Living in a RV longer term in a cold/ windy climate?

[GON]

After reading the below article of living in a Northern Colorado campground during January- trying to understand the challenges of living long term in a RV during the winter months in a cold/ windy climate. I didn't know if this was even feasable- but the thread demonstrates one can live in the RV in the cold/ wind long term.

Guessing some of the requirements include:
RV with insulation
RV with adequate heating system
Electrical hookup that can handle the AMPS to power an electric heater
Method to keep the plumbing from freezing

Interested to learn about other issues of living in a RV long term in a cold/ windy enviornment.

Why it's so important to know your WiFi environment and how to be a good WiFi neighbor

We are in a campground near Fort Collins, we have been here before. I've learned that their WiFi is ok, but not business quality, so we brought our Starlink and I use our own Ubiquiti access point. Why bring our own access point instead of just using the one built into the Starlink? Thanks...

rvthe.us

 

[spasm3]

I would be concerned with moisture buildup. We breath out a lot of moisture, in a confined space, with cool walls and warm heated air. It can condense and run down the walls.

I think an electronic thermometer with humidity reading would be good to have.

 

[Wayne]

I would be concerned with moisture buildup. We breath out a lot of moisture, in a confined space, with cool walls and warm heated air. It can condense and run down the walls.

We did have moisture build up in our Airstream while in Breckenridge in late October. We learned a few things that help. We would use the Fan-Tastic Fan to turn the air over in the trailer after sun set. Most of the moisture was coming from the 70°F air during the day, condensating as the air outside cooled into the 30s at night. Essentially dumping the daytime air got rid of a lot of moisture and the condensation problem.

Here in Northern Colorado this time of year, the air is very dry and we have had no problems with condensation. One thing we always do to make sure we don't get any excess moisture is run the exhaust fan when the oven is baking. The oven is propane fired and all of the combustion exhaust would go directly into the trailer, unless the exhaust fan is run. Running the hood exhaust fan also turns the air over in the trailer. So far, so good.

living in a Northern Colorado campground during January- trying to understand the challenges of living long term in a RV during the winter months in a cold/ windy climate.

I think I'll write a longer article about cold weather camping. However, some quick points we have learned.

• Try to get an unmetered electrical site. We pay $100/mo flat fee and I'll promise you we are using more than $100 worth of electricity/month.
• Many of the RVs here have some type of insulation barrier around the base of their trailer. We don't, but our trailer is guaranteed not to freeze down to -10°F, lots of insulation and all of the walls are made of sandwiched high density foam. We saw -16°F a couple nights last year and only the cold water in the sink froze.
• Our furnace is a two stage with a maximum output of 35k BTUs, it has no problems keeping up.
• We have a 1,500 watt heater in the basement, a 1,500 watt fireplace, and a 1,500 watt portable heater that we turn on in the bedroom during the day. The point is to reduce propane use and it works. The furnace mostly doesn't run during the day when it's not frigid. When it's -15°F, the furnace runs about 50% of the time and the electric heater run pretty much full time. When it's that cold, you'll need 4,500 watts of heat for a 37' trailer, else use a ton of propane.
• We are spoiled because our trailer is made for cold weather. When we were here for the cold snap last year, we saw the RV repair guy at about 15 trailers repairing plumbing. He seemed to be the only one smiling.

 

[Wayne]

It's about to get real. We are just on the edge of the super cold air that's descending into the plains from Canada. I hope the forecast is correct and this is the coldest we will get:

We are right on the edge of some really cold air Saturday night. I sure hope it stays to the north.

 

[GON]

Wow, that looks pretty darn cold. Very interesting to read/ learn that there is an ample amount of RVers staying longer term in their RV in the winter cold- had no idea that was feasible. Thanks for sharing that some RVs have winter protection as part of their design/ features. Seems RV selection requires a lot of research, and understanding how the RV will be used, to include cold weather.

 

[MSCH]

in my case I think the reason a RV has wheels is so you don't have to spend time in one in those climates.
people do, but given an option I sure wouldn't stay in one if the temps were going to be far below freezing.

freezing temps overnight are one thing, but living in what amounts to a beer can in the winter is an exercise in burning propane.

 

[spasm3]

That's too cold for me!

 

[Wayne]

Amps draw on both legs with three resistive heaters, water heater, water kettle, and furnace running. 63 amps total.