Im a poor $$$ country boy. I used 17 bales of straw around my small camper. I wedged them underneath the camper all the way around. At my black/grey water levers & drain i tied a small bale that fits titely in place then stuff any openings with loose straw. The results are incredible. Tomorrow i will put 1/2 dow foam board on my windows from the outside. It will be dark in here but this storm bringing single digit temps is no joke.
I have used straw for few years in the past. Works great. The downside is it holds the rain then molds so spring cleanup is messy. Also, the mice love to make it home too.
Clear let's in some light and may be good for the winter, but in the summer if you use reflectix, it keeps the sunlight out keeping your rv cooler. So it's got double purpose and why we use the reflectix. Thanks for the comment. It's a fantastic idea.
Just a couple of suggestions. In you wet bay you have a 150 watt bulb with what appears to be a receptacle rated a 60 watts. The extension cord that that is outside appears to be a 14 AWG wire it could be a 12 AWG depending on the length of the run. I have been in a fire and when a device calls for a certain gauge I will use the next size thickest wire. Using a Honda eu2200i the cords from the unit are 10AWG.
We used a 150 Watt bulb in a chicken coop heat lamp assembly that is rated for 250 Watts. I'm not sure about the gage of the extension cord but the wire gage on the fixture was smaller. We didn't have to use it but we had it incase. Thank you, that is definitely something for people to look out for.
@@Jimmy2Tech You are welcome As long as you do not exceed 15 amps you should be okay. Improper use of extension cords cause fires. Owner of a book store connected extension cords instead of hard wire. One hundred thousand books burned and took three days to extinguish. Extension cords scare me.
I have guys that installed SEVERAL extension cords/ RV electric tank heaters under my camper im living in, through this winterband hooked heat tapes, going every direction, meeting w/ a multi connect plug- in piece that extension cord hooks into, then ran just 2 extention cords to my exterior box How do you know what is too much?? Im a sick 90lb single woman w/ zero help & am completely clueless w/ all things electric PLEASE HELP ALSO.. I BOUGHT $500 IM TAPE/ FOAM BOARD.. BUT GROUND IS FROZEN (in Wisc)SO IN ORDER TO CUT/TAPE SEAMS TOGETHER, NONE OF BOTTOMS REMOTELY HIT GROUND EVENLY.. CAMPERS JACKED WAY UP.IN BACK (pull behind camper) TO MAKE IT LEVEL, AND ON 1 SIDE ALONE, FROM THE FRONT, TO THE BACK OF CAMPER, THE SIDE HEIGHT DIFFERS FROM 4' OFF THE GROUND, TO 2' OFF THE GROUND, WITH FROZE SOLID GRAVEL/DIRT.. WTH DO I DO TO GET IT AROUND EVENLY DOWN THERE????? @TheMickeymental
Thank you for the info. It’s crazy but we have a contract to get a blind man set up in his RV for winter and have 3 weeks to accomplish it here in Ontario.
Yep I was in a mobile rv for a winter here in newhampshire .on the maine border and it was brutal cause I had to move the rv often so I couldn't make it long term .but it's a nice camper you have and that's some good info .on setting it up for long term .and I still have the motor ya all have me .well I won ..and I'll keep it forever .so you all have a great night and godbless
Have a good one! Yeah with the right set up winter isn't as bad. Takes some getting use to but works well. Thanks again for your support. Its always great hearing from you Brain.
this was a great video! 1st winter in my RV and Im about to start setting it up little by little (kinda poor). good to see and hear the explanations, gonna have to do straw this winter though!
Your RV is beautiful man. Thanks for this video, i'm heading up north AZ to meteor crater and it's dipping below freezing at night. This video helped me prepare.
Currently have a 1995 3 0 foot drivable. Get a chance New England weather with a couple of back up batteries a brand new engine battery secondary source of heat and also the rig generator and a small back up generator. Also have one spare tire and then two off the rim I’ve got to get put on rims. Made sure I had plenty of fire extinguishers as well but for heat I chose to do what I did the last two years in my portable sportsman KZ that is sold. I decided to go with foam board insulation for the vents then I have to make one for the bathroom, also probably going to change some stuff up with my RV windows and affordable insulated paint on my window blinds rather than buying new ones don’t like the pink anyway. But for anybody working for these rigs. You can usually find some thing that’s a fixer-upper. You may have to live in your car short term. But it’s definitely achievable if you have a little money to spend.
Very Good video, I’m dealing with this winter here in S.E. Mich. Jan, Feb 21 . Not nearly enough time to prepare as well as you have. I closed the slides too, so I could move the coach south in a hurry if it became unbearable.. It is not a simple problem, the greatest problems that I have had were external LP tanks not evaporating to gas fast enough due to sub zero temps (I surrounded 3 - 30 lb tanks (so I could take them in for refills) with straw bales /no tank heaters (I should have used heated covers but no-one has them in stock) and regulator sticking(another thing that I should have heated, when sub-zero). Thanks.. Tiffin Class A
Hello Tom, We have heard a lot about propane tank issues but so far we have not had any issue. Knock on wood. Your right there never seems like enough time and you are always wondering what else you could do. But so far so good. Cant wait till spring so we can get moving again.
