martin h Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 My wife and I are planning a few days away next weekend (Saturday to Wednesday) and the forecast looks around -5/6 at night. We have a 2006 Autotrail Dakota which I think has an exposed waste tank. Any words of wisdom around what might freeze and are there any exposed pipes? Thanks in advance. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Leave your waste tank tap open with a bucket under it ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 When the weather's like it has been,we leave our's fully drained down and just use seperate water containers(for drinking and loo flushing)and just make use of the site facilities for showers etc... ..I suppose others probably do but personally,I don't think it's worth risking using an "unwinterized"(is that a word?) water system this time of year.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Leave your handbreak off , not sure if its a myth but we were told to do that up the French Alps . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Martin, we were away rallying at weekend with our Auto-trail and although the temperature was below freezing and our water tank was full we didn't have a problem every thing worked well. We kept the heating on all the time, the fridge was on and the water heater was kept on low as well. The only problem we had was getting off the site as there had been a heavy fall of snow in the Bolton area over the weekend but we all helped one another to get off. We used more gas than normal but that was to be expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Another tip is is park up where the morning sun rise will land on the Motorhome...helps to warm it up in the morning. If there is any sun in the morning!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Had planned to do something as well as its half term and wife of work, but seeing as its looking pretty miserable probably not going to bother..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peedee Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Some good tips already given. I have found Auto Trails are fine down to about -7C. The most vulnerable areas are where water pipes enter and leave the van. That little area lacks any lagging. I have also had problems with the water tank filler freezing because of an "S" bend in it. Water sits in the bottom of the "S," freezes and stops you topping up and it is very difficult to defrost. This is probably model dependent. I usually manage to defrost smaller diameter pipes by blowing hot air on the more exposed areas with a hair dryer. peedee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 We have wild camped down to -18 and frequently well below zero with no problems in our Kontiki and we have an external waste tank. Just leave it open. A couple of times the water at the bottom of the sink waste pipe has got trapped and frozen but a bit of hot water soon shifts it. I remember being on a CL however last winter where there was a very nice Autotrail behind us and his fresh tank froze! No idea why as I assume they are all inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 pelmetman - 2012-02-06 7:52 PM Leave your waste tank tap open with a bucket under it ;-) And depending on how well your waste water drains, and the temps of course, the water freezes en route to the bucket. I should know, I use this method myself :D Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 michele - 2012-02-06 8:40 PM Leave your handbreak off , not sure if its a myth but we were told to do that up the French Alps . Thats because your English, the advice to other EU m/homers is to leave thehandbreak off AND chock the wheels :D (Its an Alp joke) Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Make sure you have medical cover in case you get a handbreak! :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJP Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Put a small amount of salt down the plughole each night which should prevent the wast pipes from freezing. Lag the short pipe from the tank to where it goes into the van. Leave the waste drain open (Drain into bucket or similar). Keep the heating on low. Works for me -8 to -10 no problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelling taylors Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 :-) when we were in France ln January 2 years ago , only near St Omer it was -10c and in the morning are handbreak was frozen on , also the regulator to the gaslow system was frozen ( noticed moisture in the dial ) so no gas , we relied on our erberspacher heating , had to start generator and use exhaust to heat up regulator so gas flow could be released ,, happy camping Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Just back from a week at Sandy Balls including the 2 really cold nights. We did suffer a freeze up despite heating being on all the time - as usual it's the pipe from the external fresh into the van that blocks. In weather like this you get to know where the draughts are in your van!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin h Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 Thanks for all the suggestion, the weather is not looking so bad now so off to Cornwall in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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