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Topic: Winterizing and/or living in a coach in canadian winters (Read 873 times) previous topic - next topic

Winterizing and/or living in a coach in canadian winters

Good day,
Being a newby to the class A coach world and a new owner of a Foretravel, I am inquiring into the operation:
1. Of a coach during the winter in Canadian climates (temp down to -35 Celcius)  as I may live in it all year round. The coach has Aqua Hot. What precautions such as extra insulation in the storage bays( the coach has heated bays...is this enough??) , lines, air bags, gen, battery tenders  etc should I attend to.

2. Storing the coach for winter if it is not being used. Again this is in the extreme (up to -35 celcius) temperatures experienced in Canada

Any one with valuable info please help a new guy out!!
Peter    Alberta Canada
'98 U320 40'  Build 5359 M11 450 HP, Aqua hot, Blu Ox

Re: Winterizing and/or living in a coach in canadian winters

Reply #1 –

dicksop,

Welcome to the ForeForum.

Please tell us what year and model coach you have.

That will help get you accurate answers.
Brett Wolfe
EX: 1993 U240
Moderator, ForeForum 2001-
Moderator Diesel RV Club 2002-
Moderator, FMCA Forum 2009-2020
Chairman FMCA Technical Advisory Committee 2011-2020

Re: Winterizing and/or living in a coach in canadian winters

Reply #2 –
Diskcop,

If you are operating the coach, have the Webasto burner in your Aqua Hot serviced before winter sets in.  That includes a new nozzle and cleaning the flame sensor, combustion chamber and U-channels in the tank chamber.  Have one or two nozzles on hand just in case they are needed.  Verify the electric element is operational, it pulls 12+ amps when heating the coolant.

Use a heated freshwater hose that is insulated or just connect the hose when refilling the onboard tank.  Set the basement thermostat as high as it will go, turned all the way to the right.  Plus, stop up the gap where the power cord and hose enter the basement to stop cold air intrusion.

Keep the waste hose empty and stored unless dumping the tanks.

Be sure the 16 gallon coolant tank is totally full of coolant.  Be sure the radiator cap is in good condition.  They are cheap so you may want to purchase a new one to be sure (13 lb).  Check the overflow hose at the radiator cap hose barb.  It should be soft and flexable, not stiff and not split.  There should be no coolant residue around the radiator cap from leaking.

Insulation on all windows helps heat loss a bunch.

Now, if you are storing the coach, Roger Engdahl will have the exact way to keep the coach safe when all systems are turned off.  This will include winterizing all freshwater lines.  You can NOT drain all of the fresh water out of the Aqua Hot fresh water loops.  You can Not blow all of the water out of the Aqua Hot fresh water loops.  Water left in the loops will freeze and split the loops.  This is a $9500+ mistake.  Roger has not replied to this question yet but read his info carefully when he does.

You can leave the electric element on and not freeze the fresh water loops.  But the rest of the coach will freeze.  You can leave the diesel burner and electric element on and the coach will not freeze.  But, if you loose grid power long enough for the battries to drain, please call me and have your $9500 ready.

If you want more Aqua Hot info, please call me 7 one 3  8 one 8  3234
Rudy Legett
2003 U320 4010 ISM 450 hp
2001 U320 4220 ISM 450 hp
1995 U320 M11 400 hp
1990 Granvilla 300 hp 3208T
Aqua Hot Service Houston and Southeast Texas

Re: Winterizing and/or living in a coach in canadian winters

Reply #4 –
My unit is a 1998 40 foot U302
Peter    Alberta Canada
'98 U320 40'  Build 5359 M11 450 HP, Aqua hot, Blu Ox

Re: Winterizing and/or living in a coach in canadian winters

Reply #5 –
dicksop,

  I personally weathered this past winter in the Wisconsin woods in my 1999 U320.  Everything stated above is very accurate. Rudy had to bail me out one day temps were minus 15 below and my aquahot control box decided to quit.  Within 24 hours I was warming up again with that new control box overnighted from Texas to Wisconsin (thank u again Rudy) I would have hugged him if he was closer and then add multiple snow storms and many many colder nights...and Canada can be even more unforgiving than Wisconsin!  Honestly,  the systems performed well and for the most part the bays below stayed above freezing  but it was a lot of experimenting and adjusting on the fly and stressful.  The really cold days I would pull down the double shades and put a thick layer of bubble wrap to help insulate it was like living in a cocoon. In reality, I would not do it again for a prolonged period of time. I think it was extremely taxing on all the systems and you always have to have a backup plan if heaters cease. Your bed can get really cold if wind whips through the rear engine hood vents and you don't add some additional insulation. I did utilize an additional ceramic heater in the living area when I would settle in to watch a movie or eat meals but if batteries, air/fuel lines or water pump freezes you got serious issues. If Diesel fuel gels up your toast depending on how close you are to assistance? I had to keep all the cabinets propped open so frost and moisture would not build up inside...I blew fans during day time if windows would sweat to keep any moisture from accumulating on glass and my beautiful woodwork.  I, my fellow  foretravel friend, am taking T Man's advice and leaving this state well enough in advance of winter this year to keep my maintenance issues within a manageable climate.  Short trips or stays in really cold weather to me would be a breeze and are very doable but living day to day for 5 1/2 months of cold is pretty tough in the very cold temps with ice and snow. Just my opinion after shaking the cold out of these bones this spring. Good luck!
Chuck Wiggy
Coloma, Wisconsin
Sold my 1999 U 320 40 Ft. M11 450 hp
Build # 5468
2009 Silverado

Re: Winterizing and/or living in a coach in canadian winters

Reply #6 –
I am going to quote Rudy again, because of all the information you will get, this is most important.

