Cold weather camping, hot water in fresh tank?

[AMink]

We camp all year round and usually it's boondocking. We've camped in as low as -11° with water in jugs, but never that low with water in the fresh tank. Obviously, when the temperature drops and doesn't warm up too much during the day the tanks and lines tend to freeze without added heat. I've seen the tank pads and I would like to eventually put those on but that's not in the cards right now. I am insulating under the trailer and enclosing the belly. My question is, has anyone ever set it up so hot water can be pumped directly back into the fresh tank(s)? Not only could you bring the temp of the water in the tank up, the water flowing through the line to the pump would help keep that from freezing. Is there any reason why this would not work, at least mechanically?

I'm thinking a line t'd into the hot water line to a valve to the tank. Open the valve, hot water goes into the tank. Thoughts?

 

[KATOOM]

Its a good idea but you'd blow through propane pretty fast as the water heater would be constantly trying to keep up since the water has to circulate back otherwise it wont work.

Tank pads work.....when they work, but those are only for when you're plugged in to shore power. The best solution is to insulate the underside of the trailer. A bonus thing to do is plumb some furnace air down under the trailer so that the air around the tanks is kept a little warmer while you keep the house living area warm. The only problem with that is if its all tightly insulated under there then the air flow around the tanks will be minimal. I've found that if the house area stays warm then the pipes and everything underneath will remain warm enough to keep from freezing. That is as long as the temps arent super cold. Especially since its not fun camping in arctic climates.

The best thing I've done to heat our trailer when we're camping in winter to play in the snow or ski, I installed an Olympic Wave heater. Uses far less propane, doesn't use the batteries, and does a nice job of keeping the place a just warm enough mellow temperature. If it gets cold enough then I have the furnace to pick up the slack.

 

[AMink]

Its a good idea but you'd blow through propane pretty fast as the water heater would be constantly trying to keep up since the water has to circulate back otherwise it wont work.

Tank pads work.....when they work, but those are only for when you're plugged in to shore power. The best solution is to insulate the underside of the trailer. A bonus thing to do is plumb some furnace air down under the trailer so that the air around the tanks is kept a little warmer while you keep the house living area warm. The only problem with that is if its all tightly insulated under there then the air flow around the tanks will be minimal. I've found that if the house area stays warm then the pipes and everything underneath will remain warm enough to keep from freezing. That is as long as the temps arent super cold. Especially since its not fun camping in arctic climates.

The best thing I've done to heat our trailer when we're camping in winter to play in the snow or ski, I installed an Olympic Wave heater. Uses far less propane, doesn't use the batteries, and does a nice job of keeping the place a just warm enough mellow temperature. If it gets cold enough then I have the furnace to pick up the slack.

I wasn't thinking of constant burn with the water heater, just enough to keep the water above freezing. I'm in the process of insulating the under belly and that will be it. The tank pads were a thought (12v type) but I'd have to add a piggyback fuse panel to accommodate the several pads. We have a Big Buddy heater and have been very pleased with it. Our last trailer did ok with just coroplast underneath. I'm adding 1/2" foam too. We'll see how it works.

 

[KATOOM]

I guess its worth a try but considering the basics of physics, it would still take a lot of propane to keep that many gallons of water from freezing in temperatures you're concerned with. I think your best bet is merely using all the insulation you can to best keep them out of the direct cold and try to direct some of the living space heat below.

Same thing would apply to the 12 volt pads. The amount of battery capacity they'll require in order to offset ambient temperatures below zero will be enough to deplete most battery banks in no time.

Maybe a very small re-circulation pump integrated into the water pipes so that its always moving the water through the pipes. Water in motion is harder to freeze and if the water comes up inside the living area walls then it will absorb that heat and bring it back into the holding tank.

Unfortunately RV trailers just arent built to withstand such cold climates.....

 

[AMink]

You're sure right about not being made for cold weather.

 

[KenHwy61]

We camp all year round and usually it's boondocking. We've camped in as low as -11° with water in jugs, but never that low with water in the fresh tank. Obviously, when the temperature drops and doesn't warm up too much during the day the tanks and lines tend to freeze without added heat. I've seen the tank pads and I would like to eventually put those on but that's not in the cards right now. I am insulating under the trailer and enclosing the belly. My question is, has anyone ever set it up so hot water can be pumped directly back into the fresh tank(s)? Not only could you bring the temp of the water in the tank up, the water flowing through the line to the pump would help keep that from freezing. Is there any reason why this would not work, at least mechanically?


I'm thinking a line t'd into the hot water line to a valve to the tank. Open the valve, hot water goes into the tank. Thoughts?

Yes it would work. Your onboard pump would keep hot water flowing until you turned off the valve.
I recently installed a 4" duct with a built-in small wattage fan that runs from the cabin into the well-insulated basement. I wired it to a thermostat so if the basement drops below 35 degrees the fan blows warm cabin air down until the basement reaches 40 degrees then shuts off. I added small floor vents at either end of the trailer to aid in air circulation. I also have tank heaters as well and I hope try it all out on the north shore of Lake Superior this November. The tank heaters require shore power for any extended use but the small duct fan could easily be solar powered.