Summer may be the most popular time for road trips, but that doesn’t mean you have to pack up your rig at the first sign of Jack Frost! Winter RV camping is a great way to experience a wide variety of outdoor activities. Whether you’re skiing, snowshoeing, or meandering around a winter wonderland, cup of cocoa in hand, winter is a special time to camp.
You may be wondering how to keep an RV warm in the winter, however. After all, even the best-made rigs on the market have significantly less insulation than a sticks-and-bricks home. On top of that, just like your foundation-built house, RVs have a variety of sensitive systems that can be damaged by freezing cold temperatures.
In this post, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about winter RV living, from keeping your rig warm and toasty while you’re inside to winterizing it for storage. Read on to unlock all the secrets you need to know to make winter RV journeys a pleasure!
Living Full Time in an RV in Winter
Winter RV living is all about one thing: preparation. Believe it or not, your RV hates being cold just as much as you do! Just kidding, but you will experience some big problems if you don’t keep it warm. Your RV’s pipes can burst just like the ones at home, and the cold weather is killer on your RV batteries.
Even though many four-season RVs come with thermal packages that include extra insulation, it’s still not enough for extreme cold-weather RVing in sub-zero temperatures. If you’re camping in extreme cold, put your RV in a skirt! Skirting the RV will keep the battery bays, plumbing, and other important components warm. If you don’t have a skirt, you can pack snow around the RV bays for insulation.
Check out our guide to RV skirting to learn about the different types of RV skirts and how to install them.
Another thing you’ll want to address in order to keep heat in your RV in winter? The windows. RV windows lose a ton of heat, no matter how insulated the manufacturer claims they are. There are several ways to insulate them, including using foam insulation boards, bubble insulation, or solar blankets.
For extra warmth, line your windows with heavy-weight thermal curtains. You may also want to go over your RV windows and doors with a layer of RV sealant or caulk to ensure they’re weather-tight. Double-check the weather stripping to ensure nothing needs to be replaced, and if you find cracked or damaged stripping, replace it!
Some of the most important (and vulnerable) machinery in your RV is deep in the underbelly: the pipes and batteries. While skirting can help, you’ll also want to wrap your pipes in heat tape and invest in a heated RV water hose. You don’t want your water line freezing if you’re hooked up to a city water connection.
If you don’t want to upgrade to a heated hose, you can also add insulation or tape to your existing water hose, or fill your onboard freshwater tank and use that as a water source instead. Whatever you do, don’t continue to use an unwrapped, summer water hose in sub-freezing temperatures. If your hose freezes and cracks, you could end up with a major mess on your hands, which is even less fun to clean up in the cold!
How to Keep a Camper Warm in the Winter
There’s one major area of confusion many campers face when RVing in the winter, and it’s all about the HVAC system. Many rigs have both a “heat pump” that’s built into the rooftop unit and an onboard furnace that uses propane. How do you know which one is appropriate to use?
The answer is simple: if it’s under 45 degrees (°F), you’ll want to switch to your RV’s furnace rather than the heat pump. Your HVAC system is only rated to warm the space down to a certain external temperature, and if you try to warm a freezing RV with the furnace unit alone, you risk burning it out entirely.
While your furnace does burn propane, it’s more efficient at warming a space quickly. If you’re planning on living full-time in an RV in winter, you need to ensure you’ve got plenty of propane on board! When you’re out of your rig for the day, be sure to leave the thermostat set to switch on your furnace if the RV reaches a certain temperature. It can be kept pretty cool if you don’t have pets waiting, but you don’t want it to freeze inside while you’re away.
Along with setting up RV skirting, wrapping your pipes in heat tape, and adding insulation, there’s another great way to keep your rig warm in the winter: invest in some small indoor space heaters! You can use electric or propane space heaters to supplement your RV’s furnace. They’re inexpensive and use relatively little amperage. They’re also a way better investment than having to replace your RV’s plumbing system after a freeze.
In order to ensure that your heaters offer as much protection as possible, you can keep your cabinet doors open to expose the pipes to the interior heat. This is especially helpful during those times when you’re outside of your rig, when the open doors won’t get in the way or disrupt your winter RV camping.
Winter RV Living Checklist
Can you live in a camper in the winter? Sure, but winter RV living can be challenging even under the best of circumstances, so you’ll want to be sure you add a few winter accessories to your packing list.
