Author: Rae

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Thinking Outside the Question

I asked the Escapees forum tonight if there was some way for me to tap into the 50A outlet on my power pedestal so I could run my heater. The answer I got was that it was possible, dangerous, and expensive. The solution became more and more complicated until someone suggested that I get a heater with a lower amp draw.

Which made me pull out my manual, whereby I discovered that by using a lower setting, I can reduce both of the heaters’ draws from 12.5 to 7.5A!!! Talk about a DOH moment that had me both blushing and laughing. Even at a lower setting, I’m still getting more heat from the two of them than I would from just the big one on its own.

I continue to be humbled.

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And so it begins…

It went down to about -8 last night. Everything was hunky dory this morning, not that I was stressed seeing as the magic number is -10.

Today’s high was about -8 and it’s all been downhill from there.

This morning was my favourite weather, the one in which I could live pretty much year round except for two weeks of swimming weather–coldish, dry, and sunny, perfect for wearing a light coat while doing some brisk exercise… like shoveling. But the weather has now degenerated to the ‘bitterly cold’ stage.

Everything is no longer hunky dory. The line from the main part of the plumbing to the toilet room appears to be frozen solid.

I traced the line and realised that, DOH, it’s actually located in a compartment, one that I so seldom use that I tend to forget I even have it. So, I went out to the hardware store and picked up the cheapest heater they had. The clerk tried to ‘upsell’ me to a fancier and pricier model but I made it clear that I had the heaters I needed for inside and I was just looking for something for the basement. He confirmed that the cheapie should work fine.

So, I got the heater installed in the compartment, but there is a problem: I had to use the 15A connection that was running the space heater in the cab. I therefore can no longer run that space heater as I’m out of amperage!

I purchased potable antifreeze, which I’ll add to my pipes periodically (yes, I know it’s not the most efficient way of using the product). I also bought some desiccant crystals to absorb some of the moisture in here.

A reader asked a very pertinent question: why don’t I just leave and escape the weather? The only way out of here is through some pretty bad snow and icy road conditions. It’s safer to make my stand right here.

I’m desperately trying to keep some perspective here. A few days of personal discomfort really won’t matter if I can at least keep my plumbing and other systems from suffering damage. I can wear more clothes, wrap myself in a blanket, or spend the day at the clubhouse.

In January 1998, I lived through what we call THE Ice storm. 21 days without power, living as refugees, and learning to ‘do without.’ A cold snap where I have access to supermarkets, hot showers, and the internet pales in comparison to that event. So, don’t worry about me, but pray for my Miranda!

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Propane Provides an Important Lesson

At 4PM today, I ran out of propane. Lesson learned? That an empty tank of propane weighs a lot!!!

Thankfully, there is one propane place in this area that has excellent hours for propane service: the Shell station in Osoyoos. They’re open 6AM to 10:30PM seven days a week during the winter. Of course, the 40 minute round trip wound up being closer to a full hour since I was driving slooooooowly. But what a relief it was to run out at 4PM instead of the middle of the night!

I had no problem getting the tank hooked up this time around. Thankfully!

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Into the Breach

Oh, it’s getting cold out there. It’s also very slippery. There is no way I am going into Penticton to get anything. So, I’ll be making my stand with what I have here.

I went out for about a half hour and tried to shake as much snow off of Miranda as possible. It was hard because a lot of it is crusted ice. My first priority when the thaw comes will be to get rid of all the ice and snow before it melts. If it melts, it will infiltrate and I will have major problems on my hands. I’m keeping particularly close watch on the upstairs bedroom. I wanted to climb up onto the roof, but it was much too slippery to do so.

One conclusion I’ve come to is that I simply cannot skimp on inside heat. Even if I have to go through a container of propane a day, I need to keep her insides warm. I noticed that the rear of her exterior is pretty much snow and ice free except for the bumper, while the front, and least heated, part of her is icy. Coincidence, I think not.

An issue I’m having is that the space heater is skewing the thermostat’s sensors. So, I’ll be moving the space heater forward and bringing the radiant heater aft. I think that this will serve a dual function in that the space heater will help reduce condensation in the cab and upstairs bedroom. I just wish it wasn’t so noisy!

I’m trying to decide if I should blow my water lines or not. Some people say I should out of sheer precaution, others that this is not necessary. I have too much experience with exploding plumbing to make this decision lightly. I’m just wondering if I’m not already too late to do so.

I’m not worried about my personal safety or that of the cats. We’ve ridden out worse weather than this. But the last thing I want is to ruin Miranda or have her experience damages that will ruin me financially.

As the days march by, I regret more and more my decision to remain in Canada this winter. My reasoning was that I would be able to work, but that hasn’t panned out at all. I would have been much better off living frugally in a New Mexico park. A bitter lesson.

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Walking in a Winter Horrorland

This morning, I watched astounded as a mountain (okay, what amounted to about two inches) of snow came down. It was the best kind of day; snowy, but at a perfect temperature for walking. I just got in from a brisk stroll.

But the snow was a non-event compared to news I got this morning from my colleague’s husband: an extremely cold front is moving in, bringing in temperatures that haven’t been seen here in at least a decade. We’re heading into a week-long stretch of weather in the minus teens to minus twenties. That’s the high minus single digits for you Americans.

There is no way I can properly prepare Miranda for that kind of weather, not with the resources available to me nor the resort restrictions on what can be done to the exterior of the rig. I can mostly only pray that the forecasts are extremely pessimistic.

My colleague’s husband suggested I get a rigid PVC pipe in which to run my sewer hose so that it can be propped up at an angle. He even measured how much I would need. The first hardware store didn’t have any pipes left in stock, but the second one did. Slight problem, though. I can fit up to 8′ lengths in the car… but I needed 10′. I wound up sticking the extra length out of the passenger window. According to eye witness testimony, it looked like my car was equipped with a canon!

When I got home, I unloaded the pipe and went in to have lunch. When I came out, my pipe was gone! On a hunch, I went around the rig and there was my pipe, all nicely installed by my colleague’s very nice husband.

I went back in an installed insulation in the cab, which is already making a difference (!). Tomorrow, I need to work on the front door and get a new space heater since the first one I bought conked out on me (over use, perhaps?).

How I plan to ride out this wave of cold weather is to run both electric heaters on max AND have the furnace going. I will leave all cabinet doors and that to the bathroom open to let the warm air circulate.

I’m especially worried about my holding tanks. I’m going to call a few RV places tomorrow and see if they have the special heating pads.

What a mess. I feel like I’m in the movie The Day After Tomorrow!!!

In happier news, one of my best friends never ceases to amuse me. She sent me this:

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