Pete Goodwin wrote:
> i've been on the list for some time now but haven't felt i had a lot
to offer so
> kept the noise to a minimum. but, on this subject, perhaps i can
shed some light.
> my wife and i headed out of toronto on jan 15 (the day detroit, toronto
et al were
> shut down due to blizzard conditions). we drove two hrs west to pick
up our
> trailer intending to head for florida on the 16th.
>
> indeed, we spent the night in the trailer (near blizzard conditions)
and headed
> south the next day with some trepidation but a firm commitment to
pull off the
> road if conditions were in any way dangerous. of course the temps
were well below
> zero so we left the furnace ON with the thermostat set at min (~50
f). we arrived
> safely if florida on the morning of the third day after quite a comfortable
trip.
> didn't even use much propane - about 20#.
>
> it was our first winter excursion in the a/s (indeed any rv) and
had a great time.
> on the way back in feb we ran into cold weather but no precip. as
the temps
> dropped we again left the furnace ON and had no problems. sure was
nice and cozy
> for lunch breaks and various stops along the way.
That is also what I do in the motor home when travelling in really cold weather. Even at full blast the in-dash heater doesn't come close to making the driving compartment livable, so both I and the dogs would freeze miserably if I didn't also have the furnace running at a low setting.
The hazard, and it is a real one, associated with this is that once again you are travelling with the main propane valve open, and all the low-pressure gas lines under the vehicle are therefore "live." In case of any accident impacting the motorhome structure there would be a very severe fire hazard.
There is a safer alternative, which is to drive with the onboard generator running and use one or more electric heaters. There is a small but powerful one called "Big Heat:" which works very well and has a built-in cutoff switch which shuts it down instantly if it gets tilted or tipped over.
John
Susi and John Burchard
Tepe Gawra Salukis
saluqi@ix.netcom.com