Zero sunlight is not a solution for most folks. I’m sure there are some better solutions like bubble wrap and just changing the windows, although the latter solution is quite expensive
I use oil heaters as well. (When I'm stationary at least for sure. I have one Pelonis, and it's gotten me thru 6 winters. I actually saw them on such a great sale. I grabbed 2 more!!! Just figured one for the house and one for the RV since that one is almost 7-8 years old. So I didn't want to be without a good heater. And the price was absolutely right! People can say a Pelonis is cheap, it's affordable and it's done me right for as far back as I can remember bc I always use one in the winter in the basement. I got a Delongi for home and it's crapped out long before the much less costing pelonis that's going strong. I just didn't want to wind up in any situation that would've left me grouchy and in a hotel! But yeah I'm definitely planning on doing some weather proofing for both seasons. Thank you for the advice!
Ventless propane heaters are notorious for causing humidity. But it’s odd to have a lot of humidity when running electric.. Great video, thanks for the tips
HI I love what you have done. I am being evicted and a friend of mine will allow me to put a camper I am going to buy on her property and live ther with my Cats. How do you keep the Black water from freezing up if you keep it connected to the sewer?
In the winter time you'll keep your blank tank closed until full and then pull the lever to release it. Some rv's have tank heaters which can keep your tank from freezing, but the way we skirted the underside of the rv you could always add a small heat source to put some heat down there to prevent freezing. Every rv is rated different so deffinately aim for a 4 season rv which will better help with the cold if you're going to be facing that. Best of luck, and if you have any other questions please feel free to let us know :)
Thanks for the tips! We’ll be living in our 5th wheel during winter and I’m thinking ahead. Any non-reflectix options you can think of to allow light in?
Hi! Are the foam boards under your slides temporary? Just wondering if you have to take them out when you need to close your slides. How do you keep them up there? Thanks for this!
Ok. I'm getting a fifth wheel 2007 and I live in Idaho. I'm gonna be in a RV lot hooked up year round. I only care about keeping pipes from freezing while still being able to shower. I like the cold so inside is no problem. Can someone who knows tell me the most cost effective way to protect the water pipes. It is electric water heater and full time hook up. Thanks
I could not handle having the reflective in the windows all day long. We've had our rig out for a few days when Temps dipped to 25 degrees, and we had no problems without doing anything extra.
@Jimmy2Tech that's good to hear. You have some great tips,and I'll make sure I keep them in my back pocket. I want nothing more then to sell my house and take our rig to some place remote and stay there. But those grandkids pull those heart strings of mine. Four out of six are grown with two of them married. It's the younger two 6 and 8 that we need to keep building memories while their young.
A lot of RV'ers are installing the diesel heaters in their rigs and really like them. They are pretty small but put out a lot of heat. Just remember that those kind of heaters just like the furnace in your RV will also add some moisture so make sure you have a dehumidifier going.
So how do you keep water and power running in the winter so you don't freeze to death and your water doesn't freeze if you're not rv living in your own backyard? All that stuff is easy to do when you're rv living outside your own home
In cold temperatures you would need the furnace to run alot to keep up, the problem with that, is you will runout of propane rather quickly. And depending on there you are, electricity can be cheaper/more convient than filling your propane tanks every week or less.
where are you? what state and annual snow fall? just kinda getting idea of what kinda winter you deal with, im in south east virginia and pretty mild winters here
Hi, i was just wondering if you knew any way to be able to run more heaters at once? i’m on 30 amp service so i can’t run too many at a time. do you have a solution? thanks
If you are at a place where you are hooked into a pedestal you can run an extension cord into an outlet. You need to pull power from other sources other than your RV.
I just drilled a few holes into that heating duct in the storage Bay area. I drilled three or four holes and it keeps the temperature in there about 3° cooler than my living room.
@@Jimmy2Tech You mentioned yours has the cold climate package like mine - one of they keys to that is they actually have small vents to bleed heat from the furnace and duct it into the area below the floor to keep the pipes warm. The issue with that is that obviously that requires you to use propane heat.
If it's skirted and especially if it has the cold climate package, it shouldn't be an issue (even without tank heaters.) The tanks are within the insulated base area of the trailer which would also have air ducted in there from the furnace.
90lb sick.single woman here in wisc.. just went and bought $500/ foam board/extreme weather foil tape to insulate my only winter home source (pull behind camper).. went out to start cutting/taping it tonight (already single digits here) and.Grounds totally frozen!!.. cant line boards up.. campers parked higher in back.. both long sides start at 2' and end up at 4' in back (jacked necessary to be level).. to get boards seamed together, creates gap from bottom of board to ground different all over.. but some gaps are 9" before board hits ground and 3" down, its flush, then a foot down, its 5" off ground Grounds like cement! How THE HECK do i remotely do this??? Heats never shutting off now, and temps not reaching over 45°!! PLEASE HELP!?? ME AND MY PETS ARE GOING TO FREEZE TO DEATH AND DIE!! WE HAVE ZERO HELP!!!! NOONE TO EVEN ASK! DADS GOT DIMENTIA HORRIBLE! 911 😭😭😭
Ideally you would want to start before the ground froze. As far as the gaps you can trim the foam boards at an angle so as the foam boards line up. Every RV is different some has better insulation because some have the all weather packages. Yours sounds like it does not have those packages. With the frozen ground the landscape staples wont work you would have to use the landscape spikes instead. They should go into frozen ground. Also adding a heat source under your RV would help a lot just be careful on what you choose so you do not have a fire risk. You could contact some of the churches in your area as many of them offer community help. Hope some of this information helps you. Stay warm!