Along with all the stuff you normally pack for an RV trip, consider adding the following items to your kit:
- Heavy coats and other winter clothing
- Boots and heavy-duty winter shoes
- Heat tape, thermal curtains, and other items necessary for insulating your RV for winter living
- A freeze-proof heated water hose
- RV skirt
- Ice scraper
- RV antifreeze and engine antifreeze for either your tow vehicle or the motorhome’s engine
- Mini indoor space heaters, to keep the interior of your RV nice and toasty (and protect vulnerable plumbing and other systems)
- And of course, your favorite warm blanket, mugs for hot cocoa, and other cozy winter living items!
If you collect all of these things, we’d say the answer to, “Can you live in an RV in the winter?” is a much stronger YES!
What’s the Best RV for Winter Living?
Although many RVs are advertised as four-season or insulated, not all rigs are created equal when it comes to living in an RV for the winter. For instance, camping in a pop-up trailer in the snow is a recipe for frostbite… or at least a miserable night’s sleep.
The best RV for winter living is one that’s fully self-contained and as insulated as possible. You may even want some extra aftermarket insulation added. Large motorhomes and travel trailers may be constructed out of sturdier, more weather-proof materials, but a smaller travel trailer may be easier to heat since there’s less living space. For more, take a look at our guide to RV insulation.
Keep in mind that some travel trailers—particularly large, luxurious fifth wheels—offer fireplaces. These can be a welcome addition for those planning on extreme cold-weather traveling. And no matter which rig you go with, you’ll want to ensure it has an onboard furnace, since (as discussed above) the HVAC heat pump won’t cut it below freezing!
Tips and Tricks for Winter RV Living
We’ve clarified that it definitely is possible to live and even travel in an RV in winter. That said, there are more tips that can make winter RV living a little bit more enjoyable. Here are our best quick tips and tricks for winter RV camping.
Water Can Be Your Biggest Enemy
- Many RVers drain their freshwater tanks and water lines completely, winterize their RV, and go sans water for the season. That means bringing bottled water for brushing your teeth and doing the dishes in your winterized trailer.
- The bay that holds your tanks must always be kept above freezing. Mini space heaters are inexpensive and use very little amperage. Buy one and stick it in the bay.
- Use RV antifreeze in your plumbing and gray/black tanks. You can do this by flushing antifreeze down the toilets and pouring it into your drains. That said, you do not want to introduce RV antifreeze to your freshwater tank or water heater!
- If your RV doesn’t have tank heaters, buy some! They’re a godsend if you can spare the energy usage.
- If you do choose to use water hookups, make sure you insulate the pipes with heat tape. You’ll also need to insulate any connections and exposed piping.
- Never allow your black tank to freeze unless you want to deal with a disgusting mess. Use a PVC pipe for your sewer hose—it’ll have less chance of freezing than a regular hose. If you plan on leaving the tank hooked up, add a layer of insulation around the sewer pipe. However, it’s a good idea to keep your tank closed until it needs to be dumped.
- Don’t dump your holding tanks until they’re full (or almost full) in order to avoid having their contents freeze—ick! And don’t leave your black or gray water outlet ports open if you’re camping in a spot where you’re connected to the city sewer.
You Can Never Be Too Dry
Cold and wet is bad. Not just for you, but for your RV too. All that heat in one confined space can lead to humidity and condensation, which can cause mold in your walls. Use a dehumidifier when it starts to get stuffy or toss some dehumidifier pellets in the problem areas.
Vent covers are great for two things: They help prevent condensation, and they keep you warm. Lots of warm air escapes out the vents in your RV. A cover adds an extra layer of insulation. The best part is that you can still open the vents even if there’s snow on the roof!
How to Prepare a Winterized Trailer
Many people wonder, “Do I need to winterize my RV if I live in it?” Honestly, if you want to know how to winterize a camper to live in, the first trick is to not fully winterize it. Doing so makes it impossible to use your RV’s plumbing and water system. That said, if you’re going to put your RV into storage, winterizing is essential if your region falls below freezing.
Winterizing your RV’s plumbing system can be done in two ways. You can run RV antifreeze through the entirety of the plumbing system, which is safe since the RV-specific product is non-toxic. However, some campers say they can continue to taste the residue of the RV antifreeze for a long while after they get rid of it, and alcohol-based antifreeze can dry out and degrade your plumbing fittings over time.
