Camping During The Winter Months-Georgia & Florida

[micbur]

I have some questions about camping during the winter months here in the Georgia/Florida area. My wife and I purchased out first pop-up this past June and have an awesome time visiting various places here in Georgia.

We understand about winterizing the camper to with stand the winter months...but alot of this seems to be if the camper was not going to be used. We are planning to continue our twice a month weekend get aways. In the summer we always headed north and when winter arrives are planning to head south...southern Georgia and northern Florida areas.

Below are some questions I have:

1. We only visit campgrounds with electrical/water hookups. Can we go ahead and empty the water from the storage tank? We are planning to keep the camper in our garage when at home (We live in the Atlanta area and can get below freezing at times)...should we still use the RV anti-freeze in the tank if we are going to still be camping off and on?

2. Openings under the camper....what can we use to seal these up to prevent mice or such from getting inside? I was thinking that maybe that expanding foam would be good?

3. Water hose? Again we are not planning to go anywhere that the temps will be way below freezing. If the weather did turn cold could we do like at home and leave the faucet dripping? I am planning to purchase the foam pipe insulation to place on the hose if needed and any exposed water lines under the camper.

Any other suggestions or can we hear from others that have camped during colder weather in a pop-up?

Thank you,
Mike & Dolores

[Bigdog57]

Don't have a TT or Popup myself, but a couple friends do. One uses a small 'tear drop' TT during our yearly January motorcycle campout & meet. His worst problem seems to be condensation inside. His TT is very tight though - your popup may not experience this.
Another buddy has a larger popup - I will have to ask him if he does anything along the lines of your questions.

Temps generally run in the thirties here in northern Florida in the winter, but we do have some dips into the twenties, and occasionally the teens in late January or February. Keeping the water dripping them is a must!

[Scrib]

The expanding foam works good to keep out the drafts. As for mice, the best way to keep them out is to make sure there are no tempting morsels left inside. No matter how good you seal it up, they can get in if they really want to (and no, mothballs and dryer sheets won't keep them out, either!).

You shouldn't need to winterize if the temps are just below freezing. Your freshwater hose will freeze-up at night, but it's got to be cold for a long time to freeze the tanks and the warmth from your heater should keep the interior lines from freezing (open a cabinet door under the sink, at night).

One thing on a pop-up is that the beds can get mighty cold, since they are open underneath. You can wrap a tarp around the bunk platforms on the outside (closing them off), or put a space blanket or insulated blanket under the mattresses.

Have fun!

[Waterfowler84]

Georgia and Florida have winter?? LOL j/k j/k...how cold does it get during the winter months?

[Bigdog57]

In late January and early February, we in Northern Florida often see temps down in the 20's, and occasionally in the teens. Last year we saw a day or two down to 17 degrees. Back in the early 70's we had a morning where it hit 11 degrees! That was a COLD motorcycle ride in to school....... :D
My fingers were frozen stiff til second period.

So yeah, it does get chilly here!

[Waterfowler84]

In late January and early February, we in Northern Florida often see temps down in the 20's, and occasionally in the teens. Last year we saw a day or two down to 17 degrees. Back in the early 70's we had a morning where it hit 11 degrees!

Wow I had no idea it got that cold....that is pretty chilly. We just had lows in the -10 to 15 margin with wind chill factors as low as -25 last week. Crazy thing is I was camped out during the blizzard on a deer hunt about 60 miles from home..that put me to the test, but it was also a real rewarding experience being in that situation. All I have to say is thank God for my Jeep Grand Cherokee or I might have been stuck there longer after the blizzard subsided.