Winter Camping With AT Chaser

[Nuclear Redneck]

Anyone have any AT Chaser specific tips for winter camping?

I am concerned about the water tank freezing. I'm thanking that I can leave it about 2/3 full and if it freezes the expansion from the water shouldn't damage it. I spoke to Mario about it and his advice was to leave the handpump in the drain position.

I am expecting temps down to +10 F. I cold weather gear to be comfortable, I'll be able to survive down -10 F. But, I will also be heading for warmer climes if does get that cold.

I'm headed to Death Valley and then onto some of those great national parks in Utah.

Thanks,

 

[Willman]

Scott B. (ExpeditionsWest) would be your best guy to talk to.....he took his AT to the Arctic!

http://www.expeditionswest.com/arctic_ocean/index.htm

I would think other than water.......The trailer should be fine!!!!

I would buy some cheap water cans from wally world and leave your AT water at home.....

:jumping:

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I was with MadBaggins on his maiden voyage with his new Horizon Adventure trailer. We camped at 19 degrees with the water tank 85% full with zero issues. The tank didn’t seem close to freezing, poly is the way to go IMO.

Side Note: Along on the trip was a Campa USA trailer he didn’t fair as well with SS tanks.

 

[spressomon]

I camped a few weeks ago and the temp dropped to 13-degrees; no problem with the water freezing in the tank on my Horizon. Maybe it's the slight vacuum that keeps it from freezing? Every other water container was frozen!

 

[Martyn]

Not sure what the R value of Polyethylene is, but preventing the water from freezing may have something to do with those rare isotopes we have injected into the tanks during the roto-molding process. Did you notice that your water tank was glowing at night?

But really folks, the fact the water didn't freeze may be a result of a combination of the R value of the Polyethylene which is 3 or 4, the fact the tank sits on a felt layer and is not in contact with any metal surface. Plus the mass of water in the tank.

Luckily for us out West the night time temperatures can easily fall to 12' but they usually climb above freezing during the day and direct sunlight is almost always available. Prolonged sub freezing temperatures would eventually freeze the water solid.

 

[Willman]

You could get a little water heater if you are worried about it!!

A pet store would have one......a heater that keeps the horse or dog bowl from freezing.......hook it up to your battery and your set!!!

Just adding my 2 cents........

 

[Scott Brady]

My trailer was flawless all the way down to -50. No issues, even with the airbags. Oh, the little stick on lights fell off the metal

I would not recommend using the tank in those temps. With it being that cold, your water requirements will be limited (not likely taking showers, etc.)

I just use MSR Dromedary bags, which I leave in the floorboard of the vehicle.

I also like the idea of a very small resistance heater like for the dog bowls.

One of these would work nicely too (10 watt - 120v): http://www.aquatichouse.com/Pumps_files/heaters.asp

These too (40 watt - 12v):
http://www.hydrogenappliances.com/hotwater.html
I think this one would screw into the lower drain (1" NPT)

 

[flywgn]

You know, we were out with our Horizon last winter. Had no trouble with the water in the tank freezing. I dropped in a couple of gallons of Wild Turkey and that seemed to work. It also made "opening the bar" a lot easier. Diana even thought her morning hot chocolate was extra special. :wings:

Okay, I'll get serious—if I must. Our water system worked fine down to 05 deg.F, and that's better than we did. We did all right except on the first night we had frost inside the tent; then we figured out that we should keep the upper vents of the tent open. After that all was well.

Allen R

 

[OS-Aussie]

You could just stick on an RV tank heater which come in 12 and 110 or combo versions.

http://www.ultraheat.com/rv_products.html

 

[Nuclear Redneck]

I hadn't thought of using fish tank heaters. I did look for livestock heaters but dismissed them as being too big for my application.

Thanks for the tip on the tent vents. I sure don't want frost in the tent.

Appreciate the help.

Cheers,

 

[Willman]

Drill a hole on top of your tank and put that little heater in.......I'm sure that would do the trick!!!......or as Allen said.....little wild turkey and your set....

Problem solved!

:friday:

 

[MaddBaggins]

Camped out last weekend with the family and forgot to tell my wife about letting the faucet drain back. She got some water at night before bed and left the pump primed and it froze solid. Don't know what the temp was, but my guess was lower 20's.

SO, let the faucet drain back and you will be OK.

 

[jbs]

It got down to around 18F last week when we were near Flagstaff. We let the pump drain back, but it still froze. Worked fine in 2-3 hours after it thawed out. I like the heater idea.

broc

 

[alia176]

In my case, the tube from the tank to the fawcett froze so I gotta install a drain somewhere in the system and wrap the tube with some insulation!

I like the stick on tank heater since I'm not sure the wall thickness of my tank.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

any electric water heater, for what its worth, is very voltage intensive. Just my $.02...