Travelling in the cold (1 Viewer)

Badboo

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We are hoping to travel to Salzberg over Christmas. However I'm a little concerned about using the motorhome in freezing temperatures.
Can anyone detail what precautions we should take in these conditions.eg does the heater need to be running all the time, even if we are off sightseeing during the day?
Thanks in advance.
 
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Badboo

Badboo

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Hi there...

What motorhome do you have?

Is it "winterised"?


JJ :cool:
Thank you
We have a McLouis MC2.
It's currently winterised in that we've drained all the water from the grey water and heater. We've left all the outlets open with the taps open midway between hot and cold.

What I'm not sure about is actually using it during cold weather.

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Thank you
We have a McLouis MC2.
It's currently winterised in that we've drained all the water from the grey water and heater. We've left all the outlets open with the taps open midway between hot and cold.

What I'm not sure about is actually using it during cold weather.
There are many who use them for skiing so low temperatures are not a problem if they are properly winterized. Having said that I once had an internal water tank crack through cold but it was an early method of protection......
 
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Badboo

Badboo

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There are many who use them for skiing so low temperatures are not a problem if they are properly winterized....

In my last response I said that the motorhome was winterised thinking that meant the preparation process for storing the motorhome during cold temperatures. After investigating some more posts in the forum I Can see that I misunderstood. What is required to winterise a motorhome?
 
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JJ

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By "winterised" I meant is it built by the manufacturer to be used in the cold weather?

I believe some vans have a double floor where all the water pipes etc are routed so they are not exposed to the outside cold. And the tanks are inside to prevent from freezing, and so on.

If not thus equipped, I suppose it would then depend on how cold it gets... certainly I would leave the grey tank drain tap open even in use...

But the Skiing Funsters know much, much more about this stuff than me... I winter in my van... in the Algarve... if it drops below 20C there, we all get our woolies out...

JJ :cool:

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Badboo

Badboo

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By "winterised" I meant is it built by the manufacturer to be used in the cold weather?
I sent a message to McLouis asking if the motor home has been winterised. They replied confirming that all their vehicles are made to withstand low temperatures.

So if the motor home is good to go in the cold do we simply use everything as normal or can anyone recommend any precautions that we should take to ensure no damage?
 
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Vanman

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I sent a message to McLouis asking if the motor home has been winterised. They replied confirming that all their vehicles are made to withstand low temperatures.

So if the motor home is good to go in the cold do we simply use everything as normal or can anyone recommend any precautions that we should take to ensure no damage?

Hi @Badboo If only it were that simple ... there is an EU test where the MH has to recover to a certain temperature within a set amount of time, but not many manufacturers subscribe to it. Many heat the waste tank and lag the pipes, it's an optional addition to many new vans.

Anyway there are a lot of threads over the last couple of months about what to do to stop condensation, freezing and mice! Draining the boiler seems to be the biggy, if the water freezes is there then it's basically a new boiler in most instances. The search box is your friend ;)
 
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adonisito

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I keep the heating on low overnight, if we're out during the day we generally switch it off, but are rarely away for more than a couple of hours. Make sure you have 2 gas bottles, so if one goes you can use the other and find a refill. Also keep the leisure batteries topped up, they drive the fan for heating and if it's on 24/7 ,as can be the case, they soon get depleted off grid. We'll be in Alsace and Germany over Christmas and New Year, but will have hook up for 3 days at least. Oh, and keep topped up with water, plenty of aires have the supply switched off at this time of year.

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Badboo

Badboo

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Anyway thereDraining the boiler seems to be the biggy, if the water freezes is there then it's basically a new boiler in most instances. The search box is your friend ;)

Thank you. I did try searching but will try again. Can I just confirm are you saying that u need to drain the boiler even when we're on the road?
 
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adonisito

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No, you don't need to drain the boiler on the road. You only drain it when it is unused and stood on the drive while you wait to go away again. The heat will be retained from the previous overnight stop, where presumably you will have had the heating on.
 
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TerryL

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@Badboo seems there's a bit of confusion over what you're asking - you're not asking about storage during cold weather are you.

