Winnebago Sunrise 2001 30 - ? any problems?

Hello all -- I'm thinking about buying a 2001 Itasca Winnebago Sunrise 30 for a cross country trip this summer from Pa to Alaska. 

Thanks in good measure to information on this forum, we've had good luck with a well maintained Coachmen Class C 2001, trips to Montana/Colorado and Nova Scotia. 

The product brochure for the Sunrise says it has duel glazed windows, heated holding tanks and heated pass through storage - this almost sounds too good to be true, as I would keep the Sunrise in Alaska at a friend's place and perhaps use in in colder weather.  Does anybody have experience with the Sunrise?  Does it in fact have the heated holding tanks, etc., and are they effective? 

Any other Sunrise issues/comments?

Thanks so much,

George

The heated holding tanks are most likely heated from the propane furnace - there will be an opening in the floor duct that allows some heated air to enter that tank area. In very cold weather you would blow through propane so quickly it would make your head spin.

I would not consider that an appropriate unit for long-term use in a very cold area, especially if you will be inland in Alaska which can get to 50 below. Coastal areas are a bit warmer. I have to use a small electric heater in my plumbing bay when we have temperatures at or below about 20F.

Every now and then I'll read about an RV that has tons of insulation but I really don't remember the manufacturers. I think there's some Canadian built RVs that would be cold weather suitable.

As John indicates, the heated holding tanks verbiage primarily refers to the LP furnace. But there are a couple of other factors involved also.  1) The tanks are enclosed, not exposed to the outside. 2) That enclosed area receives heat from the LP furnace. 3) That enclosed area also receives "passive" heat from the living area via wire-ways/holes under cabinets, etc.

In my Ultimate Advantage with similar setup, we have RV'ed in weather below zero for a week. We were not there during the days so we were not keeping it what you would call comfortably warm. We have two LP furnaces. We went through probably 20 gallon of LP in 7 days. One thing I do in weather below the mid-20's is put an incandescent bulb (auto trouble light, can light, spot light, etc) in a metal surround in the basement water bay and also the water pump bay. The bulb alone will normally keep the small bay in the high 40's/low 50's. 

The dual pane windows will help a lot, but the frames will likely still sweat in severe cold, not to mention the heavy coat of frost & ice that will grow on the inside of the windshield!!

Living in any RV that doesn't cost a few million $$ in severe cold temps isn't fun for long, but you could use it while the water system is winterized by carrying water jugs for drinking & flushing, then dump the waste tank on a sunny day and pour RV antifreeze down the sink traps before storing the rig again. If you would not be using it for long periods in severe cold weather, that would be easier than having to re-winterize the rig.

Thanks for bringing me down to earth, and for the good tips!