January 25, 2013

Boondocked in 7 degree weather last night. Heater stayed on all night and kept unit at 62 degrees or above. Did notice that when traveling at these very low temperatures at highway speeds of 70 mph that the amount of air flow being directed around the fresh water tank tends to make it freeze. The water lines and pump did not freeze. Have travelled at temperatures in the low 20's before with no issues.
We have never had any customer concerns aired on this so it is most likely has never come up before. I would suspect that people who travel at these temperatures might be going from campground to campground with empty fresh water tanks. We know from testing that when the camper is setup (all slides out and heater on) in a site and camping at very low temperatures (at least 5 degrees or zero and probably much lower) that the camper experiences no issues with freezing.
Still I want to offer an extreme weather package that will allow for travel at highway speeds in single digit or lower temperatures and protect the fresh water tank from freezing.

Also, even though we currently have the highest insulation factors in the business, we will be incorporating more insulation in the bottom of the overhang in all future truck camper models.

Start of Trip

January 24, 2013

Started our travels in the best/worst weather to test the TS116FB truck camper. Prior to the start of this trip we tested the camper in 8 degree weather on its jacks plugged in with the propane heater running and a small electric heater also running. We thought that this might be a good test since the tanks and waterlines depend upon the propane heater running to heat the basement and keep the tanks and water lines from freezing. There were no issues. All water lines remained operable.

We filled the unit almost completely with water since we intend to dry camp. Of course, we will leave the furnace heater running as we travel.