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Winter Travel Suggestions


breister

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Am leaving from MN for a trip to warmer climes in the near future and had a few cold weather travel questions:

 

1. It will probably be quite cold when we leave so wondering if it is necessary to turn on hot water heater while we travel?

 

2. I plan to run the genset so we can power the fridge and furnace while traveling, so I guess could run the water heater as well?

 

3. We have a 202 Monaco Windsor. It looks like tanks, etc are all enclosed underneath, but I'm wondering if there is heat ducted into those lower areas as well? I've tried to find a vent and cant. We have run small electric heaters under there in the past.

 

4. Any other cold weather travel tips??

 

Thanks as always for your suggestions folks!

 

Brian

 

 

 

 

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I think you should have winterized the coach already and have NO water in your plumbing system! That includes no water in the hot water tank. Wait till you reach warmer climes to add water. If you have water in the HW tank and flame blows out somehow while you drive you might be in trouble if it freezes.

As far as running the genset, unless the fridge is residential it should be able to run on propane and 12v. The coach furnace will run on 12v as well. Stay safe (and warm)

2004 Freightliner m2 106  2015 DRV lx450 Fullhouse  2019 Indian Springfield 2014 Yamaha 950 V-Star

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If your coach is already winterized, you can carry water in milk jugs to flush the commode, and de-winterize as you reach warmer areas, but traveling with a coach that is not winterized is not normally a big deal.

 

I suspect your coach has the motoraid feature that heats the water heater tank from the engine while driving, so any water in the tank would be kept hot. If the tank is empty, no harm will be done. The enclosed basement does receive some passive heat from the passenger compartment, and may also receive some from the lp furnace(s). My Winnebago does have ducted heat into the enclosed areas. Hopefully someone who knows your coach can confirm exactly what your coach has there.

 

When our coach was new, we traveled from Virginia to high altitudes in NM where the temps did not get above 15 below the whole week we were there. As mentioned above, most of the time while driving we did not run the generator. We ran the refrigerator on LP and ran the LP furnaces while driving in addition to the dash heat. Only when we got back to warmer temps did we run the generator so we could use the electric heat pumps that will not work at very cold temps. Make sure you have plenty of LP as the furnace(s) have a big appetite!!

 

I put wireless thermometer sensors in a couple of sensitive basement compartments and could read the temps in the passenger compartment. When plugged into shore power, I had incandescent light bulbs (auto trouble light, small spotlight, etc) in those compartments. They provided enough heat to keep those areas well above freezing ...normally 40's or 50's.

 

Enjoy the adventure!

Paul (KE5LXU), former fulltimer, now sometimer...

'03 Winnebago Ultimate Advantage 40E

'05 Honda Odyssey

Escapees, FMCA, WIT, SMART

http://www.pjrider.com

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Am leaving from MN for a trip to warmer climes in the near future and had a few cold weather travel questions:

 

1. It will probably be quite cold when we leave so wondering if it is necessary to turn on hot water heater while we travel?

I would just to be sure but also leave the water pump on to be sure that it stays full.

 

 

2. I plan to run the genset so we can power the fridge and furnace while traveling, so I guess could run the water heater as well?

No reason not do do so. If it has an electric mode, just use that.

 

 

3. We have a 202 Monaco Windsor. It looks like tanks, etc are all enclosed underneath, but I'm wondering if there is heat ducted into those lower areas as well? I've tried to find a vent and cant. We have run small electric heaters under there in the past.

I would be amazed if you do not. We owned a 1998 coach and it did have. I'd be willing to bet that there are small ducts from the furnace that empty into any storage bay that has tanks or plumbing in them. There should be an owner of a Windsor on the forums but I'm sure that yours does have such. You won't likely see them from below as they are fairly small and usually in the center but I'd bet that if you find the interior side of the furnace where the heat ducts leave the furnace you will find one or more that are much smaller and those empty into the bays.

 

 

4. Any other cold weather travel tips??

If you keep the interior at a comfortable temperature, and the water heater operating you will not have any problems.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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