what to choose
Hello Almostafossel,
I live in my 5th wheel all year 'round and have absolutely no problems with cold weather. It is a Fleetwood 30.5 ft Prowler with one slide and DOES NOT have the so called arctic package. It's just a regular normal 5th wheel..
Here in Nevada, the winters are about average for the middle USA. Temperatures range from 10 below to 30 degrees above at night and range from 20 to 40 degrees in the day. Moisture is fairly high because of the snow we get. We almost always have a wind blowing off the Sierra Nevadas that sometimes creates a severe chill factor.
I have never had any problem with moisture or frozen pipes. I do use a heat tape on the water line and I have the trailer under-penned with a canvas skirt to keep the cold winds from blowing under the trailer. But I only installed that in January 03 and to be honest, it does not seem to help any at all. The heating cost is still the same.
I use only the trailer's furnace to heat with, except the little space heater in the bathroom when I take my shower.. but I turn it off as soon as I'm out of the shower.
Electricity is too high to try and heat the whole trailer with space heaters. Last winter the propane was high ($2 per gal) and cost about $60/80 per month for Furnace, water heater and cooking. The electric cost about $30/40 per month.
Plus ... remember that on many RVs, the furnace heating ducts run along the same path as the water pipes. Plus many of the RVs have the heating ducts routed into or through the basement storage areas where the holding tanks are located. This means that the pipes and tanks are not likely to freeze.
For this reason, you should NEVER use a space heater as the only source of heat in an RV. It may not push enough heat into those places behind the wall where the water pipes are or down into the basement where the tanks are. Remember the RV furnace is like a house's furnace, they are properly called a “FORCED AIR FURNACE†or "FORCED AIR HEATING SYSTEM"
I keep the inside temperature at about 67 degrees when I'm up and about, like watching TV or working on the computer. I turn it down to about 50 degrees when going to bed.
As for using a heat tape on the water line that feeds the RV,, here is the reply I made to someone else's question about using heat tapes on garden hoses.
Maybe it will answer any question you have on that subject....
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A "Heat Tape" is a long plastic ribbon that is spiraled around the water hose that feeds your trailer when you are hooked up to city water. It works just like an electric blanket does on your bed. It cycles on and off to maintain a temperature of about 40 degrees on your water hose so the water won't freeze during the winter.
So remember,,you do not have to plug and un-plug the heat tape each time the temperature changes from warm to freezing. It is thermostat controlled just like your furnace and will turn itself off when the outside temps rise above freezing..
It must be used in combination with some type of insulation. By itself it's no good. Most people who live full time in their RV use this system.
There are several types of heat tapes on the market, but the only one that I can recommend is the one made by "Snow King" (?) Think that's the name on package..
And make sure that you get the model with "clear plastic bubble" on the end where the plug is. When the tape is plugged in, a little red light will glow inside the clear plastic bubble and you will know that it's working properly.
The other models are not designed for water hose use and can melt the hose.
They come in different lengths, simply measure the length of your water hose first and then buy the length of heat tape recommended on the back of the heat tape package for that length water hose.
They run about $15 to $25 depending on length. But they will last for 20 years if taken care of properly. Most hardware stores and places like Wal-Mart carry them as well as the insulation..
The best insulation to use are the "Foam Tubes" (about 99 cent each) with the split down the entire length and are designed to simply slip over the water hose.
Most people then wrap some type of tape around the insulated hose about every foot, so the wind won't blow the insulation tubes off.
I have used this system to protect my pipes since the 1950's and never had a frozen pipe...
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I would not worry too much about the cold hurting the trailer, just use good old common sense and you will be alright..
My 5th wheel is as warm as any "house" I have ever had and a heck of a lot cheaper living..
If you have any specific questions about what did I do or how I did it,, drop me an email or contact me on any of seven different RV forums on the internet.
I'll be glad to help in any way I can
Best of luck,
John