noodles meant for insulation. They fit perfectly around some of the slide-outs. We wedged them in, which prevented extra heat loss.
- The pool noodles were meant for pipe wrapping.
- Yes. They come pre-slit, so you slide one half underneath your slides, and the other wraps around to create a barrier. It worked perfectly and was cuter-looking.
- Well, I thought it was cute how I did it, too.
You can also purchase a little square vent insulator that fits perfectly in your vents. You can take it down whenever you need to open the vents, like when cooking or if it’s getting smoky.
- Or when you’re in the bathroom. Letting it rip.
- Geez Louise.
This is my favourite part.
- Why is it your favourite?
Because this happened to us a couple of times already, and it’s so relatable.
- You know what? It’s going to happen to everyone out there. You’ll say, “I’m never going to winter RV.”
- We hear you.
What happens if you’re headed south and, like we did in the Georgia mountains, boom! Snowstorm or freezing temps hit.
- Texas!
And you’ll want to listen to this because we’ve got some good tips for you.
You want to disconnect your water hose and work off your internal tank. Your RV has a built-in water pump to get water from your tank to your RV.
You don’t have to fill it all the way, just enough to get you through the time you’ll be there. And that is because you don’t want to worry about your water hose freezing.
Another big thing is getting that propane running early and often. Get ahead of the game because the more you wait, the more temperatures drop, and your propane will take longer to compensate and return to the average temperature.
- Go fill up the propane. Just do it quickly.
If you use propane continuously, a 30-pound tank will kick in after about 24 hours.
Many people who first buy their RV only have one 12-volt deep-cycle battery.
- Don’t rely on that to keep your furnace running all night.
If you rely on it to power the furnace, the lights, and the water pump, the battery will quickly run down.
- Electricity plan.
That one time we got stuck in Colorado in negative five-degree temps during a snowstorm…
- Oh yes.
A big thing we didn’t have back then was skirting. If you’re dealing with a severe emergency and trying to keep that heated underbelly going, you can use snow, push it up against the side of your RV, and treat it as an igloo.
- Oh yeah. That’s if you want a perfect workout.
But hey, if you’re doing everything you can to prevent frozen pipes, it might work.
Don’t panic; stay on top of watching the highs and lows of the temperatures where you’re headed. We like to use WeatherBug for that.
- Another one is Windy. It’s free, and it also shows the highs and lows.