Ice, Ice, Baby 2025

[Trail Talk]

We had an adventure just finding the site of old Fort Franklin which involved chatting with several bystanders and appreciating many funny stories about outsiders 🤭.



There were several layers of occupation, Franklin took over an abandoned Northwest Company post, but nothing remains above ground. The site was marked in the 1980s with a large cross, situated opposite the Grey Goose Inn.



After fueling ourselves (coffee at the Grey Goose) and the truck (87 octane at the tank farm) we headed southwards and many hours later found our boondocking site at a pullover with excellent views.



Today we officially exited the winter road at Wrigley, although there remained another ice crossing of the Mackenzie before arriving at Fort Simpson. Groceries, gas, and a shower at the Rec Centre were our immediate priorities but now we are cozy in our camp spot and planning our route home via the Liard Highway.

 

[Trail Talk]

Arrived in BC following the Liard Trail and one last ice crossing of the Liard River. This section eventually connects with the Alaska Hwy near Ft Nelson. It is a splendid gravel road, little travelled.



Now that we are off the winter roads and ice crossings, perhaps we could have pushed our trip a week later. Tundra sections are already becoming muddy, however, and the Ft Chipewyan section we started on will be closing in a few days. We enjoyed crisp cold temps and blazing blue skies for the most part, so totally satisfied with our timing.

 

[Trail Talk]

Slowly cleaning up after the trip. I should have paid attention at Ft. Simpson when a trucker was banging off the snow and mud from his chassis while it was warm out, but lesson learned. Here are the mileage results.
Total travelled: 4,952 km
Seasonal winter roads: 1,517 km (includes 1,240 km of new winter roads travelled)

Mechanically, all was well. We continue to be impressed with this truck/camper combination. Our newly installed warmers for the house batteries did a great job. I will stop using a space heater while the unit is parked during colder months and simply rely on this set-up.

The Webasto ThermoTop C can really put out the heat but has become very noisy and a recent service didn't help. Will discuss something with OEV, perhaps rubber isolation mounts. I've received word that our newly fabricated fuel locker is ready so we'll be returning to the mother factory soon. I'm hoping this will eliminate the nasty job of handling fuel cans which become very grimy and risk introducing dirt into the tank while refuelling. Some extra storage is a bonus.



Another winter problem is condensation which freezes on our large Bomar roof hatch overnight and slowly melts during the day. There really isn't any way to prevent this without ventilating the interior to the point of freezing our a**es, so we just soak it up with towels. It did make us wonder, though, about those units with roof hatches positioned over the forward sleeping area?

 

[SootyCamper]

I wonder if the condensation is enough of a problem for you to consider this: Aerogel blanket type insulation, its completely hydrophobic and could help reduce alot of the thermal bridging around the rim. Typically it comes in 5 or 10MM rolls. We use it in our Oil&Gas plant to insulate our water lines between pump stations and its truly a miracle material.

My "Arctic" Tern products did the exact same thing, the worst was one morning after a pretty windy cold night I couldnt get the EuroDoor open because of the frost buildup. I had to use my emergency Buddy heater as a heat gun around the latch to get door open. Also on the Euro door the window is inset and there isn't really a way to completely wipe all the melted condensation up so I'm 99% sure there would be mould within the door at some point. I've ordered windows and entry door from MotorCraft(UK) for my upcoming build. I'm praying the FRP frames will eliminate the issue all together.

As always I thoroughly enjoy your trip reports. Winter overland is the best!

 

[Trail Talk]

Aerogel blanket type insulation

MotorCraft(UK) for my upcoming build

Winter overland is the best!

I've been following Aerogel in clothing for years but the downside in that application is that it doesn't breathe at all. I wonder if its a bit fragile for a camper. Are you planning on using it and can you point me to a source for the blanket Aerogel?

Thanks for the tip re MotorCraft, will add them to the list if (more like when) we decide to replace the Tern. One concern I have with the HD euro doors/windows and their double pane glass is weight, I'm only a 1 ton!

Ice Ice, Baby

 

[Victorian]

I wonder if the condensation is enough of a problem for you to consider this: Aerogel blanket type insulation, its completely hydrophobic and could help reduce alot of the thermal bridging around the rim. Typically it comes in 5 or 10MM rolls. We use it in our Oil&Gas plant to insulate our water lines between pump stations and its truly a miracle material.

My "Arctic" Tern products did the exact same thing, the worst was one morning after a pretty windy cold night I couldnt get the EuroDoor open because of the frost buildup. I had to use my emergency Buddy heater as a heat gun around the latch to get door open. Also on the Euro door the window is inset and there isn't really a way to completely wipe all the melted condensation up so I'm 99% sure there would be mould within the door at some point. I've ordered windows and entry door from MotorCraft(UK) for my upcoming build. I'm praying the FRP frames will eliminate the issue all together.

