tonyfletcher Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Hi All, Having used the MH throughout the Christmas period and not froze up I was left wondering was I lucky? or is my vehicle Bessie 760 reasonably winterised? How much better are the European MH's for winterisation and is there any particular Company that is at the forefront?? Cheers Tony (?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 If your motorhome has underslung water tanks below the floor then its not winterised. If the underslung tanks are lagged with insulation then it will last a bit longer in sub zero temperatures but its still not winterised. If the water tanks are within the heated living area and the pipes all stay inside the van then it IS winterised. If its one of those jobbies with a double floor with the tanks between the two floors and the area is heated then its also winterised. Our last van (Scout) certainly was not winterised, our new van certainly is. Hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 That certainly takes care of the water system, but I think perhaps some thought should also be given to the main construction of the van with regard to the insulation values of the walls and roof, together with the construction and fit of the windows. The heating system in the van also needs to be checked to see if it is up to the job in sub zero conditions. I would hazard a guess that the German manufacturers may offer most of these requirments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 We were at the North Cape in May 2002 in a Duetto and our pipes under the van froze and that was with us in it and the heaters running! Mind you it was blowing a gale from the east and snowing at the time. We had to come down from the Cape (it is at about 1000 ft) and stay in Honningvåg (sea level) for the day in order to allow the ice to melt. To be fair to Autosleeper, the Duetto is not described as being "winterised" and the tanks and pipes are uninsulated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaleg Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Our Auto sleeper Lancashire, survived down to -9 last year, the tanks are slung under the chassis, but i gues must be lagged ( can't kneel down to look myself) Were we lucky? Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Depends on the age of your vehicle. The current models are classed as follows: Grade 3 classification (EN 1646-1) for heating and thermal insulation for sub-zero ambient temperatures. This just keeps you warm but not the waters warm. For that you need the optional winter kit. Consisting of fresh and waste water tank heaters, waste pipe insulation and winter fridge vent covers. I'd be interested to know if anyone has the winter pack on a Swift/Bessacar and the associated power comsumption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 This was an earlier thread on the subject http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=10077&start=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Our van the fresh water tank is inboard, the waste is under slung but in an insulated box with a feed from the blow air heating. There is also a blow air heating feed into the toilet cassette waste locker. German vans are built to use during the skiing season in the mountains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 lennyhb - 2010-01-29 7:25 PM ...German vans are built to use during the skiing season in the mountains. Some are, some aren't - as will be evident from the earlier thread I mentioned. My Germany-designed/built Hobby has an internal fresh-water tank and an external uninsulated waste-water tank. The latter is fitted with a 12V heater, but this is only operable when the motorhome's motor is running or the vehicle is connected to a 230V hook-up. With the 12V heater off, in very cold weather the tank's contents will inevitably freeze. The Hobby's blown-air heating system was originally capable of directly heating the WC cassette-locker's interior via a yawning air-gap between the locker and the washroom cupboard. I doubt that Hobby introduced this 'design feature' deliberately, as its downside was that stinky smells from the WC cassette permeated the washroom. Can't say that our Hobby's limited cold-weather usability concerns us one iota, as it will never be used by us in 'skiing' temperatures. If we'd wanted a "fully winterised" motorhome, we wouldn't have chosen it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 Hi Derek, Although your waste tank is uninsulated I expect all your fresh water plumbing is internal and with the use of a waste container & leaving the waste tap open you will survive in full winter conditions, more than can be said for most British vans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 Just citing an idea from another M/home forum where the owner put a skirt around the M/home held either by button/ studs or awning strip and used a low wattage heater to lift the temprature under the vehicle a bit to prevent freezing. Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 tonyishuk - 2010-01-30 4:41 PM Just citing an idea from another M/home forum where the owner put a skirt around the M/home held either by button/ studs or awning strip and used a low wattage heater to lift the temprature under the vehicle a bit to prevent freezing. Rgds Can't see that catching on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 lennyhb - 2010-01-30 5:01 PM tonyishuk - 2010-01-30 4:41 PM Just citing an idea from another M/home forum where the owner put a skirt around the M/home held either by button/ studs or awning strip and used a low wattage heater to lift the temperature under the vehicle a bit to prevent freezing. Rgds Can't see that catching on. nor me...absoloute madness. No wonder we are bankrupt as a manufacturing nation. This winterisation tag is misleading. I want a van that can be used all year if I want to, so always buy suitable vans. But its not just winter use? a properly constructed and insulated van is more efficient and comfortable at all times. it works better in the summer as well keeping the interior cooler I remember at a open air show once looking in an RV it had a/c and generator drowning away and the atmosphere was stifling, whereas my Swedish built camper was comfortable and you could sit in it and read a paper no problem..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 lennyhb - 2010-01-30 10:34 AM Hi Derek, Although your waste tank is uninsulated I expect all your fresh water plumbing is internal and with the use of a waste container & leaving the waste tap open you will survive in full winter conditions, more than can be said for most British vans. Yes - and if I took a UK-built '3 Seasons' motorhome and re-jigged the water system slightly so that, during very cold weather, fresh-water could be taken from internally-stored portable containers rather than the external tank, that would work too. I'm sure you're wearing rose-tinted spectacles when you look at German-made leisure-vehicles. You'd probably have been imprisoned for that during WW2. :-> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Derek Uzzell - 2010-01-31 10:35 AM lennyhb - 2010-01-30 10:34 AM Hi Derek, Although your waste tank is uninsulated I expect all your fresh water plumbing is internal and with the use of a waste container & leaving the waste tap open you will survive in full winter conditions, more than can be said for most British vans. Yes - and if I took a UK-built '3 Seasons' motorhome and re-jigged the water system slightly so that, during very cold weather, fresh-water could be taken from internally-stored portable containers rather than the external tank, that would work too. I'm sure you're wearing rose-tinted spectacles when you look at German-made leisure-vehicles. You'd probably have been imprisoned for that during WW2. :-> We used to have a caravan that you could put your fresh water container in the shower compartment and connect it up to a special spigot when the weather was too cold to leave it outside. This also worked well when travelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.