Winter camping - any advice?
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Topic: Winter camping - any advice?
Posted By: YODT
Subject: Winter camping - any advice?
Date Posted: 12 Feb 2018 at 5:49pm
| I plan on taking my 179 to Rio Grand del Norte (north of Taos, NM) the first week of March for some winter fly fishing and maybe a day skiing. While days might touch on 50 deg, the nights usually hit the upper teens. I have some anti freeze in both the black & grey tanks but any advice for the freshwater tank & pump? I used the compressor method to winterize for Dallas, so the fresh line is currently dry. |
Replies:
Posted By: RichC
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2018 at 8:17am
I no nothing about skiing but out West I start fly fishing with Prince nymph, elk hair caddis for dry .
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Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2018 at 8:31am
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I take it you will be boon docking. It would take cold for a considerable time to freeze the fresh water tank. However you can carry water for drinking and cooking and leave the tank dry. Any water you use from freshwater tank is going to go in the black and grey tanks. Same for latrine use. If you are camping at an improved site, they make a heated water hose, that I found handy. My last experience in winter camping, what froze were the drains. I didn't have a "Y" drain hose, so I hooked up to the black and the grey drain froze. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: YODT
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2018 at 8:50am
| Yes I will be dry camping, with solar panels on top I will have fully charged batteries at the end of the day. I can leave the furnace running most of the night at a low temperature so that should keep the camper fairly warm. And midges work well for winter flies! |
Posted By: texman
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2018 at 9:59am
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yodt I was in the Rio Grande outside taos last march in our 182g twice. What elevation will you be camping at? I had no problems and like Mcarter said, it takes a long time to freeze that water and most of the fresh water plumbing is somewhat enclosed anyway. I would fill up the fresh water tank and use it. The heat from the ground will help provide some heat to the bottom of the pod and the furnace takes care of the inside. you can leave a small drip as well and use the vault toilets if you have them. ------------- TexMan 2015 182g 2018 Sequoia http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9122&title=texman-182g-mods - TexManMods |
Posted By: RichC
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2018 at 10:21am
Midges sound good--except I need about 4x magnification to tie them on. Seriously, my wife and I traveled from Chicago to California and back this January. For most of the trip the temps were around what you anticipate. Second day out we de-winterized and carried some water in tank for flushing. Jug water for drinking. We left thermostat at 50-55. We were fine. Re-winterized the day before we got back. Have fun--wish I was fishing.
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Posted By: YODT
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2018 at 10:41am
| Thanks for the great advice all, I'm looking forward to the mountains as always! |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 13 Feb 2018 at 1:11pm
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+1 on keeping the freshwater system winterized and carrying fresh water for drinking. We have a https://www.walmart.com/ip/Reliance-Products-Hydroller-8-Gallon-wheeled-water-container/10098756 - Reliance Products Hydroller 8-gallon water carrier that we have used on winter trips. We used RV antifreeze for flushing #2, not needed for #1. Since we were traveling for much of this, most needs were taken care of at rest stops. It was just nighttime that it became an issue. Definitely lower the thermostat at night and, if you have them, use sleeping bags to stay warm. Turn the thermostat up during the day for comfort. That way, you will conserve propane and battery power. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: SkiPod
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2019 at 8:41am
| We just went up to Taos Ski Valley from Dallas for the long weekend to go skiing in our 2016 176 Rpod. I wanted to have access to water and shower so I put heating pads on the three tanks, 12V self-regulating heat tape on the exposed fresh water line from tank and wrapped in the pipe insulation with aluminum tape going on before and after. I also put the heat tape around the grey water valve. Last weekend it was subzero, around -6 at night in the ski valley but was warming up to near freezing during the day. The only trouble we had was that in the morning each day the hot and cold water to the shower as well as the toilet water was frozen. We left the electric heater on high all day (took a generator with us) and when we got back the lines were no longer frozen. The lines are not exposed but run through the floor. So I suspect that just being adjacent the bottom layer of the floor was enough to freeze the lines at these temps. Not sure what can be done about that except maybe putting insulation under the Rpod or adding a skirt? The electric heater would keep up with keeping the RV warm inside, even too warm. We didn't add any extra insulation anywhere. |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2019 at 8:47am
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Skirting would definitely help, but that only works if you are going to be in one place for long enough to make the work worthwhile. It does not work when you are in motion. Neither does the heat pads unless you have a high enough amperage output of your tow vehicle to support it plus charge your battery/batteries. You could run a generator also while going down the road, but even that might not work since the airflow would tend to negate the heat of the pads unless you also were able to cover the bottom of the RPod to help seal in the heat. If you covered the bottom, foaming in the spaces around the tanks and lines would also help, but you would have quite a time in getting to any wiring or LP lines if work needed to be done. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: SkiPod
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2019 at 9:00am
