Everything you need to know when living in a camper in freezing temperatures

This weeks adventures have inspired me to give you a full list of absolutely everything you need to know about living in a camper while torturing yourself in freezing cold temperatures.

If you’ve been doing your research and have happened upon this post I am assuming you are embarking on the wonderful adventure that is camper life.

It’s never too late to turn back..

No seriously, you don’t have to do this…

Not giving up? Ok, I respect that. Please keep in mind that I am from Florida, so anything below 50 is freezing to me so these tips might not work in anything below 0, but it will definitely help prevent a travesty.

First things first, try and consider going somewhere else, maybe hitting these cold places in the summer months instead of winter months. If there is absolutely no changing your mind and you are set on going to Asheville, North Carolina for the dead of winter, keep reading.

The most important thing is to make sure you have all of this supplies ahead of time, don’t wait until your holding tank freezes and you’re toilet-less in 9 degree weather.

You will need a heated water hose. It is a blue hose that plugs up, which leads me to an outdoor extension cord, never leave on a camper adventure without it.

The heated water hose can be bought on Amazon or at any Camping World. They run about $100 but you can’t put a price on water.

When temperatures drop below 30, your water hose will freeze. The heated hose has a little temperature detector and keeps the hose warm so water doesn’t freeze leaving you with a useless hose filled with ice.

Here’s the trick, if your camp ground uses a spigot (which it most likely will) the spigot will freeze. The heated water hose does not help with this. I’ll give you three actions, you can choose.

Cover the spigot with a box. This is what I do because I was not prepared. If you cover the spigot up it protects it from the wind which is usually the reason it freezes in the first place. This isn’t the most reliable but it does help.
Use slit insulation around the spigot. Sometimes your heated hose will come with these foam tubes with slits in the side (hence the name slit insulation) it will wrap around the spigot, this will keep it warm and protect it from the freezing rain or wind. I would still cover it up with something.
Heated tape. Now this is pretty extreme and really only necessary if you are going to be living for an extended period of time in these tundra-like conditions. It is kinda like electrical tape except it plugs in and keeps the spigot heated. The problem with this is you need to have enough plugs outside to keep everything hooked up which is kinda annoying but this is the most effective and reliable. Unless you lose power then you should give up and go to a hotel.

I still would cover up the spigot with a box or something. I know I’m attached to that but it has worked for me thus far.

If the temperatures are dropping under 30 for a couple hours, or over night, I suggest leaving a faucet dripping a little. This will pull water into the camper so the lines won’t freeze. Here’s the kicker, if it is supposed to stay in the 20s or lower all day for multiple days DO NOT DO THIS. If you leave the faucet trickling it will freeze when it hits the shit pipe (I really don’t know what its actually called, its the scrunchy cord that hooks up to your outbound pipes and the into the hole in the ground, the shit pipe). Anyway, it will freeze before it can get into the ground and then before you know it there is a giant block of ice in your shit pipe. It will then back up into your pipes and nothing will drain and you’ll be screwed and you should give up and go to a hotel.

I would highly suggest ordering a tank heater. It is a patch that slaps to the bottom of your holding tank and is wired into your camper. It will keep the tank as warm as possible in these temperatures.

Let’s say you have all this stuff and you are totally ready. Here is what you need to do.

Every morning you need to check the temperatures for the night time. If you find yourself in an icy dilemma follow these steps.

Wash all your dishes (in case you lose water you aren’t like me with a sink full of dishes waiting for things to thaw out)
EMPTY YOUR HOLDING TANKS. If temperatures are dropping below 10 buy a few gallons of water and empty your fresh water tank as well. If you don’t they will freeze and you will be screwed and you need to give up and go to a hotel.
Open all your cabinets that are hiding pipes. If you open them up the heat will get to them and they will not freeze, or at least they won’t freeze as fast.
Go outside and check your spigot, make sure it is covered, warm and happy.
If you have a water pump, turn it off. If it freezes it will break and you’ll have to pay beaucoup bucks and you’ll be screwed and have to give up and go to a hotel.
Over prepare. Buy water, food, pretend the world is ending and you’ll have to survive in your camper for a month. Ok, thats being dramatic but at least get water.

These are not scientific ways to prevent yourself from becoming human popsicle or turning your pretty camper into a glorified tent but they are ways to help. If your camper hasn’t been sufficiently winterized really consider what you are doing. The experience of living in an un-wintereized camper in winter is one of the hardest things I have ever done and I can’t stress all these points enough. Every morning I wake up and I wonder if everything is working or if I’m going to have to sit outside in the snow with a blowdryer until something thaws. But if you follow all of these helpful hints you should be fine! And I wish you the best of luck!