Question about RV problems with Texas winter last year

[BobWestdorp]

Hi- Did RV,s suffer any damage last winter during the electrical outages and freezing in Texas last winter? I'm concerned about letting our daughter take our '21 303 rls to TX to live this winter. It seems like there were horror stories about keeping the RVs safe from damage let alone not being safe for occupants. Needless to say I'm leery of letting her take it anywhere in the winter especially in TX that could experience the zero degree temps and electrical grid shutting down. Any thoughts?

[FT4NOW]

I think the real issue is being prepared for a frozen winter in the RV, not necessarily the RV itself. If you take precautions for freezing temps, there wont be any issues. Search the forum for winter camping, there are lots of tips and tricks to be prepared.

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[WhittleBurner]

I think there may be more horror stories about loaning out trailers to family than cold weather camping events. No matter how responsible your daughter may be, things can happen in an extended timeframe ..
We have had a no loan out policy to any one including family members going all the way back to our first trailer.

[TyeeMan]

If your going to let your daughter live in your trailer over winter, make sure she is really familiar with changing LP tanks and has a good budget for LP. Texas can get cold, and when temps get down to the 20's and below, you will likely burn a full LP tank in 12-16 hrs.
Long story short, a couple years ago we stayed in our Imagine 2970 RL for a week over Christmas in northern Minnesota as the in-laws had a full house. Daytime temps were in the high teens, nights were single digit with one night at -15. We kept the thermostat set at 65 and we burned two 20 lb LP tanks approx. every 24 hrs.
The other thing was that it go so dry in the camper that towards the end of the week I got a bloody nose if I moved my head too fast or simply looked down. I ended up putting a 4 qt. stock pot on the stove filled with water, bring it to a boil, let cool, repeat as needed.

We stayed comfortable, but it was an experience that I will not need to do again. Oh, and we did not use the water system. We showered and went to the bathroom in the in-laws house.

[cfowler55]

So first off , last years winter was an anomaly for Texas. A lot also depends on where in Texas she will be. There can be big temp swings from one part to another. For example , Austin has a long term (1981 - 2010) average winter low of around 40*, a dozen or so days below freezing, and only one or two below 20*. We’re in central Texas , and I typically don’t even winterize ours.
Charlie

[fmartinmn]

Hi- Did RV,s suffer any damage last winter during the electrical outages and freezing in Texas last winter? I'm concerned about letting our daughter take our '21 303 rls to TX to live this winter. It seems like there were horror stories about keeping the RVs safe from damage let alone not being safe for occupants. Needless to say I'm leery of letting her take it anywhere in the winter especially in TX that could experience the zero degree temps and electrical grid shutting down. Any thoughts?

Hi Bob, we were there, in Austin, for that event. We were not expecting or really prepared for anything like what we experienced. I was impressed at how our 2970RL handled the ice, the cold and kept us safe and comfortable. Every day brought a new challenge, no power, no propane, no water, no diesel, rationed water when it became available. If prepared, I would go back sometime in the future. If properly prepared the rig can handle the short period of time we would experience low temps in TX. Checkout this link.

https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/show...s?goto=newpost

[ajg617]

Hi- Did RV,s suffer any damage last winter during the electrical outages and freezing in Texas last winter? I'm concerned about letting our daughter take our '21 303 rls to TX to live this winter. It seems like there were horror stories about keeping the RVs safe from damage let alone not being safe for occupants. Needless to say I'm leery of letting her take it anywhere in the winter especially in TX that could experience the zero degree temps and electrical grid shutting down. Any thoughts?

I sympathize with your plight. When our daughter was in her early 20s she decided she was going to buy a live in horse trailer and move to North Carolina. She had been pulling a trailer between VT and NC twice a year. Part of me was relieved she wasn't making that trip but the other part of me was concerned about her living full-time in an RV. She survived 20 degree temps and ice storms and so did her '4-legged toy hauler' all at a farm with no one else in a campground-like setting that could lend a hand if needed. She was very self-sufficient but we always checked things and did some maintenance when visiting.

