Patreeguy Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Hello I have some questions about winter use of "toys". I just purchased my first '85 Granville toyota and one of our main use for it is to travel to different ski resorts. Some questions I have 1. Can you use just the toilet in winter without worrying if it will freeze? 2. Will the fridge work properly when it's freezing outside. 3. Should it be plugged in to keep the fridge working until we use it each weekend? 4. Suggestions for heat? Previous owner did not use propane heater and unsure how efficient it would be to use often. Thanks for any advice ! So excited to get out and enjoy some family time in our new toy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whyverne14 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 This is my first winter in an RV too. After I finish winterizing the pipes, I plan on continuing to use the toilet by flushing with windshield wiper fluid. If I can plug in, I have a small electric space heater. If not the furnace seems to work fine, although I have the dreaded screech on start up. I'll have to do something about that next summer. Propane usage didn't seem that noticeable after a weekend of below freezing temps. I'm sure others here have more experience in these matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 The refer will work fine, just allow for it to cool down and you may have to readjust the thermostat a bit. RV antifreeze or low temp washer fluid work OK just remember to pour a big glug in the tank before first use. This is to help keep the dump valve from freezing. The rv heater is fairly efficient as far as propane use, but they are battery hogs. I've camped at temps below 0, and things were fine as long as you know what your getting to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Good luck sleeping through the heater! I have awoke wonder why I had parked at the jet port. It will keep you nice and warm but it is a battery hog you might make it two days with out a recharge either driving or a plug in. Yeah you will have to set the fridge thermostat way back or it will freeze things, on the bright side it does help keep your MH just a little warmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whyverne14 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I've been experimenting here in PA. It hasn't got all that cold yet. But with a low of 25 and the thermostat set at 50 for sleeping, I was rather pleased. It didn't seem to use all that much propane or battery. But I don't use the battery for hardly anything else. I read off my droid tablet. I imagine if the temps went down another 20 degrees, things would be a lot different. Probably double the battery usage. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 i used mine to deer hunt northern michigan several times was in the teens.. can use rv antifreeze or windowwasher fluid but when ready to dump, heat up a couple gallons of water on the stove to almost boil and flush that then immediately dump. I had a 45 watt harbor freight solar kit on the roof that charged the battery just fine but we didnt use anything but the furnace, LED lights thats it. i made it 6 days like that with battery nearly fully charged each evening from sun. On the cloudy days i just ran the motor for a while with heat on max of course. charges and heats nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I can’t imagine why anyone has a power problem when using their propane furnace. 6 amps draw for maybe 1 minute an hour? 8 hour night? That equals 6 amps steady for 2 hours. If your RV charges at a 20 amp rate to the house battery recharge time while driving a little over ½ hour. Last time we winter camped was in Maine with our truck-camper. NT20 propane heater. 15-20 degrees F outside. We setup camp at 7 PM. Watched two movies on a 19” TV with a DVD player. Used lights, etc. Ran heat the entire time until around 6 in the morning. All on a single 120 AH deep-cycle battery. Recharging when driving was a non-issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Well in 0 deg weather mine has a 20% run time, at -20 its 50%. I have 200 AH of batteries and they are mounted INSIDE so no problem. But some body with a 70AH battery at 0 just needs to be aware of their battery usage. You wake cold and with a dead battery, because your voltage got to low to trip the sail switch so the heater fan just stayed on until the battery was totally dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 as mentioned in other threads sometimes other things can cause sail switch not to catch too. i woke up to cold and blower a few times but battery still happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Well in 0 deg weather mine has a 20% run time, at -20 its 50%. I have 200 AH of batteries and they are mounted INSIDE so no problem. But some body with a 70AH battery at 0 just needs to be aware of their battery usage. You wake cold and with a dead battery, because your voltage got to low to trip the sail switch so the heater fan just stayed on until the battery was totally dead. If someone wants to camp at zero degrees F with only a 70 AH battery - I guess they need an older convection propane RV furnace that uses NO power. My 1973 Jayco has one. So does my 1977 Toyota Chinook. The older convection furnaces have no blowers and are slow to heat up. Also take up about twice the room as a furnace with a blower. But they work well enough if someone wants a zero-power draw. My 1980 Coachman truck camper also has one and I assume 1980 is around the last year the convection furnaces were installed by RV makers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Ya I had one of the convection heaters in a little Jayco Jaywren. Cool little camper, 8.00x10 tires. I wish some one still made these heaters, perfect for cool nights without the jet ramp sound effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whyverne14 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 BTW, I already had one of those small Sportcat catalytic heaters. It don't do much but I carry it anyway. I let it run when we're not in the rig. Takes the edge off a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Ya I had one of the convection heaters in a little Jayco Jaywren. Cool little camper, 8.00x10 tires. I wish some one still made these heaters, perfect for cool nights without the jet ramp sound effects. They sure work nice if you don't need quick heat. All of mine are Suburban model GT6-3A. I suspect they are no longer used for two reasons. #1 is they are so big. A 9600 BTU furnace (input) stands 30" tall. #2 is the lack of any sail switch as an extra safety factor. I assume it's impossible to add one since there is no "wind" to hit any "sail." They seem safe enough though. Thermocoupler controlled gas-valve. Nice and quiet and need NO electricity to run. Nice steady heat too, unlike a modern furnace with