Hey there. Thanks for the great video. The amazon link you provided for the landscape spikes/stakes takes you to something that looks significantly different. Can you provide us with an up-to-date link? Thanks
Hey. Great video. To the point. No extra scenes like snowball fights. Just the info we need. Here's my question: I live in western Oregon. Not NE. How much of this work should I do when we rarely get below 30 and snow is not guaranteed? When it does snow it doesn't last long. The guys who sold me my travel trailer said I didn't need to do anything because if I'm living in it, I'm keeping the pipes warm by heating the inside. Others say I'm insane if I don't do what you've shown here and then some. Just depends who I ask. What are your thoughts?
We would always air on the side of caution and do it. You never know when the weather will take a turn. It happened to a lot of people in Texas last year. A little work now to potently save you a bunch of hassle. Thanks for watching.
Is your rv 4 season rated i think they call it? Considering buying an rv to visit family out of state but would not be able to do all the skirting you have shown here. Wouldnt get down to negatives like you said hopefully though:)
Yes, this RV is a four season. Meaning they usually have tank heaters and extra insulation. Rv's deffinately don't hold heat as well as a traditional house. If your somewhere for a short time and don't have to worry about Temps falling below 32 degrees (F) to often then you would be fine. Just have to keep track of the temp outside and make sure your actively turning on tank heaters if it's to low. Sidenote, if your hooked up to water let's say, you'll also have to make sure that doesn't freeze.
Did it.. gas generator.. 39' pull behind w/ 2 slidea.. no water/sewwr hook up at all . No under skirting.... if its not big enough cant run battery opersted lights (hooked to 12v) + Fridge+ propane heat unless you have a huge generator.. ive used both.. the smaller 1 that i couldnt run everything on at once with (no electric heater of any kind will work) ypul add about 3/4 of a 5gal can of gas every 12 hrs.. if you use a big enough gas generator to run everything, at same time, your looking at 3/4 5 gal can of gas 3.5 times a day.. Redic for big enough generator unless for only cpl days.. I did it for MONTHS! Filing it twice a day was expensive enough!!
Hello PJ, I am not where I can show that at the moment, but all we did after we had the foam boards up was put a piece of gorilla tape every 2 feet at the bottom of the board to reinforce where we were going to put the landscape staples then we put the long landscape staples in at a 45 degree angle at the bottom of the foam board through were we put the tape and push it all the way into the ground. The angle helps so when the wind pushes against the the foam panels it would just push the staples in the ground harder and not move the foam panels. Worked great. Thanks for watching. Please subscribe if you haven't already if you found our video helpful.
Hello Amanda, We did not use any heated sewer hose and did not have an issue. Our sewer hose run was about 40 feet also and still no issue. Most of the time when you are dealing with gray water there is warm or hot water involved, like a shower or dishes so that keeps the hose clear. Just make sure you have a good slope to the hose.
Great video. Here's a question - do you still do black tank flushes during winter? If so, does that mean undoing all the foil wrap and heat wire on the faucet?
Hello Steve and thanks for checking out our video. We did still do black tank flushes just not as often more like every other empty. What we ended up doing is hooking up a y hose adaptor to the city water connection in the wet bay so we could hook up the small hose and do a black tank flush just by turning the shut off on the y adaptor, worked great because our connections are in the heated storage area. As far as getting access to the black tank valve and dump area we were sure to put the end piece of one of the foam panels right were the connection was so all we had to do was move the foil tape from one end and swing it open and the other end was like a hinge. Worked great.
Hi. I fly to the arctic in winter for work. I going leave my rv heated inside but not tge subfloor. I have heated hoses for the water. Will my pipes freeze in say minus 5 to 10 in the subfloor with out the furnace running ? Thanks
Do you stay at this place all winter ? If not how many month or weeks do you stay in the winter ? Most importantly how are you charged and how much ? I was looking at a place that finally accepted winter stays but wanted 2000 a month just to hook up and stay ? Is this typical for winter stays ? Thanks so much for your video
At this location we managed a full winter season (upstate NY). This was free as it was on our property. Winter stay amounts will depend on location and stay duration. Down here in Florida you can expect to pay up to 2k a month for lot rent if you pay for a month. If you lock in for a 6 month or a year stay it is much cheaper. So up north, I do not think paying 2k a month is good. If you haveanymore questions pleaselet us know and we'll do our best to answer. :)
$2000 a month in winter? The local RV park next to me is $525/month year round. That includes free water and wifi. Electricity is only additional cost. This is in Eastern Washington. I think that's over priced imo too.
These are single pane windows. Deffinately important to use reflectix over the windows as an extra layer to block out the cold and keep the heat in. We cut it to the window shape individually so we can remove a piece if we wanted some additional sunlight.
Hey there! Thanks you for posting this!! Is this camper considered a 4season one? My husband and I are looking at a heartland big horn that’s on sale right now, the guy said it’s a 4 season but we live in NH. We’re planning on buying a 5th wheel and connecting to my in-laws house and live in it full time. Do you guys live in this all year round? And connect everything to the house? Thanks so much for posting!!
Yes ours is considered a 4 seasons RV and we do still live in ours full time. We did connect to the house for a while when we had it there. With the right things done and precautions you can make it through the winter.
