frosty touring

This has probably been covered a million times over so i appologise if so Im having a mad moment since realising im off friday-monday this weekend (very rare) and have decided I want to take the van away. having only toured in caravans (sorry for swearing) over winter I was wondering if anyone could tell me how the onboard tanks are likely to fare in the minus tempertatures im expecting? Is it safe to assume of a morning my fresh tank could be frozen solid?? Sorry if this seems daft question but I have no idea if they are insulated at all
Also any other advice re a trip in baltic conditions would be much appreciated (ok so its the derbyshire dales but still cold lol)

Thank u folks

Well here in the Derbyshire Dales it was -6c this morning.

The biggest problem that you are going to have is the boiler dump valve empting the boiler. You will need to run some heating day and night to stop the temperature dropping below about 8c.

You may also find your waste water valve will freeze which means that you will not be able to empty your grey water. Some people leave it open and drain in to a bucket.

Look out for van and water inlet locks freezing too...

Having said all of this you will have a great time, the area looks wonderful with the snow and ice.Dont worry about the roads the local authority has done a great job. Where are you going to?

ubuntu1 wrote:Well here in the Derbyshire Dales it was -6c this morning.

The biggest problem that you are going to have is the boiler dump valve empting the boiler. You will need to run some heating day and night to stop the temperature dropping below about 8c.

You may also find your waste water valve will freeze which means that you will not be able to empty your grey water. Some people leave it open and drain in to a bucket.

Look out for van and water inlet locks freezing too...

Having said all of this you will have a great time, the area looks wonderful with the snow and ice.Dont worry about the roads the local authority has done a great job. Where are you going to?

Boiler as in water heater? I normally leave that on either electric or gas constantly and have a decent oil rad for inside the van to save the gas on blown air so not worried about dropping cold inside the van.
probably heading to rivendale as stayed there in the caravan n wanted somewhere mostly hard standing just in case the snow comes

If your on a camp site I would just use a few bottles of water rather than fill the camper if you have it all drained down. No point adding water to the system to take the chance of it freezing.

Well I don't know about anybody else but I love “frosty touring”. I find something really satisfying about being cosy in the van with a cup of tea , in the middle of a field when everything outside is frozen solid. Ok maybe I'm just bonkers - all right no need to comment!!

Over the last couple of years we’ve used the water system when the nights have been down to -5 degrees C with no problems (that’s an observation not a recommendation). The water tank takes ages to freeze. I think the feed pipes / taps are in more danger because of the smaller volume of water in them. As long as the temperature gets well above freezing during the day the water doesn’t get time to freeze up.
If you’re out for days and the temperature doesn’t get much above freezing during the day I’d drain the system and carry a water container inside. It’s surprising how little you miss the running water if you’ve got a water container and kettle.

Other things we’ve done:
Leave the waste water tap open at night with a container underneath.

Drain the toilet flush tank and run the pump to empty it (and the pipes).

Keep some “flushing” fluid in an old ”squirty” washing up liquid bottle in the toilet area. The waste tank has never frozen but I wouldn’t expect much damage if it did as long as it wasn’t full.

Leave the toilet door open at night so heat from the van can get in there.

Carry a small electric heater (you can normally find a campsite with EHU at this time of year). If you’ve got the standard blower heater you’ll find the noise disturbing during the night.

Carry a 12v portable shower so that if necessary the pump can be dropped into a container of warm water (heated by the kettle). Actually it’s never been used yet because we’ve always found a campsite but if we ever need to “wild camp” we’ve got the washing thing covered.

So far nothing inside the van has ever frozen while it’s been in use (not even us)!

It's Probably best to drain the system if you're in any doubt.

Brod.

brodco wrote:...............

Carry a 12v portable shower so that if necessary the pump can be dropped into a container of warm water (heated by the kettle). Actually it’s never been used yet because we’ve always found a campsite but if we ever need to “wild camp” we’ve got the washing thing covered.

.............

I'm sorry, but I couldn't help laughing! Since when did showering become so important that it can't be delayed for a few days!

I have a friend from Hungary who didn't even see a shower or a bath until she was eight years old and my wife and I can well remember "flannel up and downers" as kids to save heating up water for a bath.

As a general rule we shower once a week, use a "flannel up and down" every day and always carry "wet wipes" soaked in Eau de Cologne (purchased from Lidl in France) to freshen up whenever we have been out on the bikes.

No-one has ever complained that we smell (and believe me the friends and relatives we have would definitely do so!) so we presume the system works.

