Winter RV Living in Central Washington: The Complete Winterization Guide

Living in an RV through a Central Washington winter is entirely doable — residents at Willows Trailer Village in Moses Lake do it every year — and it comes down to three things: heat tape on your water lines, skirting around the base of your rig, and steady interior heat. Everything else in this guide supports those three.

This isn’t theory. Skirting is required at our park within 30 days of move-in, and the practices below are what actually keeps rigs here comfortable from November through February.

What a Moses Lake Winter Actually Does to an RV

The Columbia Basin is high desert: dry air, big temperature swings, and stretches of sub-freezing nights. Compared with the wet Puget Sound side, that dryness is a gift — less rot, less mildew, fewer seal problems. But dry cold is still cold, and an RV was engineered for camping season, not January. Two vulnerabilities dominate: exposed water lines (the hose from the pedestal, the connection at your rig, and anything running through an uninsulated underbelly) and heat loss from below, where nothing but a thin floor separates you from the wind.

Step 1: Heat Tape on Every Exposed Water Line

Heat tape (also sold as heat cable or pipe heating cable) is an electric cable you run along the length of a water line to keep the water above freezing. It is the single most important freeze-prevention item you will buy.

• Buy a heated drinking-water hose if you can — it’s heat tape built into a potable hose, and it’s the cleanest solution for the pedestal-to-rig run.
• If you wrap your own, run the cable straight along the line (not spiraled, unless the manufacturer says to), secure it with foil tape rather than plastic electrical tape, then insulate over the top with foam pipe insulation.
• Don’t forget the fittings. Elbows, the pedestal connection, the pressure regulator, and the inlet at your rig freeze first because metal sheds heat fastest.
• Use a thermostatically controlled cable so it only draws power when it needs to.
• Inspect it in October. Cracked jackets and worn spots are a fire risk. Replace, don’t patch.

Step 2: Skirting — Not Optional, and Not Just Cosmetic

Skirting encloses the gap between the bottom of your RV and the ground. At Willows it’s required within 30 days of move-in in metal, vinyl, or painted material — partly because it keeps the park looking sharp, and largely because it works.

Without skirting, winter wind moves freely under your rig, stripping heat from the floor and freezing tanks and plumbing that live in the underbelly. With skirting, that space becomes a still air pocket that stays meaningfully warmer than outside air. Residents commonly report a real drop in heating effort after skirting goes on.

Practical notes: seal the skirting to the ground as well as to the rig — a gap at the bottom lets wind scour through. Leave an access panel where you need to reach the sewer connection and the underbelly. Some residents place a small, safely rated heat source in the skirted space during extreme cold snaps; if you do, follow the manufacturer’s clearance instructions exactly, and never improvise with an open flame.

Step 3: Steady Interior Heat — All Winter, Not Just When You’re Home

The mistake that costs people a burst line is turning the heat down to save money while they’re at work for twelve hours. Plumbing inside your rig is only protected by interior warmth. Keep the thermostat at a steady, moderate temperature around the clock all season.

Here’s where Willows’ structure genuinely helps: electricity is included in the $550 monthly rate for ordinary residential RV use. Running electric heat steadily doesn’t change your monthly bill. In a metered park, that same behavior is the thing that blows the winter budget — which is why we call it out on the rates page. (Note: EV charging at the pedestal isn’t available.)

Also open interior cabinet doors under sinks on the coldest nights so warm air reaches the pipes behind them, and keep the fresh-water bay warm if your rig has an enclosed, heated bay option.

Step 4: Insulation and Draft Control

• Windows: RV windows are the biggest heat leak in the rig. Insulating film, thermal curtains, or cut-to-fit foam board in windows you don’t use makes an immediate difference.
• Vents: roof vent insulator pillows are cheap and effective.
• Door: replace tired weatherstripping and add a draft stop at the threshold.
• Slide-outs: check the seals; a compressed or cracked slide seal is a constant cold draft.
• Floor: rugs over bare floors add real comfort above a cold underbelly.

Step 5: Tanks, Sewer, and Water Management

Keep a little RV antifreeze in the black and gray tanks per your rig’s guidance, and dump when tanks are reasonably full rather than leaving the valve open — a slow trickle in a cold sewer hose is how hoses freeze solid. Support the sewer hose at a consistent downward slope so nothing pools, and disconnect and drain it after each dump if you’re in a deep cold snap.

Step 6: Manage Condensation

Dry outside doesn’t mean dry inside. Cooking, showering, and breathing put a surprising amount of moisture into a small space, and it condenses on cold windows and in corners. Run the range hood and bath fan, crack a vent slightly even when it feels counterintuitive, and consider a small dehumidifier. Left alone, condensation becomes mildew and, eventually, soft spots.

Step 7: The October Checklist

1. Inspect and, if needed, replace heat tape; test it before you need it.
2. Swap to a heated hose; store the summer hose.
3. Install or repair skirting and seal it to the ground.
4. Reseal roof seams and check all exterior caulking before freezing weather.
5. Install window insulation and vent pillows.
6. Check propane levels and appliance function if you use propane as backup.
7. Stock a small emergency kit: extra foam insulation, foil tape, a spare regulator, and a hair dryer.

If Something Freezes Anyway

Shut off the water at the pedestal first. Warm the line gradually — a hair dryer or heat gun on low, starting at the open faucet end and working back toward the blockage. Never use an open flame. Once flow returns, check the entire run for splits before you walk away. If the freeze is at the pedestal or the site connection, call management at (206) 495-4101 — we’re reachable 24/7, which in February is not a small thing.

The Payoff

Do these steps once, in October, and winter becomes uneventful. That’s the goal — not heroics in January, just a warm rig, water that runs, and a heating bill that doesn’t exist because it’s already in the rent. More on year-round living here: the long-term RV living guide and FAQ.

Frequently Asked Questions