If it's 4 seasons then it will have tank heaters, so look for the tank heater switches inside . Also I actually have a 2008 37ft heartland big horn. I really like it 😊
Like your suggestions. Great video! Question...All the landscaping spikes I have searched for in the big box stores and on Amazon do not look like yours. Do you have a brand name for them and where did you find them?
Hello Monica, glad our video was helpful. They are called landscape staples and the big box stores usually have them. I did just put a link in the video description for them on amazon. Hope this helps. Thanks again for checking our our video, we hope you will consider subscribing if you are not already.
These were not adhered with anything. They were cut as a tight fit so they stay in position. If you're. Alitalia worried about them blowing away you can always use some tape to keep them pressed against the slide outs.
-40 F, I don't think rv life is suited to much for that. You'd have to run heat under the rv, and you'd probably go through propane and power like crazy trying to keep it cold inside
How long the tank last is going to depend on the temps outside and what youkeep it at. Also will depend on if you have electric heaters in the rv. At the coldest temps where we were a 30lb would last a week. But if you manage well with electric heaters you won't have to run the furnace as much during the day. Just make sure your underbelly stays warm so you prevent possible freezing.
Im a poor $$$ country boy. I used 17 bales of straw around my small camper. I wedged them underneath the camper all the way around. At my black/grey water levers & drain i tied a small bale that fits titely in place then stuff any openings with loose straw. The results are incredible. Tomorrow i will put 1/2 dow foam board on my windows from the outside. It will be dark in here but this storm bringing single digit temps is no joke.
I didn’t even think about using hay. That’s a good idea. Did you just do it around the perimeter or did you fill underneath completely?
@@CannibalFetusRobbery just the perimeter. It worked realy well.. straw is what i used not hay.
How much did that cost?
@@melinda1133 it ost about $180 this yr will be a little less as im finding last yrs straw cheap
I have used straw for few years in the past. Works great. The downside is it holds the rain then molds so spring cleanup is messy. Also, the mice love to make it home too.
Not sure if anyone mentioned this - I put my sewer pipe inside a 6 inch pvc pipe and wrap it in heat tape
Clear Bubble wrap on windows let in some light .
Clear let's in some light and may be good for the winter, but in the summer if you use reflectix, it keeps the sunlight out keeping your rv cooler. So it's got double purpose and why we use the reflectix. Thanks for the comment. It's a fantastic idea.
Thanks for all the great winter tips! Practical and inexpensive. I like your style!
Glad you like them!
You can also put weather stripping under the higher slide outs.
Tape alllllll joints,not just a few!
Just a couple of suggestions. In you wet bay you have a 150 watt bulb with what appears to be a receptacle rated a 60 watts. The extension cord that that is outside appears to be a 14 AWG wire it could be a 12 AWG depending on the length of the run. I have been in a fire and when a device calls for a certain gauge I will use the next size thickest wire. Using a Honda eu2200i the cords from the unit are 10AWG.
We used a 150 Watt bulb in a chicken coop heat lamp assembly that is rated for 250 Watts. I'm not sure about the gage of the extension cord but the wire gage on the fixture was smaller. We didn't have to use it but we had it incase. Thank you, that is definitely something for people to look out for.
@@Jimmy2Tech You are welcome As long as you do not exceed 15 amps you should be okay. Improper use of extension cords cause fires. Owner of a book store connected extension cords instead of hard wire. One hundred thousand books burned and took three days to extinguish. Extension cords scare me.
I have guys that installed SEVERAL extension cords/ RV electric tank heaters under my camper im living in, through this winterband hooked heat tapes, going every direction, meeting w/ a multi connect plug- in piece that extension cord hooks into, then ran just 2 extention cords to my exterior box
How do you know what is too much?? Im a sick 90lb single woman w/ zero help & am completely clueless w/ all things electric PLEASE HELP
ALSO.. I BOUGHT $500 IM TAPE/ FOAM BOARD.. BUT GROUND IS FROZEN (in Wisc)SO IN ORDER TO CUT/TAPE SEAMS TOGETHER, NONE OF BOTTOMS REMOTELY HIT GROUND EVENLY.. CAMPERS JACKED WAY UP.IN BACK (pull behind camper) TO MAKE IT LEVEL, AND ON 1 SIDE ALONE, FROM THE FRONT, TO THE BACK OF CAMPER, THE SIDE HEIGHT DIFFERS FROM 4' OFF THE GROUND, TO 2' OFF THE GROUND, WITH FROZE SOLID GRAVEL/DIRT.. WTH DO I DO TO GET IT AROUND EVENLY DOWN THERE????? @TheMickeymental
@@amandavarney3297 Do what ever you want child.
@@amandavarney3297 Do whatever you desire.
Your video is helping me tremendously. Thank you! Will be my first time buying and an rv trailer.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for the info. It’s crazy but we have a contract to get a blind man set up in his RV for winter and have 3 weeks to accomplish it here in Ontario.
Yep I was in a mobile rv for a winter here in newhampshire .on the maine border and it was brutal cause I had to move the rv often so I couldn't make it long term .but it's a nice camper you have and that's some good info .on setting it up for long term .and I still have the motor ya all have me .well I won ..and I'll keep it forever .so you all have a great night and godbless
Have a good one! Yeah with the right set up winter isn't as bad. Takes some getting use to but works well. Thanks again for your support. Its always great hearing from you Brain.
