Folks who ask me about living in my rig in cold weather have likely heard me say that at a certain point, it’s like trying to survive an ice age in a cardboard box. Well, it’s really not that bad when you have electric heat, plenty of propane, and are reasonably sheltered from the wind. It’s been really cold the last few days (dipping to -30C/-22F at night with ‘highs’ in the -20sC/-4C during the day) and I’ve been perfectly comfortable. And then last night, just before bed, the big OOPS happened.
I had put water on for my before bed cup of tea and thought that it was taking forever to boil. I went to the kitchen and noticed that the stove wasn’t even on. I was out of propane. You can just imagine the curse word that I blurted out. I was completely shocked since I have gotten really good at gauging how much propane I have left by how heavy my tanks are. But I had neglected to take into account one variable, the fact that I had a new tank in the rotation.
Earlier this week, Charles sent me home with one of his 20lbers that he thought was mostly full. As it turns out, this older tank weighs about twice as much empty as my 30lber feels empty! I thought that I had at least two days’ worth of propane at my current consumption rate and really only had about 24 hours’ worth.
It was almost 10:00 p.m., so much too late to go to town for some and definitely too late to go knock on neighbours’ doors unless it was a real emergency. I didn’t deem my situation to be that bad. I had the electric blanket and the electric heaters. It would be a nasty cold morning, but the night would be fine.
I turned off everything in the office to reduce my amperage draw sufficiently to be able to run both electric heaters on medium all night. I then pre-heated the bed and my pajamas, knowing from my winter camping experience that if I went to bed feeling warm, I would stay warm all night. I’ve made the mistake of going to bed feeling chilled and even having the electric blanket running all night wasn’t enough to make me comfortable. It was 17C/63F in the rig when I went to bed at 10:30.
The furnace always wakes me up when it cycles on, so with the chilly nights we’ve been having I’ve had to run it at night. I therefore haven’t been sleeping well. So imagine my shock when I cracked open an eyelid this morning and it was just shy of 7:00 a.m.! What a great night of sleep!
Part of my business in town involved going to the bank, which doesn’t open till 9:30, so there was no sense getting up. I just stayed in my warm cocoon and drifted back off to sleep.
When I decided to get up around 8:30 and pulled back the blankets, it didn’t feel nearly as bad in the rig as I had expected. I still had to pull on an extra sweater and was grateful that I had left the door to the toilet room open. The temperature was 8C/46F, not great, but much better than expected. If it didn’t require so much propane to go up from those temps to comfortable ones, I would leave my furnace off all night as I would sleep much better.
By the time I got the truck out of the garage, the propane tanks loaded, and had carefully driven out to the highway, it was just past 9:00 and I made it to the bank at exactly 9:30.
Next stop was propane, which I knew would take a while as I was getting 70lbs worth and there’s usually only one or two guys to fill propane and pump gas. So I went into the gas station and treated myself to a coffee. Such as small thing, but having my coffee made for me first thing is a joy!
I then picked up a few groceries and headed home. I got the furnace started before putting away the truck and food. It was actually colder when I got in than when I had left, 5.5C/42F so I have a long way to go to get to comfy temps, but the temperature is rising steadily. With the warm air blowing, it feels way warmer in here than it is, so I can get some work done.
The moral of the story is, get propane as soon as I switch to the last tank! I estimate I’ll need to go to town once a week if these temps continue.
I also need to figure out if it’s going to be worth paying my estimated $400 to $450 monthly cost for propane and electric heat to stay home or if I should move in with Laura. Since I have been very comfortable, productive, and am sleeping well, so far the answer is yes. I’ll revisit that question in a month or so.
OMG I feel for you. I would be so miserable. I really need my creature comforts. I even hated being in Canada in October and April/May before we could cross the border. Although I enjoyed the RV, I sure like my cosy little house!
Sandra, I like my creature comforts too, hence the electric blanket. 😀
I treated myself to an electric mattress pad. I need to remember to tuck my night shirt in between the sheets when I turn on the pad. As with you I will stay warm all night if I can fall asleep warm.
I know both my propane and electric bills will be high this winter, but fortunately I have gotten a part time job, which will help with the bills.
A down side of the new job is that I have to open the shop at 5:15 am, which means walking in the cold dark to work. I got some great boots and white knit hat and scarf. Yet another adventure in my life.
Joni, preheating your jammies is a good habit to get into! And do look into getting oil-filled radiators. They’re inexpensive and don’t cost much to run.
I’m curious to know what you’re doing for a part-time job…
I also sleep better with my furnace off. Fortunately, it’s only been getting down to about 65° in here at night but I still like to turn my heat on in the morning and go back to bed until it warms up another 5-7°. It’s hard for me to wash and dress when it is that cold in here. I’m such a wimp.
Linda, I also hate to wash and dress when it’s cold in the rig. Mornings are tough enough without adding shivering to the mix!
I’ve heard that if the propane tanks get cold enough, the liquid propane does not gasify sufficient to provide fuel to your appliances. Else you could have propane in the tank, but it won’t work because of the temp. Be sure to wrap them in blankets or heat tape so they continue to function properly. I’m not sure at what temp it is an issue; but, I should think that -20 F would do it. Before refilling next time, try bringing a cold tank into and set at room temps for awhile and see if it makes a difference.
Pleinguy, I’ve never had that happen to my propane tanks and I’ve been in muuuuuch colder weather. I know for a fact that my tanks were empty because I needed 70lbs to fill them (2x20lb, 1x30lb).
Well, they say you can get used to most anything, but I never was able to stay asleep when the stupid RV furnace came on. So annoying.
In Europe now they have these fibreglass propane tanks. Well, I *think* it’s fibreglass, that’s the only description I can come up with.
Anyway, you can SEE the liquid inside! It’s awesome. I always knew how much propane I had, and never ran out.
There’s a picture of one here: (Just copy the link, I ain’t doing the http)
It seems they will be coming to the New World some day.
http://www.tailgatingideas.com/10-pound-clear-view-propane-tank-review/
Bob, thanks for that link! Europe is ahead of us in so many ways. 🙁
BTW, links automatically become clickable, no need to code anything. 🙂