The Best National Parks To Visit In Winter

12 Wednesday Feb 2025

Tags

Camping, Hiking, National Parks, RV National Parks, Travel, Winter National Parks, winter rving, Winter Travel, Yellowstone

Winter is in full swing, but that doesn’t mean your RV travels have to come to a stop. My family enjoys traveling all year long, and yes, we do even work outdoor destinations into our winter schedule. In this article, I will share some of the best national parks to visit in winter so you can do the same!

The Best Cold Weather National Parks to Visit in Winter

Want to embrace the winter weather and take in the icy beauty it has to offer? Head to one of these gorgeous cold weather places, which are easily some of the best national parks to visit in winter.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is one of the country’s most popular parks, and for good reason. This place is absolutely gorgeous, and in the winter it becomes a magical wonderland filled with snow-covered landscapes, steaming geysers, and plenty of wildlife, including bison and wolves.

Best Things to Do

Some of the best things to do in Yellowstone in the winter months include snowcoach or snowmobile tours to attractions like Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are also popular, along with wildlife watching in Lamar Valley.

Where to Camp

RV camping in the park itself is limited in winter. Mammoth Campground remains open year-round, so you might be able to snag a spot there, but be prepared to camp without hookups.

Otherwise, you might head to the nearby Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone, Montana. This campground stays open in winter and offers heated facilities.

Bryce Canyon National Park

I absolutely loved the bizarre hoodoos and other weird and wonderful rock formations in Bryce Canyon. These become even more strange and beautiful in winter when they are covered in snow, creating an otherworldly landscape you won’t soon forget.

Best Things to Do

Not sure what to do? Walk along the Rim Trail for breathtaking winter views. If possible, you’ll also want to attend ranger-led full-moon snowshoe hikes for a memorable experience. Cross-country skiing is also available near Fairyland Road.

Where to Camp

Inside the park, North Campground is open year-round. Sites are first-come, first-served and do not include hookups of any kind. If you do need hookups, head to Ruby’s Inn RV Park and Campground, located just outside the park entrance.

The Best Warm Weather National Parks to Visit in Winter

If you’re like me, you’d prefer to skip the winter cold altogether. In this case, you might want to consider one of these warm-weather national parks. They are the best national parks to visit in winter if you’re looking for warm temperatures and sunny skies.

Everglades National Park

We’ve visited the Everglades many times during the winter season. We love it because winter is the dry season, meaning lovely weather, fewer mosquitoes, and excellent wildlife viewing. Besides, who doesn’t love basking in the Florida sun in the wintertime?

Best Things to Do

I highly recommend taking a guided boat tour or renting a kayak to explore the mangroves and hopefully spot some manatees. It is also super fun to go birdwatching at Shark Valley or along the Anhinga Trail.

Lastly, make sure to join a ranger-led program to learn about the park’s unique ecosystem. We especially loved the nighttime tour to see the gators in action.

Where to Camp

Long Pine Key Campground and Flamingo Campground are both located inside the park and can accommodate RVs. Flamingo offers electrical hookups, while Long Pine Key has dry camping. Both fill up quickly though, so be sure to book early!

If you can’t grab a spot in the park, consider Miami Everglades RV Resort. This is a full-service option close to the park entrance and we’ve always enjoyed our stays there.

Joshua Tree National Park

Another park we’ve visited many times in winter, Joshua Tree is absolutely stunning. The mild weather during the cold months makes hiking and rock climbing more enjoyable than it might be during the heat of summer. Winter is also a quieter season, meaning fewer crowds.

Best Things to Do

While you’re in Joshua Tree, be sure to hike the Hidden Valley or Barker Dam trails, and rock climb at famous formations like Intersection Rock. It’s also a good idea to do some stargazing once the sun goes down. This is a designated International Dark Sky Park after all, and the night skies are suitably incredible!

Where to Camp

Inside the park, you will find that the Black Rock and Cottonwood campgrounds are RV-friendly, but there are no hookups to speak of, and big rigs may not fit. If you need to find a place outside of the park, you can boondock on the BLM land surrounding the park or head to an RV park such as Joshua Tree Lake RV & Campground, which offers full hookups.

