Winter Camping Tips

[Cbessler]

Hey guys. Headed into some winter camping and had a few questions on some things. How do you guys get it done and do you have any tips or tricks?

Do you keep the furnace running while you're away from the camper? We want to use our water system and will be camping in around 10 to 20 degree lows and dont want any piping issues. We have 2 propane tanks and will be bringing heated blankets and plan on keeping the cabinets open.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Random thoughts…

Furnace: It depends on temps when you’re away from the camper… Below freezing run it, above but close to freezing possibly still run it

if it were me, I’d winterize the water system, and bring water containers.

Have some ventilation at night to remove moisture from respiration. Crack open a vent and a lower access door or window

Wipe down the interior to remove condensation.

Insulate or provide airspace between the mattress and cab over section. I’m a fan of Hypervent. If you can’t, lift or remove the mattress when you get home, give it a chance to dry

 

[JaSAn]

I take 2 to 4 trips in the winter (November - March), temps ranging from above freezing to -20ºF.

Take enough blankets and clothing so if your furnace fails it isn't a crisis situation.
I don't have a water system and don't keep the camper warm when I am away (usually 14 or more hours).
I carry water in 16 oz plastic bottles - bottles can be beat on and cut open to release frozen water.
You will need to deal with humidity inside; I run the MaxxFan on low anytime I am inside.
Each person will exhale about 0.6 oz (17.5 ml) of water vapor per hour.
Cooking releases a lot of water inside; I do most of my cooking outdoors over a wood fire.
Wet, snowy clothing and tracked in snow will add to the humidity inside.
Canned goods will survive freezing, soda cans won't - will make a mess.
I sometimes put warm water bottles in the refrigerator to keep contents from freezing.
Iso-butane stoves don't work well below freezing.
I use a pressurized white gas stove when I don't have a campfire.

You will be spending a lot of time in the dark, have good, dependable lights.
Rather than stare at a fire at night I contemplate the stars. I have a reclining chair and a thrift store sleeping bag to sit in.
A ski or hike at night (especially with a full moon) is magical. But woods can be scary.
If snow, should be no problem finding your way back.
Carry GPS with campsite marked.
Carry a backup GPS with campsite marked or carry an extra set of batteries.

 

[PaulT]

I have found reflective tape in pre-scored lengths useful to stick onto the ends of roof rack bars and both sides of jack mount brackets useful when away from the vehicle at night. A good LED headlight or flashlight will light them up and allow one to find where the camper is located quickly on return.

Paul

 

[billharr]

Below from Tom Clouse (Hodakaguy) on the FWC Owners FB forum. Good to do when you get back.



Dehumidifier:


Each time we get back from a trip I close up all the vents nice and tight, open up all the Mule storage bags and put a Dehumidifier inside the van to run for a couple days. Most of the time I get nothing, other times if we have been camping in the rain for several days I will get a good amount of water in the unit when I'm done. If it's cold outside I will install the insulated window covers and fire up the D2 heater at the same time so that the Dehumidifier is running in warm air, warm air holds more moisture than cold air so this helps in getting the moisture to the Dehumidifier unit. The Dehumidifier doesn't work in colder temps and you don't want it to freeze (can damage the unit). This is a simple step after each trip that will help keep your van smelling fresh

Thought I would share what I have found works for us

 

[Cbessler]

Thanks everyone for the replies and tips. First time taking it into really cold temps in the NW.

Do you recommend when I'm away from the camper to have the top down and furnace on with a few cabinets open? Having it locked up while we do snow activities is my preferred route. Shouldn't be a problem?

Thanks

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Do you have a means to get snow off the roof?

 

[rubberlegs]

We replaced the factory thermostat with a garage style one. It goes down to 35 deg. That's where we set ours at night.

Leaving the heat on for 14 hours while you are out could use a lot of fuel... maybe as others said, don't use the built-in water system, but separate water jugs.

By the way, the drain can be a problem in really cold weather. We've clogged ours up several times.

 

[Jsoboti]

Cblesser,

Winter camping is incredible, super pumped for you! I use my FWC mostly in the winter with A LOT of lessons learned over 150+ nights in the cold.

