How to keep your RV warm in winter (15 best tips you need to know)
If you are considering taking your RV out this winter, don’t let the cold weather get in your way. Use this guide to cold-weather RVing to stay warm and enjoy the travels during your wintertime RV camping adventure.
How to keep your RV warm in winter (or your Trailer, Camper, or Motorhome), when the temperatures are freezing outside?
You need to know these tips if you are considering winter camping otherwise your RV trip will be awful during freezing temperatures.
Make sure you know all of these tips because an adequately insulated RV will keep you and your family warm to make your winter camping experience more comfortable and enjoyable. Below are six ways to prepare your RV for a winter camping trip
Fast tips on How to keep your RV warm in winter
- Installing insulation is one of the best and simplest ways to keep a camper warm in the winter. RV insulation protects many vehicle components from damage.
- Cover your windows and doors with heavy fabric or insulation. Better if you use windshield reflectors. You can cut them in the size you need and use double adhesive tape to stick them on your windows.
- Keep a small heater and a thermal sleeping bag in your RV.
- Check all the seals around windows and doors and make sure they are all in good condition. You don’t want cold air to come through the cracks of the seals.
- Cover skylights and vents.
- Add rugs over your vinyl floor or linoleum.
- Decorate in darker colors and bring blankets and pillows to make your RV cozy.
How to keep your RV warm in winter?

Do you love to take your camper out when it gets colder? Do you enjoy fall camping? How about winter camping?
It is such a different feeling to go camping during winter than in summer when everybody is on the road.
More space is available on a lot of campgrounds, and if you know what you are doing you feel very lucky that you can still go camping while your buddies start winterizing their RVs.
You love to be out in the cold but you still want to feel warm and cozy when you are back in the RV.
We have an older Travel Trailer and as soon as the furnace is on it is loud and the blowing air irritates our dog. Therefore we have been searching for many other ways of keeping the camper warm.
Winter Camping – How to keep your RV warm in winter (15 best tips)
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If you want to keep your RV warm in winter you need to have some precautions in place. The easiest is to cover your windows and doors with heavy fabric or insulation. Also, keep a small heater and a thermal sleeping bag or heated blanket handy. Check all of your seals around the windows before you hit the road.
1.Cover your windows and also the door
When it gets really cold outside, you want to have your windows and your doors sealed. The windows and doors are only one pane and therefore a lot of heat and cold gets in through the windows.
The easiest and cheapest thing you can do is to add plastic film to your windows inside. You only cover your window with the plastic film, then cut it out the size you want it, and then use your blow dryer to keep it on the windows. Very easy to do and it makes definitely a difference.
And you can still look outside.
Of course, you can also use windshield reflectors. Just cut them to size and clamp them inside your window. You might want to use some small hooks around the windows to keep them put or use a little duct tape that helps too.
It is definitely not a bad thing to check at least once a year if all of the window seals are still in good condition. In case they look pretty cracked, redo them. It is not very expensive but will save you from water and cold coming in. I just redid mine using Dicor.
Also if you have curtain rods on your windows, exchange your summer curtains for a heavier and warmer fabric. Here are some blackout curtains with insulation that really help. Covering doors and windows will prevent the cold from coming in and will keep it warm and cozy inside.
Don’t forget to cover your door. A thermal insulated door curtain makes all the difference as it is a huge area where heat can escape. The curtain can be easily attached with heavy-duty velcro, so no need to drill holes. And the costs are minimal for the result you are getting.
Cover all of your skylights and vents. Either find a pillow somewhere in your house that you don’t need anymore that you can use or get an insulated one. They really help reduce heat or cold air coming inside.
2.Add a warm rug
If you have a wooden floor or vinyl planks in your rig it gets cold inside through the floor. The easiest way to warm up the floor is by adding a runner or a cozy rug.
I just bought a brand-new rug from ruggable and I lOVE it. It consists of 2 different layers and the top layer is washable. Just take the top layer off (the surface layer is like a velcro fabric) and wash it in the washing machine. Yes, pretty cool feature and so helpful with pets and kids.
There are of course many more options on Amazon. This one is a shag and keeps your feet warm. Available in different colors and on sale right now.
This one is my rug from ruggable, that I had for many years now and still looks great.

