Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #25 – December 09, 2012, 01:51:52 pm ON the RV antifreeze, makes sense, thanks! Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #26 – December 09, 2012, 03:39:51 pm I don't think you need to worry about chains. The only time you really need them is if you get stuck in stop and go traffic. If you can keep your momentum going you will be fine. Avoid the Eisenhower tunnel rush hours of Friday afternoon/evening and Sunday afternoon and you should be ok.If a storm comes thru hunker down and wait for the sun to come out. Once the sun is out it's amazing how quickly the roads clear.see yaken Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #27 – December 09, 2012, 05:28:12 pm I do not know if there is clearance for chains on our coaches. There is not a lot of room between the air bag and the tire. The coach does well in snow though as the weight is over the drive tires. Turning is a bit of an issue at times though. Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #28 – December 09, 2012, 06:54:16 pm Regarding tire chains: My opinion, FWIW. I drove an SOB coach on packed snow, over unplowed highways, and in dangerous conditions because the coach didn't carry enough propane and other resources to keep us safe in cold weather. I did not properly assess the travel risks, and put myself and wife in hazardous situations. I bought a Foretravel so I could "hunker down" rather than fleeing.My current choice is the enjoy the local ambience if travel would require tire chains. I don't plan to carry chains. Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #29 – December 09, 2012, 09:33:34 pm Hi Charles...this sounds like a great trip! I hope you guys have a great time. You've got me thinking about it too, since we all love skiing. I just never considered using the coach in such low temps but it seems from reading comments here that it's entirely doable. Hey, I'm sure you've thought of this but wanted to mention it anyway: replace your regular window washer fluid with the anti-freeze type. We learned this the hard way driving over vail pass a few years ago!Safe travels,Chris Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #30 – December 09, 2012, 10:12:02 pm Quote from: bogeygolfer – December 09, 2012, 09:33:34 pmHey, I'm sure you've thought of this but wanted to mention it anyway: replace your regular window washer fluid with the anti-freeze type. We learned this the hard way driving over vail pass a few years ago!Safe travels,ChrisIndeed! What a good recommendation, Chris.You don't need antifreeze in the holding tanks if you are living in the coach and keeping the bays warm. However, you will need antifreeze in the windshield washer fluid. I generally buy 0F rated washer fluid any time of the year. That's the coldest rating I found at the local parts store. When we travel north in the winter, I try to get some fluid rated for lower temperatures. Even if the washer fluid remains liquid in the lines, it can hit the windshield and freeze immediately. That's an unpleasant experience! Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #31 – December 10, 2012, 01:07:57 am Since I live in Galveston (which rarely gets below freezing and then not too much below when it does, I tend to forget those little things like windshield washer fluid. Not sure what is in there now, so will drain and refill, Thanks Chris. JD, I will try to go with the good weather. If need chains, then I think I will follow your sage advice and just stay put until it clears. Spent most of day getting ready for the trip. Should be ready to go soon! Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #32 – December 10, 2012, 08:46:29 pm Cold weather travel is an interesting way of going. I have spent time waiting out the weather and have gotten up very early to beat it... I second the idea of washer fluid check and also check that you have the heater bypass not turned off. If you are using propane to heat, you will need to crack a vent to prevent the water vapor from freezing on the windshield. You might also bring some extra towels to put at the bottom of the front window. IT will run water if is is really cold. ALso carry a hair dryer or two so you can get rid of ice that forms on the inside of the windshield. If you have just cold weather you will only need to crack a vent but if it is really down in the single digits then you will have other issues. Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #33 – December 11, 2012, 06:49:43 am John, help me with that "heater bypass". I am not aware of it. Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #34 – December 11, 2012, 12:26:04 pm Quote from: John S – December 10, 2012, 08:46:29 pm If you are using propane to heat, you will need to crack a vent to prevent the water vapor from freezing on the windshield. You might also bring some extra towels to put at the bottom of the front window. @John Any idea why the propane heat causes more water vapor? The propane itself is burned and vented externally (obviously). Is is something about the heat exchanger?I experienced this first hand from the rain we had Sunday night here in Nac with temps in the high 30s. How do you full timers deal with it. I wiped the windows down with a towel. Can't believe how much water there was on the windows. I really don't want to have to do that everyday! I'm looking at using a small dehumidifier at night when ever thing is battened down. Good or bad idea? Hummm maybe that's why Arizona is so popular in the winter! I have the single pane windows. Do double pane have the same issue?Coming from Colorado this humidity thing is new to me!Sorry if I'm high jacking this thread...see yaken Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #35 – December 11, 2012, 02:59:59 pm Ken,In cold weather, we have to clear the windshield (inside) before we can start traveling. It will be covered with moisture or ice, depending on the temperature. A fan or ceramic heater blowing across the front of the coach will clear the window in a few minutes. Towels at the base of the window may be required to gather the water. As temperatures warm, there are often a few rivulets of water from the top of the windshield.We frequent switch between "Defrost" and "Floor" settings on the dash heater in order to maintain comfort and vision while under way.We seldom experience fogging or icing of the double pane windows.Leaving the ceiling vent open a bit and one or two windows open a bit will help clear moisture, especially if the outside air is dry. Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #36 – December 11, 2012, 05:31:33 pm To clear the condensation from the WS in cold weather I keep a small squeegee ( same one I clean the shower door with ). Gets most of the moisture off then I can towel off the rest.Gary B Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #37 – December 11, 2012, 06:19:50 pm Quote from: kenhat – December 11, 2012, 12:26:04 pm@John Any idea why the propane heat causes more water vapor? The propane itself is burned and vented externally (obviously). Is is something about the heat exchangerComing from Colorado this humidity thing is new to me! Many things will cause the moisture your experiencing. Cooking, making coffee, moisture in the coach materials etc. Also people and pets emit a certain amount by just breathing. Turn on the heat and it will condensate on windows etc if the outside temps are cold enough. Just crack a roof vent a little bit like J.D. says and it should help. Dean Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #38 – December 11, 2012, 07:35:23 pm THere was a valve in my water manifold water heater area that was used to close off the waterheater bypass the heating of the water to send it up front. Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #39 – December 11, 2012, 07:54:01 pm RRadio commented in a post back on Nov 26th: " ...................... The cold weather has created a huge amount of condensation, even inside the walls of the coach. It has shorted out at least one light, which I don't need so I removed it, and is apparently draining the coach batteries every day. I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of the condensation. How do people camp in RVs in cold climates anyway? I think I'm going to pull out all the fuses and see if I can determine which circuit(s) are shorted. I think the cause of the whole problem is the condensation, so if I could get rid of that the short circuit(s) would probably go away... Anybody have experience with cold weather RVing and condensation problems?"There were several responses; a good one IMHO was from John Duld: "A small dehumidifier (we set ours under the kitchen table) will dry out the coach overnight.No more wet windows or walls. Much more comfortable with less heat. But you do need to have 120 volt power."BTW- I believe a lot of folks are concerned about RRadio....... haven't heard from him in a long time now.Ed Sievers, Foretravel owner (some day) and avid Foreforum reader. Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #40 – December 11, 2012, 08:22:19 pm We typically use ceramic electric heaters in the coach when we are hooked up on outside electric and temps are not below 25 degrees. But I have always been concerned what would happen in real cold weather if the propane furnace malfunctioned. I decided to install light bulb receptacles in the water bays to provide electric heat if needed. Last night it got down to 17 degrees here in Oklahoma. It stayed in a hard freeze for 16 hours. Wanting to test the two light bulb receptacles in the water bays I installed two 40 watt bulbs and was anxious to see how much heat they would add without the heat from the back furnace. I had remote thermometers in