I can't agree hard enough with the recommendation to winterize your water system and use jugs. You can also have one dedicated gray water jug if you think you'll have a lot of excess from cleaning, brushing teeth, etc. I try and minimize that to the max though by spitting outside and using towels to clean dishes.

Running the furnace while you're away from the camper will be necessary if its 15-20 deg F if you don't winterize. IMHO its not worth the risk of damaging your water system. Drain it, blow it out, leave everything open, and enjoy it in the spring.

I sleep with the furnace off, window near my head cracked, both roof vents open (precip. dependent) and the powered fan on low drawing air out of the camper. Condensation management is the name of the game. I usually wake up to a totally dry camper with this setup.

Leave Nalgene bottle lids open overnight so they dont crack from expansion.

Pre-fill whatever you're going to make your coffee in in the morning before sleeping. That way when you wake up to a Jet Boil or pot of frozen water, you just have to fire up the stove to melt it. I'll usually then sacrifice some of that hot water to my Nalgene to thaw.

0 degree sleeping bag and a warm down blanket is sufficient for me down to about 10 deg F.

Down booties are probably the best piece of cold weather clothing I own, even with a little insulation, the floor of the FWC will be cold and can be pretty uncomfortable when you're just hanging out or standing up cooking.

Reflectix everywhere. I cover all the windows as well as the low areas where the tie-down access panels are. Helps A LOT. When in doubt, put reflectix on it.

Pee bottle. Nuff sed.

I have marine mats in a rigid plastic doormat with about a 1/2 inch high lip around the sides to drain snow and water off my boots when I get in the camper, easy to pull out and drain once my boots are dry.

Hope this helps, have fun!

 

[Sagebrusher]

Great advice above. I winterize because I can't always be sure I will alway have heat (furnace issues, hotel, back home). And we sleep mostly without heat until just before getting up, and with some ventilation. I would only add, if really cold, I'd sleep with a water bottle inside your sleeping bag for drinking and morning coffee. Love my down booties, like Jsoboti.

 

[JimBow]

I was just using the camper last week in -5 degree F temps. I use the camper more in the winter than summer.

I use a 5 gallon container for water. No way would I use the camper water system in winter. It would freeze up.
I only use the heater when I'm awake inside the camper. It's too noisy for sleeping and just makes me nervous.
Keep a whisk broom and dust pan to get the snow out of the camper while it's cold, before it melts.
Be prepared to loosen up the latches on cold mornings when closing up the camper. The vinyl will be stiffer.

Edited to add: Change your furnace thermostat batteries to lithium ones and carry spares. My thermostat uses 2 AAA batteries. It sucks to have them go dead when you're out on a winter camping trip. The lithium batteries last many times longer than the regular ones in cold weather.

 

[CraggyMan]

We use ours quite regularly in the winter and have camped with temps to about -10 or so. As per all the good advice above, drain the water system and use jugs. Fill some pots before bed for coffee etc in the morning. We use the furnace liberally and get used to the sound but do turn it down low at night. Make sure your 2 propane bottles are full before you head out, don't ask me how I know....
And also if you are close to empty on one bottle it is much better to switch before bedtime.

 

[PaulT]

If you carry any 1 lb propane bottles, it may be handy to carry a steak saver propane adapter so that you can use your furnace before you can get your main tanks refilled. They are typically about $10.

Paul

 

[Cbessler]

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the help here and feedback. Just got back from our trip and we had a blast. It was WAY colder than predicted. Low of -7 with "feels like" to -15. Had a big cold snap in the Deschutes area of Oregon. Still working out the kinks to winter camping but gaining the experience was great. We keep the water system separate and used a 7g reliance inside that worked great. Didn't use the plumbing it could have been a disaster even with cupboards open.

We had a makeshift artic pack up, furnace going with blankets, and plenty of hot totties haha.

Definitely looking at booties for feet on the cold floor, 12v warming blanket would be rad, extra down like winter blankets, and reflectex to windows would help tons

 

[rubberlegs]

We have some blue ensolite pads from our backpacking daze that we cut into seat-sizes. I discovered that standing on one while cooking makes my feet happier.