HughA
RVF Regular
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2022
- Messages
- 10
- Location
- Twin Bridges, California
- RV Year
- 2021
- RV Make
- Keystone
- RV Model
- Outback 301UBH
- RV Length
- 35
Good evening all!
When I joined the RVforums and introduced myself I promised an update and some photos. To recap: we own a lot off of highway 50 between Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe up at 6000 ft. The Caldor fire took out our old 1950's cabin in 2020 and we are now having a new one built. Since our home is down in the SF Bay Area we decided to park a travel trailer on the lot so we could monitor progress and help out the contractor. The big question was, could a trailer handle the heavy snow load which we get in this area. Our Keystone Outback has a full walk on roof so we could go up an shovel the snow off after every storm. But what about the pop outs? Would we have to pull them in for every snow fall? We opted to buy a Navigloo RV cover and so far it has worked out well. As you can see in the photo it has a plastic frame on top of the trailer and a huge (45 x 30) tarp. We opted to hold the tarp down with cinder blocks and a few solid concrete pier blocks.
So far we have been thru two good storms with 2-4 ft accumulations over 2 to 3 days. Despite being pretty taught the tarp still shakes a lot in the wind and this causes it to shead the snow, even over the large side pop out. The down side is it can be very noisy and sleeping thru the night during a storm wasn't possible. The other down side is all of the windows are covered so there is no seeing out. But overall it is working well so far. The only concern is I am seeing some chaffing where the tarp is pulled over corners and I am working on better padding to prevent that.
Other winterizing: One complaint about the Outback is the aft grey water tank drain line hangs under the trailer and runs 7' forward to tie into the forward sewage connection with the forward black water and grey water tank drains. I put a heat tracer on it and double wrapped it with insulation. The valve froze shut once but I improved my insulation job on it and so far it's opened every time. I wish I understood the frame and tank construction better. You would think the aft black water and aft grey water drains would connect, but instead the aft grey water drain runs forward.
I have been keeping an eye out for condensation issues and just found one in the bunkroom pop out. The lower bunk is set over two good sized drawers. Very good storage area. But there is no air circulation under the bunk where the drawers are so it must get very cold . This causes water to condense on the shelf supporting the mattress. I am dealing with this by lifting the mattress each morning and setting a fan to dry the shelf. I may try to put an electric heater in that area if I can find a small one I feel safe enclosing in the storage area.
The styra-foam skirting is holding up well and doing it's job. I have a temperature transmitter under the trailer and it says the area stays 10 to 15 deg F above the outside air temperature. I do have a heater under the trailer but have not used it. The only time the fresh water froze was when the power company had a black out for 3 days. I don't know if it froze in the trailer or where it comes out of the ground and jumps to the trailer. I didn't want to run my generator all night. I should get a better one.
I alternate between using the propane heater (which is quite noisy) and a electric heater. I keep it 60 to 65 all day. I have no cost data yet.
I am happy to answer questions and will post again in January.
Hugh
When I joined the RVforums and introduced myself I promised an update and some photos. To recap: we own a lot off of highway 50 between Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe up at 6000 ft. The Caldor fire took out our old 1950's cabin in 2020 and we are now having a new one built. Since our home is down in the SF Bay Area we decided to park a travel trailer on the lot so we could monitor progress and help out the contractor. The big question was, could a trailer handle the heavy snow load which we get in this area. Our Keystone Outback has a full walk on roof so we could go up an shovel the snow off after every storm. But what about the pop outs? Would we have to pull them in for every snow fall? We opted to buy a Navigloo RV cover and so far it has worked out well. As you can see in the photo it has a plastic frame on top of the trailer and a huge (45 x 30) tarp. We opted to hold the tarp down with cinder blocks and a few solid concrete pier blocks.
So far we have been thru two good storms with 2-4 ft accumulations over 2 to 3 days. Despite being pretty taught the tarp still shakes a lot in the wind and this causes it to shead the snow, even over the large side pop out. The down side is it can be very noisy and sleeping thru the night during a storm wasn't possible. The other down side is all of the windows are covered so there is no seeing out. But overall it is working well so far. The only concern is I am seeing some chaffing where the tarp is pulled over corners and I am working on better padding to prevent that.
Other winterizing: One complaint about the Outback is the aft grey water tank drain line hangs under the trailer and runs 7' forward to tie into the forward sewage connection with the forward black water and grey water tank drains. I put a heat tracer on it and double wrapped it with insulation. The valve froze shut once but I improved my insulation job on it and so far it's opened every time. I wish I understood the frame and tank construction better. You would think the aft black water and aft grey water drains would connect, but instead the aft grey water drain runs forward.
I have been keeping an eye out for condensation issues and just found one in the bunkroom pop out. The lower bunk is set over two good sized drawers. Very good storage area. But there is no air circulation under the bunk where the drawers are so it must get very cold . This causes water to condense on the shelf supporting the mattress. I am dealing with this by lifting the mattress each morning and setting a fan to dry the shelf. I may try to put an electric heater in that area if I can find a small one I feel safe enclosing in the storage area.
The styra-foam skirting is holding up well and doing it's job. I have a temperature transmitter under the trailer and it says the area stays 10 to 15 deg F above the outside air temperature. I do have a heater under the trailer but have not used it. The only time the fresh water froze was when the power company had a black out for 3 days. I don't know if it froze in the trailer or where it comes out of the ground and jumps to the trailer. I didn't want to run my generator all night. I should get a better one.
I alternate between using the propane heater (which is quite noisy) and a electric heater. I keep it 60 to 65 all day. I have no cost data yet.
I am happy to answer questions and will post again in January.
Hugh