Winter Blues: Braving Freezing

Temps in an RV

“The good thing about winter: You can leave your ChapStick in the car.

The bad thing about winter: Everything else.”

– Me

You know how people’s lives seem so fabulous on FaceBook … because they only post fabulous things?

Well, I would be so, so guilty of that if I were to post the above picture on FaceBook right now. Because, actually, at present, I am luxuriating in the tropics, with sea air, palm trees, iguanas, and perhaps a pina colada or two. I have zero complaints right now and am as happy as a clam, which I am sure are also nearby.

But let’s rewind just a week and you would see (and hear!) a different picture from me. I was m-a-d. Spitting mad. (Actually I don’t spit. But metaphorically.) Outside was single digit weather, and I was in what, when I am mad at it, I call a tin can on wheels, with no working diesel burner to keep the motor coach warm. So mad.

Last Monday, I woke up a 5’9″ ice cube. Having set the heat to 70 degrees the night before, with the knowledge that the diesel burner was working fine (albeit making some rude noises the week leading up to this), I went to sleep blissfully unaware of what was to come.

Sometime between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., the diesel burner gave up the ghost. I woke up in the fetal position, crunched for warmth, with a nose so cold, I wasn’t entirely sure it was still there.

I wanted a hot shower. – Of course. Who wouldn’t? But it being too early and too cold to put 2 and 2 together, I started the shower and stepped in. It was warm for about 2 seconds. Ice cold for the remainder.

Uh, yeah. Of course it was cold. Yo, Susan, your diesel burner isn’t working. Remember?

Okay, now I was really mad. I mean, I can put up with a lot (well, not a lot, but some), but I cannot abide by a cold shower. Especially after waking up in an RV posting 62 degrees on the inside thermostat.

The week did not improve much. – A hot shower was not to be had. But we still had our electric heat, a small space heater, and our electric fireplace, which in a trio of effort kept me warm enough once the temperatures rose outside through the 20s and into the 40s. And for that I am thankful!

But as the diesel burner is yet to be fixed, and as the diesel burner is what heats our water, I will return from this hot, palm treed paradise to an RV placed in non-RV friendly weather. My diesel burner will still not be working, which leaves me 3 options: cold showers, using the campgrounds’ showers, or going to a Planet Fitness to workout in the early, early a.m. just so I can shower there before work. (Note to Reader: I am unhappy with all 3 of these options.)

Some of you may be thinking: Susan, get over it. Be thankful you have what you have. And better yet, stop your complaining or motor south like the rest of us. To which I’d say, I wish I could. But circumstances at present will not allow for this. And I would agree with you that I should be thankful for what I have. I have options, which is sadly more than some hope for.

Are any of you out there braving the northern temps this winter in your RV? And if so, are you nice and toasty with nice, hot showers to boot? Or are you too trekking your shower gear to the community shower, and heading back to your RV with wet hair that has a slight frost on it by the time you return? Please share!