Great information. I’ll be staying in mine the first time this winter in Montana so it’ll be nice to be prepared. Thanks!
Awesome, just remember to insulate those low point drains. They can be easy to forget.
How did your winter go?
@@Jimmy2Techthanks! Winter went well overall. 😊
@@pamelako3082 you’re so kind. Winter was decent! Wish the walls were like 4” thicker. 😂
Our Bedroom is in the nose of the 5th wheel and we enclosed that area to keep our bedroom warm. We live in South Dakota... this is our 4th winter...
Brrrr!
Thanks!
this was a great video! 1st winter in my RV and Im about to start setting it up little by little (kinda poor). good to see and hear the explanations, gonna have to do straw this winter though!
Straw bales do work pretty well also.
Your RV is beautiful man. Thanks for this video, i'm heading up north AZ to meteor crater and it's dipping below freezing at night. This video helped me prepare.
Thabk you so much for the comment. Happy the video helped you prepped for the cold. Stay warm!
Currently have a 1995 3 0 foot drivable. Get a chance New England weather with a couple of back up batteries a brand new engine battery secondary source of heat and also the rig generator and a small back up generator. Also have one spare tire and then two off the rim I’ve got to get put on rims. Made sure I had plenty of fire extinguishers as well but for heat I chose to do what I did the last two years in my portable sportsman KZ that is sold. I decided to go with foam board insulation for the vents then I have to make one for the bathroom, also probably going to change some stuff up with my RV windows and affordable insulated paint on my window blinds rather than buying new ones don’t like the pink anyway. But for anybody working for these rigs. You can usually find some thing that’s a fixer-upper. You may have to live in your car short term. But it’s definitely achievable if you have a little money to spend.
Very Good video, I’m dealing with this winter here in S.E. Mich. Jan, Feb 21 . Not nearly enough time to prepare as well as you have. I closed the slides too, so I could move the coach south in a hurry if it became unbearable.. It is not a simple problem, the greatest problems that I have had were external LP tanks not evaporating to gas fast enough due to sub zero temps (I surrounded 3 - 30 lb tanks (so I could take them in for refills) with straw bales /no tank heaters (I should have used heated covers but no-one has them in stock) and regulator sticking(another thing that I should have heated, when sub-zero). Thanks..
Tiffin Class A
Hello Tom, We have heard a lot about propane tank issues but so far we have not had any issue. Knock on wood. Your right there never seems like enough time and you are always wondering what else you could do. But so far so good. Cant wait till spring so we can get moving again.
Zero sunlight is not a solution for most folks. I’m sure there are some better solutions like bubble wrap and just changing the windows, although the latter solution is quite expensive
Nice Video guys, good ideas in there.
I use oil heaters as well. (When I'm stationary at least for sure. I have one Pelonis, and it's gotten me thru 6 winters. I actually saw them on such a great sale. I grabbed 2 more!!! Just figured one for the house and one for the RV since that one is almost 7-8 years old. So I didn't want to be without a good heater. And the price was absolutely right! People can say a Pelonis is cheap, it's affordable and it's done me right for as far back as I can remember bc I always use one in the winter in the basement.
I got a Delongi for home and it's crapped out long before the much less costing pelonis that's going strong. I just didn't want to wind up in any situation that would've left me grouchy and in a hotel! But yeah I'm definitely planning on doing some weather proofing for both seasons. Thank you for the advice!
I have a Pelonis as well, and it works amazingly!
Ventless propane heaters are notorious for causing humidity. But it’s odd to have a lot of humidity when running electric..
Great video, thanks for the tips
I think I would install a mini wood stove .
Great video bud. Lot of good tips. Thank you.
Great tip on the electric!
Thanks for the vid, we are getting ready to live out winter in a camper in north dakota 16 miles from the Canadian border...
Sounds like an adventure for sure.
Yikes, I pray you stay warm, I'm 50miles from the Canadian border in WA
Don't know if I should be covering my AC units. I have a heat pump in my '22 Montana in addition to the propane heater.
@Tsch6373 If you have a heat pump you will be using, I would not cover that one as it needs the air flow.
This is better than the outreamer and that is 1 million ❤
Awsome video. Answered a lot of questions. Thank you!!!
Thanks for all the links for all the stuff, was very helpful
The 150 watt bulb looks like a great way to start a fire.
Been awhile bud but as I said I'll allways be here and great vid and godbless ..
Thank you so much Brian. We appreciate your continued support!
I would build a metal pole barn. It will leak it's only a matter of time
what model is the acurite thermometer? did you have to purchase additional sensors?
HI I love what you have done. I am being evicted and a friend of mine will allow me to put a camper I am going to buy on her property and live ther with my Cats. How do you keep the Black water from freezing up if you keep it connected to the sewer?
In the winter time you'll keep your blank tank closed until full and then pull the lever to release it. Some rv's have tank heaters which can keep your tank from freezing, but the way we skirted the underside of the rv you could always add a small heat source to put some heat down there to prevent freezing. Every rv is rated different so deffinately aim for a 4 season rv which will better help with the cold if you're going to be facing that. Best of luck, and if you have any other questions please feel free to let us know :)
Thanks for the tips! We’ll be living in our 5th wheel during winter and I’m thinking ahead. Any non-reflectix options you can think of to allow light in?
