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Old 10-26-2015, 12:28 PM   #1
kym
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Winter camping

I am looking for advice and any information on winter camping. I don't see a thread on winter camping - are there any pros out there?
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Old 10-26-2015, 12:31 PM   #2
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There are numerous threads on winter camping.
At the top of the page is Search.
Enter the term Winter Camping in the Google Search box at the bottom and you will find the threads.
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Old 10-26-2015, 12:34 PM   #3
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Also,

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Old 10-26-2015, 12:38 PM   #4
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I am looking for advice and any information on winter camping. I don't see a thread on winter camping - are there any pros out there?
There are very few here who do winter camping. You can find much more on a general search on the Internet.
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Old 10-26-2015, 01:16 PM   #5
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I am looking for advice and any information on winter camping. I don't see a thread on winter camping - are there any pros out there?
Hi, welcome to the site.

Lots of great reading here on cold or winter camping. Most folks will put their Escape trailers away for the winter once temps start getting below freezing for the most part. Some actually sooner. It is possible to stay in an Escape in the winter, but you would be pressed to try to use any of the water components, either fresh or waste. Outside of water, you will just have to keep the furnace running way more often, and ensure adequate ventilation for the removal of moist air, or condensation will cause problems.

If camping in the winter is very important to you, I would suggest looking at a Bigfoot, a double walled, and better insulated trailer, but you pay both in weight and dollars for one.
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Old 10-26-2015, 01:24 PM   #6
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My solution for winter camping is to head south! I didn't do it last winter, and ended up having to shovel the roof of my house in February. Today I'm in Texas at the Arrowhead Lake State Park, heading to Arizona, and it is 72°F at 1:30PM.

I have run into a few cold nights, 23°F the lowest so far on this trip. As long as I don't hook up a water line, the furnace or, if I have utilities, my ceramic electric heater keeps me warm enough at night. I'm not all that interested in camping in the snow, so I do my best to avoid it...
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Old 10-26-2015, 01:59 PM   #7
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Kym, yes, heading south is what most with trailers do!

An Escape is not said to be a four-season trailer but lately many more seem to be getting the foam spray and maybe heat pads. "Winter camping" is different to different people. You would have to say where you will be and the temps so as to know if you mean possibly using your water system or not. But still, you will find less than a handful of people who have actually used their Escapes in well below freezing weather and that was often very briefly. Escapes are generally not used in winter unless owners are in a warm area.

There are Canadian Escapes that have been taken to such places as southern Florida or southern California or southern Arizona in winter. So if you want to do winter camping, those would be the best places to go. Even then you can have freezing temps.
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Old 10-26-2015, 02:05 PM   #8
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I try to camp at least one weekend a month over the winter. We have camped over Superbowl weekend in W. Va where it went down to 5 degrees at night. The cg are empty and very quiet. That said your Escape, properly prepared will allow you to camp comfortably in the winter. If you can find a site with water, get yourself a heated water supply hose, a little $$$ but worth it. With the optional foam spray, double windows, extra insulation, insulated door and door windows you are just about ready. With the E-Z winterizing set up you can still use your toilet via pumping antifreeze if you do not have water. A piece of carpet remnant on the floor will keep your pets happy. Installing a little electric heater will allow your propane furnace to rest. If no hookups your furnace will keep you warm.
Keep your vent cracked and blinds up to allow air to circulate over the metal window frames, the source of some condensation. Install some boat fabric around your mattress also.
Build a fire and enjoy the solitude.
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Old 10-26-2015, 02:22 PM   #9
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Thank you all for your your responses. We are not planning on being too aggressive with the cold weather issues but are just not ready to shut down for the winter. We have insulated tanks, solar, heat pads, extra insulation, double windows and will look into the heated water hose. So far our plans will take us to -10C at night with + 7-10 daytime.
As a new escape owner, your comments and ideas are appreciated.
Ken
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Old 10-26-2015, 03:03 PM   #10
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Thank you all for your your responses. We are not planning on being too aggressive with the cold weather issues but are just not ready to shut down for the winter. We have insulated tanks, solar, heat pads, extra insulation, double windows and will look into the heated water hose. So far our plans will take us to -10C at night with + 7-10 daytime.
As a new escape owner, your comments and ideas are appreciated.
Ken
But not all of us put our trailers up. As has been suggested, search the prior threads and then you can ask specific questions. We have dry camped as low as -23 F
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Old 10-26-2015, 03:10 PM   #11
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Yes, I get 143 posts on searching winter camping....
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Old 10-26-2015, 03:16 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by kym View Post
Thank you all for your your responses. We are not planning on being too aggressive with the cold weather issues but are just not ready to shut down for the winter. We have insulated tanks, solar, heat pads, extra insulation, double windows and will look into the heated water hose. So far our plans will take us to -10C at night with + 7-10 daytime.
As a new escape owner, your comments and ideas are appreciated.
Ken
Ken, your Escape is well equipped to try being out in the cold. The heated hoses are indeed pricey and be advised that they apparently have only one to six feet of length for the electric hookup part. Invariably people use an extension cord. The warranty may then be voided. So you might consider that. Don't know if you have a plug-in right near your water.

