I full time in my 32' 5th wheel. Here's what I did for my water line. I have a 10 foot line with a heat tape on it and covered with foam pipe insulation then wrapped with duct tape. The joint where it goes in the trailer is covered with foam and heattape also. Get a styrofoam faucet cover at Walmart and another heat tape to wrap around the faucet. Make a cutout in the styrofoam cap to allow the hose out and then cover the faucet. The cap has a nice plastic thingy to hold the cap on so it looks real neat.

I haven't had any problem with my tanks freezing up even down to 5 degrees. The black water will keep itself warm from bacterial action but I don't know about gray water. I usually leave the gray water valve open so it keeps drained. I keep the black water valve closed because if you leave it open when you're hooked up to a sewer you'll have problems with stuff settling in the tank and p[lugging up. (Not a fun job to unclog.) Just dump it when it's full and then flush the lines with some fresh water.

My fresh water tank is empty so no worries. I do have a problem if I leave the cabinets closed where the watrer lines come in the line will freeze up insude the trailer. I just leave the cabinet door open on cold nights which keeps it from freezing.

I bought some 1" styrofoam insulating sheet and cut to fit in those vents for insulation. You wouldn't believe how much heat goes out those things. I also added heat film to all my windows and I'm thinking of adding a plastic sheet to the inside for poor mans double glazed windows. The film cuts the heat out of the sun and makes cooling easier and also helps reduce the heat loss in the winter. I can't believe that they put so many windows in this thing.

I can keep it warm during the fall with a 1500 watt electric heater. I bought a 100 pound propane tank for more time without having to refill. Make dead sure your freezer is level if you're in one spot for very long. Don't go by the stupid levels they put on the outside of the rig. Get a good level and put it on the bottom of the freezer compartment and level the trailer with that. Otherwise you're likely to get a clog which can be expensive to fix. I fixed mine by removing the entire unit (Norcold) and turning it upside down for 24 hours then reinstall/leveling it.

Been there done that.

Edwin

 

Hey Pard,

I think I'd just move that consulting business way south in the winter time.

 

Sounds like good advice from everyone as usual. Will be heading out Wednesday morning.

 

If your water lines are located against an outside wall you can have problems if the rig is left in the cold. Rerouting them towards the interior is an option or try to insulate them. When camped and using heat, keep the cabinets open. The only thing I've frozen at 18 degrees was the head. Simply leaving the bathroom door open would have eliminated that problem. Low to mid twenties should be ok as long as it doesn't have a chance to really saturate everything t that temp. A dripping faucet helps if you're pushing it, but who wants to listen to the pump every 5-10 miuntes?

You didn't say if you'll have 110v available (hook-ups)...then some heat tape in the right places will cure any ills.