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Old 01-18-2017, 05:27 PM   #1
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Cold Weather Living Report on RW

Hi all! Just an update, since this is the time when SOME of us can't move south. I have seen a lot of negative comments and posts around the net about their Redwood failing in cold weather. While some of them say they are taking all the precautions, I often wonder. I just wanted to share our experience. As of today (FINALLY) we have moved about freezing temps after about 3 weeks well below freezing and LOTS of snow. The lowest overnight temps were in the mid teens and days in the 20's. The only thing that froze was the ice maker line.
We did take some precautions, but nothing drastic:

-Kept ALL waste valves closed to protect from freezing, dumping as needed.
-Kept furnace on 24/7
-Left light on in wet bay for warmth (it's pretty exposed right there)
-We use the PIRIT heated freshwater hose which worked great (says it's good to minus 40, hope we never have to test that!)

We kept a remote thermometer in the basement storage area, never went below 58 degrees. Don't know about the lowest level where the pipes were, but we never froze, so that's a win.

NO condensation, no wet walls, no wet windows, no frost in the cabinets. BR closet got pretty cold, but we preferred that (kept doors closed) to cut down on the nose-cone condensation that we have talked about before. We had an icicle hanging from the red led light switch outside DEAR REDWOOD: YOU MUST SPRAY THE INSIDE SURFACE OF THE NOSECONE WITH SOME KIND OF INSULATING FOAM!!

We stayed very comfortable and had NO issues. Just wanted to share, because it's not always bad news.
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Old 01-18-2017, 09:34 PM   #2
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Agreed...we were in -17 wind chill last Valentine's Day. There was condensation, but we had six adults in the RW for three days. Definitely experience significant condensation inside the front cap but overall, we were quite cozy.
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Old 01-18-2017, 10:29 PM   #3
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six ADULTS !???!?!?!?

you be crazy man

our 43' full wall slide coach COULD sleep as many as 6, but no way 6 adults would be a good thing and we have a bath and a half !

seats 6, feed 4, sleeps 2 IMHO
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Old 01-18-2017, 11:22 PM   #4
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The one place my former RW let cold air in, that my previous 5ers didn't was at the places the 6 point leveling system went up in the unit, and where the 2" holes were, that the hydraulic lines went through, to work those legs. I stuffed cloths in those holes, and it helped a lot.
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Old 01-19-2017, 07:50 PM   #5
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Hello All.
Just wanted to let the Redwood Owners know of somethings that might Interest them.
I have noticed when the temps got down to 5 degrees here in Southeast Missouri, that here are several Items you all may want to keep an eye on, when it got that cold our furnace ran pretty much, and when this happened my wife noticed water leaking under the left front corner of the fifth wheel, I searched and searched and finally found the nice water line clamps they used on the water connections were to small, because the heat from the furnace made the plastic waterlines get smaller and the clamps wasn't holding the hose tight against the fittings, replaced 4 of them already, and also found all the electrical wiring and cables were toughing the furnace and melting against it, in my opinion this is really a fire concern and should have been rerouted or a big heat shield beside it. I'm going to contact the Company about this. be advised othwise like others only my ice maker froze. Thanks for your Attention.. Michael
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Old 01-19-2017, 08:24 PM   #6
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When our 13 GK froze, the ice maker line froze behind the bottom drawer next to the residential fridge which made a mess spraying UP under the cabinets and the drawers caught it

cold air came in where the front picket door is at the steps and must have gotten behind the shower enclosure and froze the shower controls... so take some care there if you have a GK... maybe pull the access panel off in the bedroom so warm air gets back there ??
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Old 01-20-2017, 12:52 AM   #7
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Quote:
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six ADULTS !???!?!?!?

you be crazy man

our 43' full wall slide coach COULD sleep as many as 6, but no way 6 adults would be a good thing and we have a bath and a half !

