Another cold temp question

[TranquiLiza]

Hi all!

I am a natural worrier so I've come here for help! I know there have been many weather related questions but as most of those seem to be related to people experiencing below freezing Temps at night and above freezing during the day, I have come here for some peace of mind as my situation does not have those 40 f Temps during the day.

I am in Grand Lake, CO in 2022 escape 5.0 with undercoat insulation but no heating pads. We have full hookups and no hose connected. We cannot leave as we are here for work. We arrived this morning after a hellish drive thru mountain pass with snow. Luckily we are alive!

However, Temps have hovered around 28f all day and will stay that way tonight and most of tomorrow. It may get up to 35 tomorrow but forecast said it would be 35 f today and that did not happen. Then, to make matters worse, the Temps will plunge tomorrow night to low 20s/high teens and then same forecast of around 35 high the following day. Thursday we should be in clear as it will be forties again as high. It is Monday now just fyi.

We have space heater going and furnace miraculously works at this altitude (we had furnace issues last week so this is a small miracle). Space heater is keeping inside of camper at around 71 degrees and we have furnace set to 65 as backup. We plan on keeping all bottom cabinet doors open, bathroom door open, propping the dinette access hatch to water pump open and putting space heater on ground by dinette when we go to bed. Is there anything we are missing?

Fresh water tank is near full as we filled last night and grey and black are 1/3-1/2 full. We do not have antifreeze and prefer not to do that option as we need water. We also can't dump anything right now as the bottom insulation (including sewer hose holder) are covered in ice from drive. Not sure if ice on bottom of camper is good or bad....my attempt at a positive attitude is that it will insulate further like an igloo. Probably not good logic I know.

Should we get warm water and pour over ice on outside bottom of camper? I can get warm water from campsite store but not sure if that is necessary or will do damage.

Any tips to calm my poor nerves?? Thank you all in advance!

 

[brroberts]

If you are looking at low 20’s, pouring water will simply melt some ice and then create another thin layer.

Keep the heat going so the gray and fresh don’t freeze. Not much else you can do until you thaw the dump valves and dump them. You can put antifreeze in the gray and black tanks. That may help your dump valves.

 

[TranquiLiza]

Thank you! Probably dumb question, but is it okay to out antifreeze in grey and black tank if they are partially full already? I am nervous about those outside valves! Also, dumb question, how much antifreeze? I am new to using it. Can go pick some up in morning.

 

[brroberts]

Yes, it will be diluted, but may help. Anything like that and a hair dryer can help free up your dump valves. The black tank in most Escapes is inside, so shouldn’t freeze as long as you can keep heat.

 

[brroberts]

By the way, any anti freeze, while not the best to dump, can go in the tanks since it p’s not drinking water. Use what you have or can get. It’s not worth worrying about. Just do what you can and enjoy your trip. The trip should be positive, not frustrating memories.

 

[TranquiLiza]

Thank you so much! This makes me feel better. We will grab some antifreeze in morning. Can't wait for Thursday so we can get out and do some hiking in more temperate weather.

 

[brroberts]

Also, with heat and spray foam, it has to get pretty cold to freeze the gray and fresh tanks. We have camped at 10F and been fine. We do have tank heat pads, but seldom use them. Having shore power or a generator are most important. As long as your batteries stay up for the furnace, and you have an electric heater, it would have to get pretty cold. Make sure you don’t turn water heater off.

 

[alanmalk]

If you can locate some rags wrap them around the dump valves. Your antifreeze added later will not protect them.

 

[BizCrate]

Just my 2 cents -
Pouring the antifreeze down the sink and toilet can help in 2 ways:
First, some will puddle in the P traps to keep that bit from freezing. A dose before bed might not hurt!
Second, antifreeze is heavier than water so the thought is that it will displace some of the water down at the dump valves. Even diluted, the AF has cold resistant property and will keep the water inside the exposed valve protected. Pour a good bunch of that stuff down the hatch! You want enough to sink. I wouldn't bother defrosting the dump valves either, until you are ready to dump. A freeze/thaw cycle doesn't do well for anything, I don't think. The only other thing I can recommend is to see if the local hardware store has some heat tape. Wrapping that around the valves under some towels will keep 'em warm.
You are right to keep the doors of the cabinets open. It will keep all those skinny water lines from freezing. Pex is a bit more forgiving than say copper pipe.
Lastly, the big tanks will take a long, long time to freeze into blocks at 30º (enough to do damage by expanding) if they are full. Thats a lot of water!
Cozy up and stay warm! Do let us know how you make out, OK?

 

[salmo7000]

If it makes you feel any better, I’m currently camped in Montana in screaming wind, temps forecast to drop well below freezing, and snow over mountain passes. I have a 19 with foam on the bottom. FWIW, I’m not worried at all. Why?? I’ve camped in this trailer for multiple nights with temps near 20 over the past 7 years. As long as I have heat on in the trailer, nothing bad has ever happened to the plumbing. I seriously doubt any of the tanks have come close to freezing, but if they had, there was plenty of room to allow for ice expansion.

I simply waited until temps were well above freezing to dump the gray and black tanks. Not sure that was necessary, but that’s what I did.

Maybe I should be worried, but I’m not. I’m far more worried about towing over Roger’s Pass tomorrow, with forecast snow. I might wait a day! In the meantime, I’m chilling out with a nice glass of wine.

You will get through this just fine… you’re doing everything you should!!