Found my cold weather limit

[BirchyBoy]

We spent the weekend at a local campground. The forecast was moderate - highs in the 50’s and lows in the 30’s. We’ve spent some time in the 30’s and it is ok. The furnace is at the very back of the coach, under the bed. The bedroom stays warm but the living room is always cooler.

A winter storm blew in the last night and the temp dropped to 20 with 40 mph gusts all night. I pulled the slide in and set the thermostat to 65. It ran all night, nonstop, and kept the living room at 62. I always disconnect the hose when it’s cold. When I checked the filter housing in the wet bay it was frozen!

I know the A/C is inadequate and am planning to add a second. I have had concern that the furnace is undersized and think this is the case. The flow at the far end, by the windshield, is barely noticeable. We have a portable fireplace that we use in the living room that is good supplemental heat but I don’t want it to run overnight.

The easy solution is to not go out when there’s a chance that it will be that cold again, but that isn’t the answer. I am going to try and find a camera that I can put into the floor ducts to see if there is any construction debris. I do have some styrofoam sheets that I’m gong to add to the storage doors as well, and will look for any additional ways to insulate the bottom.

[Jim_HiTek]

What model of Winnie do you have? What year is it? How long is it?

These are all questions that can be answered in your profile or your signature (preferred). Without having some basic info about your RV, we'd all just be shooting in the dark.

[BirchyBoy]

Originally Posted by Jim_HiTek

What model of Winnie do you have? What year is it? How long is it?

These are all questions that can be answered in your profile or your signature (preferred). Without having some basic info about your RV, we'd all just be shooting in the dark.

Sorry, I hide the signature so don’t use it (that I can recall). It’s a ‘17 Vista 31BE, 32’.

[Jim_HiTek]

Why hide the signature? The NSA already knows everything about you.

I think that's one of Winnie's 'summer camper' designs. Not intended for the cold, or even excess heat for that matter. It is a really nice design though.

Can you add several electric heaters to the living space and one in the wet bay? I know that's what I'd do. Pretty sure you're 50 amp but their brochure says that 50 amp is a 'cooling' option, but they don't mention 30 amp. If you only have the one AC you might only have 30 amp service. Another indicator that you should only camp in warm weather. You only have an 18 gallon propane tank, so it's not like you'd want to depend on that for winter camping. Plus you just have single pane windows. That's a tip off that it's a spring to fall rig.

But if you're at a RV park with 50 amp supply, take advantage of that and get an adapter where you can run extra power into your RV.

I owned a 30 amp, winter package RV, 36', and it was a bear to keep warm without tripping breakers when it got down to the 30's. And it had dual pane windows plus extra insulation. That rig was designed for the cold and still didn't cut it. Yours isn't designed for it so you'll have to work adapting it to your needs.

Good luck.

[Diesel-Lover]

Add a light fixture in the wet bay (glass and metal fixture attached to metal), put a lower watt bulb into it and leave it on in cold temps. If it still gets cold in that bay up the watts without exceeding the fixture limits. A well vented fixture will provide enough heat to keep things warm there!. Note if its 110 then it won't be a burden to the power system of the rig, unless its on the inverter circuit. For big safety you could even add a ground fault protected outlet in series !Undercoating your rig will help a little as well. Insulating the under-body is good for keep things isolated temperature wise as well as cutting down on noise when underway. Nothing as nice as a sparsely occupied cg to give you a fuller wilderness experience.