Cold Weather Camping (especially without Hookups)

Last updated March 13, 2005

We love camping in cold weather and I do the following to make it more comfortable for the family and to protect the onboard systems:

1. If it is going to drop below 30 degrees at night, I keep the hot water heater lit and running on the lowest setting (essentially, just the pilot light stays active) and simply turn up the temperature control to my regular setting when we need warmer water for showers. Actually, if the outside temperature doesn’t drop below freezing, the pilot light keeps the water in the tank at an agreeable temperature for showers.

2. If it's going to be REALLY cold out (outside temperatures in the teens), I use our Coleman Sport Cat portable LP heater in our bath to keep the toilet seat and bath area toasty. I keep the bath door open and the roof vent in the bath cracked open when I do this. Of course, I always keep the Fantastic Fan roof vent cracked open, because with 5 people and a BIG dog breathing, we create a lot of humidity that can coat the inside of the windows with lots of condensation.

3. If it's going to be REALLY, REALLY cold out (outside temperature near zero), I pour enough windshield washer fluid (protects to -20F) in the sink and shower drains to both fill the elbow traps and add a little to the grey holding tank. I pour a little bit of windshield washer fluid directly into the black holding tank via the toilet. I also turn the water heater temperature control to the setting we normally use for showers.

4. On extended stay-overs (longer than a week), I take along our spare propane (LP) tank so we never risk running out of propane.

Now, if we’re going to be traveling in close to or sub-freezing temps, I will do steps 3, 4, and 5 listed in "An Option to Traditional Winterizing" and we will use a container of windshield washer fluid to "flush" the sink and toilet when needed. Towing in sub-freezing temps will chill the inside of an unheated trailer in a heartbeat. In really, really cold traveling conditions, I will fire up the furnace during our 10-15 minute stops at rest areas (our furnace burners don’t stay lit when our trailer is in tow).