Winter RV hook-up

bayfly

Active member
I have my sled trailer set up for camping and am looking for available winter sites with electric hook-up near snowmobile trails in the UP. I have been looking at campgrounds and very few are open in the winter. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't need much for accommodations but electric hookup and restrooms would be great. Thanks for any advice.
 

sweeperguy

Active member
I'd check with Krupps resort they have RV hookup in summer and are open in winter. They may have winter hookup.
 

bayfly

Active member
Thanks. I will check with Krupps. I was looking for somewhere further south since I plan on heading up for just one night this weekend. But that is still a good option.
 

bayfly

Active member
For anyone interested (which may be very few), I did contact the Iron River, MI Chamber of Commerce and Klint Safford Memorial RV Park does offer winter RV hook-up. I believe this is located relatively close to downtown with restaurants/bars located within walking distance. I have not stayed there and would welcome any feedback on this location, etc. Thanks in advance!
 

phazerpilot

New member
It is close to downtown, 3 blocks away with food and drink close by. I used to travel that area for work and stayed at the hotel across the street.
 

bayfly

Active member
I have also found that Running Bear in Paulding allows winter RV hook-up. Another other option that may be available to us is Jack Pines near Munising. Their RV camping is not cleared for winter (a common theme I have found) but they may allow electric hook-up in their parking area. Waiting for a callback from them to confirm the ability to hook up. But we can use the generator if electric is not available. (I do like the convenience of plugging in for the furnace, lights, etc.) With the available options (Iron River, Paulding, and Munising area) we will see how the snow conditions compare and take the best. My trailer is set up to unload the sleds, turn on the heat, ride all day, and return to a warm, insulated trailer for drinks, dinner, and sleeping. I can comfortably sleep 3 people on cots. We have used the trailer for summer/fall camping but have not stayed in it yet for sledding. I am hoping to work out the bugs in more convenient locations first then try more remote camping using trailhead parking areas, etc. I would love to hear from any others who have done this for suggestions. It could be a great way to keep our travel plans flexible and head to areas with best conditions on relatively short notice (if I can find enough available options).
 

bayfly

Active member
Nice. I had viewed these before ordering my trailer. After reading and seeing what you guys did I was convinced that a DIY project was beyond my capabilities. I ordered a custom trailer from Beckers. It is a 27' Stealth finished off with insulation, heat, electric, cabinets, fold down table, pull down sofa/bed, and slide out queen bed. We use it for extra sleeping/living space at the cabin all summer then trailering sleds all winter. This year we even went camping with it in Door County (we got quite a few stares with that!). This weekend will be the first attempt at sleeping in it on a sledding trip. Assuming all goes well I hope to use it on more remote locations bringing the generator for backup electric if the batteries run down. Does anyone know if it is legal/acceptable to stay overnight at trailhead parking areas? I have seen some in the Seney/Munising area that look interesting. Waking up with the trail right outside the door would be awesome.
 

bayfly

Active member
20160207_013312.jpg
We ended up staying in the trailer at Jack Pine Resort around Stueben, MI (about 20 miles south of Munising). They didn't have any RV sites open but they were kind enough to allow us to park and hook up with electric from one of their out buildings for a small fee. It turned out pretty well since they have a bar/restaurant right there so we had a place to eat close by. We drove up Saturday morning, unloaded sleds, converted the trailer to camping (it takes about 20 minutes), turned on the electric heat, and then rode the rest of the day. We returned to a warm trailer and turned on the LP furnace for added measure. I had the thermostat set about as low as it goes but it still got a bit warm inside. Got up and rode to Munising for breakfast Sunday morning. We did a quick 100 miles and were back on the rode for home at about 1 pm. There are still some things to work out but I think this will work just about anywhere we can park. The electric hook-up is very convenient but a generator would work fine as well. Definitely not set up for the wives, but maybe that's not such a bad thing . . . (Sorry but I couldn't get the pic to post upright)
 

garyl62

Active member
Look nice. They did a good job on the interior finish of the trailer for you. What do you have on the floor? I know what you mean about taking the wives. I did a summer camping trip with my wife in mine, she said "I can take going camping in that for about 3 nights..... to bad we were gone for 4"
 

bayfly

Active member
I should have taken a pic from the back also to show the additional cabinets and table in the nose. They did a nice job on most of the finish work, although I had to return the trailer initially to have Stealth replace the flooring. Their workmanship in that area was not great at first. I believe they used NuPoly flooring for the hard surface, and then we just use 4x8 carpet squares to lay down for camping.
 

ws6formula

New member
Everyone has my idea. I have an electrical hook up door for my sled trailer so I can sleep in it when ice fishing. Have yet to get around to installing - probably this summer.
 

sweeperguy

Active member
attachment-1.jpeg attachment.jpeg pics off of note 5 036.jpg pics off of note 5 017.jpg
Heres a couple pics of our set up
Both 110 and 12volt lights inside and over trailer deck.
Run a generator and a 1500 watt electric heater.
Gen. runs all night on a tank of fuel 8+ hours. Usually don't run it daytime it only takes a half hour or so to warm up to temp.
We park at Walmart quite a bit, then we have access to bathroom etc. Or some trailheads have porta-potty. Saves up mega$ over motel stays.
 