seats 6, feed 4, sleeps 2 IMHO
Actually, four of the two legged variety and four of the four legged variety.
COOZZEEEEEE!
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Old 01-20-2017, 12:13 PM   #8
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Well, I guess we have been lucky. Normally we put something around the outside of the rv to stop the wind from blowing underneath and put heat tape on the water line supply and softener. Nothing additional and no problems until last year when our ice maker line froze. I think that was just bad luck as we have been in colder weather for longer and it didn't freeze. My wife also uses an area rug in the living area for a little more insulation inside but that is all we do. Makes me wonder if they have reduced insulation from 1 model year to another.
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Old 01-20-2017, 03:13 PM   #9
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Good comments. I probably jinxed myself because you can't see leaks very easily while it is still so wet outside... but so far so good. The furnace was very efficient, but did run A LOT. Still, a few tanks of propane was well worth having the cozy space we had. Even had a few power outages and had to run the generator. We were the most comfortable folks in the area during power outages!
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Old 01-20-2017, 03:18 PM   #10
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20170111_093817.jpg
This is a photo of the Pirit hose. It was expensive, but it was nice to have fresh water all the time. It is supposedly good down to -40 degrees. You can see that it melted the snow well away from it, though the water was never "warm". It has a thermostat, so only warms when the temperature dropped. We are very pleased with it.
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Old 01-20-2017, 06:14 PM   #11
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Yeah, we got one of those,
but still need to care to protect the connections on either end

and by all means roll it up when it's warm as they are HARDY !
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Old 01-20-2017, 06:16 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnboytoo View Post
Yeah, we got one of those,
but still need to care to protect the connections on either end

and by all means roll it up when it's warm as they are HARDY !
Totally agree... we have heat tape and insulation at the faucet head and we leave the light on in the wet bay :-)
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Old 03-25-2017, 08:13 PM   #13
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Thanks for these tips:

We'll be volunteering at Petrified Forest Nat. Park next winter where a nighttime temp in the teens is common, 40s+ daytime. We also plan to plug a "Air-Dryr" constant-on electric heater in the basement under the bathroom: the outlet used for the vacuum system makes this easy. It's designed for continuous use, and is a staple of folk who live on their boats. Only warm to the touch. That should keep the belly well above freezing when the furnace isn't running, and we'll also keep it monitored with a remote thermometer (we use one in the 'fridge too).
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Old 03-29-2017, 04:35 AM   #14
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We loved the heated fresh water hose by Pirit. It was fantastic. We also kept our light on in the wet bay where the connections are. Put a space heater in the basement, safely situated. Put a remote thermometer down there to keep an eye on things. Never went below 50 degrees in outside temps of low 20's.

Of course, kept the tanks CLOSED at all times, but we do anyway. We have endured two bonafide winters in ours, including some substantial snow and have been very happy and cozy.
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Old 03-29-2017, 06:44 AM   #15
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We lived in ours for two winters here in Oregon. We used basically same set up as Romanylife. We used two electric heaters and the fireplace for heating inside even at temps down to 20's. (our electricity was covered in our monthly charge). We never had any issues.
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Old 03-29-2017, 03:04 PM   #16
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Still suggest you turn off and drain your ice maker line.
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Old 03-29-2017, 06:01 PM   #17
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Yes, we have never used the Icemaker. I saw this was a issue and turned it off from the start not worth the trouble to me. besides my wife is stuck on Sonic Ice LOL
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Old 03-29-2017, 06:37 PM   #18
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!

have had to go 25 miles out the way to get that ice !!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old 03-29-2017, 08:55 PM   #19
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Yea I blame it on you, I saw where you posted that one time. told my wife about it and now we can only get sonic ice
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Old 03-31-2017, 02:10 PM   #20
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We have been in ours since 2012 and the only cold weather issues we have had were our own fault. We have always skirted the outside with some type of material to keep the wind from blowing under the camper. Never had any issues with stuff freezing in the basement and we don't do anything special down there. This is the first year we have used heated hoses. In the past, it was always heat tape with foam over it and also on the water softener. The first time we put the heat tape on the softener, we were a little over zealous and had hot water when the tape kicked in. Oops!
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