a blower. I've got two campers and one RV with them and all work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patreeguy Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 Thanks for all the advice. We finally got out and camped last weekend and it got down to the 20s. We ended up using a portable propane heater because I had not had time to mess with the onboard furnace. That worked great but it got in the way especially for my dog. I did however get the furnace running and it seams to work, time will tell as we get out in it more this winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I have too secnd that those old time gravity heaters are great no battery draw. wish I could put one in my dolphon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powdrhound Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Patreeguy, I have gotten the SkiBumMobile to the point where I survive through sub-10 degree nights at 7,800' in the Sierra without the water system freezing. Wrap all the pipes you can reach. Add all the insulation you can. Find the cold spots around the water system and eliminate them. My most recent add was insulating the copper gas lines. They were importing huge amounts of cold under the sink/stove area. I don't know if my black tank has ever frozen, even on week long stays. It has always been thawed when I dump it back home. Get a Catalytic heater. Get a generator. The Wave 3 is On 24/7. (My pups have to stay inside while I am skiing) It is background heat only. These rigs were not made for winter. A Wave 6 would not be over-kill. Your regular heater is still essential. On a cold night it will still run quite a bit. My little battery will die overnight if I am not careful. First night is usually OK, with battery charged from the trip. Second and third nights are possible if the sun is shining on the 85w panel. Maybe. Any night under 15 degrees, I run the generator until it runs out of gas, The Honda is really quite quiet on the Econ mode. Otherwise the battery will die before the morning. If you replace your coach heater because of the squeeling motor, get the motor with the least amp draw. I much prefer a longer run time of active heat that heats the rig more evenly. Less time on purge & cool down fan usage, too. More tips on other threads here. Do a search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I have too secnd that those old time gravity heaters are great no battery draw. wish I could put one in my dolphon I often see them for sale cheap. Pretty inefficient and slow,but quiet and no electric needs. There's a Duotherm model 65512 for sale near me today for $85. Seems $35 would be more what they usually bring. 12,000 BTU input and 8400 BTU output. Same heater my 1973 Jayco trailer has. 70% efficient. The newer forced-air furnaces are up around 80% efficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 If I was starting from scratch or needed to replace a bad heater I would have a long look at a Cozy Cabin boat heater. They are not cheap but they are vented propane and are probably close to the cost of a new furnace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 I think it's hard to beat the RV/marine heaters used in Europe. Way more advanced and efficient then what RVs come with in the USA. Most of the European furnaces with no electricity use, or with 12 volt power and forced air - run up to 95% efficient. And I'm talking just the propane heaters. They make a lot of advanced diesel and gasoline RV and marine heaters too. Propex HS2000 Economy & Consumption 90% efficient 13kg propane 91.5 hours 15kg butane 105.6 hours Heat Input: 2.1 KW (7165 BTUs) Heat output: 1.9 KW (6483 BTUs) Current Consumption 1.4 amps @ 12 volts Air Throughput:: 60 CFM Propex HS2800 Economy & Consumption 93% efficient 13kg propane 58 hours 15kg butane 67 hours Heat Input: 3 KW (10,236 BTUs) Heat output: 2.8 KW (9554 BTUs) Current Consumption 1.9 amps @ 12 volts Air Throughput:: 85 CFM Trumatic 4000E 92.5% efficient Input: 4000 KW (13,648 BTUs) Output 3700 KW (12,625 BTUs) Current @ 12 volts 1.2 amp, 2.3 ampsAir flow: 70 / 102 m³/h Weight: 9 KGs 162 X 300 X 530 mm size Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphinite no longer here Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 JD, Those heaters look like the deal for a little Toyhome. Europe has been ahead of us in this department for quite some time. Back in my boating days, we heated our 40 foot sloop with an Espar heater that ran off diesel fuel. Great little unit that was a little complicated to install but worked great. We even ran a duct into the cockpit so that when the cockpit awning and side curtains were in place we had a somewhat warm place to sit while sailing in the Winter in Juneau, Alaska! Anyway, do you have any idea of the prices for the units you showed photos of? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Looks like this place carries them all. Just search name and model number http://www.leisureshopdirect.com/caravan/home/propex_heaters/propex_heatsource_with_single_outlet.aspx Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Nice stuff. the Europeans have been so far ahead of us for years. I spent a lot of time in England in the 80's we are just now getting European stuff I saw in the 80's The RV heaters are nice but hold on to your wallet well over $600 and that does not include the shipping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 JD, Those heaters look like the deal for a little Toyhome. Europe has been ahead of us in this department for quite some time. Back in my boating days, we heated our 40 foot sloop with an Espar heater that ran off diesel fuel. Great little unit that was a little complicated to install but worked great. John Some US pickup trucks now offer the Espar heaters as an option with diesel engines. The diesel fueled units are getting very popular in the USA with big rigs since diesel truck engine idling is getting banned in many places. So now when truckers want to park and stay warm - and can't keep the main engine running for heat, they are using Espar type heaters for cab heat and for engine-block heating when needed. Now there are several companies selling those type heaters in the US. Espar, Wesbasto, and Eberspacher. Gas or diesel. My 70-something Volkswagen with air-cooled engine used to have one (can't remember the make). So did my Chevy 1960 Corvair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 my dad had a 1971 air cool V W came with a stewart warner license gas iline heater also called south wind . those heaters put out blazing heat. update yep had a timer on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Just helped a friend install a diesel heater in his Sprinter it was $795. Many European cars (MB VW etc.) had gasoline heaters with timers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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