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Winter Storage |
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Home, October, 2002
Home, April, 2005
For additional info on surviving winters, read my thoughts on:
Cold Weather Camping
(especially without Hookups)
An Option to
Traditional Winterizing
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Our T-160 stays parked next to our home, even in winter. The first photo was taken in
mid-October, so you can see how soon winter
conditions arrive at our home. The second photo was taken the last day of
April, so you can see how long winter can linger at our home. In fact, it
snows at our home every other Mothers' Day! As you can see, I don't
use a full trailer cover, only a tire cover (sheet of plywood) to protect the
tire from the sun's UV rays as that side of the trailer faces south. We don't
have any trees near the storage area, so I don't have to worry about tree or
bird droppings. When we are not using the trailer as extra sleeping
quarters or for sleepovers for the kids, I use the battery cutoff switch (called the "knife" switch) I had
installed to keep the CO2 and LP detectors from slowing draining the
batteries (some Fun Finder owners I know just pull the fuses and turn off
the breakers in the power converter, which works just as well). I run an
extension cord up through the shore power (exterior electric hookup) access door and up through the
couch seat to power a small electric heater. I have the heater positioned on
the floor so it points toward the open cabinet door where my dual batteries
reside. I keep the thermostat on the little heater set to keep the interior
above freezing. I also crank the tongue jack all the way up so snow slides
off the roof easier. We have a rear gutter that channels the water to each
back corner. With the front end high, the resulting tilt causes the water to
drip away from the trailer.
When we are using the trailer, I lower the tongue to just past level, drop the rear jacks,
raise the tongue back to level, turn the battery cutoff switch so the batteries are back online, unplug the
small electric heater from the extension cord and plug it into the outlet on the
galley cabinet, and plug the extension cord into the shore power connection
(using an adapter) to provide standard electric power to the trailer. The T-160
makes a cozy little winter cabin! |
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Winter Travel |
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New Mexico, April, 2004
Home, January, 2004 |
With our 4WD Suburban, I have towed
in heavy rain, sleet, slush, hail, and snow. Since our T-160 is only 7 foot
wide, the trailer tires follow nearly the same tracks created by the Burb's tires.
This makes driving through deep slush and snow much easier as the trailer
tires are not having to plow through on their own. Towing in rain is easier,
too, as the trailer tires follow on pavement that has just been cleared of
water by the Burb's tires. Of
course, a major disadvantage to traveling in winter conditions is the amount
of "gunk" that ends up on everything. This is not a problem as I have a
routine of taking our T-160 to the car wash for a power wash and wax after
every (yes, every) trip. After 5 years of towing in winter and other poor
(rainy) conditions, the aluminum siding as well as the underside (which does
not have a covering of any kind) hasn't deteriorated a bit and still looks
as good as new! |
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Winter
Camping |
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Missouri, December, 2002
New Mexico, April, 2004
"Yup, it's snowin'!"
Kansas, December, 2005 |
In December, 2002, we arrived at my inlaws'
home in a raging snowstorm. 4WD was essential for the 80 miles we drove in
the blizzard conditions and 4WD Lo was essential in backing our T-160 next
to their home. The snow ended up 16 inches deep with 3 foot drifts. Nightly
temps ran single digits with wind chills well below zero in the howling
wind. We kept warm by running a small electric heater, the furnace, and
using our Coleman SportCat LP/Catalytic heater in the bath to keep it warm and
the toilet seat toasty. As with all our stays in relatives' driveways, I ran an extension cord to the shore power connection, so we had standard electric power in the trailer. On
visits when the temperature is above freezing, I also connect a garden hose to
the city water connection so we have a convenient water supply. A sewer
clean-out access is next to the driveway where we park the trailer (just like
at our home) so it's easy to dump the grey and black holding tanks before we
head out. Fortunately, before we left that frigid December, the temps had
warmed up to 30 degrees, but I still had to use a hair dryer to melt the
remaining solid ice that had frozen the dump valves (they had been buried in
a drift).
In April, 2004, we arrived at my parents' home after driving
through an approaching snowstorm. The next morning we awoke to heavy
snowfall with 6 inches of snow already on the ground. The storm
had knocked out the electricity and phone service, but we weren't deterred
in getting ready for departure. By the time we left, there was nearly a foot of
snow on the ground and we drove through 2 and 3 foot drifts. We learned
later that over 2 feet eventually fell with 4 and 5 foot drifts. Whew!
In December, 2005, we had a cold overnight stay in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
Running just the furnace and the Sport Cat in the bath, we stayed toasty
warm in the 20 degree temps with wind chills in the low teens. I had already
purged the water tanks and lines after returning home from our October
camping trip, so no worries about freezing during the frigid travel and
overnight stay. When we arrived in Missouri and had hookups, I simply
refilled the hot water tank and recharged the lines. |
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