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bayfly

Active member
Anyone who may be interested in the winter camping approach might want to check out the Wilderness Resort in Lac Labelle, MI, just down the road from the Bear Belly.

We just returned from a 3-night stay and it was very nice. Spotless indoor bathrooms and shower. Easy pull-in and electric hook-ups. And you could not beat the location for snow (it snowed the entire time we were there, Saturday through Tuesday). It is a shame that the Bear Belly is no longer a bar/restaurant, but they still serve take-out food and the ribs were still the special on Saturday. Great to have gas right down the road too. Contact Rick or Michelle at the Wilderness for details. They also have cabins for rent, but it is very hard to find winter RV hook-ups and this is definitely a great option!
 

lofsfire

Active member
How did I not see this thread before?

Thanks for sharing I'll definitely be keeping this in mind for the future. So far I've had a good luck camping at William Mitchell State Park in Cadillac. There is only a few pull-through sites. But they'll clear out whatever site you're going to be on the morning before you arrive. Tahquamenon State Park Campground, North Higgins Lake State Park are a few others open but I'm told not all have the bathhouse open. Mitchell's bathhouse is open. There are a few others too just look on the Michigan campsite reservation system. The easiest way to find them is to look for just one day during the winter without putting in a specific campground. Then you should see the overall map showing you where the available sites are.

Here are a few pictures of my setup.



Picture #1 My boys and the beds. You can also see one of two 1500 watt heaters. I only use the second on when first warming the trailer up and first thing in the morning. Coldest temps I have stayed in it so far has been -15F. We were nice and warm inside!


Picture #3 Restroom area


Picture #4 A fold up table in the nose. In the summer I throw mini fridge in here as well.


On the opposite of the bunk beds I'm looking at mounting a jackknife couch/bed some time this summer summer.


(Sorry about the formatting I have tried to fix it twice now this is a good as it getting I guess... Also, I am not sure why my apostrophes are showing up as ' )
 

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heckler56

Active member
Last week while watching the news out of Marquette, they had the couple on that bought Two Rivers motel in Kenton Mi.. they might be able to help you.
 

bayfly

Active member
Lofsfire, Nice setup, and even my sled brand! Thanks for the camping suggestions. We have a 35k BTU furnace installed, but struggled to keep the trailer warm during the last cold spells (-20F or thereabouts). I had the floor sprayed underneath with insulation at the start of last season. That helped but it did not seem to do the trick completely. What kind of insulation do you have in that rig? Also, are you always on shore power or using generator and/or battery at times? We camped last weekend in Michigamee area with only the generator power, and struggled to keep our the unit above 60 at night. (Although not a problem during the day when we were gone.) I don't think the furnace is faulty; I did just have a control board replaced on it and it was thoroughly cleaned/serviced. Trying to eliminate one potential issue at a time but its a slow process. Any suggestions? I do have the fold down couch/bed and like that a lot.
 

lofsfire

Active member
Well I was going to type up the build on my trailer but I keep getting all the code for the characters showing up and it is a mess to read...<br><br>With that said,. I have a 35K BTU Furnace too, but I have not set it up.  I have to run the exhaust outside still, but with as well as the 1500 watt heaters worked I was going to pull it out. I figure I get blasted out of the trailer with that much heat... I'm not sure what the actual inside temp is. As you can see my son on the top bunk is in a tee-shirt, and I was wearing shorts. I would guess mid 60's with no problem. I should say, I typically keep the house in the mid 60's too.  I defiantly like it on the cooler side. LOL <br><br>I do have mine insulated but just the typical 1" foam boards. If I were to do it again I would have done it the same but added <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-C...am-Board-Insulation-Sheathing-21UM/100320301" href="https://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-Corning-FOAMULAR-1-4-in-x-4-ft-x-50-ft-R-1-Fanfold-Rigid-Foam-Board-Insulation-Sheathing-21UM/100320301">1/4" insulation</a> overtop of the studs too. Then put the walls boards back up. This way there would be a complete thermal break. Then  on my floor I just use the 1/2" foam diamond plate looking pads. Its not much but you can feel a big difference from the floor that is not covered. In fact that sink has a 1/2" hose that comes out the bottom from the foot pump up to the sink. The negative temp night it did freeze but just a little bit. I moved it away from the wall and the uncovered part of the floor and it thawed out in about 10 minutes.<br><br>As far as your issues one thing I noticed was you windows. Do you have any covering on them? I just have a piece of leather (fake stuff) but it really seams to help. Just lifting it up to look out side and you can feel the cold. I know in the summer before I had the covering the AC worked much harder too. <br><br>I'll try to post some more pictures from my phone.<br><br>Lastly, I'm send you a PM too.
 
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