Winter camping?

[LoriL]

We will be in Colorado at the end of October.  We will be boondocking on BLM land and there is a chance that we could see snow.  What preparations do I need for winter camping?   This will be the first time.  Thanks in advance for your help,

Paul

[John E Davies]

The Search function here is beyond awful. Try this - Copy and paste the following phrase into Google:

olivertraveltrailers.com and winter and camping

John Davies

Spokane WA

[topgun2]

Or,

try:      winter + camping

If you don't think that it will get below the mid to high 20's overnight then I'd not do anything different with regards to the Ollie.  For temps below that there are various "degrees" of prevention that you can take to include keeping access doors open so heat gets to the area between the hulls, actually placing heaters between the hulls, placing temp sensors between the hulls that have an alarm function in the event it gets below freezing there, etc.

Have a good time in any case!

Bill

[SeaDawg]

Fully charged batteries. Full propane tanks. Good blankets. A small air compressor,  and a couple jugs of rv pink stuff antifreeze, just in case.

An escape plan if the campground  road isn't typically plowed.  (Some roads aren't.  I'd check.)

[SeaDawg]

And, for your reading pleasure, 4 pages of posts on "winter camping" here on the forum. Using our search function. 

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/search/?q="Winter camping"&updated_after=any&sortby=relevancy&search_and_or=and

[Roger P]

And many bottles of wine! 

[SeaDawg]

28 minutes ago, Roger P said:

And many bottles of wine! 

I'll drink to that... 🥂

[Ron and Phyllis]

43 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

I'll drink to that... 🥂

I'll also drink to that 🍸,🍺,🥃!!!

[Mike and Carol]

2 hours ago, Roger P said:

And many bottles of wine! 

Or a couple of boxes. 🍷

[SeaDawg]

9 minutes ago, Mike and Carol said:

Or a couple of boxes. 🍷

Costco, Kirkland 😄

[LoriL]

Just returned from a deer/elk hunt in the Colorado Rocky Mountains with my two sons. The Oliver Elite was AMAZING.  We were able to camp higher in the mountains than any of the other hunting trailers in the area.  We had lows in the single digits and afternoon highs in the 40's. The trailer temps, sleeping conditions, hot showers, toilet, and morning coffee made wilderness conditions so comfortable. We did have several successful support calls with the Oliver service team.  Couldn't have done it without Mike.  He helped us with the furnace and the Truma water heater.  The Oliver gave us the opportunity to experience the incredible backcountry and wilderness of the Colorado Rockies!

Paul

[Steph and Dud B]

I think most of us are very conservative about exposing our plumbing to cold temperatures. Personally, I'd be at DEFCON 2 if I saw 33 degrees near a water line. However, hitting 32 isn't necessarily going to mean damage. The compartment might be 32 but the water in the lines is still 35. The water may have room to expand by draining into a tank. PEX plumbing is more tolerant of freezing than PVC. I imagine there's some wiggle room.

What I'd really like to know is, has anyone experienced plumbing damage in their Ollie from freezing, what was damaged, and under what conditions did it happen? In other words, what are the real world limits to what our Ollies can take? Not that I'd want to go there...

 

 

[Patriot]

41 minutes ago, LoriL said:

Just returned from a deer/elk hunt in the Colorado Rocky Mountains with my two sons. The Oliver Elite was AMAZING.  We were able to camp higher in the mountains than any of the other hunting trailers in the area.  We had lows in the single digits and afternoon highs in the 40's. The trailer temps, sleeping conditions, hot showers, toilet, and morning coffee made wilderness conditions so comfortable. We did have several successful support calls with the Oliver service team.  Couldn't have done it without Mike.  He helped us with the furnace and the Truma water heater.  The Oliver gave us the opportunity to experience the incredible backcountry and wilderness of the Colorado Rockies!

Paul

Great pics and thank you for sharing!
I hope you bagged a nice big bull elk! Elk is one of our favorite red meats besides Buffalo and Venison. 
 

-Patriot 🇺🇸
 

 

[topgun2]

20 minutes ago, Steph and Dud B said:

What I'd really like to know is, has anyone experienced plumbing damage in their Ollie from freezing, what was damaged, and under what conditions did it happen? In other words, what are the real world limits to what our Ollies can take?