Ready for a wintertime RV adventure? Choose one of the parks above, book a campsite, and get ready to see these beautiful places in all their wintery glory!

About the author: Chelsea Gonzales

Chelsea has the amazing opportunity to take part in full-time RV living and traveling with her tiny tribe. She homeschools her five-year-old son as they travel, and takes full advantage of their unique situation by using the entire world as her son’s classroom. A group of total Disney fanatics, Chelsea and her family often find themselves in the Orlando area in order to visit the Disney parks, but they have also visited over 25 of the 50 states with plans to see many more along the way. No matter where her travels take her, Chelsea enjoys riding bikes, gazing at beautiful sunsets, finding new coffee shops, Irish dancing, and sitting around a campfire with her family.

You can join her adventures through her blog, Wonder Wherever We Wander.

Winter RVing: Space Heaters And RVs

12 Friday Nov 2021

Posted by Coach-Net in RV Safety, Tech Tips, Tips & Tricks

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

RV Electrical Safety, RV Electrical System, RV Electrical Tips, RV Space Heaters, RV Tips, RV travel, Space Heaters, winter camping, winter rving

Winter RVing can be a beautiful, quiet, and fantastic time to go camping. If you decide to go RVing in colder weather, you may find out just how good or not good most RV insulation is. Even with the furnace keeping your rig at a toasty temperature, place your hand on the wall of many RVs, and you will be able to feel the cold pressing in.

Due to this lack of thick insulation, it takes a ton of energy to keep an RV warm in the winter. RVers are faced with two energy choices in colder weather, electricity or propane. Rather than run out of propane quickly, many RVers attempt to forgo running their furnace to heat their rig with space heaters instead. Space heaters can be a great tool to supplement your RV furnace heating. However, there are some considerations and safety practices one should follow.

30 Amp RVs

The biggest issue with space heaters and RVs is the amount of power required to make them work. Your average fan or ceramic heater that you can pick up cheaply at big box stores has two settings. The low setting uses about 700 watts when running, and the high setting uses 1500 watts.

If your 30 amp RV tries to run more than 3,600 watts (or slightly less due to voltage variance among RV parks), it will start tripping breakers in your RV or at the power pedestal of the park. You can probably do the quick math to realize that a 30 amp rig simply can’t handle more than two space heaters on the high setting.

To add to that, your RV fridge and other electronics all pull power too, so running two space heaters day in and day out can push the system. Running an RV electrical system at its upper capacity, especially an older rig, can cause heat to build up in the wires posing a potential fire risk.

Bottom Line: If you plan to use a space heater in your 30 amp RV, it’s safest to limit it to one.

50 amp RVs

If your RV has a 50 amp system, you have a little more leeway as to how much you can run. Without going into a lot of details, a 50 amp rig has two 50 amp arms on its system. In other words, you have two 50 amp circuits in your rig totaling 12,000 possible running watts at 120 volts.

In theory, a 50 amp rig could handle about 6 or 7 space heaters and still run the other electrical appliances like the fridge, etc. Most RVers would stay comfortable in a moderately cold environment using just a couple of space heaters. A 50 amp RV can quite easily handle space heaters as a supplemental heat source from an electrical standpoint.

Other Electrical Concerns

Regardless of your RV’s electrical capacity, most RV plugs are wired to a 15 amp breaker. So let’s say your RV kitchen has four wall sockets on one breaker. You can only plug one space heater on high into any one of those sockets. If you plug in a second, that will start tripping the breaker as a 15 amp breaker can only handle 1,800 watts at 120 volts.

Another thing to consider is your power bill. If you stay at a park monthly that charges for electricity, running a 1500 watt space heater several hours a day will significantly increase your power bill. In other words, whether it be propane or electricity, it takes power to heat your rig, and someone must pay for that power.

General Safety Concerns

In general, the safest heating method is to use the heat pump setting on your RV air conditioner (if equipped) when outdoor temperatures are above 40 degrees Fahrenheit and your RV’s propane furnace when it’s below 40 degrees. However, if you wish to supplement your heating with a space heater, following the tips below will result in the safest experience.