If you do use RV antifreeze to winterize your RV system, be sure to bypass your RV’s hot water heater. And make sure you’re using the right stuff—regular engine antifreeze has NO place in RV plumbing!
The other winterizing option is a little bit less intrusive: it involves using compressed air to blow out your RV’s water lines and ensure they’re nice and dry. This will help you avoid any freeze damage. You’ll need to use an RV blow-out plug and be sure to check your owner’s manual to learn the correct pressure so as not to damage anything.
You will also need to drain your RV’s hot water heater, which may involve removing the anode rod. You’ll likely need a socket wrench, though the exact size will vary based on what kind of RV you have. As always, consult your manual for full details on RV winterizing.
Head South and Avoid the Cold
Clearly, it’s a lot of work to RV in winter weather, especially if you’re living in a camper in the winter! There is one way to avoid all of this work and continue to enjoy your RV throughout the winter months. How? By heading south, of course! Thousands of snowbirds do it every year, and there is absolutely no reason you can’t join them.
Whether you pack up the rig and leave for the entire winter or head down for occasional escapes from the cold, you’re sure to love getting some sunshine! The ease of camping in the warmer weather offered by southern destinations is incredibly appealing when you consider all of the work involved in cold-weather RVing.
Not sure where to go to escape the freezing temperatures and continue to enjoy warm weather camping in the winter months? Some of our favorite destinations include the following:
- South Padre Island, Texas
- Joshua Tree National Park
- San Diego, California
- Baja, Mexico
- Everglades National Park
- The Florida Keys
- Orlando, Florida
- Tucson, Arizona
- Phoenix, Arizona
Of course, these aren’t the only places that stay relatively warm all year long. You can find plenty of places to stay if these suggestions don’t interest you! If you plan to sit in one place all winter, make sure you choose a spot with plenty to see and do.
If you plan to head south for occasional trips, you’ll either want to leave your RV in the warmer location between trips or make a point of winterizing before you return to freezing temperatures in your home state.
So there you have it – everything you need to know about how to winterize a camper to live or travel in.
You’ll see some beautiful, unique sights during your winter RV trip. There’s nothing quite like being in the solitude of a winter campsite watching the snowfall blanket the land around you, or enjoying the southern warmth and sunshine while others are stuck in freezing weather. Whichever you choose, make sure you do what you need to in order to stay safe and warm during your winter adventure.
FAQs on How to Winterize a Travel Trailer
After learning all about how to winterize your travel trailer, you may have a few questions left about how to keep an RV warm in winter! Let’s see if we can answer them.
Do I need to winterize my RV if I live in it?
Yes, you will want to make sure your plumbing and other systems are protected from the cold if you’re living fulltime in an RV in winter. You’ll also want to make sure your RV is well-insulated, especially if you plan to stay in it. Winterizing an RV you plan to live in is different than winterizing an RV you’re storing during cold weather, however. You’ll need to wrap your plumbing pipes with heat tape. You may want some extra space heaters, both for your own warmth and to keep your pipes from freezing. You’ll also want to make sure your RV has adequate insulation, whether that’s insulating foam, heat tape, thermal curtains, an RV skirt, or a combination of several of those things.
What is the best way to winterize a travel trailer?
The best way to winterize a travel trailer is to remove your hookups and drain the RV. You’ll want to get all of the water out so it doesn’t freeze and cause a pipe to burst. To prevent that, you’ll also want to drain the water heater and blow out your water lines. Add antifreeze. If you’re putting the RV in storage, this is also a good time to deep clean your trailer and fix anything that may have broken during the summer.
How many gallons of antifreeze does it take to winterize a camper?
It takes at least 2 – 3 gallons of antifreeze to winterize a camper, depending on the size of the camper.
How do you winterize a camper for beginners?
If you’re a beginner wondering how to winterize a camper, you can follow our tips in this post. You can also team up with a fellow RVer who may be able to give you helpful tips. The RV community is usually very friendly and willing to help new adventurers. You can also hire an RV technician to come out and winterize your camper for you if you’re worried about doing it yourself.
For more tips and info on your next RV excursion or purchase, check out the following articles:
- All You Need to Know About RV Heaters
- RV Trailer Covers – Read This Before Buying One
- Catalytic Heater RV – Important Facts You Need To Know
- Prepping Your RV for Winter Hibernation
- RV Grey Water Tank – The Ultimate Guide: Read This First
Don’t want the hassle of owning and winterizing an RV? Rent one with RVshare!
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