3.Get an additional heater
The little electric heaters are easy to store and easy to operate. Just turn the heater on and it warms the whole place up pretty fast. I don’t let it run overnight, but you can if you need to. Some of the heaters also turn off themselves when the set temperature is reached.
If you want to have a heater running all night, get a bigger space heater that is safe to run during the night. It just uses more storage space.
Below are some choices for additional heaters. I don’t like to have my furnace run in my camper all the time. First, it is loud, and second, it blows all the heat toward the dog’s bed. And Apache hates it.
This is why I use a small additional electric heater that I can turn on and off and move around real quick if I want to. And it warms up the whole space really fast.
I just don’t let it run for very long, it is enough for us to have it run in the morning while I make coffee and we have breakfast to get the place warmed up.
4.Wear warm clothes
Wearing warm and comfortable clothes helps a lot. I wear warm socks, fleece pants, and a fleece jacket when I am inside the rig. And it is so cozy and snuggly on the couch drinking hot tea or coffee.
5.Use a lot of blankets
How about a heated blanket? And this one looks so good and fits perfectly with a farmhouse style.
I love to snuggle inside a plush blanket. So many different options are available that fit your interior and there is nothing softer to cuddle under out there.
Another great idea is to use a sleeping bag during cold winters. Get one with a hood and it can’t get warmer. You probably don’t want to get up in the morning anymore because it is so cozy inside your sleeping bag.
There are all kinds of sleeping bags available. I don’t like the mummy ones because I need to move around at night. I love this one because it is big enough to stretch and turn from one side to the other.
6.Keep moisture out of your Camper
Covering up your vents and windows will prevent condensation and humidity buildup on the windows of your RV. Another way to prevent humidity is to get a dehumidifier to keep the inside dry and mold-free. I keep damp rid in my cabinets summer and winter and that helps already a lot. Also, leave your cabinet doors open to prevent condensation.
This dehumidifier is good for up to 500 sq. ft. and works really well.
Another tip is to use an absorber towel inside your windows to absorb all the moisture that runs down your windows to keep them dry.
But don’t forget to open up the door or a window to let fresh air in for a couple of minutes every day. It helps to keep the moisture out of the camper.
7.Cook and bake inside your Camper
Of course, cooking and baking warms the inside up. When it is really cold outside, cook some comfort food, like soups and stews. If you have an oven, bake a cake. Use the energy for cooking and warming up the Camper.
Make yourself a nice pot of tea or whatever you feel like and warm up your soul also. Here are some recipes you can make in the oven or on the campfire.
Cook some comfort foods – it will warm up your body and soul.
8.Go for a walk or a nice hike
Go outside, go jogging, walk, hiking. There is no bad weather, only bad clothes. So pack good and warm clothes, comfortable hiking boots or shoes and go for a nice hike or walk. I promise this will make you feel good and warm and you will also burn some extra calories from all the comfort food you just ate.
Always wear layers of clothes, so you can take something off when you get too warm.

How to get your RV ready for winter – what you can do on the outside to stay warm on the inside:
RV skirting for winter:
9.Add a wind skirt around your RV
If you stay at a spot for longer, it makes sense to keep the underbelly of your rig warm.
You can do this by getting a wind skirt for your RV. Yes sounds funny but that is what it is called. You can attach it by using velcro or a zipper.
You can get it custom-made for the size of your rig from your manufacturer or check it out at RV Windskirt.
- It helps keep the under part of your RV from freezing in cold conditions
- Keeps the wind and debris from blowing under your RV
- It will protect and reduce the wind rocking during strong winds
- It will keep the floors inside your RV warm.
Another alternative instead of buying a wind skirt is to get plenty of hay bales and put them underneath your RV. This will also help to keep your floors warm and insulated and is a cheaper way of doing so.
Heated water hose
If you are hooked to water and it gets freezing you should definitely consider using a heated water hose to prevent the water inside your hose from freezing.
Leave your freshwater tank empty because the water can freeze inside the tank. You don’t want to put any anti-freeze inside your freshwater tank and use it for cooking.
Insulate your pipes if you are in pretty cold temperatures.
Add a little antifreeze into your grey and black water tank to prevent the content of the tanks from freezing (this could really get pretty messy).
10.Heated water tank
If you stay longer in colder areas and you need your freshwater tank, this is what you can do: this is a pretty easy and cheap solution to protect the water tank from freezing: Tank-heater pads.
- Heater Pads are designed and engineered to protect RV holding tanks, pipes and steps from freezing.
- Simply turn “ON” the power switch when the outside temperature is near to freezing. Built-in Thermostat is Set to Turn Itself on at 45°F( + – 5 degrees) and Turn Itself off at 68°F( + – 5 degrees). Turn “OFF” the switch when the outside temperature remains above freezing, fluids have been vacated, or Summer is coming, or RV is not in use.
- Pad size L 18” x W 12” works efficiently up to 50-gallon holding tanks, such as Fresh Water Tanks, Grey Water Tanks and Black Water Tanks. Please stick 2-3 pads to your tank if larger than 50 gallons.
- Just wire this pad to a 12 Volt DC power supply and RV power switch.
If you need a refresher ‘How to winterize your RV‘ check this post and watch the video.
Want to know how to make your RV cozy with textiles? Read this and you are prepared.
How to keep your RV warm in winter
Summary of Winter Camping – how to stay warm in your RV (15 best tips)
It is definitely fun to go camping with the whole family when it is cold. Winter vacation is just so different than taking the RV out in summer.
Just be prepared. Make some little adjustments and get one or the other of these very helpful gadgets and you will be cozy and happy in your RV. These tips will help you to keep the camper warm over the winter.
See you on the road,
Conny
Also, read the article How to stay cool in an RV and How to update a Camper easily on your own.
And if you want to remember this post ” Winter Camping – How to stay warm in your RV” for later, just pin this picture to your favorite Pinterest board.

Hey Conny, thanks for the tips & help, I would love to give it a try in my winter days. Great blog
Thank you for your comment. Glad you like the tips.
You can run electric heaters overnight. The oil-filled heaters are silent and have no open elements. These are very safe https://tinyurl.com/y4vaep8s
“Covering up your vents and windows will prevent condensation and humidity buildup in your RV. ” You will only prevent the moisture from condensing on the windows themselves, but it will condense elsewhere and you may not see it like on hidden cold spots, this is bad. You need to vent the camper, period. With this being said, the benefit of running the heaters you recommend is that they do scorch the humid air and will help dry out the camper. The same goes for the camper’s propane furnace since the gasses are vented outside. Any open flame propane unit like the stove will add tons of moisture to the air, so it’s best to run the vent when cooking on it..
Thank you for your insights. It is definitely best to use a dehumidifier and to run the vent when cooking to prevent moisture.
Thank-you!
Thank you so much I have my 1st camper in Maine and want to work on it for a couple months until snow flys.
Hi Catherine, just be careful when painting. The temperatures can’t be too cold. Stay warm.