Winter use?

[Fireplug45]

We are looking at a Solitude 379FL. I see it does come with a winter package, heated tanks etc. I hunt out west Oct, Nov, Dec. I currently own a Northern Lite Truck camper. (love it) Wife wants something bigger, so the grand kids can go on trips, also she does not like to have camper in the truck every where we go. (un hooking and storing every thing every time we want to go running around while we are traveling). I'm serious thinking about keeping the NL (its paid for) for my hunting and fly fishing trips. But if the solitude will tolerate winter camping then I may trade it. My brother in law work the oil patch on ND. He is looking at purchasing one to live in while his working his 3 weeks in ND. I currently have a F350 SW KR Thanks for all the input

Cheers
ART

[Renee]

Hi Art and welcome to the forums.
The Solitudes are extended stay RV's. There are several forum members who are full timers and several who have spent 3-6 months in their campers this year. Of those, a few have spent the winter in their Solitude and spent it comfortably. I'm sure you'll hear first hand from them eventually when they read your post.

Your plans for the NL sounds smart. If I had one paid for, I think I would keep it too!
Good luck to you and your brother-in-law as you guys look for a new RV. Grand Design is definitely worth looking into as an option

[Steve and Cill]

Welcome to the forum Art! I also have a F350 SRW and would not attempt to tow a 379FL, too much pin weight. We have the 369RL and are just under the max weights for the F350 SRW.

Steve

[Fireplug45]

Steve, Good point it shows on the spec the hitch weight is 3000#. My NL is 2980 dry weight, with it pack it runs around 4000 give or take. I have added air bags my towing capacity of the truck is 18000#. I know I'm on the boarder with this unit, may have to look into buying a new truck DARN

[Jahna]

As someone who does winter camp we were really interested in the Solitude line because of the heated tanks. It would have been a huge bonus but we just could not pull it with our truck. We ended up with the Reflection and will camp in it this winter. The trailer was sourced with using it four seasons here in Canada forefront in our minds.

Our last rig was a KZ Spree travel trailer and we spent 4 winters totaling over 100 nights in Southern Ontario. Last year most of it was spend in -20c weather and we showered, used the hot water and toilet with ease. We did not have tank heaters or mod anything really special with the unit to do what we do. The only thing we don't use is the water holding tank we actually used totes to siphon water out of our winterizing kit which was located under our sink in the kitchen.

We know GD does use active heat ducts in all the right places to help keep the tanks and drain pulls from freezing if you use the on board furnace moderately. The heated under belly, pass through and docking station is another perk to making winter camping work. The extra insulation over the travel trailer will make it easier to heat we suspect, we will be hooked up to 30 amp plus we will pull a 15 amp cord in via a slide for one extra electric heater. GD also thought to keep water lines warm by enclosing them in the furnace duct, big bonus if you plan on using your water on board. With tank heaters your golden, it is something that we will add at a future date.

Some are going to ask if we have dual pane windows, no, we thought about it but from experience and trial and failure we discovered in our Spree how to easily manage iced/fogged windows. We use a table fan and we installed a Vortex fan to pull damp air out of the trailer daily. If you cook we turn on a fan, if we shower we turn on a fan. Within an hour of waking up we are totally frost/fogged free. For us it was not worth the expense or added weight since it was so easy to manage. We may regret this choice this winter but I believe we can manage it.

Personally I think any of GD's units can easily be used four seasons with ease.

[dchrist1733]

I have a Solitude369RL and have camped in the winter and had no problems with freezing. I just disconnect the hose and use the frsh water tank. I just refill it when empty. Solitude works great in winter and heats pretty well also. I am pleased with it for winter camping.