Wintermods

Jan M

Active member
We want to use our Westy in temperatures below the factory specified limit of -10°C without problems - freezing water lines, cold areas inside etc. We have actually used it offgrid at -10°C without problems - only extra was a outside winter cover for the windshield and the front door windows. Cold areas were located at the footwell below the dashboard and at the sliding door - this was leaking a lot of cold into the van. We have also read about waterlines freezing.

I have searched how and where improvements can be made.

First step was to purchase prefabricated inside winter covers for the windscreen and front door windows. With both outside and inside covers we should have enough insulation for the single glass windows.

Next step was to buy a sheet of the same material and make a cover for the entire sliding door. We used the factory installed fasteners for the mosquitonet to fasten the cover. I have attached pictures of the cover mounted. In the future we might add a zipper running from bottom to top for easier access. This mod made a huge difference - the cold leaks from the sliding door are minimized and as a result the heater fan runs on lower rpm.

We are also making a cover for the footwell below the dashboard - I will attach more pictures when it is finished and in place.

Third step is to secure the waterlines from freezing. Westfalia have routed the lines next to the heater hoses to keep them from freezing. I have followed the routing and the only weak spot I have found is below the toilet where the lines are far from the heater hose (se pictures) close to the valve used for emptying the waterheater. My plan is to wrap the heater hose and the water lines with some of the insulating material I have previously used, making a contained package were enough heat hopefully will stay to keep the waterlines from freezing.

I'll report back how things progress.

(I don't know why the pictures are rotated when uploaded?)
 

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Kiltym

Active member
Confused about two things.

Fasteners for a mosquito net? Was this an option as we don't have them.

The water lines in your photo are not near the valve for emptying the hot water tank. This valve is located across the van near the hot water heater. I think both areas will need consideration since there is no duct work near the hot water tank. We leave the pilot light on all the time in freezing temps.

Nice job with the sliding door cover. That footwell is a weakspot with cold. Even had water freeze on the plastic while the van was at 70F.
 
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OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
1. Insulated curtain behind front seats.

https://forum.james-cook-freunde.de/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=6988

2. Fans for circulating heat on long storage underfloor.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53770&highlight=Fans

Water lines to and from hot water heater run under the floor below the front bathroom closet wall and bathroom door (a metal plate covers them as well as electric wires right above the long storage area when looking through open rear doors).

3. Archived posts re winter operation.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30400&highlight=Winter

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=396&highlight=Winter

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18785&highlight=Winter

4. Snow driving.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29003&highlight=Black+tank
 
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OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
5. Ceiling insulatiom.

Is there a way to insulate the ceiling? By adding that window covering material to ceiling with suctiop cups or headliner wires? Similar to insulating a VW camper poptop?

https://www.busdepot.com/j40900

https://www.vanshades.co.uk/shop/pop-top-elevating-roof-wraps/insulated-pop-top-wrap/

At least, add a covering to skylight and upper vent windows.

6. Skirting.

For RVers in cold areas who park for awhile, they use straw bales and other things to block area under the RV.

How about vinyl or other solid material around the whole bottom of Westy to block wind? Could use magnets.

https://rvskirting.com/

https://rvskirtings.com/

https://rvinspiration.com/rv-life/cheap-diy-rv-skirting/

https://ezsnapdirect.com/products/rv-skirting/

https://beachfencewindscreens.com/
 
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Jan M

Active member
Confused about two things.

Fasteners for a mosquito net? Was this an option as we don't have them.

The water lines in your photo are not near the valve for emptying the hot water tank. This valve is located across the van near the hot water heater. I think both areas will need consideration since there is no duct work near the hot water tank. We leave the pilot light on all the time in freezing temps.

Nice job with the sliding door cover. That footwell is a weakspot with cold. Even had water freeze on the plastic while the van was at 70F.
Thanks! The net was probably an option (as in Oldwest post below) with push button fasteners.

The yellow handle on the emptying valve can be seen in the picture I attached. Maybe my van differs - it is a James Cook (euro model).
 

Jan M

Active member
2. Fans for circulating heat on long storage underfloor.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53770&highlight=Fans

Water lines to and from hot water heater run under the floor below the front bathroom closet wall and bathroom door (a metal plate covers them as well as electric wires right above the long storage area when looking through open rear doors).
I have considered installing a computer fan in the tunnel door. Good to know this works!

Those water lines have escaped my search- thanks for the head up! The fan installation has become more important now.
 

Jan M

Active member
I have considered installing a computer fan in the tunnel door. Good to know this works!

Those water lines have escaped my search- thanks for the head up! The fan installation has become more important now.
Today I installed a fan. I chose a supersilent 140mm fan from Noctua - NF-P14s redux-900 - the largest I could find that would fit the opening. I have temporarily connected it to the fresh water pump feed. My plan is to connect it to the auxiliary heater start feed (yellow wire from the central electronics) so that it only runs when the heater is on. The fan only uses 0.84 watts.
 

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Jan M

Active member
We have now spent a week in the Norwegian mountains with some low temperatures, around -13 degrees Celsius. It seems our winter mods have worked well. No problems at all with freezing waterlines or cold areas. Only the grey water valve froze due to me forgetting to add antifreeze before we got there. I fixed it by wrapping some towels dipped in hot water around the valve a couple of turns.
 

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Jan M

Active member
Now when it is summer and warm outside I thought it's a good time to adress the freezing grey water valve. My solution is to install a 12v heating cable wrapped around the outside of the valve and turn it on a couple of hours before we plan to dump. I found a cheap 5 watt heater for bird water feeders that should do the job.

dbvk5_uk_basesquare_1280x1280.jpg
 

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Jan M

Active member
We reached a new cold record tonight with -20,5° C. Everything worked as usual when we went to bed at -17° C but in the morning the lines to the toiletflush and watertap in the bathroom had frozen. Also the lines from the boiler had frozen so now we only have cold water at the kitchen sink.

The Espar airtronic mostly runs on medium to high, almost never on boost, and maintains a comfy 20° C inside temperature, although we keep the window and sliding door coverings attached all day long.

IMG_6440.jpgIMG_6441.jpg
 

Jan M

Active member
When we left our campground today we had set another low record. Still our Westy could maintain a comfortable temperature inside.
2F1C9192-6CD0-47CD-A7FA-7BD6FC626D7E.jpeg
 
Hi Jan,

We've been going on cold weather ski trips in the US since 2020. Our grey valve has also frozen in -11F temps. How/where did you plug in the 5 watt heating coil to warm the valve? Also, how did you access the space under the bathroom floor where the water lines are subject to freezing? We also have had our bathroom sink faucet/water freeze. We know where the bathroom water lines are in the closet but don't know how to access the ones under the bathroom floor (your previous 3rd photo). Did you finish the footwell covers and how did they work?
 

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