Winter camping in Travel Trailer

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Not sure if you can help me on this, but the box has a 20, 30 and 50 witch on it. Right now I have 20 and 30 turned on, not sure if I need the 30 on is all
You need the circuit breaker turned on for each cord you have plug in.

If your RV has a 30amp cord, you need the 30amp breaker turned on. If your RV has a 50amp cord, you need the 50amp breaker turned. If you plug something into the 20amp receptacle, then you need the 20amp breaker turned on.

If nothing is plugged in, then all the breakers should be off.
 
You need the circuit breaker turned on for each cord you have plug in.

If your RV has a 30amp cord, you need the 30amp breaker turned on. If your RV has a 50amp cord, you need the 50amp breaker turned. If you plug something into the 20amp receptacle, then you need the 20amp breaker turned on.

If nothing is plugged in, then all the breakers should be off.
Thanks, I know I atleast have 30 amp so I left the 20 and 30 both on. Wasnt sure if I had to leave 30 on as that 20 was on but I left it on for now
 
If you have most of the trailer load on the trailer plug (probably a 30a based on your description) you only need to add the 20amp and run a heavy duty cord to the second heater.

The total capacity of the box is probably 50 amps.
 
If you have most of the trailer load on the trailer plug (probably a 30a based on your description) you only need to add the 20amp and run a heavy duty cord to the second heater.

The total capacity of the box is probably 50 amps.
Thanks very much, thats exactly what I'll do. I'm thinking the fridge may be on the same circuit as heater hence the fuse getting blown
 
Thanks very much, thats exactly what I'll do. I'm thinking the fridge may be on the same circuit as heater hence the fuse getting blown
Just to use the right terminology, fuses are for the 12volt DC system and the 110 volt AC system uses circuit breakers
 
I've got an electric simulated wood stove type heater. I never did like running it through the rv outlets.
I bought a single gang box, socket and cover as well as 50' of the UF rated romex. Then I found a 20a male wall socket. I used all this to run a dedicated line from the utility compartment to the front of the coach. I use this setup strictly for the heater(and vacuum cleaner at times). I've got a 12 gauge 20' extension cord that I plug into the pedestal along with the 30amp cable. The pedestal has it's own 20 breaker for the socket, so I didn't see the need to add a breaker in the RV. This keeps the load of the electric heater completely off of the coach.
 
Update on our progress. We have been in the trailer for the last week, (its currently 10 degrees out). We turned on the furnace the first night because everything (including the matress) was frozen. Once the trailer warms up we switch to space heaters. We keep a smalled one set on medium or low in the bedroom so its not drawing as much. The larger Edenpure one is used in the main area at 1500 w setting. It does blow the fuse a few times a day which has been a pain. I've considered drilling a hole somewhere to run a dedicated extension cord out to the pole as that the plugs in the living room all seem to be on one circuit.

We do make sure to limit other power use (tv/microwave only used if we turn heater off).

When it was in the mid 20's the space heaters did ok, at its current temp (actually 9 out) the floors are pretty cold.

Thanks for everyones help !
 
I've got an electric simulated wood stove type heater. I never did like running it through the rv outlets.
I bought a single gang box, socket and cover as well as 50' of the UF rated romex. Then I found a 20a male wall socket. I used all this to run a dedicated line from the utility compartment to the front of the coach. I use this setup strictly for the heater(and vacuum cleaner at times). I've got a 12 gauge 20' extension cord that I plug into the pedestal along with the 30amp cable. The pedestal has it's own 20 breaker for the socket, so I didn't see the need to add a breaker in the RV. This keeps the load of the electric heater completely off of the coach.
This is exactly what I want to do. I need to figure out how to lead the cord in is all. I was going to drill through the floorboard under a cabinet but I'm worried about hitting a heat duct.
 
I was thinking about putting a GFI on the parks outlet and just running an extension cord to it.
The GFI is a device to protect you if something should short to ground but doesn't give you any different power than a standard outlet.
I know I atleast have 30 amp so I left the 20 and 30 both on.
I assume you have figured out if you have 30A or 50A power plug? It is the one that your cord will plug into so I assume that you have.
the floors are pretty cold.
Have you put any kind of skirting around the trailer? If not that should be your next project as it will help that problem a lot.
 
If you are only using space heaters, you could be in for a World of trouble. Typically your pipes run in the basement and depend on the furnace ductwork to give off some heat to keep the pipes from freezing. Just something to think about.
 
If you want a travel trailer rather than a 5th wheel.....look at Excel. And yes, they also went out of business (about 5 years ago) much like some of the better made higher rv’s did in the late 2000’s! The Excel’s had a factory guarantee of -20 F wintering capabilities!

They were very well made, though a bit heavy. But, weight generally comes with additional quality and materials!
 
Last edited:
Norther Michigan. No disrespect intended, but you need a different plan. I guess define your camper?? but 99% of travel trailers etc are hard pressed to survive a dip to zero, that is the norm up there. There are some that can and do it, think Grizzly Adams type people that live off the land.
Are you saying that living in an RV in winter is not doable?
 
Anything is doable, some are more capable than others, and living in a RV in Michigan in the winter certainly takes some savvy effort.
I hear you. Thank God, I found this forum. Lots to learn before I take on a new life living in an RV 24/7. Are folks here doing this at all or just owners of RV for visiting vacation spots?
 
I hear you. Thank God, I found this forum. Lots to learn before I take on a new life living in an RV 24/7. Are folks here doing this at all or just owners of RV for visiting vacation spots?
Lot's of people doing lots of different things with and in their RVs here.

I would say, however, that the number of people "living" in their RV in the northern latitudes is pretty limited. The number of people who live in their RV and "travel" from one northern spot to another is probably next to zero.

Sitting an RV in place in the north and "preparing" it for winter gives one a chance, albeit probably an uncomfortable one at times but some folks are doing it.
 
To add to what Dan said, there also are quite a number of full timers on this forum, in addition to many others who spend months at a time on the road. Most of these pretty much stay south while they're out and about. And finally there are those like me who take trips from time to time but stay in a regular house the rest of the time.
 
If you are only using space heaters, you could be in for a World of trouble. Typically your pipes run in the basement and depend on the furnace ductwork to give off some heat to keep the pipes from freezing. Just something to think about.
Yeah, this right here.
I run the space heater for the front of the coach, but I run the rear furnace for the bedroom area. This is also the furnace that supplies heat to the basement area to keep the pipes from freezing.
 
People are conditioned to living in heated space and think nothing of having sinks, showers and flush toilets. Even if you accommodate the plumbing in an RV to not freeze (few do) what about the logistics of filling the fresh tank and draining the waste tanks? How many functional outdoor hose bibs are there in northern states during winter? How do you create a dump site that doesn't become a frozen poo pond when the drain ices closed? No question there's ways around this but between keeping a box with a couple inches of insulation heated, mitigating condensation, and water/waste management become logistically and practically complicated when operating below freezing. Hence the popularity of places like Yuma and Quartzsite during the winter which are nothing to write home about as attractions but are a respite above freezing for RV's.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
I hear you. Thank God, I found this forum. Lots to learn before I take on a new life living in an RV 24/7. Are folks here doing this at all or just owners of RV for visiting vacation spots?

Not full time, but did live in ours for two Wyoming winters while building our home......seeing a few -30 F mornings. Never had a moments problem! Having an rv designed for cool weather, and taking a few common sense provisions made it pretty easy! Didn’t even have skirting the first winter!

We do a bit of winter boondocking ( see avatar photo), and never shy away from it. If you can do it for fun.....it can certainly be done as a necessity! Jus Say’n! memtb
 
Back
Top Bottom