1. Buy the right size heater. There’s no need to have a heater intended to heat a warehouse in an RV.

2. Buy a space heater with covers or guards to prevent burns.

3. Make sure the heater is at least three feet from all objects.

4. Pets can easily knock them over, or children can get burned on them, so place space heaters out of their reach.

5. Never leave a space heater turned on when going to bed or leaving the room or RV.

6. Ensure your space heater has tip-over protection and overheat protection. These features will shut the heater off in the event of malfunction by tipping or getting too hot.

7. Only electric or vented fuel-fired heaters should be used. They do make small propane heaters that can be used inside, and there are also many stories of rigs going up in flames due to improper use or going to bed with them running.

8. Plug space heaters directly into an outlet. Don’t use extension cords or power strips. Almost ALL power strips are not wired to handle the load of a space heater.

9. Though the majority of this article concerns electrical space heaters, it should be mentioned that one should never use gas heaters intended for outdoor only use. This can result in carbon monoxide poisoning and death.

Stay Safe When Winter RVing

Winter RVing can be a fantastic experience, and you can find some good tips for a comfortable and safe experience on the Coach-Net ~ Travel and Adventure Blog. When it comes to any questions, concerns, safety information, or help, remember that your Coach-Net roadside assistance comes with 24/7 Protect.

Whether you need advice from an RV technician who can guide you through many common technical and operational issues or roadside and campsite assistance when you’re on the road away from home, our extensive provider network throughout the United States and Canada is available whenever and wherever you need it. Learn More

About The Author: Levi Henley

Levi Henley and his wife, Natalie, have been full-time RVers for over 5 years. They have also been Coach-Net customers for the same amount of time. They travel and work camp around the U.S. in their 26-foot Itasca Sunstar motorhome with their two cats. They write for multiple RV-related publications and recently co-wrote “Seasonal Workamping for a Living: How We Did It.” You can follow their adventures on the road at henleyshappytrails.com

Gary E. ~ “Coach-Net is the resource we trust when mechanical surprises arise!”

An RVer’s Advice: What To do When Something Goes Wrong

03 Thursday Dec 2020

Posted by Coach-Net in RV Safety

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

RV Emergency Tips, RV Newbie, RV Pro Tips, RVing In The Snow, winter camping, winter rving

A popular bumper sticker reads, “Stuff happens.” It doesn’t use the word “stuff,” but I’m pretty sure you know which bumper sticker I mean. When traveling in an RV, “stuff” is definitely going to happen. It’s not always big issues like accidents and tire blowouts. Sometimes your battery doesn’t charge, a leveler doesn’t work as well as it should, or the hot water side of the faucet doesn’t run.

All of the things mentioned above have happened to my wife, Natalie, and me. When problems arise, many people, myself included, have a tendency to get a little panicky and angry that things are just not going their way. Over the years, I have come up with a little system that helps me snap out of a panicky mode and puts my logical brain to work.

S.I.T.T.

To remember to stay calm when something goes wrong, I use the acronym S.I.T.T. The following is a real-life example of a time when we had to use this method.

Our first long RV trip was to Southern Texas to visit family. It was December, and a large storm by the name of Frona decided to rain ice for several days on our way back to Nevada. We stayed off the road for the most part and only got 50 miles in three days.

On the day that the storm broke, we left the park we had stayed at and headed down a back road that led to the main highway. It had snowed a little bit, and the road we were on had not been plowed. In my mind, I was about to drive on fresh powdery snow. The heavy motorhome would surely have no problem.

It was a windy day, with gusts up to 40 mph. I did know that driving on the snowy road was less than ideal, so I drove in the center of it at about 15 mph. What I did not realize was that the wind had turned the couple inches of powdery snow into a sheet of ice.

A gust of wind hammered the side of the RV and broke what little traction we had. As if the rig were a weightless object on the international space station, it started slowly drifting toward the heavily sloped side of the road. I tried the wheel, the brakes, the gas, and none persuaded the motorhome to regain traction.

