Re: [A/S] Winter Living

[<pcfranke@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Since others have chimed in, here is my personal experience -- for what it's worth:

I have used my coach on a daily basis for the past 4-5 years.  So far as I can remember, during this period the temperature here in central 
Ohio has not gone below zero -- the thirty below stuff simply is not an issue hee.  While I prefer to spend as much of the winter as 
possible in Texas, I nevertheless have had to spend much of those winters in central Ohio because my wife is still working.  

I always have been able to be comfortable.  My principle source of heat has been an oil-filled electric heater run at 600 watts.  When I 
have been by myself in the coach I have set the thermostat in the low 60's, but when the wife is inside I set the thermostat in the upper 
60's.  And while I have tried various configurations of storm windowing in other years, this past season I used absolutely nothing (my 
laziness does not appreciate getting to Texas and having to rip off window coverings I put up just a few weeks earlier).  

My annual propane costs (as reported on my taxes -- it's that time again) totaled $119.50 in 2003 (may have missed a fill or two), and 
$180.58 in 2004 (this figure is complete for sure).  These figures include 365 days of refrigeration both years, but admittedly I rarely use 
the stove.

The others are correct about many campgrounds in Ohio shutting down for the winter.  However, there always are some that stay open, 
making a practice of catering to construction workers and others with nomadic occupations.  They also are correct about freezing hoses -- 
that being said, I have not connected directly to the water mains in years, prefering to fill my water tank.  

Avion and Airstream both are well-built, solid trailers that you can live in comfortably in the Ohio climate -- the issue is not a technical one.  
You can enjoy all the comforts anyone else does.  Rather, successful fulltime living at close quarters is a discipline -- ask any monastic.  
Some people thrive on it, others do not.

May you thrive!

          -- Lew #4239

'72 Safari
Stuck in Ohio -- again