Top Tips for Cold Weather RV Camping | Winter RV Camping Guide

Hi, my name is Geneva long, CEO of Bowlus, and today we’re going to talk all about winter camping or four season camping and what you need to look for when selecting an RV designed for that capability. So first of all, it’s important to note that most RVs are not designed for four seasons use, but the Bowlus is. They’re not just not designed for winter camping, they don’t have the protection you need for temperature decreases and they also don’t have the design necessities needed in order to do that.

So here at Bowlus, we design for winter camping. We want your RV to be able to use be used all four seasons of the year, so we designed for that user and our prime example of this design is our monocoque design and monocoque design means that everything is inside that exterior shell. So a real monocoque design uses 2024 T3 aluminum which is six times stronger than any other type of aluminum on any other types of travel trailers. So it’s structural, it bears tension, it bears compression loads, and in practical terms it means that everything is inside the shell rather than on the exterior like you might see on other travel trailers, even other aluminum travel trailers, where that aluminum is simply a cap on the top of a traditional steel frame. So that monocoque design not only gives you the set strength but it seals you in from the element and also the vermin.

Now that monocoque frame provides an advantage or monocoque design provides an advantage for winter luxury land travel because as long as you keep the inside of your Bowlus warm, and we’ll dive into that later in the fantastic heating features, you will retain the ability to use all of your systems because all of the plumbing is on the inside of the shell. So as long as you’re keeping again the heating on heat on inside, you’ll have full capabilities because that a monocoque design, and I’m just going to show you underneath the Bowlus, freshwater tanks, black water tanks, every water lines are inside.

Now let’s talk insulation and I’ve set up my little demo inside for us all. So when you plan on enjoying luxury land travel in cold temperatures one of the important considerations is insulation so here at Bowlus, we use polystyrene insulation and that’s that solid, firm, insulation. This type of rigid insulation is far superior compared to traditional fiberglass insulation. Now here at Bowlus, we don’t use any of this, I just have this for demo to compare and this is what you’ll find in other RVs. So although fiberglass insulation is cheaper, it’s easily degraded by moisture reducing the R value over time and then causes the insulation to become less effective. Moisture saturation then causes the fiberglass insulation to get moldy, giving the RV that terrible musty smell that you might have noticed if you stepped into many used RVs and then also creates that unhealthy mold side effect.

Polystyrene insulation has a long lifespan is moisture resistant, has a higher R value and additionally when camping in cold climates, one of that concern is moisture buildup inside of the RV from condensation however with this rigid foam there’s not those same risks of wet insulation like you have with the fiberglass. Additionally, the Bowlus has a thermal barrier between the interior and exterior so there’s not any thermal transfer. The Bowlus is designed to last generations whereas your traditional RV is unfortunately usually only designed to last somewhere between 3 to 5 years. So at Bowlus, all of our panels are removed with a screwdriver so you’ll see screws all through here nothing is glued in and that’s really important all of the screws are stainless steel most of the parts in Bowlus are marine grade rather than RV quality and our installation is installed without the need for glues so there isn’t that off-gassing issue that’s common with other RVs. I’m going to link my video here on how the Bowlus is made so you can see even more into those design secrets.

Now, let’s talk about the heating system inside the Bowlus, so the design of the Bowlus allows all of those water systems to stay inside the Bowlus but let’s talk about how we keep it warm, so we use a Swedish heating system it’s silent and and robust it delivers even heat throughout the Bowlus because we use hydronic heating and it’s also programmable so you can turn it on you know before coffee or prior to your return from a hike it’s also incredibly efficient it works on either propane, 120V electric or battery so that means you’re not tied to an RV park. In order to run the 12V electrical part of the heating system takes only 1.9 amp per hour which also means you can run it for over a month in the Endless Highways models and to put this in perspective most RVs can only run their heater for about 12 hours off grid and that’s just the 12volt component that’s that’s not even running the whole system off the battery. You can run the whole system of the heating system off of the Bowlus batteries and if you’re going to be off cold weather camping, we do recommend using propane to heat your Bowlus because it will be able to make up the largest temperature differential as well as conserve the batteries for other use.

Now, if you’re not cold weather camping but want some heat and hot water, the batteries work well to power the heating system. When you’re camping with shore power inputs then that can also power the Bowlus heating system too. So let’s talk shower and toilet now so due to that monocoque design and fantastic hydronic heating system you can enjoy the full freshwater and plumbing capabilities in subfreezing temperatures because all of your hoses and water lines are tucked safely inside the shell. So the Bowlus comes with that efficient water heater system that we’ve already talked about because that’s built into the heating system. The heating hot water system works from either propane or 120 volt or both at the same time in the Endless Highways and the hot water components provide endless hot water through sophisticated pre-heating system so you can enjoy long hot water showers off grid or obviously even longer when when when you have hookups.

