Trailer use in winter help 300BHS

[boiserv]

Our family just bought a 2004 Fleetwood Wilderness Northwest edition 30ft 300BHS.  The trailer has a switch inside the trailer that runs to a small heater pad on the freshwater tank.  Does that mean that we can use this trailer in freezing weather or do we still have to worry about the other tanks (grey and black), pumps, and water lines?  The manual does not tell anything about winter camping, just how to winterize the trailer.

The fresh water tank is not insulated or have an enclosure, just a heater pad on the bottom.  Suggestions would be much appreciated on how we can use our trailer to winter camp.

Does anyone else have the 300BHS model, if so have you had any problems or issues?  We just purchased it and have a few more months of warranty available.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Difficult to say, boiserv. I would suspect it would be OK in moderate freezing temps but not severe, e.g. several hours in the low 20's.

If the fresh tank is at least a few degrees above freezing, the pump usually stays OK through heat conduction from the tank water. As for the lines, it only takes a small exposed area for a freeze-up, so it could happen anywhere along the routing of the lines. They are probably nearly all interior, but...

If the gray & black tanks freeze up you may not be able to dump for some time after the temps get above freezing. And breakage at the valves is possible, since they are exposed and have water in them. I'd wrap them to  help insulate.

Any external water lines, of course, like a hose to a water tap, aren't protected at all.