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Cold weather preparation

Okay, last year I had the brilliant idea of purchasing a motorhome and taking our 8 grandchildren from Southern California to the Polar Express Train Ride in Williams, AZ as part of our family Christmas celebration.  Spent all most a year studying MH's and wisely selected a beautiful and wonderful 2001 U320.  We took her on her maiden voyage this summer from San Bernardino, CA to Toronto Canada and had a blast.  Now Christmas draws near and as a native Californian and a complete newbie to the whole RV experience, I need  some help on how to prepare the coach and what I need to do while I spend 24-36 hours in what I am sure will be the 20-30 degree weather of Williams, AZ while we do the whole Polar Express experience with our grand kiddos.  HELP HELP.
Scott, Bonnie and Bentley
2001 36' U320
2006 Hummer H3

Re: Cold weather preparation

Reply #1 –
Scott,
 
Assuming it doesn't get any colder than 20 degrees you should be safe as long as you keep the Aqua-Hot on -- especially during the evenings.  As you probably know the bays are heated.
George Stoltz.  Retired from full-time living in a great Foretravel and now are back to living in a traditional sticks and bricks in Florida.

Re: Cold weather preparation

Reply #2 –
Scott,
With your coach you should not experience any cold weather issues.  It's well insulated.  Just watch the water hose.  Do not plug the hose into the water spigot if the temps are below 32 as these may freeze.
 
Control the moisture inside the coach by cracking a window, especially during shower time, when you may even want to exhaust through the roof fan during showers.
 
Have plenty of fuel in the tank when you park the coach during your stay.
 
Enjoy those grandkids!  :))
Peter & Beth Martin
No Forrest? What have you done?
MC# 15890 until Dec 2016; FMCA #F329677
Cincinnati, OH

Re: Cold weather preparation

Reply #3 –
We've camped down into the 20's with no coach issues thanks to the AquaHot.  Something to consider is whether the campground has the water to the sites shut off.  Some will have it off during the winter to avoid frozen pipes.  If not, you still need to watch your fresh water fill hose.  Best to fill the fresh tank then disconnect and drain the hose, especially at night when there's a threat of freezing.

Michelle
Learn every day, but especially from the experiences of others. It's cheaper!  - John C. Bogle

2000 U320 36' non-slide / WildEBeest Rescue
2003 U320

Re: Cold weather preparation

Reply #4 –
Spent many nights in the teens and single digits. If you are plugged in no issue just run your Aquahot. Also turn on the heat in the bay. There is a rhiostate in the water manifold bay on the passenger side. Set it as high as it goes a light in the water gay let's you go below zero.
2025 Wanderbox Outpost 32 on F600 Expedition Motorhome
2015 Born Free Royal Splendor on Ford 550 nonslide version  for sale
Former Coaches  covering. 360,000 miles
1999 34 U270
2000 36 U320
2001 42' double slide U320
2018 Jeep Rubicon

Re: Cold weather preparation

Reply #5 –
We spent 12 days in subfreezing weather last year in a 36' DP coach. It was below 32F day and night. We experienced several nights with temperatures in the 0F to -10F range. The main issues of concern were to keep all the systems in the coach above 32F, and to keep water tanks appropriately filled or emptied.

That meant keeping a watch on the propane levels in order to keep the propane furnaces supplied constantly. It meant that I had to choose appropriate times to hook up a fresh water hose and fill the fresh water tank. The fresh water supply was about three feet underground and covered by insulation and a concrete cap. I had to fill as quickly as possible in order to avoid anything freezing. Dumping holding tanks called for using a bucket of hot water to free the cap on the campground sewer port. I quickly laid the dump hose and dumped the tanks. After dumping, I put everything away, and secured all exterior ports.

That coach was not nearly was well insulated as a Foretravel, especially in the basement. It also carried only 18 gallons of propane for the propane furnaces. We had to move the coach about everything 48 hours in order to fill the propane tanks. That became an issues when blizzards starting rolling through. I caused us to do some driving in hazardous conditions.

We now own a Foretravel. It has propane furnaces rather than Aqua-Hot, but does carry a good supply of propane so that we can hunker down for a few days to wait for safe driving conditions.

If the daytime temperatures get above freezing, you will have no problem with utilities. If temperatures go below freezing, I recommend that you stow your water and sewer lines. Keep all your ports closed except for those required for proper ventilation. If you have Aqua-Hot that works properly, you will do fine if you watch all the appropriate fluid levels.

Enjoy! It sounds like a real party wagon!
J D Stevens
1997 U295 CAI 36' Build #5085
2002 Subaru Outback
Motorcade 16869
Bellville, TX

Re: Cold weather preparation

Reply #6 –
Couple years ago we traveled up to Michigan for Thanksgiving, not expecting winter conditions.  Ended up spending a week in sub-freezing weather with 3 snow storms and temps in the low teens during the night.  Our '03 U-320 was nice and warm and cozy the whole time.  But every time we went outside, we froze because we failed to bring warm enough clothing.  The only coach issue we had was the door latch/lock froze up.  We also had an issue when we attempted to bring the slide in to leave and the awning was too stiff to roll up tight and prevented the slide to close properly.  We had to release the awning locks and play with the awing to make it pliable enough to close. 
On the way home heading south, each time we stopped to let the dog out, it got a little warmer and it felt sooo good when we got back to Houston that year.  Our learning was we now keep a box of winter coats and gloves in the coach basement when ever we head north!
Bill & Deanne Brown
'03 U-320 Previous Owner in Houston

Re: Cold weather preparation

Reply #7 –
Thank you all for your input.  This is why I really enjoy this forum.  Everyone is friendly and willing to give there experienced advice on the simple matters of Foretraveling.  We look forward to meeting you all as we get more engaged in the RV experience.  I know our grandkids will appreciate Papa having some idea of what to expect.
Scott, Bonnie and Bentley
2001 36' U320
2006 Hummer H3

Re: Cold weather preparation

Reply #8 –
Everyone has their own method, for me, no problem at Zero f, just the Aqua Hot and I have a 1000w 120 volt heater in with the hose reel and spigots set with auto thermostat, not any issues at Zero.
Of course have the heat thermostat set proper in the passenger side water bay area where the valves are located, the Xantrex makes plenty of heat too.
FWIW
Dave