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Winter camping - any advice?
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6288 		Post Options Post Options   Quote StephenH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Winter camping - any advice?
    Posted: 14 Dec 2021 at 9:30am
Originally posted by 2BOverlanding

I have seen posts where people put a duct over the furnace out let to redirect the heat.  Is this available from a supplier or do people just get them made up.  If they do is there a link to one with dimensions so that i can make one?  Looking at camping in My 177 over Christmas and the temps will be running between 0 and - 12F.  Was also wondering if i put 3m window film over a couple of windows whether that would help.  I know from experience that we have to leave a couple of windows open a crack and the same with the bathroom vent.  We will be boondocking it.  
This post has the dimensions, but you will have to make it yourself or find someone to make it for you.

See page 2 of that topic for a template.

My pictures are not showing up for some reason. They are the ones I am hosting on my system. It is possible that the latest Fedora update broke the ability of me to host my files this way. If so, I will need to go through and upload all the images and re-do my posts to show them again.

Edit:  I got the pictures working again. It was a DDNS service issue. The IP address had not updated. Hopefully, it will keep working now.
StephenH
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Dec 2021 at 7:33am
Stick on window film won't help but the winter shrink window film will because it creates an insulating air space. Foam pieces cut to fit the windows would be better.

Redirecting the air from the furnace isn't going to make the trailer interior any warmer overall, just more uniform in temp, maybe. The heat will get out from under the bed area by natural convection anyway. If you really wanted a diverter you'd have to make it to fit.

The temps you're describing are extremely cold for a poorly insulated "2.5" season trailer with an uninsulated water system like an rpod. Leave your water system winterized and heat bottled water on the stove. Or get an Oliver.

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2BOverlanding View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		Post Options Post Options   Quote 2BOverlanding Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Dec 2021 at 10:10pm
I have seen posts where people put a duct over the furnace out let to redirect the heat.  Is this available from a supplier or do people just get them made up.  If they do is there a link to one with dimensions so that i can make one?  Looking at camping in My 177 over Christmas and the temps will be running between 0 and - 12F.  Was also wondering if i put 3m window film over a couple of windows whether that would help.  I know from experience that we have to leave a couple of windows open a crack and the same with the bathroom vent.  We will be boondocking it.  
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Oct 2021 at 2:51pm
Originally posted by AFCamper90

Good point. Ive got a 2016 179.


Ok, IIRC in my 2015 179 the hot and cold water lines ran aft a little from the pump area, where a set of low point drains dropped through the floor, then across to pick up the bathroom, the aft again on the pass side to pick up the kitchen sink, then back across to pick up the outside shower then forward a little where they dropped through the floor to the rear set of low point drains. Somebody with a 179 correct me if I have that wrong.
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
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techntrek View Drop Down
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Posts: 9059 		Post Options Post Options   Quote techntrek Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Oct 2021 at 8:45am
Double-pane windows won't do any good, since you must keep the vent open a crack and a window open a crack to ensure you don't get moisture buildup.  The pods are so well-sealed, if you don't do this you will wake up to heavy moisture (likely frozen) on the walls and ceiling.  The only time you don't need to do this is when you have the A/C running in the summer.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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AFCamper90 View Drop Down
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Posts: 2 		Post Options Post Options   Quote AFCamper90 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Oct 2021 at 8:32am
Good point. Ive got a 2016 179.
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Oct 2021 at 8:12am
AFcamper90, can you let us know what model you have?
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Posts: 2 		Post Options Post Options   Quote AFCamper90 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Oct 2021 at 10:41pm
Jcync000,

What about the supply lines to the kitchen? I can't figure out where they are running from. I can back-trace them as far as the aft ottoman, but there they dip into the floor (angling to the centerline of the camper) and I lose them. I'm concerned that they are sourced from a tee off of the line that goes through the floor to supply the bathroom and that by bypassing that line I'll cut off the supply to the kitchen. 

Does that makes sense? I can easily see where a hot and a cold line drop into the floor next to the heater and pop back out forward of the bathroom, and it sounds like that's the run that you bypassed. Did you do anything about the kitchen lines as well or were they fine as-installed? I can't find separate lines coming from the mechanical area so I know they have to be tapped somewhere down the line and I'm scared to chop anything until I know.

Thanks!
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Posts: 3 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Jcync000 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Aug 2021 at 7:52pm
what you describe is commonly reported.  it comes from the fact that the RPOD designers chose to route the hot/cold PEX lines from left side (where the water comes in) to the right side (where the shower/toilet are) via a plastic channel that routed out of the styrofoam extrusion, thus placing the 1/2 inch PEX lines on the 1/4inch fiberglass bottom.  that is why they freeze!
That was a horrible and unnecessary design decision.   The fix is simple:  disable the lines that are going through the floor and instead substitute them with new PEX lines that are routed in the inside of the trailer.  In my, it was simple to add the under my bed, tacked on the side.   
You will find that your lines will no longer freeze if you do that.
The other unnecessary weakness is the cheap garden hose that is used for the fresh water line outside.  If that line freezes, it will crack in multiple places.  go ahead and replace it with PEX (which is much more rugged if frozen) inside a pipe insulation sleeve.  Apply insulating spray foam to the adapters and connectors.

The RPOD could have been easily a better winter trailer with maybe $300-500 simple upgrades (dual pane windows would be the big ticket).  Hard to believe anyone would not pay for that option!
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Posts: 5290 		Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Aug 2021 at 12:34am
Double pane insulated glass windows are notorious for having their seals fail and fog up when used in an RV application. The vibration kills 'em.

I would suggest recirculating some hot water through the system rather than try to run a tank heater electrically. That way you are warming the water in all the lines as well as in the fwt and you're using propane which you carry much more of and which is much more efficient than using electricity. The concept is similar to the instant hot water systems you can intstall in a home. There are multiple posts on how to do this if you do a search on the forum, going back 2-3 years.
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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