Interesting report.
Perhaps it will be helpful to someone in the group if we append some of our
experiences in this department.
When we first acquired our coach, we of course over-reacted and did everything
by the book. The first couple of winters we had the unit
winterized by the dealer or Jackson Center, caulked everything, and covered all
the openings (windows, vents) with plastic film. The next
couple of years we tried winterizing it ourselves using antifreeze. But we
found that when we got down to Texas in January, we always we
needed the AC at least one day -- which meant scrambling to un-winterize in a
hurry.
So for the past three seasons we have only drained and blown out the plumbing
on Thanksgiving. And this year we didn't even put up any
plastic film. We have kept a small (600 w) resistance heater running 24/7, and
set the thermostat at the minimum -- about 50.
To our surprise, everything has been fine. Two years ago we were stuck severak
days in Bowling Green KY during a blizzard -- no problem.
During this last cold snap we were caught in the area that got the ice storm,
and the coach was encased. I opened a new 30# tank of
propane on the 23rd, but the temperature went down to -5 on Christmas Eve. The
furnace ran at nights, but not very frequently -- much to
my surprise, I still am working on that same 30# of propane. Outside
temperature this afternoon is about 40, and the interior temp with just
600 w heat is almost 70 -- very comfortable.
Lesson learned? Assuming only access to propane and sufficient electricity to
run the furnace, in an A/S "out-of-the-box" one will survive
and be comfortable at temps down to zero and even below -- special precautions
would be necessary only in International Falls.
-- Lew #4239
'72 Safari
Still stuck in Ohio.
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