Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 11, 2025 ...

There are others that have much more experience that we do and I hope they will chime in but this is what we can contribute.

I fully agree with others that you should use the 15 amp electric to at least keep the batteries charged. Turn off the inverter and the  breakers if you are concerned about pulling too many amps from the house but I think you run one 1500 watt electric heater with the charger in float mode. Remember the solar won't help when it snows. I also agree that the reflective insulation on the outside of the coach will be of minimal help. If you use your furnace the vulnerable bays should get plenty of heat to avoid freezing. Use the  200 W cube electric heaters on thermo cubes as back up or if you are going to use something other than your furnace for primary heat. As I recall the U270 has only one furnace but if it has two make sure you are using the furnace that heats the bays when the outside temps will be below freezing. On my U225 it was the front furnace. On my U300 the bays are heated by the rear furnace. Be aware that the generator may run out of fuel somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 tank on the gauge. The tanks pickup for the generator fuel is higher than the engine fuel pick to make sure your generator will not run you out of fuel so the engine won't start.

I use 1/2" flexible foam inside the water bay doors, on both sides of the coach. Again not sure of your configuration but the added insulation should help prevent surprises. I use the reflective bubble wrap on the inside of the windshield, the rear living room window and the bedroom windows, the shower skylight, bathroom vent and kitchen vent. We have been below 10 degrees a number of times with no problems

Regarding dumping, when at my cabin I use a FloJet Waste pump, Amazon.com: Flojet 18555-000A, Portable RV Waste Pump, 12 Volt DC, Macerator,..., and a 100 foot, 3/4" heavy duty water hose to dump the tanks. If the house has a sewer cleanout within your 150 of your coach and you are on level ground you may not have to move the coach except for water.

Also if you need new house batteries, I used to buy 8D lead acid batteries from Sam's Club for under $200. From my experience, if your furnace is drawing down the batteries in just one night they may need to be replaced.

All good suggestions here. I did a winter in Denver a few years back in a full hookup park. It was a challange almost everyday. Luckily it was a pretty mild Denver winter that year. The lowest we hit was -9º at night a few days in a row.

I agree the the Reflectix would be more trouble than it's worth. You might think about skirting to create a dead air space beneath the coach.

The cube heaters work but don't really put out enough heat in really cold temps. I used a bigger 1500w heater on low to keep the wet bay above freezing. Use your remote temp sensors to keep an eye on it. Also keeping your fresh water tank full helps. It acts like a big heat sink by absorbing the heat during the day and radiating it back out at night.

Waste water will be your main problem. Dumping your gray water on the ground is an easy solution. If you get the macerator Kent talks about you can dump it within the 150' radius that the hose will allow. I'd even consider dumping the black water if it's feasible. You would basically be fertilizing the ground. Be sure to only do this when it's above freezing. You don't want want frozen poop laying all over the place. Once you dump the black tank go over it with the gray to soak it into the ground. Also don't put toilet paper in the black tank. Have a small covered trash can to put toilet paper or duh! use your diaper pail.   You could also use baby wipes instead of toilet paper. That's basically what those fancy "moist" wipes you see advertised on TV ALL THE %$#@* TIME!!! This may seem a little extreme but keep this strategy in your back pocket it the situation gets dire! You might also consider a blue boy to move your gray water around. Amazon.com: Barker 25895 4-Wheeler Tote Tank - 25 Gallon Capacity: Automotive

Be sure you keep your dump flip down closed if possible if not stuff any open area with rags or large car wash sponges to keep cold air out of the wet bay. An infrared temp gun is great way to check for air leaks.

A temperature controlled heated water hose is advised too. Otherwise you will have to unhook, drain, and bring inside every time you need to use it. ProTip: when storing hose coil it up and screw the input end into the output end to seal it. I can't believe how many people I see coiling hoses up and putting them in plastic trash bays to keep them from leaking in the bay! Be sure to get one that has the thermostat on the hose bib end. If it's on the outlet end it will be up in the bay and not be operating on the correct outside temp. (don't ask how I know)
Amazon.com: Camco 22911 25' Taste Pure Heated Drinking Water Hose with...

As nitehawk says humidity will be your enemy. Cooking is the number one contributor to this. Always have your vent fan open with a window cracked open to allow moisture a way out. Even boiling a pan of water will put moisture in the air that will migrate straight to the windows were it will accumulate and drip down to the window frame and find a way into your side walls eventually delaminating your side walls. (if you don't know yet you don't want this to happen!) Even if it's just a little moisture on the window overnight it can accumulate by freezing overnight and start to build up. Then on the warmer days melt and leak into your window frames. For this reason I'm not keen on putting Reflectix on all the windows since it will hide the moisture that's building up there. You might want to experiment with this maybe just putting up the Reflectix at night. A dehumidifier would be a good idea but with your power situation don't think it would be feasible.

You will need to keep snow off the roof. The problem with snow up there is that some heat will leak up thru the roof and melt the bottom layer of the snow during the day. At night when it gets very cold it will freeze. This wet/freeze cycle will open even the smallest weakness in your caulking eventually causing a leak. Before it snows I would inspect the roof and recaulk anywhere that looks even a little suspect. Falling off an RV roof is not recommended. If you have access to a ladder it's better cleaning snow off from it. I didn't have one so was up on the roof with a plastic snow shovel. Be extremely careful if you go up there. Before I step on the ladder I take a moment to calm down and put myself in safe mode. Once on the roof try and stay in the middle. DO NOT overreach.

Make sure you solar panels are clean and working correctly. Orient your coach to maximize exposure to the sun. Facing the windshield south will help with solar gain in the coach. Read handybobs advise on getting the most out of your panels.
HandyBob's Blog « Making off grid RV electrical systems work

Like I said it's a lot of work but is doable. As JohnFitz says have a backup for everything! Good luck!

see ya
ken