Can I camp in a winterized RV?

Can I camp in a winterized RV? If you live or camp where it’s cold you very well may have to winterize your RV. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the fun has to stop or that you even have to stop using the rig.

Plus RVs coming out of the factory are almost always winterized as the builders don’t necessarily know where they’re going or how long the RV will wait for new owners at the dealership. If you’re buying an RV as this article is coming out, it will likely be winterized and potentially stay winterized until spring. 

What is winterizing

Winterizing an RV is the process of preparing it for the extreme cold of winter. Essentially you’re getting rid of any and all water in the RV and one way of doing so is to replace that water with RV food-safe antifreeze. 

Many RVs are designed to be very easy to winterize including Rockwood and Flagstaff models where they essentially use the RV’s water pump to suck RV-safe antifreeze into the water system. 

This process saves the pipes, toilet, water heater, water pump and anything else that is part of the water system from freezing. It’s especially important not to forget to run RV-safe antifreeze through things like the outside RV shower which is the least-insulated piece of the RV’s plumbing often times. 

What kind of RV antifreeze is best? 

The only antifreeze you should consider will be sold as RV-safe antifreeze. This product will prevent the pipes from freezing in your RV but is not poisonous. The antifreeze you use in your vehicle is dangerous so it’s important to know and buy the right kind. 

RV antifreeze is essentially propylene glycol and doesn’t harm the plumbing in your RV. In fact it’s a relatively safe product so if some spills on the ground it’s usually not a big deal as it won’t harm animals either. 

Most of the RV-safe antifreeze sold is colored a reddish pink color and is ready to use right out of the bottle. But there are also some available that are a concentrate where you add water, which might seem counterintuitive. 

When should I winterize?

Depending on where you are in the country you may have to winterize toward the end of fall. Essentially you’ll want to protect the RV’s water systems by winterizing the RV whenever it’s reasonable to consider that the RV will spend more than just a few hours where the temperatures might be below freezing. 

If you’re someone who puts your RV in storage for the winter this would be the ideal time to winterize the rig. In some storage facilities they will perform this for you and there are also a lot of RV repair facilities and dealerships that will do the job as well. 

Can I still use the RV

Yes, in most cases you can still use the RV. In fact you can use the RV in temperatures well below freezing and do so safely. At least as far as the plumbing is concerned. 

Some RVs are very well-suited to temperature extremes, others are less so. While your plumbing may be surviving the cold, make sure you can as well. We recommend making sure all your propane tanks are full and that you have plenty of battery power to run the blower fan in your heater. 

In our article about RV electricity we have a chart you can download that shows how much power various items inside your RV draw. I was surprised at how much power the blower fan in the heater consumes so that’s important to keep in mind. 

If you’re hooked to shore power then you should be fine, unless there’s a power outage. 

However, know that the performance of some batteries diminishes significantly in the cold weather and, if there’s snow on the roof of the RV, the solar panels aren’t going to be much good. 

You will absolutely want to use the built-in furnace on your RV as many of those typically also heat the underbelly of the rig, which helps to keep the holding tanks warm. So while you may be going through more propane than you’d like in winter, in some RVs it may be critical to keeping the underbelly from freezing up. 

One more thing, if your RV has a built-in electric fireplace don’t forget that that appliance will not heat the underbelly but is good for keeping living spaces comfortable. Using the electric fireplace with your RV’s built-in furnace can help save propane and your plumbing systems.

Some RVs are very well-suited for cold weather camping with great insulation and design for cold weather. Others are really poorly-suited for cold-weather camping. It’s good to know how well-insulated your RV is and be prepared for colder weather than the weather app on your phone predicts. You know those phone apps lie. 

Tips for using a winterized RV

If you do decide to go camping here are tips for using a winterized RV. 

Don’t use any of the RV’s built-in water systems. 

If the temperatures get cold enough you don’t want to introduce water back into the system if the rig has been winterized. Essentially, if the thermometer drops below freezing for an extended period of time you’ll want to keep your coach winterized even if you’re inside and using it. 

If you do choose to use the black water system by using the toilet, flush the toilet with concentrated antifreeze instead of water. Human urine freezes at close to the same temperature as plain water and the last thing you want is to have a lump of frozen urine in your holding tank until temperatures rise in the spring. Concentrated antifreeze could keep the contents of the black water tank from freezing, depending on how cold it gets outside. 

Even if you cannot use the plumbing you can still make coffee and other things by bringing bottled water along to use. Just know that you may not want to dump any water down the drain of the RV as it could freeze in the holding tanks also. 

If you do dump water into the holding tank you might also dump some concentrated RV antifreeze in there as well. 

RV dish washing

If you choose to use your RV’s dishes one of the ways you can keep things clean is to use Dawn PowerWash Dish Spray instead of water to wash dishes. However this product does recommend you rinse the dishes so one way of doing so is to bring a spray bottle of water to facilitate rinsing the dishes and then pouring some concentrated RV antifreeze down the drain to compensate for the water. 

Of course another option is to use paper plates, which double as great fire starter. 

More insulation

Some campers choose to bolster their RV’s insulation. For example, you can use Reflectix to add more thermal insulation to openings like windows and baggage compartments. Often times baggage compartments, particularly in travel trailers, are poorly insulated and a bit of Reflectix can go a long way. 

Ceiling vents

We got to try a great gadget from AirSkirts called the AirLight that blocks air in your ceiling vents without blocking light. This inflatable device easily fits up in the ceiling vents to keep the cold out in winter and keep the cold in in summer. It’s a pretty nifty RV gadget and is very well made. 

Cold breeze

AirSkirts also makes inflatable barriers that keep the cold from blowing under your RV. This may help to keep it warmer and it’s easy enough to inflate the AirSkirts when you’re camping and then deflate and pack them away when you’re done. 

I’ve also seen people use curtain-like barriers and even hay bales if they’re camping for long enough. 

Electric heaters

Is it safe to use an electric heater in your RV? It can be. But know that one of the components of the furnace in your RV may include keeping the underbelly warm in the winter. This is one of the reasons these furnaces tend to use more propane than people assume should be used. But it can also be a critical part of keeping an RV winter-safe. 

How to winterize

We have a thorough guide to winterizing your RV from someone who has done it a lot. We’re fortunate that we tend to use our RV year ‘round but also choose to roll into the Southwest as the mercury drops so that we can still wear shorts and keep our jackets in the truck. 

Just because the temperatures are dropping doesn’t mean you necessarily have to give up your plans to enjoy some StressLess Camping.