It seems we are always driving south for the winter when there are snow storms and extreme temps, and this year was no different since we dropped down through Wyoming. A few thoughts:
- yes, the pipes in the slide will get frosty. Unless we are in single digits, leaving the door under the sink and stove open helps some. We always have a gallon of water standing at the ready while we wait for the water to thaw in the morning We never wait to bring slide in until water thaws and never had a problem
- close off cab while traveling to keep the cab warm. The tradeoff is that the coach will be really cold when you stop for the night, but we accept the tradeoff.
- you are going to use a lot of propane when it gets super cold, and we have had trouble at times getting our coach tank filled in extremely low temps. When we got to north Texas this year, we had zero luck finding truck stops that would fill the coach tank. We finally found a propane company that could fill the tank. To hedge this risk, We carry a portable propane tank with a hose that will plug into the outside propane tap, and we use the spare tank first when possible. We can Almost always swap the empty for a full at a lot of Blue Flame locations, which is sometimes easier than finding someone to fill the motorhome tank. In Arizona last year, we were denied propane at 7 locations over almost 200 miles. We finally found a KOA that could fill our coach tank. We had our spare tank just in case. Two years ago, Moab was completely out of propane for almost 2 weeks, including replacement tanks, so we watch our propane levels like a hawk in low outside temps.
- we never keep the slide in when camping in the cold, as the cold doesn’t cause any issues that would require the slide to stay in. The only time the slide stayed in while camping is when the stupid Lipert slide system failed and we were waiting for our appointment at Vroom to solve the problem for good.
- we carry a radiator style electric heater that provides an additional heat source when the generator is running or we are connected to shore power. It is stored on the mattress in front…saves propane.
- we built our own Magnitude Extreme edition with 41” tires, suspension upgrades, gear change, locking differentials, winch, etc, so traveling or camping in bad weather…even deep snow…is not a concern. This year, the road was closed several times because of road conditions, and we passed more than 50 wrecks in Wyoming and Colorado. We just found a spot and camped for the night.
- we use Auto Socks instead of tire chains when chains are required. Takes just a few minutes to install and remove when chains are required and we have never been bothered by LEO.
In short, we don't make a ton of changes in travel or camping when it’s cold, just a few key key tweaks.