The city water intake anti-syphon valve froze/cracked.

This was my fault in that I didn't hand-pump antifreeze into this area when I winterized.  Remember that old saying of not letting yourself be interrupted in the middle a chore such as this?  While it is a bit unusual for this area of the country (Western North Carolina in the mountains) it is not unheard of for the temps to get to the single digits and I'm sure that winter we had a couple of days with temps in that range.😥

Bill 

[topgun2]

LoriL - 

Great for you guys and for your Oliver!  Glad to hear that it was a good time and that Oliver Service helped you when needed.  THAT sure is one heck of a campsite.

I'm guessing that you didn't have much (as in none) of a problem with bugs - mosquitos have always been a big problem for me in that area 😬.

Great pics too!  Thanks for sharing.

Bill

[Mike and Carol]

Great pics!  Looks like it was a great trip.

[ItsPTL]

23 hours ago, Steph and Dud B said:

I think most of us are very conservative about exposing our plumbing to cold temperatures. Personally, I'd be at DEFCON 2 if I saw 33 degrees near a water line. However, hitting 32 isn't necessarily going to mean damage. The compartment might be 32 but the water in the lines is still 35. The water may have room to expand by draining into a tank. PEX plumbing is more tolerant of freezing than PVC. I imagine there's some wiggle room.

What I'd really like to know is, has anyone experienced plumbing damage in their Ollie from freezing, what was damaged, and under what conditions did it happen? In other words, what are the real world limits to what our Ollies can take? Not that I'd want to go there...

 

 

Certainly, being out in the wilderness, especially during below freezing temps, is risky.  But, our trip was awesome and the Oliver really came through for us!

[ItsPTL]

23 hours ago, topgun2 said:

LoriL - 

Great for you guys and for your Oliver!  Glad to hear that it was a good time and that Oliver Service helped you when needed.  THAT sure is one heck of a campsite.

I'm guessing that you didn't have much (as in none) of a problem with bugs - mosquitos have always been a big problem for me in that area 😬.

Great pics too!  Thanks for sharing.

Bill

No problems with bugs at these temps.  Last year, during the early October bow season, my two sons hunted and tent camped the same area.  Again, no bugs but when they returned to their tent following a day of hunting, the tent had been torn down by a bear.  Needles to say, their hunt was cut short as they quickly packed up and skedaddled back to their truck.  They were much more comfortable this year, camping with me in our new Oliver...my days of tent camping, during any season, are over now that we have the Oliver!

[John and Debbie]

23 hours ago, topgun2 said:

LoriL - 

Great for you guys and for your Oliver!  Glad to hear that it was a good time and that Oliver Service helped you when needed.  THAT sure is one heck of a campsite.

I'm guessing that you didn't have much (as in none) of a problem with bugs - mosquitos have always been a big problem for me in that area 😬.

Great pics too!  Thanks for sharing.

Bill

"I'm guessing that you didn't have much (as in none) of a problem with bugs - mosquitos have always been a big problem for me in that area 😬."

Easy to spot the mosquitoes at that time of the year with their parkas on.  They fly slower too.  Great time to camp.  😂

[Steph and Dud B]

Just added Reflectix to my basement and outside shower doors. Battery door next.

[topgun2]

10 minutes ago, Steph and Dud B said:

Just added Reflectix to my basement and outside shower doors. Battery door next.

While you're at it and if you have any material left over - simply go under the dinette and/or beds and place another layer over the water heater (assuming the Suburban), and then any other area that you can reach.  Also, while you're in the basement, a layer on that little "wall" between the basement and the interior where the backside of the shower is located could use some.

Bill

[topgun2]

Not a great pic but this is that "wall" covered.

 

[Steph and Dud B]

5 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

While you're at it and if you have any material left over

Do you have stock in Reflectix? 😁 JK, good ideas, thanks!

[topgun2]

Just now, Steph and Dud B said:

Do you have stock in Reflectix?

No and there is reasonably little "R" value in layers of Reflectix.  But, where insulation is already thin or where it adds another layer of "dead" air space then - why not.

Bill

[John and Debbie]

2 hours ago, Steph and Dud B said:

Just added Reflectix to my basement and outside shower doors. Battery door next.

How was it attached?  Looks like a great job!