Polar Insulation

Bob Landry · 01-01-2011, 11:54 PM

I'm wondering how cold these trailers are good to with the Polar insulation upgrade. I don't do a lot of wintertime camping but I do local trips and while I'm not in freezing temps for extended periods, I do encounter low teens to an occasional zero, and I'm wondering how the Crossroads hold up to cold. I currently own a Jayco and it sweats a lot on the interior when it's cold and the furnace is running. Crossroads is on my short list for the next trailer.

dalemac377 · 01-02-2011, 12:05 AM

We travel south in early January every year and our overnite stops can get in the low teens. Never had any trouble with moisture on the walls. Will have a little condensation on windows. We always leave a roof vent open a little as well as a window cracked open to get a little ventilation. We use two electric heaters and suppliment them with the furnace. Seems to be fine for us. We have the Polar Tech insulation.

**Lloyd** · 01-02-2011, 12:53 AM

We camp in the fall for an extended stay. Usually 3-4 weeks. Temps get down in low to mid teens. Rarely does it get much colder. When we got the unit we ordered (upgrade insulation package) I don't know if that's the same as what they now label their solar pack or not. We were experiencing moisture on the walls and in the cupboards, especially in the slide out. We started leaving the overhead vent in the BR cracked open all the time, plus a window on each end of the 5er cracked open. This seemed to remedy the moisture problem.The windows open was manly for our peace of mind because we run an Olympic Wave heater which requires oxygen to burn. We don't have the thermo pane windows. Should have ordered them also.

mwebber78 · 01-02-2011, 02:03 AM

We had a 2009 for two years, it had the upgraded insulation. I guess the new polar pkg adds more astro-foil in the coach in the slides, floors, underbelly, walls, etc. The only time we had sweating was the windows which were non-thermopane. You might want to consider the thermo-pane window option to make the best of your polar pkg since it will cut down on window sweating.

I don't know if they've added a heat vent to the pass-thru but that was the only area that I was concerned about. There was a plug in there and a few times I set the cermaic heater to low on thermostat of 60.

lenny · 01-02-2011, 02:22 AM

We stayed in our Seville for 3 weeks this fall, October November. Temps got as low as 0F overnight. We have the upgraded insulation as well as solar pane windows.

The only condensation we noticed was on the windows, when we made pasta. Other than that nothing.

I bought a small space heater to put in the storage area because I was worried about that area not staying warm enough. However, that heater may have been a little much. It would heat that area up very well, including heating the wall that the thermostat is mounted on. That left the rest of the trailer rather cool. So we took it out.

We have the electric fireplace, which if you are unfamiliar actually does put out a reasonable amount of heat. We left that running 24-7, but would still go through a 30 pound bottle of LPG every 48 to 72 hours.

The underbelly is enclosed, so the floor in the main area was always comfortable, but in the slides the floor got fairly cool.

Overall it was pretty comfortable. If I was going to stay year round I would get some skirting installed around the entire unit and then run my little space heater in there. It does get to -40F here at least a couple weeks per year.Edited by: lenny

salda01 · 01-02-2011, 04:31 AM

We have the additional insulation on our '08 and have been in temps down to the low teens for a weekend. The 5er remained warm, windows sweated and condensation formed about 2-4" from the floor in both slides. Being we don't camp but maybe 4 weekends in those temps I really don't care. I have thought about using electric heat to see if that pulls some of the moisture out of the air.

mwebber78 · 01-02-2011, 05:15 AM

Dehumidifer works great and is an option in colder weather camping. I have a mid-sized LG that I use in my basement but it works wonder in cold weather camping in the RV.

salda01 · 01-02-2011, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mwebber78

Dehumidifer works great and is an option in colder weather camping. I have a mid-sized LG that I use in my basement but it works wonder in cold weather camping in the RV.

That's a thought... I know other have just kept the air moving using a fan or two to help minimize the condensation.

w&cferb · 01-02-2011, 08:02 AM

We camped in the mountains, Colorado and Montana, last week of October and first week of November. Temps to 0. Had two mornings of frozen water line, even with cupboard doors open and heat on. Otherwise, we keep a vent open, a window or two cracked for ventation. We use a ceramic heater when we are in the 5er and set the furnace at 46 degrees when out hunting. We have the polar insulation but not thermopane windows. I put bubblewrap on the windows for insulation. It helped. Have to watch the condensation on the bedroom slide out or the mattress gets damp. All in all, much better unit than our Keystone, which was cold, cold, cold. I plan to put an extra rug in the livingroom slideout area to help with keeping the toes warm.

C

papa2 · 01-02-2011, 08:40 AM

I camp in Michigan and well into late October in Northern Michigan. Temps can vary, of course, but do get down to 0 degrees at times. My ST has the polar insulation and thermo pane windows. Good combination. With proper venting condensation has not been an issue. Frozen water lines from spigot to trailer, on the other hand, are. Perhaps a dehumidifier would work, but for those of us whom live in the North know, humidity makes it easier to heat and doesn't dry out wood. We add humidity to our heat in our homes and I would be reluctant to remove it in the trailer. Ceramic heaters are a nice addition.

