RTR Weather?

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roxie134

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Ok, I have been trying to find an answer to this question for a while now, and decided to ask here.  Not sure this is even the right place to post it.    I am traveling in a roadtrek and have been trying to figure out weather I should winterize before I get to the RTR.  I am aware it gets cold  but that is a relative term   cold to me from the east coast is way different that cold to some others.  My RV guys says if it gets below 28 degrees 2 nights in a row without warming up above 40 degrees during the day  then I need to winterize.  I know no one can predict the weather not even our wonderful weathermen   but can someone say   Yes  make sure you winterize before you get here or no I've done this for the last 8 years and it has never gotten that cold  so wait and see!    Mostly I would rather not winterize because I am a lazy girl and having the water tank would be so much easier, but I can go either way without too much crying!   Thanks for any help I am getting ready to head out next week and really looking forward to meeting lots of new friends.
Mary B
 
When are you leaving Maryland? If you leave before it get's cold there and head south you won't have to winterize. It doesn't get cold enough in Quartzsite to worry about anything freezing.
 
tonyandkaren said:
When are you leaving Maryland? If you leave before it get's cold there and head south you won't have to winterize. It doesn't get cold enough in Quartzsite to worry about anything freezing.

Bless You!  First person yet to actually just say don't worry!   I am leaving MD next Saturday and heading south west so you have just made me very happy!  Having water in the tank just makes things easier sometimes!     Good Karma will come your way!
 
From one Road Trekker to another, don't worry.  Having attended all the RTR's, and enduring all types of weather, you will be fine.

Nelda
 
If there are super cold temperatures predicted you can always dump the water in the tank and open the faucets and turn the heat on, then when it warms back up run to Quartzsite and refill your tank...simple.
 
The weather varies. Of the four years I've been in Quartzsite in the winter, two were mild and dry, one was rainy and one was chilly. According to Bob, one year it was downright nasty cold.
 
tonyandkaren said:
It doesn't get cold enough in Quartzsite to worry about anything freezing.

Thanks, TandK !!!! You know you just jinxed it!!!!  Bring your winter coats and heavy-weather parakeets!  
It's gonna be a cold day in QZ!  

:D :p :cool:

Pat
 
Quick way to get water out of a class b RV lines. First drain the water tank. Run the water pump to clear most the water out of lines. Put an adapter on the city water inlet that has a bicycle tire type Schrader valve, attach a bicycle pump, open each valve one at a time and pump air through until no water comes out.

I wouldn't do this for long term winter storage, I'd still us RV antifreeze. But for a short cold snap it is fast and easy.

After temps rise just refill normally with water, you won't have anything but air in the lines.
 
Camping in cold weather is different than storage for the winter.

Any tanks and plumbing inside the RV will be OK. If it's warm enough for humans, nothing inside is likely to freeze.

Exposed tanks and lines are the only ones you might have to worry about and even then, only if temperatures dip below freezing and never warm up during the day.

It's a good idea to make sure exposed grey and black tanks are empty before you arrive anyway, and it would take a lot of sustained below-freezing temperatures to do any damage to the tanks or fittings with small amounts of coach temperature water draining into them daily.

Of course, if you are driving THRU sub-freezing temps for a week to get there, then you should not be filling the exposed holding tanks if at all possible, unless you have tank heaters.
 
pnolans said:
Thanks, TandK !!!! You know you just jinxed it!!!!  Bring your winter coats and heavy-weather parakeets!  
It's gonna be a cold day in QZ!  

:D :p :cool:

Pat

  Sorry about that!! :p  
  It is a good idea to bring a warm coat, hat, and gloves though. Two years ago we were all bundled up for a couple of days. Even then nothing was in damger of freezing.
 
One year it got cold enough that some of the above ground plumbing at RV parks froze and broke. I don't recall anyone at the RTR having a problem other than frozen dog water dishes outside. The fact that there is above ground plumbing should give you a clue about how often this occurs.
 
Quartzsite- At night, worst case if it's rainy expect lower 30's late Dec to mid-Jan, upper 30's/40 when drier at night. The desert can have periods of years unpredicted brisk nights.
 
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