Winter camping in a Dimension

[barry5]

During past winters we have camped in sub-zero temperatures in our HyLo with no problems.

Now we have a Dimension and the thought occurred to me that the water tanks are external, hung under the van floor, whereas the HyLo's tanks were inside the main body.

Has anyone experienced frozen fresh or waste water tanks in a Dimension, or does heat lost through the floor keep them warm enough not to freeze.

Any thoughts

Barry

[Ian.C.S]

frozen water tanks

yes, they freeze, we had underslung water tank on one of our earlier vans, a dodge, it froze, as did the underslung gas bottle.
I still have awful memories of cuddling the gas bottle to get the gas to vaporise so we could have breakfast, vaporising gas gets even colder.
After that it was onboard water and propane only.
Buy a 5 litre bottle and keep it on board and change to propane it doesnt freeze, LPG and butane and butane mixes such as camper do freeze.

[barry5]

yes, they freeze, we had underslung water tank on one of our earlier vans, a dodge, it froze, as did the underslung gas bottle.
I still have awful memories of cuddling the gas bottle to get the gas to vaporise so we could have breakfast, vaporising gas gets even colder.
After that it was onboard water and propane only.
Buy a 5 litre bottle and keep it on board and change to propane it doesnt freeze, LPG and butane and butane mixes such as camper do freeze.

Should be no problems with the gas, on the Dimension it is within the body, and we use Propane anyway.

How cold was it when your tanks froze? Was there any damage to the tanks or pipework? I don't know whether the Dimension floor is insulated to any great degree to stop downward heat loss, or whether that would not affect the outcome anyway.

Are there any Dimension winter campers out there?

Always more questions .........

Barry

[Derek]

Did I read that Romahome do a winterised version? I wonder what they do

[Ian.C.S]

hi barry

i didnt measure it, but it was cold enough to freeze, no it did not damage the tank or pipework, I guess plastic tanks can expand a bit and open pipes didnt burst. Personally i would drain the system down for winter and use a bottle of some kind that I could keep on board, glad to hear you wont have to cuddle the gas bottle for breakfast.Dont let a bit of cold stop you, winter mornings can be so lovely, go for it.remember winter draws on.


ho ho ho

[barry5]

Did I read that Romahome do a winterised version? I wonder what they do

Charge a lot extra

I think it includes extra insulation, insulated tanks and pipework, I seem to remember that there is something different about the underfloor void/storage (not sure about that though).

Is any-one from Romahome (Brian B, Neville etc) registered on here yet?

[barry5]

Dont let a bit of cold stop you, winter mornings can be so lovely, go for it.remember winter draws on.


ho ho ho

Couldn't agree more about the winter mornings.

We are away next week and also booked for the 1st week in December. Christmas then becomes manically busy but we might try to escape sometime in Jan/Feb, otherwise it might only be days out just to keep the 'van ticking over.

Barry

[wendy]

We use our Dimension all through the winter and have not had any problem with anything freezing & we have been in some sub-zero temperatures. We use propane gas all the year round and we do not have any heat on during the night.

[gadgetman]

Freezing Gas?

I am new to this and have just purchased a C15 Romahome so this is my first winter, I have butane on board and it is in the body sort of thing, should this be OK, this is my only vehicle so it is used once or twice a week. Thanks.........

[peterholden]

Bryan

You will have either the camping gaz 907 or the smalllest calorgas (or equivalent butane). They can be replaced by the smallest calor propane cylinder as log as you get the correct reulator. Your gas bottle is in a locker whereas in the Dimension it is inside the van. We have camped in winter in both our C15 and our Outlook and had no problems with propane. (In my dim and distant youth (40 years ago)I did a lot of potholing and we used a centre that had calor lighting and cooking and an open fire. On cold winter morings we woul have to boil water on the fire and then pour it on the gas cylinders to enable cooking)

Peter