WoodcarvingGypsy · 01-03-2011, 05:42 AM

We used ours the week of Thanksgiving (central Indiana) with temps at night in the 20's and wind chills in the single digits or below 0°F with winds in the 25mph range. We didn't notice any condensation or dampness but we were just sleeping there, not cooking.

It did use a bit of propane so I put ceramic heaters in and that helped considerably.

Ours has the Polartec and thermopane windows. If I were to add anything it would be to put Reflectix on the underside of the bedroom. Other than that, I did go around and find any hole that could be an underbelly air leak (other than the slide actuator holes) and plugged them with duct tape, foam, or steel wool.

ThreePutt · 01-03-2011, 08:12 AM

We have used a small dehumidifer since 05 and we have no condensation. We only turn it on just before we go to bed.

Bob Landry · 01-03-2011, 08:20 AM

Sweating not the only thing I'm going to base a decision on. It wasmerely one of thepoints Iraised about my Jayco. I was also interested in overall construction and durability in general of the Crossroads line.

salda01 · 01-03-2011, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Landry

I was also interested in overall construction and durability in general of the Crossroads line.

I have had issues with my unit, but overall I have been extremely please with the service both my dealer and CR has provided. Without hesitation we would definitely look to the CR product line for our next trailer.

Bob Landry · 01-03-2011, 09:31 AM

What kinds of issues have you folks had? Appliance/accessories/construction/leaks/slides?

papa2 · 01-03-2011, 09:43 AM

Well Bob, that was one of my concerns when I bought my ST in October 2007. I just had an issue with the reefer but it was repairable, which if you've ever purchased a new reefer you understand that's good news.

We camped and traveled as much as we could for two years before putting ours on a season lease site. One of the criteria is that it had to be as durable as our Sunline had been(generally regarded as one of the best stick built trailers in it's day). Oddly, we did replace the reefer on the Sunline also. The Sunset Trail held up to the rigors of traveling to West Virginia and back, and has held up to the rigors of a seasonal lease. I believe most here would agree that the construction quality is not an issue with the Crossroads product line. More importantly, if something goes wrong during the warranty period the manufacturer steps to the plate and makes things right ... and occasionally out of warranty as well.

Don't mean to sound like a shill, but CR has always done the right thing by me if/when things went awry and I'm still happy with my unit 3 years later and out of warranty.

gossamar · 01-03-2011, 12:47 PM

Well...I have an 09 CT31RL with the upgraded insulation and thermopane windows. The coldest weather I have camped was down into the mid 20's and the pelonis heater I have kept the trailer above 65 degrees until about 4 in the morning...then the furnace ran 1-2 times before morning. There was some wind and about 1/2-1 inch of snow on the ground when I woke up the next morning. I was real happy with the performance of the trailer. Granted I do not have extended experience like some of the people here, but I have been happy with how the trailer has held up thus far....

salda01 · 01-04-2011, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Landry

What kinds of issues have you folks had? Appliance/accessories/construction/leaks/slides?

Bob,

I have had two issues with my rear axle becoming loose. The 1st time the axle completely separated when the trailer was new and had less than 700 miles on it, including transportation from the factory. No real damage, just very inconvenient. I was very lucky.

Then just this past season I found the bolts loose again, with the ends of the axle collapsing, thus loosing nuts. If you search the forum you'll see were others have had this very same issue. New axle installed (Lippert picked up about 55% of the cost, I owned the rest) this fall and I will recheck the torque on the bolts this spring.

Other issues have been very, very minor (loose piece of trim, storage door lock not grabbing) back when the trailer new.

Otherwise nothing major with my unit in the about 15,000 miles we have towed it during the 3+ years we have owned it.

Jayco builds a decent product too, a friend of mine has a 2005, no major issues and he'll look to them again.

My suggestion go with the unit that best fits your budget and needs. Keeping in mind that price doesn't necessarily reflect quality.

sturn · 01-20-2011, 09:18 PM

We have been camping in our new 2011 Seville for the past 3 weeks in Georgia. It has gotten down to 18 at night for a few nights and we are perfectly comfortable. We use the fireplace and have bought an additional heater at Sam's to help save propane. We were shutting off the fireplace and heater at night and using the propane, as I was told by Crossroads that the holding tanks are heated when the furnace is running. Last night it was supposed to get to 32 so we left the heater and fireplace going and the furnace did not come on at all last night. So far we are very happy with the insulation. Hope that helps!

1olcatonr · 02-04-2011, 02:00 AM

we are wintering in Benson Az in a 2011 Kingston30SB with Polar package. It has has been 7yesterday 11 this morning. we are using the furnace and have no problem keeping it 70 inside the camper. 30 lbs lasts about 4 days. This has been a very cold winter here. We have pulled this rig about 7500 mile since we got it with trips to Wisc. Mo. Col.and Utah. We have had no problems with the frame,axles,slides or appliances.A couple of blades fell off the ceiling fan one day while we were traveling across Utah. I put it back together and tightened all the screws,end of problem. We are very pleased with the unit and sad to see them discontinue this model.

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