Jindabyne in June/July

[Holden_man]

Hi folks,
Bit of a novice at the caravanning thing, we thought we might do a run to the snow next year in the june/july school holidays and take the boys skiing. It's fair to say being from Sunny Qld we don't have a clue what we are in for!
Thought we would book into one of the parks in Jindabyne, has anyone on the forum done this and does anyone have any tips to help us prepare for planting the van in snow country in the middle of winter or have we got rocks in our heads

 

[Holden_man]

Thanks AJC,
Just booked into the Big4 at jindabyne for last week in June. We will have an Ibis aircon which I am guessing may struggle with the overnight temps. Do You reckon a small fan heater or oil heater may do the trick? What about the fold out bed, are we going to freeze in there? I can always get the boss to sleep on the canvas side I guess
The park managers mentioned some people get stuffed water pumps when everything freezes, how do I prevent that?
Thanks

 

[cruza driver]

If you have the Expanda connected to main water you bypass the water pump as its not needed when hooked up to the tap. This will save the pump if it is an issue. We have camped in sub zero temp and never had any issues with the pump freezing, I ve never thought about it actually

 

[relgate]

Hmm, I would think the freezing water could damage the pump regardless of if you use it or not, but good to hear you havnt had a prob CD.

We were thinking of going down to do the same this year but ran out of time. I noticed that some of the parks have drying rooms. I was going to put a heater in the ute canopy otherwise.
I wouldnt rely on the Ibis as the outside temperature may be too low to let it work properly. I'd go the powered site with the electric blow heater (or 2). just be very careful of safety. Be careful of carbon monoxide risks too. Dont try and light the stove for heat!

My plan was to leave the bed ends closed and sleep on the floor. Maybe even leave the pop top down too.

 

[Holden_man]

Hi relgate,
I think the ibis site talks about -6 being the lower limit. As for the pump the camp manager said " with some of the newer vans they blow the pump" I was assuming he meant as they freeze and expand it stuffs it, but not real sure. Can you drain the pump. He mentioned disconnecting from water overnight, guess it saves breaking the hose into bits. It certainly is going to be interesting, but he reckons the park will be full, wonder if they will all be Qlder's who thought it seemed a good idea at the time

 

[Holden_man]

If you have the Expanda connected to main water you bypass the water pump as its not needed when hooked up to the tap. This will save the pump if it is an issue. We have camped in sub zero temp and never had any issues with the pump freezing, I ve never thought about it actually

What you say makes sense, so the pump is just for the two tanks. So would you rock up with all water empty? No water in tanks or pump, drain everything, just use mains? Good to know you haven't had an issue. Would be a bummer to bugger the pump.

 

[Burnsy]

Hey Holden-man,

Friends of ours just came back from there, they didn't have aircon, used blow heaters and slept in thermals. No problems with the cold, but they did put carpet on the floor which helped. Should be a good trip mate, and enjoy your new van!

Cheers.

 

[Brad]

What's the go with driving in snow and having to use chains?
Do you need a set for the van also?

 

[Holden_man]

Hey Holden-man,

Friends of ours just came back from there, they didn't have aircon, used blow heaters and slept in thermals. No problems with the cold, but they did put carpet on the floor which helped. Should be a good trip mate, and enjoy your new van!

Cheers.

Hi burnsy,
A bit of carpet is not a bad idea, reckon those down south would call us soft though
Looks like D day is approaching for you also. You must be getting a bit twitchy now. For us mid October still feels a long way off.
Yep should be a ripper trip. Really looking forward to it, we have never seen snow. Not much up here....

 

[Holden_man]

Hi AJC,
Thanks for the info, that's great. Really looking forward to heading into your part of the country. we should be better prepared thanks to everyone's help.
Thanks heaps. :thumb:
Ps PJ's, I'm not telling the boss she has to wear PJ's.....:wink: