| Author |
Message |
kristine starr (Kbunnystarr)
Posted From: 4.243.56.3
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 3:09 pm: | |
Hi again. Hope to get some advice on what I need to be concerned about living in sdak thru the winter in my bus....having a car port built and gravel poured for it, so thats protection a bit, but what do i need to be aware of, special precautions, any advice, its my ifrst bus, have to drive from wa state to sdak on my first big trip, and winter in it while workign on it. any help is very appreciated! |
Bob Greenwood
Posted From: 63.233.85.74
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 4:22 pm: | |
If you are going to heat it with propane,you need to have a 500 gallon propane tank set up close by |
kristine starr (Kbunnystarr)
Posted From: 4.243.56.3
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 4:57 pm: | |
i have 2 big propane tanks, a onan generator and a spare and will be plugged in as well. thanx for responding , any other thoughts? |
Greg Peterson
Posted From: 71.228.18.37
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 5:58 pm: | |
If you just got the bus and have not tried having water connected to it in the winter I would be concerned. You should be sure you have enough heat and insulation in the right places. I think you can get some real cold weather in Sdat like we do over here in Il. My cousin rented out a house trailer that froze up really bad a couple of winters ago. He had heat tapes on the pipes and insulation and it wasn’t good enough. I don’t think most of the commercially built RV would take freezing weather very well either.
I would check it out and add more insulation or heaters if needed. It is no fun when it is 0 and your trying to fix frozen pipes. (Personal experience with my dumb cousin)
Good luck and if you make it through the winter post what you did and how your water system was heated and insulated. |
Bob Greenwood
Posted From: 63.233.5.230
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 6:39 pm: | |
your two big propane tanks are probably two 10 gallon...enough for two or three days in S. DAK. |
motorcoach1
Posted From: 66.147.114.58
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 6:46 pm: | |
i would look around for an old warehouse that could be rented cheep , for the winter ,,theres lots of them around empty ,it will keep the wind and ice off you |
Ross Carlisle (Rrc62)
Posted From: 24.52.13.189
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 6:47 pm: | |
Dumb question...If you're full timing, why not fulltime where it's warmer? Did I read in another post you were in a 40' Flxible? If I'm not mistaken, they do not have bays, so heating the tank bay is out. You'll probably have to wrap everything with heat tape, watterbed heaters, etc. and either find shore power or run the genset 24/7. At below 0, it will take less than an hour without power to start freezing up.
The only real economical way of keeping everything heated in a bus is to use hydronic heating like aquahot or wabasto. You can plumb the furnace into the engine and put heat where ever you need it. When the temp drops to zero or below, my bus uses about $130/week in propane and that's not heating the tank bay. That's just heating the bus so I could work on it. |
Ross Carlisle (Rrc62)
Posted From: 24.52.13.189
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 6:50 pm: | |
My tanks are 30 pound. Two tanks go three days, and I'm well insulated. |
kristine starr (Kbunnystarr)
Posted From: 4.243.56.3
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 7:38 pm: | |
my mom lives in sdak, reason for goin there, she needs me, im just nervouse about winter in it caus ei have no expierence..................dad jsut died she is alone etc.......any other advice on winter stuff?
i have 2, 75 gal tanks for propane
thanx so much |
kristine starr (Kbunnystarr)
Posted From: 4.243.56.3
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 7:49 pm: | |
"hydronic heating like aquahot or wabasto. You can plumb the furnace into the engine and put heat where ever you need "
can you explain these thigns? i have no idea what you are talkin about??? ( sorry, im new) |
Bob Greenwood
Posted From: 65.150.44.136
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 9:35 pm: | |
now......WHERE do you have two 75 gallon tanks.....do you mean two 7.5 gallon |
kristine starr (Kbunnystarr)
Posted From: 4.243.56.3
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 10:08 pm: | |
if you go to this link http://www.sellabus.com/flxible.html
my bus is the one in the second row, center, all white 1975 39' Converted Flxible
SOLD! it says under it.
the 2 , 75 gal propane tanks are mounted between the center door and the front passenger wheel, it is closer to the center door, just trying to give you a general area. there is a door, a compartment, nozels etc....anywya, is it a issue or something? |
Buswarrior (Buswarrior)
Posted From: 65.92.188.242
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 10:19 pm: | |
Hello Kristine.
You should do some reading in the "archives" section of this board.
There is a "search' tool also that is valuable for finding things of interest that have been posted in the past.
A bus conversion can be a relatively expensive place to try to stay warm and have the rest of it functional in the winter.
Warmth may require a number of energy sources, and with the repercussions of freezing the water system, there needs to be careful consideration of how the coach will deal with a failure when you aren't there to watch it.
You are starting from scratch on the design principles you think you want to follow.
Most of us have adjusted what we thought we were going to do between the beginning and now, because of more reading and seeing others' coaches.
Get out to any rallies near you and look at buses. And read, read, read!
Maybe for this first experience, you would be better to buy a coach that has already proven itself capable in winter conditions?
happy coaching!
buswarrior |
Bob Greenwood
Posted From: 65.150.44.136
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 10:38 pm: | |
it will be an issue when you realize you have 15 gallons instead of 150 gallons of propane...are these tanks about one foot in diameter & about 3 feet long.trying to help you realize what you are attempting will be life threatining |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy)
Posted From: 66.168.162.246
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 10:42 pm: | |
Any possibility of staying with your Mom this Winter? I have been bussin' many years and I would certainly hesitate even thinking about doing what you are contemplating. Even with a bus that I was completely familiar with.
Try and find a couple of nuts in your immediate vicinity and get them over to look at what you have and what you will need to do.
Based on my experience living in the Dakota's and Minnesota, I would not think about trying it in a bus.
Richard |
kristine starr (Kbunnystarr)
Posted From: 4.243.56.3
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 01, 2006 - 10:45 pm: | |
what will be life threatening? i am confused. they are a little bigger than that maybe 4'long? the guy told me 2, 75 gal, but to be honest i am not sure , i will look closer in the next couple days, do you mean wintering in it would be life threatening? or.......? the conversion is complete, it needs to be "personalized" wiht me stuff, but im not doing most of the conversion, its pretty much done................ |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy)
Posted From: 66.168.162.246
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 02, 2006 - 8:15 am: | |
snip "what will be life threatening?"
Few, if any RV's or bus conversions are built to withstand the rigors of the -40 degree weather with windchills of -80 that is prevalent in that part of the country.
Unless you have some way of keeping your propane tanks warm, there is an extremely good chance that the propane will quit vaporizing at the temperatures you will likely encounter there. That means your furnace quits!
There have been reports in the past of people getting stuck in their RV in these conditions and freezing to death!
Are you really willing to take this chance?
Richard |
Ross Carlisle (Rrc62)
Posted From: 24.52.13.189
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 02, 2006 - 9:00 am: | |
Another option for wintering fulltime is to use a Monitor heater...or something like this...
http://www.alsheating.com/OilMiserOM22Heater.htm
Which is supposed to run nicely on diesel. Could work well and be easier to retrofit in an existing conversion that a hydronic system. If I were going to spend any amount of time in the north in the bus, I'd either do this or hydronic. I had a Monitor on the boat and it worked beautifully for 6 Maine winters. |
Bob Greenwood
Posted From: 63.233.43.78
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 02, 2006 - 10:00 am: | |
where is she going to get diesel.a DD will not start at -40 |
kristine starr (Kbunnystarr)
Posted From: 4.242.12.93
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 02, 2006 - 11:34 am: | |
thank you all for all this info, please keep it comin, I DO understand freezing to death, but i would get the bus there long before snow flies and not move it till spring, if i do this. it would be under a car port betwen 2 buildings on gravel, and plugged into 110 all winter, the bus would be maybe 30 steps from my moms house so i could NOT use the water and sewer in the winter and use moms, then what ELSE would i have to worry about bus protection wise? i guess cause i know sdak winters first hand i worry about all of the bus, batteries and propane tanaks and motor and all pipes etc. Please tell me more. WOuld you say even just storing it and not living in it could be harmful? what would I need to do if say i didnt stay in it but just took it to sdak....maybe its best not to in the winter at all....My problem is if i go to sdak WITHOUT my bus, and leave it in WA in storage, i cant just let it sit there either can i? i mean doesnt it need to be started everyso often etc? It is in a good spot in Olympia, WA...cheap, safe, but no plug in. really appreciate your help guys. |
Greg Peterson
Posted From: 71.228.18.37
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 02, 2006 - 2:25 pm: | |
I drain all the water out of my RV before winter and blow out the lines with compressed air. I use a plastic fitting that you can get at camping world that goes on the water hose inlet of the RV and adapts it to a tire air hose chuck. Since I am very scared of freezing I than get a case of RV antifreeze and pour it in every drain in order to fill the p traps up so they don’t freeze. I also pour the antifreeze into my water tank and use the pump to pump some of it out of every faucet in the RV (until you see the red color coming out). You will need at least 6 gallons in order to do it right and depending on your system maybe even more. This may be over kill but I have never had anything freeze up in the RV and when I finish the bus I will do the same thing to it in the fall. I am trying to have the p traps in the bus in easy to get to locations where I can take them apart and drain out the water. The construction of my RV makes that difficult to do.
