Winter Camping Advice

W

WestCoast

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Jan 29, 2016
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As fall weather begins to turn the hills white, I am trying to prepare for my first winter season camping in my Fleet shell! I've had her since May this year and have absolutely loved it for climbing and camping trips! My primary reason for getting a FWC is for a home base for skiing. I am hoping this forum has plenty of others who can offer up their experiences and advice for staying as comfortable as possible on extended trips. I plan boondocking primarily but will have plenty of nights in ski area parking lots, I'm sure.
My shell has a side dinette, forced air furnace, 160w solar with 220 AH 12v, two FF vents.
My main questions are tips for dealing with condensation and drying out wet boots and gloves and managing snow loads on the roof.
Do any of you experienced winter sports FWC'ers use boot dryers? I'm trying to find a model that uses little electrical draw.
Condensation, how bad is it for two smelly people? Tips?
Wet clothing? Systems to dry stuff, what works for you?
Snow load on the roof! This can be a huge amount of weight here in the PNW with overnight dumps exceeding 24" (...hopefully...!) Ideas for managing this and previous experiences/cautionary tales appreciated.
Right now I'm working on getting a ski rack set up for the roof. Ideas for accessing skis on the roof in ski boots without killing yourself.
This forum is awesome! I've learned so much. Thanks to all who contribute!!!



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I'm wondering if dropping the rear of the roof for the night or when not in the camper would help it shed snow?
 
You might be on to something. If nothing else, I think it would force warmer air into the sleeping area.
 
I was planning on that actually. I was hoping for someone who has experience with this as in, it's a good idea with no consequence or no it causes too much stress in the lift panel hinges, for example.


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Keep in mind that the Furnace fans are big power draw - especially in cold weather when your batteries are already struggling. I carry a 12V electric blanket. It's great for preheating the bed, but I generally am warm enough with the furnace on 62 or so. I view the blanket as backup if the furnace quits or the propane runs out. For more than a day or two I would bring a generator as well - again backup. Solar won't get you much in the winter - suns too low and their are not enough hours of light. I have a honda 1000 that has never let me down. You don't need much for an FWC.
 
I forgot about condensation.

Open one of the turnbuckle doors at night a crack and open one of the roof vents a crack. Yes cold air will come in - but you need the airflow. Also one great tip I got was to pull the mattress out after a trip. There can be a lot of moisture in the mattress.

I run a dehumidifier in my camper after longer winter trips - pulls out a surprising amount of water.

As for keeping clothes dry - I wish I had a good answer.
 
Agree with cdbrow1 on the generator. Loss of hours of daylight, sun angle and solar panel obstruction from snow will all have an effect. Personally I am paranoid of being burned alive by an electric blanket lol. Good point on the dehumidifier after the trip. I generally just crack one of the windows for circulation and then spend an extra minute wiping the sides behind the insulation (as much as possible) in the morning. Maybe just take out the boot liners and line them up in front of the furnace as much as possible? Or keep them in the bottom of your bag as you would if you were snow camping.
 
I used to do a lot of tent camping in the snow, so I just use some of the same gear, and somewhat, the techniques. I set my furnace as low as it goes. I think that is 45-degrees. I'm plenty warm sleeping at 45-degrees. In fact, I can get too warm with the sleeping bag I use. I wear good layers, so I get up and get dressed and am reasonably warm in a relatively short time. I have usually moved my vehicle from place to place each day, not staying in the same place too long in very cold temps; however, in warmer temps I've stayed in the same place for three days without solar and my batteries never got too low (I have two AGM). When my clothes are wet, I put them relatively close to the furnace and the furnace can cook them.

I don't know about snow load. I know what FWC says the roof will handle, but I imagine lowering or raising the roof with 1,000 lbs on it would be a major endeavor.
 
WestCoast,

I am hopeful of making a transition this year, from a large outfitter wall tent with wood stove, to FWC, for an upcoming elk hunt in Colorado, at 8500 ft. Wall tents are hard to beat for comfort and warmth with a few people to share the work. ( Ex. You get warm twice with a wood stove, once chopping the wood, once burning it!)

Because snow sticks quite well to canvas, most people with this arrangement throw a blue tarp over top, and tie it down. With a pitched roof, the snow slides off. Although our campers are not built with a sloped roof, I've considered doing two things this year in preparation for a snow load.

I picked up a poly tarp (8'x11'), and plan to tie ropes on all four corners of the tarp. If there is any chance of snow, I'll throw it over top of the camper, tying it off on the pickup, and I'm thinking it might be possible to pull the tarp one direction or the other, and the snow will drop off as I go, or pull the tarp back over itself rolling the snow with it. The main thing is not dropping the roof with all the extra weight, something is sure to break, maybe even you! Might take several times before a storm passes, but it's a way to manage the the snow depth on top, just replace the tarp each time.

The second thing I was planning to do in combination with the above, is make some 6" wide braces out of plywood, that I can place midway on each side of the camper body, wedging them in place along the sideliner up to the ceiling edge, to provide additional support in the middle, not just the two ends of the camper, to reduce sagging.

