Below Freezing

[paul905]

Hello Everyone,

I'm getting ready to drive my 2015 Axis 24.1 from Upstate NY to Florida. Since I will be in below freezing temperatures for a significant portion of the trip I was wondering about others recommendations in regard to fresh water storage. Does anyone know if all my fresh water lines are inside the heated coach or are some routed under the bottom of the chassis. The coach does not have the heating pads on the waste holding tanks. Does anyone have any thoughts on brief temperature dips of 3 to 5 hours below freezing causing problems? The Axis is presently Winterized with the pink stuff. I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's experiences with dealing with brief below freezing temperatures.

[Hudsoner]

I am doing a similar trip almost every year. I do not carry any fresh water in the tank with me, but use bottled water for the trip (those 1gal jugs). I use the blue windshield wiper stuff to flush the toilet manually and add the same amount of pink stuff as the water I run down the sinks. I just don't want to take the risk, because some of the water lines are running along the outside walls and don't get much of the heat inside the coach. In addition, I do not want my waste valves to freeze shut on me.

[gmc]

I've done a similar trip from MI the last two winters (escaped early this winter)... I've always left the RV winterized until south of the frost line
Dewinterizing is simple to do when ready - just needs some fresh water of course.

What is in heated space or not varies by rig, and to me just isn't worth the risk... On mine (2014 Hurricane), I'd be most concerned with the drain valve area - my tanks are heated - but not the drain pipe to the gate valves.

As long as I am keeping the rig heated, I could likely carry fresh water - the tank is in cabinet between dining table and bathroom - but I wouldn't run the water pump or flush the lines till far enough south.

If the temp is around 30-32 - I wouldn't be concerned with my setup - the heated rig will be fine... but dropping into the 20's or teens as is likely in MI or upstate NY at this time (lived both places) would make me cautious.

Minor inconvenience to not use the plumbing for the first day or so - compared to a major repair to start my stay in the sunshine state.

[JamieGeek]

When we did that trip in our Axis: I parked it in front of our house the night before and turned on the furnace. In the morning I de-winterized, sanitized, etc. then we left.

For our trip home I did the opposite: Once we got home and unloaded the camper I winterized and then turned off the furnace.

All of the 24.1's plumbing is inside the coach on the floor--none of it is under the floor. In addition, the long run that goes to the back, around the beds, and into the bathroom is accompanied by a furnace vent (to warm the bathroom) which keeps that plumbing warm as well.

The waste/drains all go under the floor to the tanks but those pipes are empty unless the waste tanks are full!

[Hudsoner]

Originally Posted by gmc

Minor inconvenience to not use the plumbing for the first day or so - compared to a major repair to start my stay in the sunshine state.

That is exactly my opinion! And that is the reason why I use the windshield washer stuff (the blue juice that is good down to 20º) to flush the toilet if that has to be used during the cold part of the trip. If I need to poor some fresh water (from the water jug I carry along) down the drain, I poor the same amount of EV antifreeze (the pink stuff) down the drain.
My tanks are also heated, but not the drain pipes and valves. I had them freeze shut on me once (I had not drained the tanks properly, and some liquid was left in the drain pipes), and it takes a very long time to unfreeze them and one vales started to leak after this, and I had to replace it (not a very enchanting job).