How cold can it get before lines freeze??

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ruthandken CDN

ruthandken CDN

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Aug 7, 2007
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Ontario, Canada
Hi everyone.  I have learned so much from this forum, just wanted to thank all of you.  That said, I have a question.  We live in southern Ontario, Canada.  We are planning on driving down to Myrtle Beach beginning of March and staying for a couple weeks.  We have a 31 foot Gulfstream Ultra LE.  We will have to get the RV out of winter storage for the trip and we usually take 2 days to make the trip as we have dogs and it's just easier on them to stop and settle in for the night.  What I'm wondering is just how cold can the plumbing take when we make camp the first night?  Should we consider not using the water until we get to MB?  I'm afraid if it's cold that the water will freeze in the pipes.  Problem is you never know what the weather will be like at that time of year.  Last year when we drove down in the SUV we ran into a major snow storm in PA.
 
The manner in which the underside of your Gulfstream is constructed would determine to some extent the vulnerability to freezing.

When we were leaving Eastern Canada for the South in March, we would leave empty with all plumbing blown out and P traps containing plumbing antifreeze.  This would be the way we stored the coach, in addition to taking precautions to empty the solenoid valve of the ice maker, the 1/4 inch line from the water filter to the ice maker, the valve of the toilet, which is made of plastic and vulnerable and the water pump would have aanti freeze pumped through it.

On our drive South, we usually filled up with water in or around Washington, DC because there would be virtually no chance of sub freezing temps from there on.

I am not sure if your Gulfstream is a fifth wheel, because if it is, I don't have first hand experience with winter travel in a Fifth Wheel.  Our travel has been in a motorhome, which we would keep heated at all times while travelling, and the furnaces would heat the underside of the coach where the plumbing and tanks reside.

If your Gulfstream is a fifth wheel, can you keep the heat on while you travel?  Is your coach winterized for winter storage?
 
Hi Steve, no ours is a MH not a 5W.  If it was cold we would probably have to run with the furnace on to keep the dogs warm.  I'm assuming that it's legal to do that as I know we have run with the generator running so we could run the air conditioner to keep the dogs cool.  The furnace is propane and as the fridge will also be using the propane while driving then the propane will have to be on.
Our RV will be winterized at that time and we will be taking it out of storage for the trip.  We store it at the dealers and they winterize it for us.
 
It's impossible to guess when some pipe in your particular RV would freeze - depends on the routing of pipes, how long it is exposed and exact temps, etc. I wouldn't even try to guess.  However, Steve's advice re Washington DC is a good rule of thumb.
 
Our experience (short as it had been for winter travel) has been to use the dash air turned on full to heat the coach while driving in the North, on our way South.

I have reservations about driving with furnaces running in a motorhome, and would suggest that if you are planning your trip to get into warmer areas as quickly as possible, then consider using a couple of electric cube heaters operated by the generator for the dogs, when necessary.

From Souther Ontario you should be able to make it to Washington DC in one day, then you can fill up with water and use your furnaces when parked.

Does that seem like it could work for you?
 
Yes, that sounds okay.  I was planning on purchasing an electric cube heater anyway, so that's fine.  We don't go the Washington DC route, but I'm sure I can figure out the equivalent on the route we do take.  We usually cross at Erie.  The cube heaters have an automatic shut off if tipped over which is good feature when you're driving.
Thanks everyone for your input.
 
Enjoy your trip, and do keep us posted on how it goes.  Hope to see you around the Forum, now that you have discovered our online community.
 
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