Cold Weather Rigging

I hope you never have to use this advice, in fact, It gives me the chills just thinking about it! You never know when you’ll have to take your RV into cold country, so here is some advice on how to rig for cold weather. First, if you are going to be staying in snow country (like we did until my job was completed and we started out on our full timing adventure) you need to get prepared BEFORE the snow falls.

If you are going to be staying the whole season, I recommend building a skirt around the bottom of your rig. Plywood will do fine. This skirt will keep snow from drifting under your RV and will help you stay warmer because it prevents chilling airflow from blowing under the rig.

Second, you need to purchase some heat tape for your water line and your sewer line. Most heat tape comes with an automatic thermostat that automatically activates when the temperature drops to near freezing. For the water line you need to lay the tape inside lengths of foam pipe insulation then enclose the hose inside the pipe insulation and tape it shut. Leave the temperature sensor exposed to the elements (shouldn't be hard as it is located near the plug). It is also a good idea to put a Styrofoam hose-bib cover over the entry point where the hose screws into the “city water” line on your RV. These pictures give you the general idea, and the actual hose bib should be completely covered with insulation.You also need to wrap heat tape around your exposed sewer pipe and follow it on down the flex hose to the dump hole. Then find some old insulation and cover the flex hose and lay something on top of it to hold it in place without collapsing the flex-hose.

This is one of the most important things you need to do – FOLD YOUR STEPS IN when you go in for the night and when you leave for the day. Why? Because they will get covered with snow and ice and you will slip and break something. Trust me on this! Keep some salt handy to melt the ice off the steps if they get covered with snow.

Also either rent a larger propane bottle or purchase an extra bottle because you will go through propane faster than normal, even with the extensive use of space heaters. You will appreciate having the extra LPG, it comes in handy!

Before you retract your slides to leave for a warmer climate, be sure to clear the ice off the top of the slides. If you don’t do this your slides will not close all the way and you will more than likely get water inside the rig. I usually wait until the sun is out and the ice is somewhat melted then I use a broom to sweep it all off. BE VERY CAREFUL when you do this. It is not safe to be walking around on your roof with ice, so I recommend you use a ladder to do this. Also be careful not to damage the roofing material.

And finally, buy a good snow shovel – Hmm, I seem to have forgotten what those look like. Brrrrrrrrrr, think I’ll head for Arizona! Jim