I don't know that my 2006 Gearbox 220FB is actually rated as a 4 season unit. It does have heaters for all three tanks. I'm not sure how effective that will be. Maybe it will keep the tanks from freezing, maybe it won't.

Here is what the original brochure had to say about insulation:
• R-11 Fiberglass Insulation (Ceiling)
• R-7 Fiberglass Insulation, (Floor, Sidewall, Front Section)

I don't see any insulation under the trailer but maybe I wasn't looking hard enough. Is it possible to insulate the tanks? And how about insulating the frame sections where the tanks aren't? I've insulated my home's garage door with the rigid foam and that works really well. I was thinking of doing the same with the underside of the trailer.

 

Isn't your belly sealed (covered) on your RV?

 

I'm not sure what "sealed" means. I looked at a couple of toy haulers that were sealed enough that I couldn't see the frame. When I look under mine I see the tanks plain as day and I can see the heating pads on the bottom of them.

 

So you do not have a belly wrap, that is when you look under your RV, you can see the frame rails, the tanks, and everything under your camper, so your insulation is below your floor, but the underneath of your camper is open?

The concern then would not be the tanks, but the drain lines from the tanks. How cold will it be when you use your camper? Are you really going to camp below freezing for prolonged periods of time?

Steve

 

If your belly is open then I wonder how effective this heating pad is? My tanks are insulated and then the belly wrap.

 

Heaters work fine. Have used them for years, but the manufacturers acknowledge that 4-season is like "organic" with no clearly defined meaning, save for a very few high-end manufacturers who guarantee to a certain temperature. Even a wrapped heated belly is only good until a certain point. Frozen tanks are incredibly rare as far as problems go. I have worked in the winter on four-season RVs when the dump lines are frozen. No damage, just couldn't dump till I got out the hair dryer or heat gun set on low.

The more important issue is "how cold". We have camped when it was below zero without heated tanks or wrapped belly, but few folks actually camp when the temperatures are that low.

Steve

 

Right. That's what I was thinking.

Steve, I'll be in below 32° F situations for a few days at a time. When I look underneath the trailer I see frame.

 

Below 32 is nothing unless that is constant. If the temperature simply hits mid-20s for an hour in the early a.m., I don't even winterize. You will not have a problem with tanks unless they are completely full and everything freezes solid.

Damage from freezing is much more uncommon that folks expect. I have frozen everything in one of RVs completely solid one winter in Indiana and it did no damage at all. Tanks weren't completely full, but water lines were frozen, etc. Heated bellies are not magic and it is absolutely possible to freeze water lines in some situations even with belly heat.

Steve

 

I would think your inside comfort, keeping the interior warm would be more problematic for any temps in the 20's/30's.


Anything colder than that you would want to add some insulation and a wrap or something to block the flow of air underneath.

 

Are there aftermarket solutions for insulating the tanks? Or is it a complete roll-your-own type project?

If I'm going to be camping at a time when it's 0° F then I'll probably be dry camping with the trailer winterized.

 

If you want to insulate, I would do the entire underbelly with insulation then enclose with Coroplast. Coroplast is just like it sounds. It's corrugated plastic sheeting and is what RV's with enclosed underbellies come with. Inside my Coroplast is standard rolled fiberglass insulation which I'm not thrilled with. In the summer the fresh tanks and fresh lines can sweat with cold water and warm temps. That water ends up in the fiberglass insulation and starts to grow mold. I'm changing out my defective dump valves from cable operated to electric this spring and when the underbelly is down, I may remove the fiberglass and go with rolled reflective insulation instead. It doesn't have the R value of fiberglass but will reflect and radiate the heat supplied to the underbelly back up towards the floor, tanks, plumbing, etc. For my limited cold weather camping, it's a good compromise that isn't a mold factory when it gets wet...

 

Mine has just regular household insulation with the reflective coating against the underbelly wrap. It is also heated.


I'll bet you can buy it (the wrap) easy enough.


I have camped in single digits and snow a number of times.


If I was going to be set for the winter then I would fully enclose the underside from the wind and snow though.

 

They do use a lot of power but that heat tape works wonders on lines. We have shacks that are setup at our yard permanently using that stuff with the reflective insulation wrapping them and have been in use for years. Not sure if you'll be on shore power or not when parked for a few days.

 

I think shore power is going to be a rare luxury.

 

Having taken down bellies years old with standard insulation, I see not sign water damage from condensation or anything else is a problem.

I would base any plans for change on realistic usage patterns. What the industry already does in more than ample for most users and dropping a belly or enclosing a belly to insulate is not a job for the faint of heart. It really is a pain I avoid whenever possible.

Steve