Paradigm 385fl north of Montana

[Rdn7]

Hey there.
Just bought a 2022 385fl for full time living just north of the border in eastern British Columbia.
Wondering if anyone has experience with these units in minus 20 to minus 30 Celsius?
Seems it should be good and I made sure it was double pane glass.
Deal is done and taking possession next week.

 

[M and E]

Hey there.
Just bought a 2022 385fl for full time living just north of the border in eastern British Columbia.
Wondering if anyone has experience with these units in minus 20 to minus 30 Celsius?
Seems it should be good and I made sure it was double pane glass.
Deal is done and taking possession next week.

First and foremost, congratulations! I hope you enjoy your new rig in health! I do not have the experience you are looking for (opposite end of the world pretty much in SW FLorida). When we were buying our rig, the windows were bonded dual pane windows and not gas filled. They will provide a minor thermal break but no significant R value. Maybe that has changed. That said, I would have to imagine it is going to be very challenging to keep that unit comfortable at those temperatures without meaningful additional heat sources. Not sure how you would manage the water lines at those temps (or if that is a concern). Regardless of my opinion, I hope you really enjoy the rig!

 

[Rdn7]

Thank you.
And thanks for that detail on the glass!
I honestly bought the unit sight unseen.
Those temps in that area don’t last too long in the winter.
My friends have been in a Colorado about the same size a few years. They have a little stove in the kitchen which is what I’m considering as well.
Dickinson makes a nice stainless steel diesel heater for boats that will likely be the winner.
Just not keen on drilling holes is such a beautiful trailer. Certainly not the first winter anyways!
We’ll see how it goes. If I decide to stick with it a few years I’ll build a mud room off the entrance and put a proper wood stove in there.
The slide configuration makes that a little silly but I was a carpenter in my last career so building won’t be an issue.

 

[Rdn7]

Thank you.
And thanks for that detail on the glass!
I honestly bought the unit sight unseen.
Those temps in that area don’t last too long in the winter.
My friends have been in a Colorado about the same size a few years. They have a little stove in the kitchen which is what I’m considering as well.
Dickinson makes a nice stainless steel diesel heater for boats that will likely be the winner.
Just not keen on drilling holes is such a beautiful trailer. Certainly not the first winter anyways!
We’ll see how it goes. If I decide to stick with it a few years I’ll build a mud room off the entrance and put a proper wood stove in there.
The slide configuration makes that a little silly but I was a carpenter in my last career so building won’t be an issue.

Also my water line is rated to minus 40c so should be good as long as it doesn’t freeze in the ground.
Worst case the tanks are heated as well as forced air into the basement I believe.
May ad some rigid insulation down there as well

 

[2 Allies]

Congratulations and Welcome !
We have a 2024 385FL and love it. No cold weather experience and hope not to have any.
Good luck,

 

[Midnight Rider]

Well done!
🎩

 

[Midnight Rider]

Th

Hey there.
Just bought a 2022 385fl for full time living just north of the border in eastern British Columbia.
Wondering if anyone has experience with these units in minus 20 to minus 30 Celsius?
Seems it should be good and I made sure it was double pane glass.
Deal is done and taking possession next week.

That is cold.
Insulation round the bottom.
get a heated hose.
make sure your dump lines don’t freeze.
run some extra heaters.
good luck

 

[M and E]

Thank you.
And thanks for that detail on the glass!
I honestly bought the unit sight unseen.
Those temps in that area don’t last too long in the winter.
My friends have been in a Colorado about the same size a few years. They have a little stove in the kitchen which is what I’m considering as well.
Dickinson makes a nice stainless steel diesel heater for boats that will likely be the winner.
Just not keen on drilling holes is such a beautiful trailer. Certainly not the first winter anyways!
We’ll see how it goes. If I decide to stick with it a few years I’ll build a mud room off the entrance and put a proper wood stove in there.
The slide configuration makes that a little silly but I was a carpenter in my last career so building won’t be an issue.

Sounds like you have some really great skills and plans! I'm good at the rough work but the finish stuff takes me stinking forever and it is never perfect. The marine heater sounds like a great idea!

 

[M and E]

Also my water line is rated to minus 40c so should be good as long as it doesn’t freeze in the ground.
Worst case the tanks are heated as well as forced air into the basement I believe.
May ad some rigid insulation down there as well

There have been some posts on the Facebook pages recently about insulation. I'm considering it also.

 

[Chaseweston]

Hopefully you'll be connected to power. Skirting will be critical in these temps regardless though. We are Currently in the Badlands and the temps have been dipping down to low 30s at night and before I finished the Diesel heater install a few days ago, we burned through a 30lb tank of LP in 2 days flat trying to keep the kids' room (Valor 44V14 garage) at 68. The master was 82 and their room was 67 with the furnace running almost non stop all night. Since the diesel heater install, all spaces are balanced and can keep it 70/71 in all rooms with diesel heater on lowest setting and furnace barely kicking on for up front.

The diesel heater is the way to go to save LP and put out much more heat.

Good Luck though! As another SW Florida resident, I cannot fathom those temps and don't think I ever want to.

 

[Jwtsg]

Would strongly recommend insulated skirting in those temps,,,helps keep winds from drawing heat out of basement area,,,shields & helps retain lost basement heat contained under trailer. Would strongly recommend The Skirting Company Insulated skirting. Have used that for a couple of years,,,,easy DIY install,,, check them out on you tube. Good product,,,good people,,,good videos & information/ experience in winter needs,,,,easy to quickly remove,store, & reinstall if your moving around,,,,will prob need to insulate any exposed drain lines,,,,tank heaters work but most Have temp limits that shut down tank heaters @ certain temps to preven/protect trailer systems. Will also want a good dehumidifier (The Gasbye Company) & some dries it containers to help capture condensation moisture,,,,We live in our trailer full time in Cascades in Oregon,& stay warm & toasty,,,nothing like the temps you mention but a lot of good winter vids on you tube,,,,Welcome from Oregon,,,Congratulations & enjoy!

 

[ElkCreek]

We have a 395DS, which is not what you’re asking about, but it does have a rear bathroom like yours.

We experienced two weeks with lows in the -15 to -20 range, and that back bathroom was my nightmare.

It’s just too far from the furnace and the heat loss through those ducts can’t keep the belly back there above freezing.

I actually got ahold of Alliance and asked for plumbing schematics, intending to drop the belly insulation and install heat tape on the plumbing all the way back. I never followed through with that, we got by with a space heater and keeping the cabinets open and the door closed for that bathroom. It was our kids shower/sauna.

One of the reasons I never followed through on the heat tape is I didn’t know what to do about the plumbing on/in the exterior wall. There’s a reason they don’t build houses like that up north.

In addition to this, the rear bath black/gray combo tank has an exposed dump valve, and it will freeze at -1C. (three tanks up front all have valves inside the belly, zero issues up front) So, our options on that were either keep it open or build a tent around it and put a space heater in there. We built a tent, then stressed about the fire hazard, then decided we’d only turn the space heater on when the rear tank needed dumped. No plumbing broke, but I grew a couple new gray hairs.

We kept the blinds down to block the cold through the windows, which was an ok solution.

Everything else was dreamy. The basement heat vents meant the floor in the front half stayed warm, and the furnace was plenty capable of keeping the living spaces warm.

When we’re out in weather like that we run off the fresh water tank. Fill, drain hose, store in basement. I also manually drain the dump hoses as soon as the tank empties and I close the valves.

Hope this helps.