As the rig got closer to the side of the road, my attention was pulled from not having traction to if we hit that sideways, we are going to roll. I turned the wheel toward the side of the road, hoping it would get enough traction to go down the steep but short slope head-on. After an initial string of expletives, I recall saying to Natalie, “We’re going down!”

She never panicked or screamed or did any of the things you may imagine one might do if your home on wheels was ice skating towards the side of a road. She simply said, “Okay.” She then held on to our dog and braced for whatever was about to happen.

The front tires found traction as they broke through the ice on the grassy side of the road. The RV turned just enough to take the slope at an angle instead of sideways. The dirt was soft, so we sunk in as the RV slid towards a small tree and a barbed-wire fence.

Fortunately, a couple feet short of the tree, the RV stopped. What seemed like the last 30 minutes of our trip actually only took about 20 seconds.

I took my hands off the wheel and looked at Natalie. It was over, and my brain caught up with what had just happened. Natalie saw the panic in my eyes. She knew that panicking would not help the situation at all. Before I could say a word, she interrupted my thoughts by saying, “We’re okay, you’re okay. We are safe.”

She was right. That moment of panic started to subside as I repeated that mantra in my head. This brings us to the first part of the S.I.T.T. acronym.

Although it doesn’t look that far down, taking the slope sideways would have most likely flipped the RV.

Stay Calm

When something first breaks or goes wrong, telling yourself to stay calm is important. Even if the thing that goes wrong is a major issue or someone is hurt, it serves no one to panic.

I have found that asking myself questions will break the cycle of panic. If everyone is uninjured, then everything else is simply an inconvenience or problem to solve. If someone is injured, the priority is to ask yourself what they need, be it a bandage or an ambulance. There is always time to fall apart about a situation after it’s all over.

Investigate the Issue

Many RV issues don’t create a dramatic story like sliding off the road. Many are small, like leaks, malfunctioning appliances, or worn out parts. After remaining calm, investigate the issue. Try to narrow down the source of the problem. For example, if it’s a leak, you will want to find the source. If a breaker keeps tripping, you may want to see if you are trying to run too many things at once.

In the case of our RV ice skating episode, after making sure all was well inside, we went outside to survey if anything had been damaged. The dirt was soft from the days of rain, so our wheels had sunk down into it. The car that we tow on a dolly was still attached and without a scratch. We discovered that our main problem was the mud, and the slope. We weren’t getting the RV back on the road without help.

Talk About Solutions

I find that when a problem arises, my brain may be swirling with solutions. Speaking them out loud helps to sort out the different possibilities and pick out the best ones. If Natalie is with me, I will talk it out with her. Having another person to brainstorm with is always helpful. If you are alone when problems strike, it’s possible to have that conversation with yourself too.

After investigating our snowy situation and talking about the possibilities, Natalie was the first to remember we had Coach-Net to help. I knew they would need the car and the dolly out of the way to pull the RV back on the road with a tow truck., Upon inspection, it appeared the car and dolly could be taken off with only a little difficulty.

Take Action

Once you have possible solutions to the problem, it’s time to take action. This might mean finding a place with parts and repairing the problem yourself or perhaps you will need to find the closest repair shop. We have found that the internet is a wealth of information on how to fix various problems. Searching through Coach-Net’s blog posts will bring up many repair articles, and many RVers share their repairs on their own YouTube channels as well.

To put our plan into action, Natalie headed into the RV to call Coach-Net for a tow truck to pull us back on the road while I worked on the car and dolly. Natalie was successful in getting ahold of someone before I could get the dolly off the RV. Unfortunately, the closest tow truck was swamped with pulling others out of ditches, so it took several hours for them to get to us. Fortunately, that gave us plenty of time to get the car back on the road, leaving one less thing to pull out.

Coach-Net found a driver who could pull us out and it didn’t cost us anything.

We made it out of that situation by keeping each other calm, coming up with a plan, and executing it. Coach-Net saved the day too. Had we not had them, we probably would’ve spent a night or two in a ditch on the side of the road. Best of all, we didn’t have to pay the tow truck driver a cent.