Quote from: Rudy –
Diskcop,

  You can NOT drain all of the fresh water out of the Aqua Hot fresh water loops.  You can Not blow all of the water out of the Aqua Hot fresh water loops.  Water left in the loops will freeze and split the loops.  This is a $9500+ mistake.

If you want more Aqua Hot info, please call me 7 one 3  8 one 8  3234

I have run across 3 or 4 AH in the last 5 years that had burst lines. 

1998 U320 40'
2005 GMC Yukon
MC# 17609

Re: Winterizing and/or living in a coach in canadian winters

Reply #7 –
Dicksop,

If you are where freezing is possible and you are leaving the coach unattended you should (must) winterize the water system.

Use the search function for winterize anf you will get lots more info.

Here is a pretty good all purpose winterizing guide.  It only takes an hour or so and maybe $20 worth of pink stuff.  Much cheaper than a water line failure due to freezing.

I use 15-20 psi compressed air to blow out everything first and then suck in about 6 gallons of the "pink stuff" (RV antifreeze) until it comes out of every faucet  and water line drain, both hot and cold.  Then double check all of them again. Don't forget the toilet, the sower, the service bay faucet and the drinking water spout. 

Some skip the blow out step but it is easy to do and helps ensure all of the water is out.

The stand alone ice maker if you have one and the ice maker in the refrigerator and washing machine need special attention.  The washing machine connections in our coach is under a panel in the floor of one of the closets.

Remove the drinking water filter before you fill the system with potable RV antifreeze.  Replace it when you de-winterize.

I catch everything that comes out of the drain lines and put a couple cups in every sink drain, the shower and the toilet.  If some pink stuff gets in the waste tanks that is OK.  You do not need to add any pink stuff to the fresh water tank just make sure it is drained out.

There are no second chances on this in MN, no shortcuts.

Others can give you more details on the washer dryer.

Roger
Roger Engdahl and Susan Green
2001 U320 3610 #5879 (Home2) - 2014 Jeep Cherokee or 2018 F150
Hastings, MN

Re: Winterizing and/or living in a coach in canadian winters

Reply #8 –
I ski so I have done some extra insulation. First I urethane foamed the back of the wet bay and I added insulation behind the wet bay
doors. I put bubble wrap up against the windshield and inside the cover for the fan. I dry camp so I need to run my generator four
hours a day and when the generator is running I run 2 heaters and the aqua-hot on electric to put a load on the generator. I also
run a dehumidifier which keeps the coach dry. At night and when I'm out skiing I turn the thermostat down 55 degrees for the
living area, the bedroom I leave at 55 and the bathroom I leave at 70 degrees. I close both bathroom doors at night and when
I'm out. I find the coach very comfortable.
Peter and Frieda Morin
1999 36ft. U320 Foretravel
Build # 5436
1998 Suzuki Sidekick Sport

Re: Winterizing and/or living in a coach in canadian winters

Reply #9 –
When I full timed for a winter in Kansas, we reached -4 F. on several mornings. We were hooked up to 50 amp. Ran the AH at 70 and stayed toasty warm as well as the bays. I did make sure the fresh water tank stayed fairly full as much as possible for the mass of heat. Do like Rudy, or Roger said on the winterizing. I failed to follow the guidelines correctly apparently one winter and the fresh water coils split in 5 places. I just rebuilt the AH myself this past spring. My final cost was around $2K doing the labor myself. I learned a lot. Especially the need for due diligence in winterizing when there would be no hookups during the winter.

I like the idea of heading South even better, but some of us can't do that. >:(

Larry
Larry Warren
1996  U320 36' SBID "Lola" sold 2020
Build #4970
Motorcade #18318
 

Re: Winterizing and/or living in a coach in canadian winters

Reply #10 –
What about this?
After filling the system with RV antifreeze I then proceed to drain it all out and then blow it out.
About six years in Wisconsin winters and no bad results.
I just figured that if the system had been saturated with the pink stuff, then the H2O was diluted enough that the lines wouldn't freeze.
Like the guy that jumped off the Empire State building was heard to say:"So far, so good!"
Nitehawk,  Demolition Lady, & our NEW master, Zippy the speeding BB cat.
1989 Grand Villa 36' ORED
Oshkosh chassis, 8.2 DD V8
2006 Saturn Vue AWD