Winter-Proof Your Van: Tips for Cozy Camping in Freezing Temps

When it comes to van camping in freezing weather, preparation is key. While some Class B vans are better equipped for chilly conditions than others, it’s important to remember that you’re living in a metal box with windows. Keeping warm and preventing your systems from freezing requires some extra effort and planning. However, with a few simple tricks, even a van with minimal insulation, exposed water lines, and no tank heaters can keep you comfortable in freezing temperatures.

Winterizing Your Van Camper

The first step to camping in the cold is to winterize your van. Winterizing is a little different for every van camper, but the basic idea is to replace the water in your tanks and lines with RV antifreeze. I don't recommend draining and blowing out your water lines for reasons that will be clear as you keep reading this post!

Staying Warm and Functional in the Cold

1. Keep the interior heated while you're not in the van -- at least above freezing.

   
   

2. You CAN use your toilet when winterized!

   • It's actually very easy. Add four or so gallons of RV antifreeze to your freshwater tank (or less to you cassette toilet tank) and flush just as you always would. This works incredibly well.

3. Create an interior water supply.

   • Since your water system will be winterized, set up an interior freshwater supply using a 5 gallon water jug and a battery-powered faucet. This gives you easy access to water for drinking and basic hygiene without the risk of frozen pipes.

     
     

4. Capture gray water in a collapsible bin or portable gray tank, which can be easily emptied outside.

Here's how my system works.

First, I have a Scepter 5 gallon water jug secured by a mount that is attached to my kitchen cabinetry. A battery powered faucet with silicone tubing sits in an anti-spill cup holder on the counter. The jug is easy to refill and this whole setup works quite well.

But where does the water go? The easiest solution is to capture gray water in a simple collapsible basin. But if you want to get fancy and don't mind some plumbing work, you can install a portable gray tank with a 3-way ball valve to select whether water drains to the camper's permanent gray tank or the new portable one. That way you can use your actual kitchen sink! Here's how you do it:

1. Connect your existing (or new) drain pipe from the sink drain to a 3-way ball valve commonly used in pools. The ball valve controls whether water flows to the main gray tank or the new portable one. You might need or want to replace the sink drain too.

2. Connect the "bottom" end of the ball valve to the existing drain pipe that leads to your van's permanent gray tank.

3. Connect the "sideways" end of the ball valve to a 4 gallon water tank with a handle that will act as a portable gray tank. The connection from the ball valve to the gray tank would ideally use a quick connect fitting so that it's easy to detach the hose from the tank to remove it for dumping.

That's it! In summer camping mode, the ball valve is set to drain the sink to the permanent gray tank as usual. When winterized, you toggle the handle so that water flows only to the portable gray tank. Dump as needed. As long as the interior of the van stays above freezing, you have running water!

What You’ll Lose—and How to Compensate

With this setup, you’ll actually only lose two functions: hot water and the shower. Fortunately, you can make hot water on your stovetop or microwave. For showering? I recommend a gym, campground or maybe just go without for a couple days!

So there you have it. While van camping in cold weather requires some additional planning, with the right setup you can enjoy most of the comforts of summer camping. So gear up, winterize, and get ready to embrace the chill!