Writer: Helena Bergström
We know that winter comes every year, so there is no need to be surprised. But we had been traveling and were about to drive the camper to winter storage. The cold came a few days before we booked winter storage and all the water in the camper’s tanks froze to ice. Suddenly we couldn’t use the heating anymore, and the camper wouldn’t start either…
Suddenly the cold came, and it hit hard!
It’s not unusual for it to be cold in mid-November, but we had hoped that temperatures would remain above zero until the day we booked winter storage… but that’s what happened not! Shortly after we got home from Bratislava, we realized it was seven (!) degrees below zero outside, and we hadn’t even emptied the camper… bad!
The heating system could not be started…
We went to the camper and were met by a vehicle that was completely frozen. The cold affects the car in general, but the worst thing is of course that there is water in the tanks. When the water freezes, there is a risk that the connections will freeze. It was of course a shame that we had not resolved this in time (that was indeed the case). so intense at the last minute!), but now it was the way it was… What to do?
We had to turn on the heating in the camper, but we have the Alde water heating system, and this could not be started because the system (for safety reasons!) drains the water when it gets cold. You then have to top up water from the camper’s fresh water tank, but everything was frozen and the water system could not be used…
How do we get heat into the camper? We have an electric fan heater, but we do not have access to electricity in the parking lot where we live. We picked up the small portable power station we had just tested, and using it we were able to run the fan heater for a few hours.
The ice disappeared from the windows and it became a little less cold in the car, but it wasn’t enough… It felt like the entire camper frozen.
The camper wouldn’t start…
Could we possibly drive the camper somewhere, both to start the engine and perhaps look for electricity somewhere? We started by getting lukewarm and hot water in thermoses to pour into different water tanks. Among other things, at this point we only had plain water instead of coolant (not good, we know, we would have solved that!), so now it was frozen too…
Advertisement
Then came the next problem. The camper wouldn’t start… When Peter turned the key, nothing happened… Luckily we have one Noco Boost starting aid at home, and this proved invaluable. But with the help of this, the camper started almost immediately!
We needed electricity…
We realized we really needed electricity, so we called Peter’s eldest son Robin and asked if we could come and rape them for a few hours during the day. They bought a villa, so it is possible to pull out an electricity cable.
Advertisement
Said and done. We went to their house for a few hours during the day, had lunch together, and then worked on the computers in each part of the house.
Besides the fact that it was great to get electricity, it was also nice to meet each other. Robin and Alexandra are busy renovating, repainting several rooms and renovating the garden, so we were also able to see how the work is progressing!
Advertisement
Time to drain the water and prepare the camper
Eventually the camper warmed up enough so that we could start the gas heating. Then we went home and had the heating on all night. The next day it was time to take the camper to winter storage! Along the way we stopped at a rest area where we emptied the chemical toilet, water, waste and other items.
Winter storage
It was understandably bad that we let water freeze in tanks and taps, but that seems not like anything was frozen to pieces. We may not be completely sure until we take the car with us this spring and use it.
At least now it’s in the garage, all the water has been drained and the taps are open. After all this press it feels good… This spring it will of course be wonderful to pick up FREEDOM again!
Do you have a mobile home, have you now put it in the garage, or are you winter camping like Marlene?
#cold #camper #froze #ice…so #finally #solved