Reflectix is pretty much the best product to use for that purpose. It installs easy and is easy to remove if you wanted to let light into a window.
Bubble wrap
Hi! Are the foam boards under your slides temporary? Just wondering if you have to take them out when you need to close your slides. How do you keep them up there? Thanks for this!
Great advice! Thank you.
Ok. I'm getting a fifth wheel 2007 and I live in Idaho. I'm gonna be in a RV lot hooked up year round. I only care about keeping pipes from freezing while still being able to shower. I like the cold so inside is no problem. Can someone who knows tell me the most cost effective way to protect the water pipes. It is electric water heater and full time hook up. Thanks
Best way i can think of to protect your pipes is to skirt your RV and get a heater for underneath.
Which electric water heater you are using?
I could not handle having the reflective in the windows all day long. We've had our rig out for a few days when Temps dipped to 25 degrees, and we had no problems without doing anything extra.
It could feel closed in but when the sun was out we would take the reflective out of the window on that side of the RV to get the light.
@Jimmy2Tech that's good to hear. You have some great tips,and I'll make sure I keep them in my back pocket. I want nothing more then to sell my house and take our rig to some place remote and stay there. But those grandkids pull those heart strings of mine. Four out of six are grown with two of them married. It's the younger two 6 and 8 that we need to keep building memories while their young.
Good video y’all
Thank you so much.
It’s a good thing you’re hooked up to electric. It makes life easier. I boon dock. Don’t have the luxury of electricity.
What is the cost of this to winterize everything...
What were those steps up to the left on the way into the master bedroom?
That is the loft which is great for if you have kids or need extra storage.
Thoughts on wiring in a low temp rated mini split unit or a diesel cab heater? Looking at setting up a permanent RV on private land in Upstate NY.
A lot of RV'ers are installing the diesel heaters in their rigs and really like them. They are pretty small but put out a lot of heat. Just remember that those kind of heaters just like the furnace in your RV will also add some moisture so make sure you have a dehumidifier going.
Low temp mini split would be the way to go, you can get a 12000btu one for $1200 or a non low temp one which will work down to -5f for $800
So how do you keep water and power running in the winter so you don't freeze to death and your water doesn't freeze if you're not rv living in your own backyard? All that stuff is easy to do when you're rv living outside your own home
It would be a lot harder with out a power source.
Do you have your hotwater on constant to keep the heater tank from freezing?
Helo Emagen303,
Yes, since we are living in it full time we have the water heater always on. Meaning it heats up then shuts off just like normal.
I’m curious as to why you suggest using electric heat, where-as most suggest using your propane heat?
In cold temperatures you would need the furnace to run alot to keep up, the problem with that, is you will runout of propane rather quickly. And depending on there you are, electricity can be cheaper/more convient than filling your propane tanks every week or less.
You can use your furnace with propane to fully heat your trailer. Just expect to fill your 30lb propane tank every 2 days.
where are you? what state and annual snow fall? just kinda getting idea of what kinda winter you deal with, im in south east virginia and pretty mild winters here
At the time of this video we were up in the New England states. Lots of snow.
Hi, i was just wondering if you knew any way to be able to run more heaters at once? i’m on 30 amp service so i can’t run too many at a time. do you have a solution? thanks
If you are at a place where you are hooked into a pedestal you can run an extension cord into an outlet. You need to pull power from other sources other than your RV.
I just drilled a few holes into that heating duct in the storage Bay area. I drilled three or four holes and it keeps the temperature in there about 3° cooler than my living room.
That's a good idea, keeps from having to worry about the temp in there.
@@Jimmy2Tech You mentioned yours has the cold climate package like mine - one of they keys to that is they actually have small vents to bleed heat from the furnace and duct it into the area below the floor to keep the pipes warm. The issue with that is that obviously that requires you to use propane heat.
Do you have an artic blast package on your RV?
No, We have the Extended season package which has heated tanks.
How do you keep the black and grey water tanks from freezing?
Out particular RV came with tank heaters. You can purchase them aftermarket and put them on.
If it's skirted and especially if it has the cold climate package, it shouldn't be an issue (even without tank heaters.) The tanks are within the insulated base area of the trailer which would also have air ducted in there from the furnace.
90lb sick.single woman here in wisc.. just went and bought $500/ foam board/extreme weather foil tape to insulate my only winter home source (pull behind camper).. went out to start cutting/taping it tonight (already single digits here) and.Grounds totally frozen!!.. cant line boards up.. campers parked higher in back.. both long sides start at 2' and end up at 4' in back (jacked necessary to be level).. to get boards seamed together, creates gap from bottom of board to ground different all over.. but some gaps are 9" before board hits ground and 3" down, its flush, then a foot down, its 5" off ground
Grounds like cement! How THE HECK do i remotely do this???
Heats never shutting off now, and temps not reaching over 45°!! PLEASE HELP!?? ME AND MY PETS ARE GOING TO FREEZE TO DEATH AND DIE!! WE HAVE ZERO HELP!!!! NOONE TO EVEN ASK! DADS GOT DIMENTIA HORRIBLE! 911 😭😭😭
Ideally you would want to start before the ground froze. As far as the gaps you can trim the foam boards at an angle so as the foam boards line up. Every RV is different some has better insulation because some have the all weather packages. Yours sounds like it does not have those packages. With the frozen ground the landscape staples wont work you would have to use the landscape spikes instead. They should go into frozen ground. Also adding a heat source under your RV would help a lot just be careful on what you choose so you do not have a fire risk. You could contact some of the churches in your area as many of them offer community help. Hope some of this information helps you. Stay warm!