Having a response plan when things go wrong can help you get through the toughest of issues and make the smaller annoying issues seem more manageable. Mental health experts will tell you to take a few long deep breaths in and out when the strain of Murphy’s Law gets to you, but also remember to S.I.T.T.

Stay calm.

Investigate the issue.

Talk about solutions

Take action

About The Author: Levi Henley

Levi Henley and his wife, Natalie, have been full-time RVers for over 5 years. They have also been Coach-Net customers for the same amount of time. They travel and workcamp around the U.S. in their 26-foot Itasca Sunstar motorhome with their two cats. They write for multiple RV-related publications and recently co-wrote “Seasonal Workamping for a Living: How We Did It.” You can follow their adventures on the road at henleyshappytrails.com

Ken H. ~ “We’ve been with Coach-Net for over 9 years, and every time we have needed them, they have come through for us! Everyone from the call agents to the tow provider is always friendly, quick, and professional!”

RV Furnace Maintenance

11 Wednesday Dec 2019

Posted by Coach-Net in RV Information, Tech Tips

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

RV Furnace, RV Furnace Voltage, RV winter maintenance, winter camping, winter rving, Winter Travel

Just because cold weather is right around the corner, or has already frozen the corner in your neck of the woods, doesn’t mean you’re done camping for the year! More RVers are using their rigs for winter activities such as skiing, ice skating, and even ice fishing trips rather than trying to find a hotel miles away from the activities. If you plan to do any cold weather camping, it’s important to make sure your RV furnace is operating properly and some tips to make it run more efficiently.

Let’s first cover how the liquid propane (LP) furnace operates;

The thermostat is set to the desired temperature, once the inside temperature drops below that setting, the thermostat calls for heat from the furnace. Most thermostats have a variance that can be as much as 4 degrees below the setting. Your RV thermostat is powered by the 12-volt house battery system, therefore you can not replace it with a residential model such as the NEST or other devices as they operate on 24-volt power. Older models were designed with a bi-metal interior coil that would shrink and expand with temperature changes and we all remember the old “mercury in a tube” type models! These should be changed with a newer RV specific model. Also, make sure you match your heating and cooling system to the proper thermostat as some control both the heater and air conditioner, others have a heat pump, and some models have several zones with temperature sensors in individual rooms.

Once the thermostat calls for heat, the control module starts the blower motor inside the furnace which blows out any older air that may be trapped inside the burner assembly which could contain trace amounts of LP. This is exhausted outside through the vent tube. The blower motor also draws cold air from inside the RV and routes it back over the burner tubes and through the interior vents. This forced air pushed up a “sail switch” located behind the burner tubes and once the switch reaches the desired height, creates a closed circuit that tells the module board there is sufficient airflow and to open the gas valve and light the burner assembly. One common problem with RV heaters is low house batteries that will not provide enough airflow to raise the switch! If your batteries are below 11-volts, the blower fan will run, but the unit will not light. This can also be deceiving when the furnace does light and runs for some time and then just the blower runs. This typically means the house batteries started off with enough voltage, but then drained fast due to sulfation.

Also, if you have a few heat vents closed, a rug over the floor vents, or a pinched or kinked supply hose in the rig, it will restrict the airflow and the sail switch will not rise, therefore the gas valve will not open and the spark igniter will not light the flame.

Once the sail switch has verified sufficient airflow and created the closed circuit, the circuit board will open the gas valve which you should hear a distinctive click, followed by the spark ignitor clicking and lighting the LP mixture in the burner assembly. Then the heat exchanger will heat to approximately 200 and the air wheel pushes fresh air over the heat exchanger to provide warm air to the inside of the rig.

(Sail Switch)

The air going through the heat exchanger is exhausted to the outside of the RV through an exhaust vent. Some models have two vents on the outside of the rig, with the upper vent designed for fresh air, and the lower for heated air coming out of the heat exchanger.

Tips to make your heater run more efficiently

As mentioned before, do not cover vents with carpeting, rugs, or close off to many vents inside the rig. Not only does it limit airflow at the sail switch, it will also build up excess heat in the heat chamber and trigger the high limit switch.

