RVs, Vans and Campers for Skiers

[gorgonzola]

Towing in winter, even a properly prepared 4 season trailer can be an adventure. When we left the Finger Lakes, the temps were in the upper 40s and sunny, but as we went south and west it got colder with every stop. First couple of days in Natural Bridge, VA saw temps down to 20 and light snow. Then in Cumberland Gap, TN, there was 6 inches of slushy wet snow. A few days later at Mammoth Cave, KY was the deep freeze: temps down to -5 F and a solid 6 inches of crusted over snow at the campsite. Our plans to go down the Natchez Trace Parkway were destroyed by ice and snow on the Trace, downed trees and ice, and more freezing temps. So we cut across Arkansas on the interstate and saw more snow in Little Rock. We tried to not tow when it was actually snowing, and were for the most part successful until Colorado. Most crazy: By the time we got to San Padre Island, temps were above freezing, but Texans were still panicked. Except for one night when I forgot to open the valve to the reserve propane tank, everything went well. That night we woke up to 20F in the trailer. Things were nice and warm in an hour after I opened the gas valve. And we saw lots of lake effect snow again on the way home in Ohio and NY.

The trailer is a Grand Design 18 footer that was sold as four season prepped. It came with good insulation in the walls, floor and ceiling, underbelly heating provided by ducts from the furnace, and twin oversized 30 gallon propane tanks. I added 12 volt heaters for the fresh, gray and black water tanks, (these can run when being towed) and a 120 volt 1,500 watt electric heater to the a/c unit. When temperatures are below freezing, and the plumbing in the trailer is not prepped for winter storage (cause you are using it!), you need to keep the 12 volt tank heaters on and run the furnace on low, when running down the road. You top off the propane at every campsite. And when we are hooked up to electric, we use the electric heater as well as the furnace, to save on propane.

We are planning on a similar trip starting in March this year.

That's awesome, we just bought a "4 season" trailer with the ultimate goal of some similar trips. The purchase was moved up a bit based on our recent grand canyon trip. Waking up to dripping condensation on the underside of the canvas wings on our hybrid during a little overnight snowstorm was not particularly enjoyable

 

[DHA]

That's awesome, we just bought a "4 season" trailer with the ultimate goal of some similar trips. The purchase was moved up a bit based on our recent grand canyon trip. Waking up to dripping condensation on the underside of the canvas wings on our hybrid during a little overnight snowstorm was not particularly enjoyable

Before you go test out everything locally, in below freezing weather. 4 seasons means different things to different builders. Like... we found that if we used the shower the trap could freeze. So I pour RV antifreeze down the shower drain on the coldest nights. My pre delivery walk thru found that the hot water heater supply hose was kinked and the underbelly duct was flopping around under the fridge. It was heating the wrong thing: the fridge, not the underbelly. The words quality and RV do not belong together.

 

[DHA]

To follow up on my RV quality comment. Testing out a new RV before a big trip is a serious matter. The quality of RVs (of any kind) built in the last 10 years makes the worst cars ever built look like marvels of quality and efficiency. RV built since the Great Recession of 2008-10 have less quality than any 1970/80s Yugo, Fiat, Triumph, Vega, or Pinto ever made.

If you look at the monthly recall list put out by the USDOT, you'd think that the RV industry made 20 times as many vehicles, based on number of recalls by manufacturer alone. And it's gotten worse with Covid. Demand for new RVs, already rising after tons of companies went out of business 10 years before, has skyrocketed since 2020. RV manufacturing has failed to keep up with demand and quality as gotten worse as they try.

RV dealers and customers deal with waiting months for parts, RV's are returned a week after sale because of recalls, parts missing, axle failures, stove failures, inside walls buckling, roof leaks, window leaks, plumbing leaks. You name it, its not working on delivery. This fall our next door neighbor at an RV park on Cape Cod were on their shakedown trip. When I asked him why one of the rims was painted (the rest were chrome), he groaned and added it to the list of "issues". This was a $250,000 diesel pusher made by a famous manufacturer known for being the best quality.

If buying, get a pre-delivery inspection from a third party. This may cost you a few hundred bucks. But do it anyway. Also the one year new RV warranty won't keep the thing out of the shop for weeks and weeks if there is a problem and the part is missing. Don't close the deal until the problems found by the PDI are corrected. Once the dealer has the bank check cashed, it's your problem, even if it sits in the dealer lot for warranty repairs.

 

[Ripitz]

The rig I pulled out west was a 34‘ Holiday Rambler from the seventies. Not sure what year because we fished it out of the scrap yard and couldn’t find a stamp anywhere on the frame. Found an old registration from my grandpa’s long lost trailer and slapped some plates on it. Spent about $6,000 but that included the Chevy one ton pickup to pull it. New hitch with equalizer and sway bars, twin 30 gallon propane tanks, new floor, tires and repacked the hubs. My friend who owned an auto body shop said if we got pulled over the cops would tear apart the thing looking for drugs because we were young and it still had the junkyard look. We pulled it into his shop and shot a new paint job on it. Ended up looking brand new. Since we were going to Montana for the winter we abandoned the idea of using water and hookups. Used jugs and a generator instead. Bathroom was outside or reststops. We cut out foam insulation board to cover the windows. One thing we learned while on the road was to take everything out of the cabinets or anything else up high and put it on the floor because that’s were it would end up anyway. Lots of white knuckle driving pulling across the plains. Things get real when you‘re coming over the Bighorns in a snowstorm and no one is around. The wind is a bitch when you’re 54’ long. Between Billings and Livingston the wind blows so hard it has blown trains off their tracks. The wind socks were sticking straight out. Had the truck floored with the trailer brakes on to keep it straight. Shat my pants the whole way until we saw Lone Peak. Made it to the promise land.

 

[jasonwx]

I say all this with peace and love
Wouldn’t it be easier and maybe cheaper.
To buy a nice Lexus suv and travel the country staying in luxury hotels and and Airbnb.
I Airbnb a stunning 3 bed house in Bozeman for 350/ night
Just saying

 

[Ripitz]

I say all this with peace and love
Wouldn’t it be easier and maybe cheaper.
To buy a nice Lexus suv and travel the country staying in luxury hotels and and Airbnb.
I Airbnb a stunning 3 bed house in Bozeman for 350/ night
Just saying

Airbnb may be a good option for short trips but it’s harder for longer ones. RVs and trailers are good for getting into rural areas like National Parks and National Forests. When I went we travelled to over 25 parks and lived in it for 2 1/2 years. When I was done I gave it to a friend who did the same.

 

[raisingarizona]

I say all this with peace and love
Wouldn’t it be easier and maybe cheaper.
To buy a nice Lexus suv and travel the country staying in luxury hotels and and Airbnb.
I Airbnb a stunning 3 bed house in Bozeman for 350/ night
Just saying

350 a night?!? That’s way beyond my budget.

 

[jasonwx]

350 a night?!? That’s way beyond my budget.

4 people
Cory richard’s house f’n spectacular
Just making a point
To owning 250 k of depreciating asset.
It’s all good

 

[Ripitz]

Dang
You've done some shit in your time
Sounds like a good story to me --- juss sayin

Thanks Camp, I’d like to think I’m just getting going. This is my next project. A diamond in the rough from 1947.

Might have to start a House on Wheels thread.

 

[Campgottagopee]

Nice find! How available are parts for that ol gal