Can I run my electric heat in winter or should I use gas mine is blowing cold air could you tell me why
Why are there two temp sensor panels for underneath, the color one and the non color one?
Just to have a redundancy in 2 locations.
How did you connect your 100# tank? I'm seriously planning to purchase one.
I bought the extension hose and hooked one end into the tank and the other into the regulator. Worked great.
I’m considering a 100 pound tank myself. How do you refill such a heavy tank? Do you have a propane company come out to refill it? Thx
Great video and explanation! Question. Would you say the foam under the slide outs also helps keep the trailer cooler in the summer?
This Camper is really nice!! What year is it? Great video!
Thanks for the comment. It's a 2021 :)
What is the R-value of your Styrofoam that you used for your skirting? Thanks.
Hey there. Thanks for the great video. The amazon link you provided for the landscape spikes/stakes takes you to something that looks significantly different. Can you provide us with an up-to-date link? Thanks
Hello thank you. We checked the link and those are the correct items.
Hey Jimmy!!!
thank you!😁
Thanks so much!
Hey. Great video. To the point. No extra scenes like snowball fights. Just the info we need. Here's my question: I live in western Oregon. Not NE. How much of this work should I do when we rarely get below 30 and snow is not guaranteed? When it does snow it doesn't last long. The guys who sold me my travel trailer said I didn't need to do anything because if I'm living in it, I'm keeping the pipes warm by heating the inside. Others say I'm insane if I don't do what you've shown here and then some. Just depends who I ask. What are your thoughts?
We would always air on the side of caution and do it. You never know when the weather will take a turn. It happened to a lot of people in Texas last year. A little work now to potently save you a bunch of hassle. Thanks for watching.
Is your rv 4 season rated i think they call it? Considering buying an rv to visit family out of state but would not be able to do all the skirting you have shown here. Wouldnt get down to negatives like you said hopefully though:)
Yes, this RV is a four season. Meaning they usually have tank heaters and extra insulation. Rv's deffinately don't hold heat as well as a traditional house. If your somewhere for a short time and don't have to worry about Temps falling below 32 degrees (F) to often then you would be fine. Just have to keep track of the temp outside and make sure your actively turning on tank heaters if it's to low. Sidenote, if your hooked up to water let's say, you'll also have to make sure that doesn't freeze.
Hello guys nice video. question, do you have some sort of electric heat upstairs or does it stay warm enough being higher?
It stays plenty warm up here just because it is higher but we did have one of those small 500 watt electric heaters up there just in case.
So if a 30 pound tank last two days 100 pound tank only last 6.5 days?
With the addition of the electric heat we also had we would get about 2 weeks out of the 100 lb tank depending on the temps.
How do the slide outs handle winter?
They did well. We did go out a couple times after a heavy snow fall and use a foam snow rake to remove the snow.
What happens if you’re doing this in the woods no hookups available. Use a generator but how?
Did it.. gas generator.. 39' pull behind w/ 2 slidea.. no water/sewwr hook up at all
. No under skirting.... if its not big enough cant run battery opersted lights (hooked to 12v) + Fridge+ propane heat unless you have a huge generator.. ive used both.. the smaller 1 that i couldnt run everything on at once with (no electric heater of any kind will work) ypul add about 3/4 of a 5gal can of gas every 12 hrs.. if you use a big enough gas generator to run everything, at same time, your looking at 3/4 5 gal can of gas 3.5 times a day..
Redic for big enough generator unless for only cpl days..
I did it for MONTHS! Filing it twice a day was expensive enough!!
Can you show how you used the landscape staples I’m not understanding how those would work how do you attach them to the foam board??
Hello PJ,
I am not where I can show that at the moment, but all we did after we had the foam boards up was put a piece of gorilla tape every 2 feet at the bottom of the board to reinforce where we were going to put the landscape staples then we put the long landscape staples in at a 45 degree angle at the bottom of the foam board through were we put the tape and push it all the way into the ground. The angle helps so when the wind pushes against the the foam panels it would just push the staples in the ground harder and not move the foam panels. Worked great. Thanks for watching. Please subscribe if you haven't already if you found our video helpful.
@@Jimmy2Techso the staple goes thru the foam board? Confused on this, any pic close up?
can you leave the fiberboard on during the summer? its just starting to get warm and having trouble keeping cool.
I don't see why not. Maybe put in a couple vent holes just to allow good air flow to prevent moisture.
Do you use heated sewer hoses for grey water? They are pretty expensive but this is our first winter in our rig and want to be prepared.
Also could you link your slide covers you mentioned.
Hello Amanda,
We did not use any heated sewer hose and did not have an issue. Our sewer hose run was about 40 feet also and still no issue. Most of the time when you are dealing with gray water there is warm or hot water involved, like a shower or dishes so that keeps the hose clear. Just make sure you have a good slope to the hose.
@@amandasoileau4140 I have added the link to the slide toppers. just click the link and choose the size you need. Thanks for watching.