To put this into perspective, you can maybe expect like a six minute hot shower in other RVs and I’ll just poke over to the shower over here and in terms of the toilet. The Bowlus cassette system can be quickly and hygienically emptied into any toilet or washroom, so it’s easier to carry and empty even while full. We have a cassette toilet system so there’s none of that gross RV odor, you don’t require a dump station or a stinky slinky and then often when you’re exploring in the winter many campsites and dump stations are closed, so that leaves traditional RV owners no way to empty their black water tank however because Bowlus has that cassette toilet it can be emptied into any toilet or bathroom so this is never a concern.

Now let’s go talk about handling and drivability outside so the Bowlus handles so much better than any other RV due that low center of gravity and incredible aerodynamic shape that you can both appreciate on the inside and the outside. A low center of gravity, we don’t have our storage up above here, we have everything down low um and that translates to handling, highway speeds, crosswinds, emergency maneuvers, climbing or descending mountains, good handling makes such a difference so think of the Bowlus as the sports car of travel trailers and this becomes even more important in challenging winter driving.

So the Bowlus on the exterior uses 2024 T3 aluminum, which are really made for aircraft construction. We use aircraft grade rivets as well, which is used only by Bowlus and aircraft companies. We have that one inch rivet spacing so that’s a third aircraft standard that makes Bowlus incredibly aerodynamic and aerospace strong and that shell’s superior strength is why Bowlus owners don’t fear hail storms as other aluminum travel trailer owners do and similar to you know modern auto from luxury manufacturers like Jaguar, Audi, the advanced Bowlus space frame is welded from that 6061 aluminum tube fabricated on an exact jig that holds very tight tolerances and all interior subframes are also fabricated out of aluminum tubing for lightness and strength so that means that use of aluminum means that there’s no rust opportunities to weaken the frame or eat away at your investment.

In terms of breaking, Bowlus also has a shorter breaking distance due to its lightweight design and braking system so braking is obviously essential in emergencies, challenging weather, descending mountains, and Bowlus uses electric brakes that allow a controller either in your tow vehicle or a Bluetooth brake controller that plugs into the seven pin easily to transfer your vehicle’s brakes into the vehicle of the Bowlus so that means that you have lots of flexibility in terms of how that will work for you, and even how you want that to work from you from tow vehicle to tow.

Vehicle size and agility: Bowlus is agile in every driving condition u-turns on a two-lane road, pulling through many drive throughs. The Bowlus can go everywhere your tow vehicle can go because it’s the same width as your tow vehicle at that 80 inches wide and clearance is also you know a concern so you can take it to shopping centers for groceries and usually park in two tandem face-to-face spots with ease even if cars are parked on other side. Again that’s because of that 80 inches wide which is the same width as your tow vehicle in general. So the Bowlus is easily towed by four-wheel drive SUVs and towing a travel trailer out of a parking space after being snowed in is so much easier when it’s lightweight like the Bowlus. The Bowlus also offers the Adventure Package option so that’s a 3-inch lift with all-terrain tires and we definitely recommend that for owners who are looking on to adventure in cold weather or mud and snow.

Now one of my favorite questions is where can you go winter camping? Many ski hills permit overnight parking and camping very close to the runs, think of the Bowlus as a potential ski-in ski-out chalet, but even better because you can bring it to any hill you want. We have lots of families of owners who you know are pass-holders who love taking their Bowlus to a bunch of unique destinations and having the best access to that type of exclusive experience and parking as close to the action as you want.

Now even if you don’t love winter camping you should be considering an RV that’s set up for winter camping. First of all you just never know when those temperatures are going to drop and if you have a traditional RV and those temperatures drop you’re going to need to immediately winterize and you won’t have use of your RV, so that’s a really important consideration. Even places like the desert can drop really quickly overnight and you want that RV that’s ready to go for that. We’ve also had um you know owners who at the last minute want to take a trip somewhere to visit friends and family – polar vortex, Etc and so you want to have an RV that can serve that use as well and then you know we’ve even had owners use their their Bowlus as sort of a a backup in an emergency situation where the power went out at their home and you know that’s a really great function of the Bowlus as well is that it’s very well equipped for that winter, cold weather temperature experience.

So hopefully this has given you some things to think about and why you want an RV that set up for cold weather camping and why the Bowlus is a perfect fit, not only from the use case of camping, but also the use case of driving and exploring in winter camping conditions. If you want to continue the conversation, you can reach us at bowlus.com or sales@bowlus.com.