Use your van normally and the simple practice of every day usage will likely be enough protection. But be aware that when the temperature drops to freezing you are going to have to watch out for any external pipes freezing, which they will do even if you are on the road. An obvious example is the grey waste; many leave the waste tap open with a bucket underneath - it's easier to empty a frozen bucket than unfreeze the pipe. Your fresh water tank is unlikely to freeze as long as it's kept reasonably full (latent heat) unless it gets well below freezing, in which case you'll probably be struggling to keep warm anyway. The best way of preventing the boiler freezing is to keep the water warm - you don't have to have it on all the time but it only holds about 11 litres so can get cold quite quickly. And no you don't have to drain it when you're on the road.

Thinking about the electricals, batterys don't like cold weather and will be less efficient when the temperature is very low. Make sure all your batteries are in good condition - I've just changed my car battery when, after no warning at all, it gave up in the first serious frost of the winter (the guy at Halfords was very busy changing batteries!)

McLouis are a continental van and manufacturers are not known for taking much attention to "winterising" their products, so unless a previous owner has taken steps I would think you're just going to have to take these simple precautions. You can get proper insulation fitted at a cost, CAK Tanks I believe do it. If you've got the spare battery capacity tank heaters are an inexpensive option.

Hope that clarifies matters a bit.

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I saw a few people lately with buckets under there vans and Motorhome and just thought maybe they did not have a built it waste tank. Makes sense with the weather now to just instantly drain.

We're probably going to Courshaval skiing in Jan/Feb 2018 so I'll aim for get it fully winterised by then. Would be good to start a dedicated thread to in and post pictures and tips to help others.

Our Grey waste would be the initial focus for us as that's on the lower rear of the chassis exposed. Thinking an internal heating element linked to the Frost Protect button on the internal control panel and maybe have the tank wrapped in a blanket or sorts like the external window cover materials. That then leaves the drain pipe to protect. I assume a decent cloth wrap would help to a certain point but even that would end up super chilled eventually. Could just remove it and drain straight from the tank if that's internaly heated it could be ok to use that point.

Food for thought as they say
 
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Minxy

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Where is your fresh water tank?
 
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Minxy

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It's inside the Motorhome under the sofa that's on the left nearside of the vehicle. Only issue really should be the pipes or grey waste.

It's a Swift Escape 696
In which case don't worry about anything whilst you're using it, just have the heating on (which you will anyway) and that will keep the water in the heater hot (assuming it's a combi boiler) so it doesn't freeze, the fresh water tank will be kept warm from the internal heat and the waste tank, so long as its tap is left open won't freeze up ... the bucket under it might though.
 
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two

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I keep the heating going 24x7. I adjust the temperature according to requirements: 12° overnight, 22° when occupied, somewhere in-between when out. I want to come back to a warmish vehicle and not one that's going to take an age to warm up again. Keep an eye on the gas, though, this is no time to be caught out!
 
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Badboo

Badboo

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@Badboo seems there's a bit of confusion over what you're asking - you're not asking about storage during cold weather are you.

Use your van normally and the simple practice of every day usage will likely be enough protection. But be aware that when the temperature drops to freezing you are going to have to watch out for any external pipes freezing, which they will do even if you are on the road. An obvious example is the grey waste; many leave the waste tap open with a bucket underneath - it's easier to empty a frozen bucket than unfreeze the pipe. Your fresh water tank is unlikely to freeze as long as it's kept reasonably full (latent heat) unless it gets well below freezing, in which case you'll probably be struggling to keep warm anyway. The best way of preventing the boiler freezing is to keep the water warm - you don't have to have it on all the time but it only holds about 11 litres so can get cold quite quickly. And no you don't have to drain it when you're on the road.

Thinking about the electricals, batterys don't like cold weather and will be less efficient when the temperature is very low. Make sure all your batteries are in good condition - I've just changed my car battery when, after no warning at all, it gave up in the first serious frost of the winter (the guy at Halfords was very busy changing batteries!)