Hi, What is the length of your 5th wheel and how many insulation boards did you use? 4x8?
Ours is 42 feet and we used I believe 16 sheets. That includes the foam we put under the slides.
Great video. Here's a question - do you still do black tank flushes during winter? If so, does that mean undoing all the foil wrap and heat wire on the faucet?
Hello Steve and thanks for checking out our video. We did still do black tank flushes just not as often more like every other empty. What we ended up doing is hooking up a y hose adaptor to the city water connection in the wet bay so we could hook up the small hose and do a black tank flush just by turning the shut off on the y adaptor, worked great because our connections are in the heated storage area. As far as getting access to the black tank valve and dump area we were sure to put the end piece of one of the foam panels right were the connection was so all we had to do was move the foil tape from one end and swing it open and the other end was like a hinge. Worked great.
@@Jimmy2Tech Fantastic! Thank you. I am looking forward to doing all of this myself this winter. I appreciate your guidance.
Are those dual pane or single pane windows?
we’re on the underside of your camper did you place the thermometer sensor?
We placed the sensor on the frame rail under the dining slide.
''Murica''
Hi. I fly to the arctic in winter for work. I going leave my rv heated inside but not tge subfloor. I have heated hoses for the water. Will my pipes freeze in say minus 5 to 10 in the subfloor with out the furnace running ? Thanks
Hello Doug,
I would say yes they will if the heat is not running. You could try to leave the water running a little. Thanks for watching.
@@Jimmy2Tech Thank you.
By any chance.whats the name of the insulation you used on the outside
It is a 1 inch Foil Faced Polyisocyanurate foam board.
Thanks.
Good idea, how did you get the extension cord inside? I need to run mine inside my solitude and not sure to run another space heater. Any idea?
I see how you put the cord in. Forgive me I am a newbie. How did you get it under the slide?
@@latishasalisbury1270 on the slides they have the rubber seals. You can just slide the extension cord right through there and you'll be all set! :)
Do you stay at this place all winter ? If not how many month or weeks do you stay in the winter ? Most importantly how are you charged and how much ? I was looking at a place that finally accepted winter stays but wanted 2000 a month just to hook up and stay ? Is this typical for winter stays ? Thanks so much for your video
At this location we managed a full winter season (upstate NY). This was free as it was on our property. Winter stay amounts will depend on location and stay duration. Down here in Florida you can expect to pay up to 2k a month for lot rent if you pay for a month. If you lock in for a 6 month or a year stay it is much cheaper. So up north, I do not think paying 2k a month is good. If you haveanymore questions pleaselet us know and we'll do our best to answer. :)
@@Jimmy2Tech thank you so much ….appreciate it
$2000 a month in winter? The local RV park next to me is $525/month year round. That includes free water and wifi. Electricity is only additional cost. This is in Eastern Washington. I think that's over priced imo too.
Are those dual pane or single pane windows?
These are single pane windows. Deffinately important to use reflectix over the windows as an extra layer to block out the cold and keep the heat in. We cut it to the window shape individually so we can remove a piece if we wanted some additional sunlight.
@@Jimmy2Tech thanks for the reply.
Hey there! Thanks you for posting this!! Is this camper considered a 4season one? My husband and I are looking at a heartland big horn that’s on sale right now, the guy said it’s a 4 season but we live in NH. We’re planning on buying a 5th wheel and connecting to my in-laws house and live in it full time. Do you guys live in this all year round? And connect everything to the house? Thanks so much for posting!!
Yes ours is considered a 4 seasons RV and we do still live in ours full time. We did connect to the house for a while when we had it there. With the right things done and precautions you can make it through the winter.
If it's 4 seasons then it will have tank heaters, so look for the tank heater switches inside . Also I actually have a 2008 37ft heartland big horn. I really like it 😊
Like your suggestions. Great video! Question...All the landscaping spikes I have searched for in the big box stores and on Amazon do not look like yours. Do you have a brand name for them and where did you find them?
Hello Monica, glad our video was helpful. They are called landscape staples and the big box stores usually have them. I did just put a link in the video description for them on amazon. Hope this helps. Thanks again for checking our our video, we hope you will consider subscribing if you are not already.
Question … how did you adhere the foam insulation boards under your slide outs?
These were not adhered with anything. They were cut as a tight fit so they stay in position. If you're. Alitalia worried about them blowing away you can always use some tape to keep them pressed against the slide outs.
Awesome. Thank you for the response. I would definitely like to try this out!!
@@wendymoses1118 it works great! Good luck.
What about -40
-40 F, I don't think rv life is suited to much for that. You'd have to run heat under the rv, and you'd probably go through propane and power like crazy trying to keep it cold inside
That propane tank is to close to the trailer
I would recommend if you're going to show your work on media make sure it's nice work! Yes it's functional but Esthetically the tape work is subpar!
This video is about function and survival. Pretty sure he didn't post it to win any home decor awards.
Why?
what a waste of propane..
Question .. with your a/c covers can you still cut the a/c on?
How long does that 100lb tank last? Also we used hay bales for our siding works well
How long the tank last is going to depend on the temps outside and what youkeep it at. Also will depend on if you have electric heaters in the rv. At the coldest temps where we were a 30lb would last a week. But if you manage well with electric heaters you won't have to run the furnace as much during the day. Just make sure your underbelly stays warm so you prevent possible freezing.