As always I thoroughly enjoy your trip reports. Winter overland is the best!

we just started getting used to the euro door in our top kick camper after 5 years with one of our own composite entry doors. I have to fully agree with you about the condensation and ice with the Eurodoor. is it perfect? No . But compare to any other regular rv door it’s amazing. Price is also a couple thousand$ less than an outbound or motorcraft door. Another brand for you to consider is wild bird out of Holland. I checked them out last summer in Germany and they look pretty good.
bottomline: some of us have higher expectations and use our camper more extreme than others and therefore always looking for better equipment 😁

 

[Victorian]

I've been following Aerogel in clothing for years but the downside in that application is that it doesn't breathe at all. I wonder if its a bit fragile for a camper. Are you planning on using it and can you point me to a source for the blanket Aerogel?

Thanks for the tip re MotorCraft, will add them to the list if (more like when) we decide to replace the Tern. One concern I have with the HD euro doors/windows and their double pane glass is weight, I'm only a 1 ton!

Ice Ice, Baby

I would never want a fan or skylight above the bed. It sure sounds romantic etc but your post just reminded me why it’s a not the greatest places.
have you tried an insulated cover to isolated it from the interior?

 

[Trail Talk]

have you tried an insulated cover to isolated it from the interior?

I didn't know exterior insulated hatch covers were a thing! Can you point me in the right direction?

 

[Victorian]

I didn't know exterior insulated hatch covers were a thing! Can you point me in the right direction?

Interior... Sorry for the confusion! Key point would be a tight fit to avoid any air circulation between the interior and the skylight.

 

[Trail Talk]

Interior... Sorry for the confusion! Key point would be a tight fit to avoid any air circulation between the interior and the skylight.

Agreed, just not achievable with anything involving fabric. The roller shade that covers this hatch has no effect on frost build-up.

 

[Trail Talk]

I've received word that our newly fabricated fuel locker is ready so we'll be returning to the mother factory soon. I'm hoping this will eliminate the nasty job of handling fuel cans which become very grimy and risk introducing dirt into the tank while refuelling. Some extra storage is a bonus.

Received this teaser photo, going to pick-up tomorrow.

 

[NOPEC]

Slowly cleaning up after the trip. I should have paid attention at Ft. Simpson when a trucker was banging off the snow and mud from his chassis while it was warm out, but lesson learned. Here are the mileage results.
Total travelled: 4,952 km
Seasonal winter roads: 1,517 km (includes 1,240 km of new winter roads travelled)

Mechanically, all was well. We continue to be impressed with this truck/camper combination. Our newly installed warmers for the house batteries did a great job. I will stop using a space heater while the unit is parked during colder months and simply rely on this set-up.

The Webasto ThermoTop C can really put out the heat but has become very noisy and a recent service didn't help. Will discuss something with OEV, perhaps rubber isolation mounts. I've received word that our newly fabricated fuel locker is ready so we'll be returning to the mother factory soon. I'm hoping this will eliminate the nasty job of handling fuel cans which become very grimy and risk introducing dirt into the tank while refuelling. Some extra storage is a bonus.

View attachment 874934

Another winter problem is condensation which freezes on our large Bomar roof hatch overnight and slowly melts during the day. There really isn't any way to prevent this without ventilating the interior to the point of freezing our a**es, so we just soak it up with towels. It did make us wonder, though, about those units with roof hatches positioned over the forward sleeping area?

Same problem with us and interior condensation, just a different location at the back door. The aluminium extrustions on both the door and door frame, go fully uninterupted from outside to inside, thus..... Working on an insulation fix now, a bit easier than yours with only stepped flat surfaces to work with.

We also have the same issue as Sootycamper with the aluminium in the Tern windows but short of a full coverage fitted "blanket" of some sort, a fix would not be that easy. Plus we rely heavily on our Tern windows for ventilation so for now,
soaking up with towels is our answer as well. There is so much good about these windows that we are happy to put up with a little condensation.....

 

[simple]

Slowly cleaning up after the trip. I should have paid attention at Ft. Simpson when a trucker was banging off the snow and mud from his chassis while it was warm out, but lesson learned. Here are the mileage results.
Total travelled: 4,952 km
Seasonal winter roads: 1,517 km (includes 1,240 km of new winter roads travelled)

Mechanically, all was well. We continue to be impressed with this truck/camper combination. Our newly installed warmers for the house batteries did a great job. I will stop using a space heater while the unit is parked during colder months and simply rely on this set-up.

The Webasto ThermoTop C can really put out the heat but has become very noisy and a recent service didn't help. Will discuss something with OEV, perhaps rubber isolation mounts. I've received word that our newly fabricated fuel locker is ready so we'll be returning to the mother factory soon. I'm hoping this will eliminate the nasty job of handling fuel cans which become very grimy and risk introducing dirt into the tank while refuelling. Some extra storage is a bonus.

View attachment 874934

Another winter problem is condensation which freezes on our large Bomar roof hatch overnight and slowly melts during the day. There really isn't any way to prevent this without ventilating the interior to the point of freezing our a**es, so we just soak it up with towels. It did make us wonder, though, about those units with roof hatches positioned over the forward sleeping area?

could you make a tight fitting cover / plug out of high density foam board with a neoprene gasket? The neoprene would go all the way around the plug and make contact between it and the vertical wall of the hatch.