McLouis are a continental van and manufacturers are not known for taking much attention to "winterising" their products, so unless a previous owner has taken steps I would think you're just going to have to take these simple precautions. You can get proper insulation fitted at a cost, CAK Tanks I believe do it. If you've got the spare battery capacity tank heaters are an inexpensive option.

Hope that clarifies matters a bit.

Thank you!! Your response was really helpful. One further question though. Does the engine of the vehicle need specil consideration eg Do I need to add anti freeze?

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TerryL

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Thank you!! Your response was really helpful. One further question though. Does the engine of the vehicle need specil consideration eg Do I need to add anti freeze?

If your vehicle has been properly serviced you shouldn't need worry about antifreeze - it should already have the manufacturers coolant which is good down to, I think, -25 degC. If you're concerned about it many motor factors, e.g. Halfords, will carry out a winter check for you - it's quick and easy (that's why many places do it for free.....)

You will need to ensure your windscreen washer fluid has sufficient additive; this time of year 50% strength is advised. Again a winter check will reveal all. (Don't put antifreeze in your washer bottle, it'll take all your bonnet paint off!)
 
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Winter driving to Saltzburg will challenge your van if not fully prepped.
Motorhomeski web site has some good points.

I've skied last 5 years and will be leaving Jan for 6 weeks to Austria.

A few points:
You will need SNOW tyres for Austria - legal requirement
UK gas cylinders can't be exchanged in Europe - I've now fitted gaslow
Austria charges by the unit electricity - pre gaslow my weekly leccy Bill was close to €100.
Temperatures can easily drop below -20'c - check your water tank is within a second floor and/or heated.

On the positive side, roads and campsites are fully used to winter conditions and life does not stop at the first flake as it does in UK.
We LOVE taking the truck to the mountains - the camp sites are so much more peaceful than the resorts, you are not force fed as in a chalet and eventually it is cheaper.
Many Austrian sites have SUPERB wellness centres and restaurants.

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955matt

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Winter tyres are a must, we got stopped last year in france and the police inspected the tyres and turned everyone away from the mountain road who didnt have them and snow chains !!!

Winter tyres make a massive difference .

We also take an oil filled radiator to plug in and keep on 24/7 if on hook up.

Our last van was winterized so they said with an internal fresh water tank but the internal pipes froze where they ran very close to the outer walls of the van !!!!

This year we have a double floor , heated floor , Alde heating and heat exchanger ( in other words a new properly winterized van ( I Hope )

Matt
 
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Badboo

Badboo

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This our first!!
Our last van was winterized so they said with an internal fresh water tank but the internal pipes froze where they ran very close to the outer walls of the van !!!!

Yes the manual for our MH states that "Äll our models are insulated against the cold or located inside the double floor". However as mentioned in a previous post McLouis don't seem to have a great reputation for this particular aspect of the motorhome build.....and we didn't ask so our bad!!

Sort of on the same subject do we need to take any precautions if re filling the empty tanks/boilers if the temperature is below freezing?

This year we have a double floor , heated floor , Alde heating and heat exchanger ( in other words a new properly winterized van ( I Hope )

Looks like I started asking these questions a bit late in the season.
 
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TerryL

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Sort of on the same subject do we need to take any precautions if re filling the empty tanks/boilers if the temperature is below freezing?

Your boiler tops itself up from the freshwater tank when your water pump operates so provided you're not already frozen up, no problem. If you're starting from empty, make sure the automatic frost protector drain is closed. As long as you can find a water tap that works, don't see why you should have any problems refilling.

Looks like I started asking these questions a bit late in the season.

Maybe but don't worry about it, hopefully others may find the info useful too. There's no such thing as a stupid question.

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DanielFord

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The one that lot's of people forget about is if you have a separate flush tank for the loo, you need to drain that or protect it. I put winter screen wash in ours to stop it freezing, but there are many other products you can use.

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955matt

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Don't worry about it you will be fine, the first time we went skiing in our first van a 2003 CI the bedding froze to the walls over night
 
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DanielFord

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Thank you. Can I just confirm is this for when in storage?
Yes, when you aren't using it. The ambient temperature inside should keep the flush tank warm when you are in it and the heating is on. Remember this is only for a separate flush tank. :D
 
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