If you do all this and then us your mother’s bathroom you should be ok. The only thing you have to worry about is heating the interior of the bus if you want to sleep in it. This is just money for gas and electric and can be done.
I don’t know how cold it gets in Sdat but I would not try and start the DD engine if it is below 32. If you have a turbo engine you will need starting fluid in order to make it pop off even at 32. Below this temperature you will need a block heater. I think you will do more harm then good starting it especially if you have 40W oil in it. My Dad had many diesel engines on the farm including DD 4-71 and 6-71 and never started any of then all winter. He never had any engines problems do to not starting the engines. Rust and other chemical reaction slow down when it is cold anyway.
You may want to buy a small charger and charge the batteries so they stay up and don’t freeze. This is necessary if you have any small drain on the batteries. My Dad put the combine away after harvesting in the fall and then started it up again usually in May.
It always started up and the batteries lasted as long as you would expect. There was no drain on the batteries other than self-discharge.
Good luck … take care of the water-freezing problem the other stuff is not as much of a problem.
PS
A big problem is mice in the winter. They can just about smell any heat and will try and get into your bus. I had some of them make a home in my RV one winter even though it was not heated and was in a tool shed. I have closed some holes I found in the RV that they might have come in and now put poison around the RV in the shed. This could be a big problem depending on how tight your bus was constructed. |
sylverstone (Sylverstone_pd4501864)
Posted From: 216.173.223.253
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 02, 2006 - 2:25 pm: | |
kristine,
i'm in olympia. would you like me to come take a look at what you have and let you know what you need?
the guys are just worried about you, i don't mind spending an afternoon taking a look.
-dd |
kristine starr (Kbunnystarr)
Posted From: 4.243.60.226
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 02, 2006 - 2:50 pm: | |
wow you guys are sooooo super cool on this site! i feel like i fell into a goldmine. :o) thank you!!!!!!!!!!!
thanx so much greg for the long post!
and 'dd'...what is your name? or do you go by dd? I think it is super you would take time out of your shedule to take a look. have you knowledge of my type of bus, or is a bus a bus , so to speak, as far as what i am talkin about here? I just dont want to waste your time. when would you be availabele? |
sylverstone (Sylverstone_pd4501864)
Posted From: 216.173.223.253
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 02, 2006 - 3:03 pm: | |
i'm a kevin.
e mail me at sylverstone@sylverstone.com and i can give you a call later today...
i'm avail later today and tomorrow, no problems.
i'm headed out to macleary in a few hours if the bus is that way?
-dd |
Bob Greenwood
Posted From: 65.150.45.191
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 03, 2006 - 11:29 am: | |
yep...........leave it in Wash. OR go get your mother & take her south for the winter |
kristine starr (Kbunnystarr)
Posted From: 4.242.12.114
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 03, 2006 - 12:44 pm: | |
yeah wish i could get her to do that, she wont, so there in lies the problem. |
madalaskann
Posted From: 12.104.82.253
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 06, 2006 - 3:40 am: | |
just side in the carport put in a wood stove and a monitor and live in your bus |