(High Limit Switch)

Verify your exterior exhaust and intake vents are unobstructed and your house batteries are in good working order. Lead-acid batteries will become sulfated and lose storage capacity if not properly charged and maintained. Verify your LP pressure is sufficient which should be at 11” of water column and should be checked by a certified technician. Make sure your LP regulator is not exposed to the elements and does not get snow and ice buried around it.

Troubleshooting Tips:

No Operation

If the furnace does not light, verify there is 12-volts going to the thermostat and then at the control board on the furnace.

Check to see if the blower motor is working but the valve is not opening and trying to spark. If the blower motor is not working, check to make sure there is no obstruction such as a mouse nest. This requires removal of the shroud or often time the entire unit to access. Removal will also allow you to test the sail switch and high-temperature switch which can be done with an ohm resistance test.

Blower runs, no heat

Test for 12-volt at the control module, listen for the gas valve to open with a click, listen for spark attempt. If the gas valve does not open, it could be a faulty control board. If it attempts to spark, it could be a cracked ceramic insulator on the lighter probe causing the spark to follow the crack to ground known as carbon tracking which means the spark does not get to the burner. It could also mean a dirty or contaminated spark ignitor or improper gap. And finally, it could mean low LP pressure due to a weak or faulty regulator.

Furnace runs for a short time, shuts off too soon.

This is typically due to weak house batteries that are sulfated and do not hold a charge very long as mentioned earlier. Once the furnace shuts off, immediately check voltage at the control board, anything below 11-volts will create this situation. Even if the rig is plugged into shoreline power, the converter or battery charger will not engage until the batteries hit 10.5-volts so there may be a power gap between what the furnace needs to light and the converter senses for charging.

It can also mean the high limit switch is getting too hot due to obstruction in the vents or is getting weak.

Give your furnace a helping hand!
It’s important to understand your furnace systems’ capacity and sometimes provide a little help with supplemental heat and additional insulation. A catalytic heater is a safe supplement in the bedroom at night or living area in the daytime.

Check out the articles in our archive on Tips for winter camping and learn about skirting the underside of your rig, insulating the windows, and finding leaks that would allow warm air to escape.

Dave Solberg: Managing Editor, RV Repair Club

For the last 25 years, Dave has conducted RV maintenance and safety seminars, developed dealer and owner training programs, written RV safety and handyman articles, authored an RV handbook reference guide and logged over 100,000 miles on the road in an RV.

RV Repair Club is your go-to online resource for enthusiasts who want quality RV maintenance, repair and upgrade information – a community where passionate RVers can come together to gather knowledge and share their experiences.

Learn more about RV Repair Club.

Deborah B. ~ “We believe that our money on having Coach-Net is WELL spent. Great service!”

Tips For Cold Weather RVing

18 Wednesday Jan 2017

Posted by Coach-Net in Tech Tips

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

cold weather camping, cold weather rving, RV tech tip, RV tech tips, RV Tips, tech tip, tips, Travel Tips, winter camping, winter rving

Most RV owners either head South when the temperatures hit below freezing or tuck their units in for a long winter’s nap. However, with better insulation, dual pane windows, and basement heat, more brave souls are hitting the powder and experiencing other winter activities. During my seminars, I ask the audience how many people are going to camp in the winter and it’s surprising how many raise their hands. Then I like to joke with them and ask how many are going to camp in the winter where it’s warm??? You may not want to camp all winter long in freezing temperatures, but what about taking a late Fall trip into the mountains or early spring? You can still run into some freezing weather and should be prepared and know a few tricks.