There are real cold extended-time campers who use no water and have various solutions. Then there are full-timers who would not be without water and they have their ideas. The solutions vary greatly with the kind of unit and the owners' home-made answers to them but there are ways to stay out there with and without use of the water system.

I can only recall one person with an Escape staying out in winter for an extended period using the water. I do not know if he would say that it was a successful use since he had big problems with dumping. Don't know if he will overcome that.

Please let us know what you did and how it goes!
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Old 10-26-2015, 03:25 PM   #13
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Oh my, -10, -20 Sounds like the Rocky training scenes in Siberia.

There is a reason our trailer is named Seventy Degrees. That is Farenheit....
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Old 10-26-2015, 03:58 PM   #14
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FC, that was probably us. The issue is that even though the tanks are insulated and in some cases heated, the 3" diameter discharge pipe leading to the gate valves is insulated but not heated. Consequently, even with 100% pink stuff, it will eventually become a thick slurry that will not flow, making dumping impossible until the whole structure is heated up. Fully capable winter trailers like the Big Foot and Artic Fox, this sturcture, including the dump valves are contained in the heated space.
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Old 10-26-2015, 04:55 PM   #15
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FC, that was probably us. The issue is that even though the tanks are insulated and in some cases heated, the 3" diameter discharge pipe leading to the gate valves is insulated but not heated. Consequently, even with 100% pink stuff, it will eventually become a thick slurry that will not flow, making dumping impossible until the whole structure is heated up. Fully capable winter trailers like the Big Foot and Artic Fox, this sturcture, including the dump valves are contained in the heated space.
So what did you do? Could a hair dryer warm it up or is it too hard of an area to get to? People place light bulbs in such areas sometimes. Is that possible to prevent the problem? Or is this an area where hard foam pieces could be taped for more insulation? I am supposing that yours is not the same as ours. See photo for partial view.

I was wondering about pouring hot water down the toilet and whether that would do anything and how hot the water can be. Wonder how much heat the black tank can take. But it would be better to have a preventative.
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Old 10-26-2015, 05:04 PM   #16
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We paid an auto detailer 100 bucks to keep our trailer in a space heated to 55 degrees for three days over a long weekend. Doubt that hot water would help as I can't imagine that the heat from hot water in the tank could migrate through all three feet of pipe to to the gate valve. Really like your quote btw.
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Old 10-26-2015, 06:42 PM   #17
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Fortunately with the 19' and the 5.0TA, the black water tank sits right above the gate/valve. Doesn't have a 3' run like some other models.
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Old 10-26-2015, 08:33 PM   #18
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Heated discharge lines

Someone on the forum bought 12 volt heat trace and had ETI install on discharge lines before foam. ETI didn't hook up, but ran wires into the trailer. If I had it to do again, I would do this.
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Old 10-27-2015, 06:18 AM   #19
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Fortunately with the 19' and the 5.0TA, the black water tank sits right above the gate/valve. Doesn't have a 3' run like some other models.
Jealous. I wonder if Escape, as an option, would be willing to install a second gate valve right under the black tanks on the 17 such that the offending 3' pipe would remain empty during use and most all liquid remains in the heated, insulated space. To dump you would open the primary dump valve, then the valve below the black tank. This solution dosen't help the gray water tank but it is easier to get along without that in winter. You sure about the 19? We saw one in Utah a month ago and I thought it had the offending pipe. Perhaps the 5.0 and the 21?
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Old 10-27-2015, 06:21 AM   #20
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Someone on the forum bought 12 volt heat trace and had ETI install on discharge lines before foam. ETI didn't hook up, but ran wires into the trailer. If I had it to do again, I would do this.
Me too. Wonder if the 160 watt solar panel and dual 6v could manage it.
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