Still can't allow too much snow to build, but that's the thoughts I've given to it. Maybe someone's already tried this and can respond?


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Great responses! I'm thinking that the snow removal issue might need a broom and most likely a ladder if your to remove the snow after an overnight accumulation with the top fully up, or even out for the day and returning to a lowered top. Maybe the half mast will shed enough snow to avoid the ladder and broom. The tarp idea is pretty genius, actually. I think that the ski rack and solar panel may get caught tho and cause issues pulling the snow off. Now I'm looking for a light weight ladder solution and a broom like the SnoJo to put up on the Yak rack for snow removal. More stuff on the roof to lighten the roof? Madness...
 
I like the tarp idea. I've not done a lot of winter camping in my ATC, but did in a VW Westy. Mostly in the NW, so similar soggy heavy snow. I can't recommend lowering the roof if it's got a lot of heavy wet snow on it. I did, ONCE. Ka-whoompf! I regard it as a mistake. I think it stresses support struts if you've got them. I didn't and damn near got concussed by the weight of my roof. After that I used a broom to clear snow and will do so now when I'm able to get away and do winter camping again. The SnoJo sounds pretty good. I'd like a look at one before I bought it. Bet they'll show up at Canadian Tire pretty soon.
 
This ladder:
https://amzn.com/B002PNMMOC

Showed up elsewhere on WTW, on a thread about loading/unloading kayaks. I think it's just what I'd want for roof access, but will probably wait until I have the kayaks to load/unload. I'd want it to fit behind the couch in my 97 eagle. Alternate location - on the roof rack at the edge, accessible with the footstool when the top is down. Silicone spray on all hinge points would help with icing.

Were it me, I don't think I'd want the skis on the roof. It just seems like endless hassle when you pull up to a ski area at too darn early in the morning, or, done with skiing and just want to curl up with, um, a Mogul Masher! Needing to get all the way up to the roof to secure the skis... on a ladder in slippery ski boots...

I did see one FWC Eagle where the owner, a retired machinist, had welded up a side basket/rack. It was bolted in on the passenger side of the camper, running the length of it at the height of the truck bed rails. IIRC he had it powder-coated. It really didn't extend past the width of the side-view mirror.

A vertical rack on the back wall of the camper? It *sounds* good to me, maybe it would be a good solution?


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WestCoast said:
. . .
Do any of you experienced winter sports FWC'ers use boot dryers? I'm trying to find a model that uses little electrical draw.
Condensation, how bad is it for two smelly people? Tips?
Wet clothing? Systems to dry stuff, what works for you?
Snow load on the roof! This can be a huge amount of weight here in the PNW with overnight dumps exceeding 24" (...hopefully...!) Ideas for managing this and previous experiences/cautionary tales appreciated.
Right now I'm working on getting a ski rack set up for the roof. Ideas for accessing skis on the roof in ski boots without killing yourself.
. . .
Click to expand...
I have limited experience with winter camping in my Grandby but extensive experience winter camping/mountaineering with a tent. This is what works for me:

Boot drying: In the leather boot days wore vapor barrier socks in the boots to keep them and the wool socks dry. With plastic climbing boots I remove the inner liner. If not too damp I just leave them out to air dry. If very damp they go into the sleeping bag with me; they will usually dry overnight. I use an antiperspirant to keep my feet from sweating. Anything that uses electric heat is an energy hog.

Condensation: Always a problem in winter with just breathing in a confined space. I get rained on if I use my catalytic heater. I just leave my roof fan on during the day to dry the camper out.

Wet Clothing: Into the sleeping bag. If my inner layer is wet I wear it to bed, mid layer layed along the sides against my body (or worn). Outer layers are just opened up and sometimes layed across the top of the sleeping bag. Rain/wind outer layers are just shaken out and turned inside out to dry the inside.

Snow on roof: I always remove snow before raising or lowering the roof. I use an etrier, webbing and fifi hook combination as a ladder to get to the roof and a trucker's snow removal broom/squeege/scraper (carried anyway for cleaning windshield) for pushing the snow off. Being a paranoid person I made an extra support that is put in place after the roof is up to insure that it doesn't collapse on me.

Accessing skis on roof: Etria setup again. If I can climb on them with mountaineering boots you should be able to use them with ski boots.

jim
 
JaSAn said:
I use an etrier, webbing and fifi hook combination as a ladder to get to the roof and a trucker's snow removal broom/squeege/scraper (carried anyway for cleaning windshield) for pushing the snow off. Being a paranoid person I made an extra support that is put in place after the roof is up to insure that it doesn't collapse on me.

Accessing skis on roof: Etria setup again. If I can climb on them with mountaineering boots you should be able to use them with ski boots.

jim
Click to expand...
So is the Grandby C1 or A1? :D
 
Jugging the roof! Pure genius!!! Plus, many dirtbag points as an added bonus. What do you anchor to? How did you access other areas of the roof.
C-1, no nailing on my rig!



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Well not jugging technically... but I certainly have an abundance of worn out aiders lying around.


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