each bay and was very surprised that the 40 watt bulb did almost nothing to heat the bay They got down below freezing after only a couple of hours. I then installed 100 watt bulbs. The 100's did much better but still allowed the bay floor to go below freezing. When I fired up the back furnace the bay's temps went up over 40 degrees almost immediately. Some coaches use the front furnace to heat the bays but I believe that most use the rear furnace if the coach has two furnaces. DON'T RELY ON LIGHT BULBS. Maybe the personal heaters or the Halogen lights will work but incandescent light bulbs won't cut it. IMHOLast year we were in Amarillo down to 7 degrees. Used the rear furnace and had not problem with anything on the coach freezing. Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #41 – December 12, 2012, 07:49:29 am I used a sall halogen shop light. Lots of heat from that. Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #42 – December 12, 2012, 08:20:02 am I took Ken's advice and went and got the small personal heaters from Walmart. I got 2. They are 200 watt heaters that are either on or off (no thermostat). My concern with the light bulbs was that what happened if they burned out. I thought the extra expense (and added heat) would be worth it. So, again sage advice that I am thankful for. CKS Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #43 – December 12, 2012, 03:42:17 pm Hi Charles, I use a couple of the no thermostat small heaters. I plug them to a Therma-Cube electric outlet. They turn on at 35 degrees, and shut off at 45 degrees. Inexpensive, accurate, and have worked well the past three years. Amazon, and others, sells them.Raymond Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #44 – December 12, 2012, 05:21:29 pm That is exactly what I got a thermocube and a couple of those small no thermostat personal heaters. I was tempted to get the larger ceramic heaters but demurred as I was concerned that I may overload the circuits and break them. So max is 400 watts through both of the smaller heaters. I like the thermocube (like you say on at 35 and off @ 45). THANKS! Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #45 – December 20, 2012, 05:26:26 pm Hey Charles - I was wondering how the trip was going, especially with this big snow dump that you guys just had? Hope all is well! At least Colorado finally got some good snow! Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #46 – December 22, 2012, 11:44:31 am I'm also anxious to hear!I'm also interested in where the shuttle pick up location is relative to where you're staying? I had heard its a decent hike? Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #47 – December 22, 2012, 11:17:02 pm The trip has been wonderful, it has been cold, today was first day above freezing. The little personal heaters from Walmart have been just the ticket. The area (floor) in the coach above the compartment where they are located is warmer to my sock feet than the floor without the heaters below. I took advantage of the remote temp sensor on my satellite clock and put it by the water pump while the personal heater (opposite side) was by the hook ups. I think the lowest temp recorded was 43. I used a small ceramic heater in the front of the coach and the rear furnace sans electric heater in the front. The coach stayed between 65-70 which was comfortable. I did not hardly use the front furnace. The reason was mainly to use the electricity (provided by the park at no additional cost AND what I consider the most important, to keep the propane tank above 1/2 full. I was advised to refill if got below 1/2. If got below 1/2, the chafe of "freeze up" would be increased more as the level decreased. My neighbor also told me to not run dometic on propane as tends to freeze up. He has spent 14 winters up here! I would think rather sage advice. Also note kept blinds closed most of time. Did not use fee bus, but noted pick up was just outside park. BTW the coldest night got downto -14F. No frozen pipes or tootsies, got to love that FT. Again thanks to all, for whom so far has made this trip uneventful. Charles Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #48 – December 23, 2012, 12:32:08 am Charles, how far of a walk would you say it is from your site to the shuttle pick up? 200 yards, more, less? Glad to hear all has gone so well! Quote Selected
Re: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice Reply #49 – December 23, 2012, 12:48:35 am Probably about 200 yards, note some spaces are obviously closer. Ours was nearer the front. I had and used toad. I reread my post and wish to clear the obvious misstatement on my part. Used propane furnace in rear and electric heat (small ceramic) in front. The front furnace was set to a lower temp that would only activate if the ceramic heater failed. Quote Selected
Topic: Tiger Run near Breckenridge Colorado Advice