[Steven@147]

Hi- Did RV,s suffer any damage last winter during the electrical outages and freezing in Texas last winter? I'm concerned about letting our daughter take our '21 303 rls to TX to live this winter. It seems like there were horror stories about keeping the RVs safe from damage let alone not being safe for occupants. Needless to say I'm leery of letting her take it anywhere in the winter especially in TX that could experience the zero degree temps and electrical grid shutting down. Any thoughts?

Howdy Bob, We to experienced the freak winter storm down on the gulf coast (Galveston) last year. I wrote a thread on this forum of our experiences then. It was a freak storm for south and central Texas. As others noted, Significant winter weather in Texas, depends where in Texas your Daughter intends to stay. North of Waco up to Dallas gets significant cold weather and snow. Down south central ( Austin, San Antonio, Houston) to the gulf coast (Galveston, Corpus Christi) is usually very mild winters. Points west like around El Paso can also get freak snow storms and cold weather, but usually not.

Like someone said she will need to know how to look at the propane regulator when it changes to red and change out the propane tanks and get them refilled. Keep the furnace thermostat set high enough to keep the underbelly warm if sub freezing temps. Just in case get and have her use a heated fresh water hose. It only needs plugged in if the temp stays below freezing a few days. Or run on the fresh water holding tank. The holding tanks should be ok, they take a long time to freeze up due to the volume of water, but exposed drain lines /hose could be a problem in below freezing temps for days. These RVs, any of them, are not insulated as well as sticks and bricks, so propane usage will go way up. Our experience is in our rig, a full 30# propane tank will last running the furnace about 4 days in low 40* weather, keeping the thermostat @ 65.

Texas still has not winterized their power grid so black outs or brown outs could still be an issue, it all depends on how cold the weather gets, but a usual Central and south Texas mild winter should not be a problem. We have lived in Central and South Texas, and full timed the winters in the area for the last 20 years.

[D2Reid]

I'm concerned about letting our daughter take our '21 303 rls to TX to live this winter. Any thoughts?

I would be quite surprised if there were not RV's that had damage. Folks that far south don't normally winterize. So while it is not likely a storm like that will hit again it can't be ruled out. Being from Michigan, you'all (she'll start saying that too) will be familiar with cold. So I think it's a wonderful idea, just get prepared.

This would be my to do list to prepare my daughter;

1. Buy a small generator, not enough to run the whole RV on, just enough to keep the batteries charged. You can "survive" in an RV off of the 12v side, but you have to have a way to charge the batteries during and extended power outage. Make sure she can hook it up properly and get it started. If she is incapable of doing that abort. She will need to start it once a month and let it run for at least 10 minutes.

2. As mentioned above make sure she knows how and can get the propane tanks out and back and hooked up. Make sure she understands how the propane cutover switch works. Or contact a propane supplier and have a large tank delivered that they fill. That's what we do when we winter at a ski resorts.

3. Water supply: make sure she can select the correct water source on the control panel. Knows how to fill the water tank, something she will do when she first gets there, and can run the internal pump. If the RV park has there pipes heated then get a heated water hose, if they don't, it wont matter because the RV parks pipes will freeze about as fast has you garden hose, well, probably not as fast, but soon enough.

4. Dumping holding tanks; First off, when she sets up, make sure there are no dips, sags, or big curves in the sewer hose. A slinky, hose holder, or large PVC pipe helps with that, straight shot from fitting to dump connection. Then instruct her to not leave the valves open, dump once or twice a week as needed.

5. Research the area she is going to. Hunt down any mobile RV techs or dealers in the area that will service an RV off site. Call them, talk to them, tell them your daughter will be on her own and you need to know how willing they will be to provide repairs service and technical support.

6. Buy her a new 4x4 Jeep. Ok, not really, but if I told my daughter I was buying her a new Jeep should would go ballistic with joy and happiness.

7. Take time to talk with the new neighbors. There are probably one or two retired people hanging around that would be glad to lend a young lady a helping hand.

I know this is doable, last year we had a young lady move in next door to us. Dad and mom brought the RV up, set it up, then left her. She spent two months there, even shoveled her own driveway.

[BobWestdorp]

I wanted to thank all of you for your posts. You've given us some excellent ideas to ensure the best possible outcome. We've decided to not take our GD down to TX, but our daughter is considering buying one so these tips will help her out big time! Again, thanks!