| Hi Stephen--yes these are good points. We did have the heat pads running while we were driving to Taos Friday night and battery voltage never dropped, so I'm assuming the tow vehicle output was enough to keep up with it. Nothing was frozen when we got there, but may not have had enough time to freeze. It wasn't until we spent the night that the shower/toilet lines froze. We tried turning the heater inside up at night, but those lines to shower and toilet that run through the floor were still frozen the next morning. Sink water and fresh tank never froze and the heat tape worked to keep the exposed supply line flowing. |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2019 at 9:19am
You could try putting a gallon of cheap gin in the fresh water tank.  Seriously, though, as time to winterize approaches where we live, I usually set up an electric heater to blow into the vent below the head to put some warm air into that space, along with opening up the galley cabinet door or taking out a drawer to let warm air in. I also added pipe insulation to the water line from the fresh water tank to the point at which the line enters the floor. Probably offgrid's suggestion of a recirculating pump would do the trick since it keeps the water moving enough to drag along some residual heat from the warm areas to heat up the spots where it's hard to heat. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: Jcync000
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2021 at 3:55pm
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I just purchased an RPOD from an neighbor and have been investigating ways to have a 4-season camper. There are a few design flaws in the RPOD in what otherwise would have been a very good 4 season camper. My goal is to be able to take it skiing for 3-4 days in the east coast, where the temps get easily into the low 20s-10s. That means no shore power mostly and recharging the batteries from a generator. 1) cheap 'garden hose' material is used to bring water from the tank to the pump and thereafter. This hose needs to be replaced by PEX or a much more reliable pipe material. If this hose freezes, it will crack horribly, whereas PEX is much more reliable. I easily substituted to PEX and added pipe insulation to the outside as well as spray foam insulation to the adapter to the tank. 2) in order to rout the cold and hot water from the 'driver' side of the RPOD to the shower, they actually embedded a plastic channel box in the extruded styrofoam that forms the bottom of the RPOD. This is a horrible idea; in doing so, they removed what was excellent insulation in the styrofoam and put the cold/hot water pipes right in contact with the bottom layer of fiberglass. This is why everyone reports the bathroom/toilet not working in the winter. It is fairly easy to disable these floor pipes and instead install pex piping routed through the storage area. 3) Huge floor openings for the tank connections. Grab cans of foam insulation and apply tons of it to these poorly insulated openings. Everywhere they cut the flooring styrofoam, fill it with the foam. 4) single pane windows. I am sure that was to save money but the single pane will be a horrible heat loss factor in the deep cold and it will make the furnace run nonstop. It would add so very little to the design by making them dual pane, hard to believe that savings was that significant. This can be solved with the reflective silver insulation plaques, but this will make the Rpod dark and cavernous. I don't think there is a way around this one. 5) Have 3 gallons of RV antifreeze in both the gray/black tanks. This will help greatly in keeping the tanks from freezing. 6) Fresh water tank: in order for this tank not to freeze, you will need a tank heater attached to a thermostat, many on the market. For the 36 gallons, you need about a 50-60W pad heater, which means it will draw about 4-5 amps from your battery. I have dual 100 A-h batteries in the RPOD. I need to run some tests but this should mean that the batteries should be able to go a whole day or perhaps two without needing to be recharged. Probably best to assume that the RV batteries will be recharged daily for 2 hr with the generator. My solar kit can get about 5A in the winter sun, but once it is cloudy -very often in the eastern mountains- it drops to below 1A, so very unreliable way to recharge in the ski mountain. If the RPOD had maybe $500 extra cost for some modifications, it would have been a much better winter RV, it really is too bad they didn't design it a little better. |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2021 at 4:48pm
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Another issue to contend with is where to camp. Even where we are in northern Michigan if we go to the U.P. after mid October it becomes difficult at best to find places to camp. Most everything closes by then. ------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 28 Aug 2021 at 12:34am
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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 |
Posted By: Jcync000
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2021 at 7:52pm
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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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Posted By: AFCamper90
Date Posted: 05 Oct 2021 at 10:41pm
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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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Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 06 Oct 2021 at 8:12am
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AFcamper90, can you let us know what model you have? ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: AFCamper90
Date Posted: 06 Oct 2021 at 8:32am
| Good point. Ive got a 2016 179. |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2021 at 8:45am
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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 ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2021 at 2:51pm
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 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: 2BOverlanding
Date 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. |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 14 Dec 2021 at 7:33am
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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. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 14 Dec 2021 at 9:30am
http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9066&PID=85213&title=3rd-180-mod-furnace-heat-deflector#85213 - http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9066&PID=85213&title=3rd-180-mod-furnace-heat-deflector#85213 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 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |