New and Needing Direction

[Dancing Eyes]

Hello. My husband and I just purchased a 1995 Jayco 263 Eagle 5th Wheel. We're going to live in it full time on some family land with water, septic and electric hook ups. My husband has terminal cancer and we've decided that it's best for me to quit work so we can enjoy the time we have left together. Buying a used RV and parking on family's land means we can get by on his SS. So we've been working on remodeling RV, running water lines and power to where we want to park it. Problem is we don't know anything about how things work on the RV. Our previous RV was an old 70s bumper pull with a window a/c that we mainly just used to sleep in at lake or when selling fireworks. So while this one is old it has lots more bells and whistles than previous RV. We didn't look it over as well as we should have and now finding repairs that need to be done. So I'm sure we'll have LOTS of questions in the coming days.

 

[John&Andrea]

I wish you the best and enjoy life. You may want to have a tech inspect the rig and get a good idea on how things are working.

 

[FL-JOE]

So sorry to hear of your husband's medical issues.

My initial thoughts revolve around what type of weather you will be facing this winter? Are you far enough south that there won't be issues with below freezing temps?

 

["EZ"]

Welcome from Georgia!

Where are you located? Maybe one of our members would be willing to come over and take a look and aanswer some questions for you? If not I would go to an RV Dealer or a Camp Ground and ask for recommendations of someone they nknow that could come help explain the systems you don't understand. Good luck!

 

[Dancing Eyes]

So sorry to hear of your husband's medical issues.

My initial thoughts revolve around what type of weather you will be facing this winter? Are you far enough south that there won't be issues with below freezing temps?

We're in North East Texas, outside of Sulphur Springs. We're planning on adding underpinning around trailer to help with insulation and maybe foam board insulation. I've been checking out Pinterest and YouTube. LoL. Our winters range from 70 degrees to 20 degrees. Sometimes in same week. LoL.

 

[Dancing Eyes]

Welcome from Georgia!

Where are you located? Maybe one of our members would be willing to come over and take a look and aanswer some questions for you? If not I would go to an RV Dealer or a Camp Ground and ask for recommendations of someone they nknow that could come help explain the systems you don't understand. Good luck!

Thank you. We're in North East Texas, outside Sulphur Springs. My sister-in-law and brother in law have a much newer bumper pull and they're trying to help us figure it out. Somethings are different though. That's a good idea. I also belong to some Facebook RV groups. Maybe could find someone close on there.

 

[Germanrazor]

Well first let me send my prayers to your husband as well as you for being by his side. I always pray to the Lord on these matters and ask Him to heal the person I am praying for if it is His will. God Bless you both. There has to be a fellow member on this forum that could come to you and assist in diagnosing any areas and maybe even help rectify the issue.

As to insulating water lines, I find those darn pool noodles kids love to beat each other with make great water line huggies to assist greatly if you anticipate camping in cold weather. Now a water hose I find coiling it up and then wrapping in a thermal blanket then placing down in a large plastic tote to help greatly too. Just like my grandparents did, in cold weather, leave a faucet dripping and the Grey tank valve open.

Once again, God Bless and hoping maybe a miracle will be given here as the one true God works in ways we have no concept or understanding sometimes. He is still in the miracle business I assure you.

Good luck.

 

[FL-JOE]

I would caution on "Just like my grandparents did, in cold weather, leave a faucet dripping and the Grey tank valve open."
While this may be a solution in a sticknbrick it could be a disaster under the wrong circumstances in an RV. What if your gray hose or gate valve starts freezing in the middle of the night and you are allowing it to still fill with water?

A plug-in style heated water hose is the only way to go. Fill you fresh water tank and run off of that would be best when temps dip down under around 30 degrees IMHO.