With regard to how your heater will work, to be safe you MUST have propane if you are planning to use the van in weather below about +4 degrees and I suggest that you check out the Factsheets section and read about how the different LPG's perform.

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Best regards,

Hi Brod.

No not bonkers. But not far off.

Enjoy the weather.

Whisky.

Hi All,
We are another couple who are not afraid to go out in winter, and as most of the extra precausions have been mentioned and there is little that I can add, but if you are of a DIY bent here is a link which shows the extra internal tanks that we have in our van origionally intended for winter touring but now used all the time to provide extra tankage for wild camping.

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Brian2

I have now added a piece of plastic sheet under and up the side of the bags to prevent any damage should ther be any leaks.

Nice heated shower block at Rivendale (give my regards to Elrond) To be on the safe side, leave the tanks empty and do as Robbie suggests and take some bottled water. I use the gallon ones from supermarkets at about £1 each, the refill them as needed.

Have Fun

Frank

whisky wrote:Hi Brod.

No not bonkers. But not far off.

Enjoy the weather.

Whisky.

I'm sure that applies to us as well, Whisky ....... Touring about in 'Clubby' at the moment .....
Some 'lovely' frosty mornings

On the subject of showers ...... when we were Hop-picking (as kids) Mum would say "Wash Up as far as possible -- Down as far as possible --- then wash 'possible'"

Happy travelling

Brian

I can also recommend Lickpenny just outside of Matlock.

ubuntu1 wrote:I can also recommend Lickpenny just outside of Matlock.

I hope that's not still on the subject of showering?

Best regards,

On the subject of being "bonkers" An idea occured to me (a rare occurence these days) while perusing this topic, has anyone considered the possibility of installing an aquarium heater in the cold water storage tank. These submersible heaters are low wattage around 50 to 100 watts but would provide enough trace heating to prevent freezing and are fairly cheap to purchase at £10 to £15. They could only be used when on EHU but I should think most cold weather camping is done on hookup.

Just an idea

Cheers John

I thought about this a while ago but thought they might be a bit fragile, being basically an oversize test tube with an element inside.

Frank

boxerman wrote:I thought about this a while ago but thought they might be a bit fragile, being basically an oversize test tube with an element inside.

Frank

This occured to me also Frank but many years ago in another life when I kept tropical fish you could get heaters which where encapsulated in black epoxy,plasticky,teflony type matierial which would be tougher than glass, but I'm unsure if this type of heater is still being marketed. Must do a bit of research.

John

Another option would be the pet bed heat pads, which have that the advantage that it should be possible to bond one on to the outside underneath the tank, so it would not have to tolerate immersion.

And as they (hopefully) stay cool enough not to incinerate your pets, should do no harm to the tank if accidentally turned on when the tank is empty.

You can buy these types of heaters made just for motorhomes. They are stronger than aquarium heaters and designed just for this purpose.

And this is exactly what i love this forum some wierd some wonderfull n some just downright "lol" worthy :-) (and thats just us posters) I cant think of anything better than waking up to frost or snow n being all snug in the van, radio on n a nice coffee while breakfast is cooking

I hadnt thought about the flush tank freezing up but good thinking with the squirty bottle to flush. as far as the washing where "possible" i know the facilities at rivendale are immaculate so no worries there although we do keep flannels for the strip wash and wet wipes for the just in case moments.

Sadly it doesnt look as tho the trip will be as long as originally planned as the o.h's work being funny about him having saturday off as he key holder and the only one who lives in dncaster in case the "management team" (using the expression very loosely) cant get in if it snows (boo hoo for them)

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and fingers crossed i may still get 1-2 nights away providing the old girl moves in the snow thats expected.

Whoever mentioned lickpenny (sorry there were a lot of replies this morning and cant remember the username) I have been there before and yet another beautiful site. I feel very lucky to be living so close to such beautiful countryside and even more so now i have the van to get out and about with.

Suck a shame work gets in the way of things eh :-(

Following advice from others on this forum, I drained all of the water out of my AS systems a while back to avoid any freezing. I use the van every day and tour 24/7 when possible. I use bottled water and shower at sites . But got used to going 4-5 days without a shower in my Doblo whilst wild-camping.Wet-wipes are wonderful ;) I use Dettol antiseptic kitchen wipes and paper towels to clean pots/dishes.

Good old paper plates/cups come in dead handy at times as well for those of us who can be bothered washing up at times or in a hurry.