Front Engine Compartment

My first real winter test was in 1989 with an Itasca Suncruiser that I drove to Colorado for Christmas with my girlfriend and her two daughters, now my wonderful wife and lovely step daughters! We were going to spend the holidays with her folks, sister and brothers and then I was taking the unit on to sunny California for dealer training. The trip out was a nightmare, below zero temperatures and the unit was brutally cold. So much cold wind came in from the front engine compartment that I had to drive with snow boots, insulated coveralls, gloves, and a huge blanket. My girlfriend and the girls had to huddle in the bedroom with the door shut and rely on the auxiliary heater Winnebago uses called “Motor Aid”. It routes engine antifreeze back to the bedroom through an automotive type heater to provide supplemental heat while driving and also heats the water heater tank. My advice, if you are going to do any winter driving and camping in a motorhome, is put the unit in a dark shed or when it’s night, place a very bright shop light in the engine compartment and go inside and look for light coming through! We later found about 4 holes that came into the cab with no sealing insulation and the cover for the fuse box was not there and cold air “RUSHED” into the driver side compartment! Any place you see light shining through, cold air will follow.

Windows

Cold air also came inside the rig through the single pane windows, so once we got to Colorado I went to Home Depot and bought the residential window insulation kits that you stick on and then use a hair dryer to shrink fit! If you don’t have dual panes, this is a quick and inexpensive fix for cold windows.

Water

For water, I drained all the tanks and blew out the lines with compressed air. Make sure you turn the air compressor down to 30 psi or you will be replacing a few fittings…I learned the hard way! Also, put a small amount of RV antifreeze down the sink drains as there is a “P” trap underneath that is designed to hold water and prevent odors from coming up from the tank into the rig. If there is water in the trap, it will freeze as well. Then I carry a few gallon jugs of water placed in the shower pan to use the toilet and dump a gallon of RV antifreeze in the shower pan and toilet. We use the sanitized wipes or gel to wash our hands so there is no need for water from the sink faucet as well. Keep in mind, if you use the sanitized wipes or gel with paper towels DO NOT THROW THEM INTO THE TOILET! They do not dissolve and will cause problems. Keep a small plastic shopping bag handy to throw them away.

This next “tip” is from Ron “Diesel” Knudtson, an RV magazine editor from the Northwest who lived in his Class C all year. Although his RV was a basement model with a heat duct routed to the water pump and water lines, his plumbing still froze even in moderate temperatures of 20 degrees! The problem with an RV is even though you have a heat source going into the compartment with the water pump, tank, and lines, there usually isn’t a cold air return so there is limited circulation and “pockets” can limit the amount of heat going to a very small water line. If you want to use the fresh water system and protect it from freezing I would suggest getting the heating pad option available on models or do what I do…install a 120-volt outlet in the compartment and plug in a small ceramic heater with a thermostat…credit goes to Ron “Diesel” Knudtson!

Furnace

On another dealer training trip, I was heading to Fargo ND in January and my furnace would not operate. Later I found it was due to a defective thermostat that had an inadequate-sized wire for the temperature. To save money, most appliance manufacturers use components designed for moderate temperatures rather than heavy gauge wire and such. Long story short, if you are planning to spend the night in cold temperatures, get a Catalytic Heater as a supplement or backup. It’s safe for inside use, no condensation, and no carbon monoxide exhaust.

Cold Weather Camping Accessories

Here is a list of some good accessories and gadgets for winter camping:

Heated freshwater hose – Freeze Ban or Pirit
Catalytic Heater – Mr. Heater or Olympian
Window Insulation – 3M Window insulation kit

Winter Driving

And finally, know the road use laws for winter driving. There are some highways that will require chains during severe weather. Also, make sure you have your RV winter emergency kit packed and ready to go.

About the author:

Dave Solberg: Managing Editor, RV Repair Club

RV Repair Club is your go-to online resource for enthusiasts who want quality RV maintenance, repair, and upgrade information – a community where passionate RVers can come together to gather knowledge and share their experiences.

Learn more about RV Repair Club.

Ray M. ~ “We’ve had a service plan with Coach-Net with 2 different RVs and we’re so glad we do. Twice in less than a month we’ve called with tire issues. Both times your representative helped us to get back on the road in a short amount of time. Thank you from two happy campers.”

Coach-Net

~ Travel and Adventure Blog

Tag Archives: winter rving

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The Best Cold Weather National Parks to Visit in Winter

The Best Warm Weather National Parks to Visit in Winter

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