When we last left him, we were safe and sound in Tacoma and the Christmas holidays were fast approaching. I promised him that we would let him know how the RV handles freezing weather.

Cold Weather VR Lessons:

It was December, but freezing temperatures in Tacoma are rare. So when the temperature the first night there dropped to the 20s (-9 C) we were taken by surprise.

This is what happened:

• The hose that connected us to the water froze
• The plastic pipe leading to the freshwater tank froze
• The gas/propane oven ran most of the night.

I need to tell you that our Rexhall Aerbus is a good quality motorhome and all plumbing is closed and access is via a sealed outer container. We thought that it would be enough if the temperatures dropped to zero or a little less. The truth is, if it had only been a couple of degrees below zero, we probably would have been fine. The problem was that it got more than a little below zero!

Lesson 1 – How to prevent pipes from freezing

If your water connections or any of your water lines are exposed to the outdoors, even temperatures just below freezing can freeze and crack your lines. Even if your lines and fill points are encased in containers or compartments, if those areas aren’t heavily insulated and heated, just having your sewer line or water hose sticking out of an access hole can cause sub-zero temperatures. and problems… as we found out first hand.

Our simple solution was to wrap a heat tape with a built-in temperature sensor (about $20.00 USD) around the exposed pipes and valves. We got it at the local hardware store. It is the type designed for outdoor water lines or in confined spaces. It looks like an electrical extension cord with no plug at the end.

When we are in an area that has possible sub-zero temperatures, we simply plug the heat tape into our full connection power box via an additional extension cord (heavy duty) and the sensor takes care of turning on when needed.

That’s all we needed to keep the container and connections from freezing. We don’t connect the water hose in sub-zero temperatures, we just fill the fresh water tank as needed. If you were to stay in one place for the winter, you could use another heat tape and some insulation wrapped around the hose to keep the hose from freezing as well.

For boodocking or dry camping, you can also fill the compartment with insulation or heavily insulate the exterior water lines to prevent freezing in all but the coldest temperatures.

Lesson 2 – Heat guns and plastic water lines don’t mix

My dad had a heat gun that he used to heat shrink wires and windows. We decided to use that to heat up the pipes and get the water pump working again.

BIG MISTAKE!

Well, using the heat gun was a good idea, we just didn’t know how hot and how fast it could work. Instead of slowly heating the entire compartment, I made the mistake of blowing directly on the plastic water lines.

In less than two minutes, it had heated the plastic water line so well that it softened and with the water line pressurized by the pump… It bubbled up like gum and popped.

I was lucky, my dad had just remodeled his kitchen and had the right size plastic water line on hand. So all he had to do was finish thawing things out, slowly, and then fix the broken water line. It was just two fittings, about 8 inches of a new plastic water line, the heat gun to heat the ends and it all bolted back together in less than 30 minutes. Like I said, I was lucky to be where I had the tools and supplies to fix it myself.

It could easily have been a couple hundred dollars worth of repairs if I had had to have a repair shop do it.

In Conclusion: RVs, fifth wheels, and other recreational vehicles can withstand freezing temperatures. You just need to use a little common sense and have a backup plan for when things don’t work out.

• Don’t let colder weather keep you from enjoying your RV year-round.
• Test your cold weather skills near your home or family, just in case.
• Have extra incandescent lights and insulation on hand for backup and repairs
• Always thaw frozen pipes and tanks slowly – To fast and think they may break

As we travel throughout the year, we’ll keep you posted on what we learn (the hard way) and how you can avoid the same mistakes (the easy way).