Good idea or crazy for cold weather
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7135
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Topic: Good idea or crazy for cold weather
Posted By: podderfj
Subject: Good idea or crazy for cold weather
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2015 at 6:38pm
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Been thinking about camping in the Pod 172 is some cold weather. By cold, I mean maybe low of 25ish at night and warming up to above freezing in day maybe to mid to late 50's. To protect my tanks does the following make sense: For the gray and black water tanks, add antifreeze in an adequate amount to protect contents from freezing. And now for the real crazy part: Construct a collapsable, fold away shroud, maybe from light plywood with 4 sides that I could place around the water tank where one edge of the plywood would rest on the ground and the other edge would go up and be just an inch or so from the bottom of the pod, thus surrounding the fresh water tank. Then, place either a light bulb or a very small fan heater inside the box to keep the fresh water tank from freezing. Am I crazy or what? Inside, I would take the cover off the storage area where the hot water heater and furnace are located to let some heat into that area for the water pipes. And I would leave the bathroom door open for the shower hose and the cabinet doors open for the sink. Inside, I would probably use an electric heater with a fan for most of the heat and maybe supplemented by the propane furnace if needed. If in a campground, I would use the electric hook ups provided for electrical power. If boon docking, I have 2 honda 2000 generators that i can use separately, or companion them for 4000 watts. Also probably need to crack a window a couple of inches for condensation problem. Any suggestions, advice, please chime in. Really like the cool weather for camping more than the hot summer heat. Thanks for any advice.
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Replies:
Posted By: briankirk22
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2015 at 7:19pm
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First time poster here but I had the same issue when my wife and I took our 178 to Alaska last Feb for our honeymoon. I researched online and came across a company called UltraHeat. They manufacturer adhesive heating pads that attach to holding tanks.
We purchased a pad for all 3 grey/black/fresh tanks underneath the Pod, we also purchased heating sleeves and elbow heating pads for the dump valves so they would not freeze up as well. They worked off DC and AC power and installed an on/off switch with breakers inside the R-Pod to control them. They also came with internal temperature monitors and would automatically shut off when the outside temp was above a set temperature. All in all everything was easy to install and wire up and we never had any problems, a few nights it got down to 15 degrees and everything performed perfectly and never had any freeze up. With the water heating going and the heater inside keeping us around 70, nothing was ever at risk of freezing up and bursting. Here is a link tot he website for Ultraheat. It was a little costly but we will be using our R-Pod year round and in sometimes freezing weather. Better save than sorry. http://www.ultraheat.com/ |
Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2015 at 8:05pm
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I like the idea of the Ultraheat heaters, but with the temps PodderFJ is talking about, the most I'd do is open the kick panels in front to the water pump and maybe the water heater. I've camped with overnight temps into the low 20s and never had a problem. Colder than that, and it would be a good idea to be prepared to winterize in situ. It only take 5 or 10 minutes and a gallon or two of antifreeze, which is always good to carry when winter camping. TT ------------- 2010 176 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2015 at 7:30pm
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I would worry about time on the road - even with heating pads the heat will get sucked away very quickly unless the tanks are boxed in. You can fudge it fairly easy when you are sitting still. ------------- 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: CharlieM
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2015 at 8:42pm
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If you're really talking 15F for one night followed by 50F the FW tank will not freeze if it's full. The supply line from the FW tank to the pump is vulnerable and should be insulated. The waste tanks, especially the black tank, will also be OK without antifreeze. As long as the exposure to subfreezing temps is just a few hours you'll be OK. If you elect to use tank heaters, be aware they suck tremendous energy. When plugged in to 120V you'll be OK, but the smallest pad draws 4.1A at 13.5V. The recommended size for 40 gallon tanks draws 9.9A at 13.5V. Unless you specially wire your TV and trailer that pretty well precludes operating them while driving. Inside, if you're warm the water system is too.However, aiding air circulation never hurts. Techntrek is probably the best authority on cold weather camping. He's crazy and does it once a year  ------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2015 at 9:56pm
I agree with everything you say, but the original poster was talking about "25ish" at night with 50s during the day. I have to maintain that there is almost nothing at all to worry about. What might be worth worrying about is if 25ish turns into 15ish. I got caught in a situation like that once. I let the water drip into a pot, heated the water to around 180 and put it back in the fresh water tank. And repeated that several times. TT ------------- 2010 176 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: fwunder
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2015 at 10:18pm
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How about a 5th or two of Vodka or Gin with a twist as an antifreeze? Could make the camping a bit more interesting.  fred ------------- 2014 RPod 178 => https://goo.gl/CV446f - MyMods and Buying Habits 2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6 Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks! |
Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 26 Oct 2015 at 9:29am
You're absolutely correct. Cataract removal and new glasses scheduled. My apologies. BTW, I'm working on a circulating system for my Camplite that will automatically take hot water from the kitchen sink, draw it through the entire FW system, and dump it back into the FW tank. Run by a timer it uses the existing HW heater and pump. The only additions are the timer, a solenoid valve and a manual shutoff. However, it is dependent on the particular plumbing layout of the Camplite. More later if/when it works. ------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 10 Nov 2015 at 11:46am
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Now if you're really into cold weather camping this guy has the answer http://www.trailerlife.com/rv-trailer-news/braving-the-yukon/ - http://www.trailerlife.com/rv-trailer-news/braving-the-yukon/ Doug, Take note! ------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 10 Nov 2015 at 7:13pm
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Wow. I bow down to the master winter camper. I wonder about him needing 3 heaters at 14 F, even with that slide-out. I was fine at 10 F with one, on low, although with no slide-out. He must have some air leaks if he really needed 3 heaters at that temp. Also I would have upgraded the tank to a 30 pounder, maybe even added a 2nd one even if it was sitting on the ground. I loved this. "Cabin fever, or trailer fever in my case, is far more dangerous than cold temperatures. My solution was to walk ... and talk to the trees." ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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