# Bumper Pull in Cold Weather



## RockportRobert (Dec 29, 2006)

Looking at travel trailers for the past year or so. Most of the use will be in Texas, with an occasional archery hunt up north in Wyoming & Montana. Lows during archery season will often get to the low 20's and occasionally lower. Any recommendations on models to look at that would do OK for relatively short spells in cold weather? Thanks!


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## djwag94 (Nov 19, 2009)

You could check the manufacturerâ€™s temperature ratings to ensure the RV will serve you well. The better the insulation rating the better it will perform in hot & cold weather. Fully enclosed underbellies usually indicates extra insulation.

A lot of the mid & upper tier models include *better insulation* and *dual pane glass* as standard packages. These two items would be on my list

For the colder weather, you could select one that has an Arctic/Four seasons-type package. It should include dual thermal pane windows, added roof and floor insulation, insulated holding tank areas or heating pads for water and sewage tanks.

With that said, any of them will get you through a few days of cold weather with proper planning.

Good luck on your search.


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## redexpress (Apr 5, 2010)

The so-called "Polar Package" or "Arctic Package" don't do much. Like the previous poster said look for an enclosed belly. On our 5th wheel it is called chloroplast, think plastic cardboard. Some low R value "bubble wrap" insulation may be behind that. When they say heated underbelly, they just throw a small heater duct in the belly near the drain valves. So, to heat that area you will have to run the furnace. To run the furnace you will need 12volt power. You might get 1-2 nights off a RV battery running the furnace.
It can be done though. Hopefully someone in the hunt party has a generator. If the generator has a large enough gas tank, I would run it as long as possible (4-6hrs.) to run the furnace and charge the battery. 
I have "camped" in 15F for 6 days, but had hook ups. I turned on all the incandescent storage bay lights, put 2 "trouble lights" in the storage areas, set the furnace thermostat so it would run and throw some heat in the belly.
I wouldn't believe much of what a RV salesman says about cold weather camping.
You may want to look around on the PPLmotorhome website, or look on their lots to get an idea of what you want.
Temps in the 20's shouldn't be much of a challenge if it warms up during the day.


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## captMike (Jan 30, 2006)

*bumper bull in cold weather*

Make sure and wrap water lines when weather gets cold. We were in Ranger Texas this Jan. , wake up to 17 degrees at 4 and let dogs out, water line frozen.
Glad we filled up coffee maker that night. Changed out hoses and got water to shower with, took all day for hose to thaw out.


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## redexpress (Apr 5, 2010)

I assumed if you were on a hunting trip you wouldn't have hook-ups. If you do, you can buy electrically heated water line/hose. Take an electric heater to supplement the LP furnace. Electric blanket works good too.
Some manufactures offer an option of heated tanks. There is an electric heat "pad" on the tank.


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## Wedge (Apr 29, 2005)

*-7 in Hobbs*

My worst was -7 in Hobbs New Mexico and I can tell you that it all froze.....Black, grey, and supply. Best have bottled water for those occasions. You can try to slow run faucet overnight but you stand a chance of filling the tank as a solid cube and then back up in camper. When this happens you can put a space heater under the tank outside and gain some space. Cold id cold. It is what it is.


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