Need advice camping in a 5th wheel for the ski season!!

How cold is it going to be in the area you are staying at? Will you be in a permanent spot all winter?

Rv lot at my local resort (whitepass wa) winters are cold and no hookups there is a place with hookups 10 mins from the resort though, December through February is anywhere from 0 to 30 springs warm I think base is like 4300 ft

Trailer is moved every 5 days for the plow

Sounds like a lot of work but can be done. If you could stay in one place all winter you could insulate around the trailer with plywood and straw bales for cheap but sounds like you will be moving it every so often. Some simple panels to enclose the base of the trailer will be a huge benefit but a pain if moving so often. If you already have a generator on the trailer you should be fine, a back up will be handy if the first fails. Propane? Extra tanks for sure. Make sure all windows are sealed, if you can park out of the wind next to a building or wall of some sort. Use some tank antifreeze for your grey and black water, don’t want them freezing full of shit.lol Heat tape your water lines and fresh water tank to keep it flowing. Insulate the main water lines(black/grey/fresh)and valves with foam wrapping. If you have ever lived in a mobile single/doublewide home, times the effort by 2. Again, lots of work but possible. Good luck

oldmanskiSounds like a lot of work but can be done. If you could stay in one place all winter you could insulate around the trailer with plywood and straw bales for cheap but sounds like you will be moving it every so often. Some simple panels to enclose the base of the trailer will be a huge benefit but a pain if moving so often. If you already have a generator on the trailer you should be fine, a back up will be handy if the first fails. Propane? Extra tanks for sure. Make sure all windows are sealed, if you can park out of the wind next to a building or wall of some sort. Use some tank antifreeze for your grey and black water, don’t want them freezing full of shit.lol Heat tape your water lines and fresh water tank to keep it flowing. Insulate the main water lines(black/grey/fresh)and valves with foam wrapping. If you have ever lived in a mobile single/doublewide home, times the effort by 2. Again, lots of work but possible. Good luck

Thanks man! I’ll have a transfer tank with 100 gallons or so of gas and a couple extra propane bottles, I’ll probably avoid the fresh water tank entirely, been looking at a portable shower, heat tape would definitely work well and I could always grab a few bales from our farm, what kind of foam wrapping? Pool noodles? Lol

JtmunnThanks man! I’ll have a transfer tank with 100 gallons or so of gas and a couple extra propane bottles, I’ll probably avoid the fresh water tank entirely, been looking at a portable shower, heat tape would definitely work well and I could always grab a few bales from our farm, what kind of foam wrapping? Pool noodles? Lol

Sounds like you are going to be just fine and honestly, pool noodles will work great!lol apologize for the late answer, wife and I are traveling abroad so we are in a completely different time zone.lol if I can I will try and make it up this winter and come make some laps with ya! Or if you get to come ride Hood, hit me up.

Yo man! I lived in a camper for a whole winter with my lady as well. 1st bit of advice, create a spot in the camper for everything wet! with a vent/exterior fan. The second anything is wet inside the camper in the winter, it will ruin your day. Get some really good outerwear, especially if your in Washington. all gortex fosho. Secondly make sure that your roof is 100% perfectly sealed. I would always keep 5 gallon jugs of water in the truck to not deal with the freeze. My drain had a screen in it and water would flow right out underneath the camper with biodegradable soap. I thought this was the easiest way to keep it simple and avoid something else that can go wrong. If you have any other questions let me know!

if you're in parking lots try to avoid the use of slides. it takes up more space than one spot and it's a good courtesy for other parking lot campers. this is especially important if you're sleeping at truck stops as truckers fucking hate it and it's their territory. sounds like you'll be staying at one spot for most of the winter so it won't be relevant.

solar panels are huge advantage but you get what you pay for so don't cheap out on a good solar system. keeping them clear of snow is a chore if you're at a place with heavy snowfall but you'll be happy with a set of charged batteries at the end of the day.

check out r/vandwellers for some ideas on ways to make things more efficient. it's a lot of custom van builds but some of the things you could transfer to your 5th wheel like power and water options.

oldmanskiSounds like you are going to be just fine and honestly, pool noodles will work great!lol apologize for the late answer, wife and I are traveling abroad so we are in a completely different time zone.lol if I can I will try and make it up this winter and come make some laps with ya! Or if you get to come ride Hood, hit me up.

I might make it down to hood atleast one more time this summer if I do ill hit you up! If not your always welcome up at whitepass!

badmeetsevilYo man! I lived in a camper for a whole winter with my lady as well. 1st bit of advice, create a spot in the camper for everything wet! with a vent/exterior fan. The second anything is wet inside the camper in the winter, it will ruin your day. Get some really good outerwear, especially if your in Washington. all gortex fosho. Secondly make sure that your roof is 100% perfectly sealed. I would always keep 5 gallon jugs of water in the truck to not deal with the freeze. My drain had a screen in it and water would flow right out underneath the camper with biodegradable soap. I thought this was the easiest way to keep it simple and avoid something else that can go wrong. If you have any other questions let me know!

doesnt seem like a bad way to run the drain for the shower/sink thanks man! and will do!

.Dadif you're in parking lots try to avoid the use of slides. it takes up more space than one spot and it's a good courtesy for other parking lot campers. this is especially important if you're sleeping at truck stops as truckers fucking hate it and it's their territory. sounds like you'll be staying at one spot for most of the winter so it won't be relevant.

solar panels are huge advantage but you get what you pay for so don't cheap out on a good solar system. keeping them clear of snow is a chore if you're at a place with heavy snowfall but you'll be happy with a set of charged batteries at the end of the day.

check out r/vandwellers for some ideas on ways to make things more efficient. it's a lot of custom van builds but some of the things you could transfer to your 5th wheel like power and water options.

thanks man ill check them out! Solar would be a huge plus, and I agree with the rest area/truck stops lol, I've been blocked in by a couple people with there slides out on some of my longer loads (hot shot) but we have a rv lot with enough room for slides just no hookups!

solar is actually a nice variant, to tell you the truth, my husband bought it, however I was not really pleased with the color. Yeah, I am a real GIRL, color is important for me. He got angry when heard that I wasn't satisfied with his purchase and he decided to take revenge and said that I could repaint it. He knew that I could actually do it, so I found all necessary materials, especially hvlp spray gun(thanks to https://www.palmgear.com/best-hvlp-spray-gun-reviews/, which offer really fair reviews on every worthy products) and repaint it from white to black one;)

**This post was edited on Nov 19th 2020 at 6:06:43pm

My buddy lives in his camper in the kootenay pass for most of the winter. Did a few nights and learned a few tricks.
-CO detectors are important. Sometimes the batteries would die and the propane heating looses its flame. That will save your life.
-propane heater is amazing; its a dry source of heat and can be rationned. Have 2 backup generators, incase something goes wrong.
-Bring things to do. Some nights are a little difficult

Although this was a year ago, to anyone else looking to do it, campers are terribly insulated even the "winter rated" ones, and if you plan on burning propane all winter for heat, expect to burn a fuck ton of propane. Source - winter camping in a 5th wheel and doing repairs / work on them.