Since we are living in Arthur full-time, this means he must be able to survive below freezing weather. Yet we hadn’t prepared him for his first freeze in November of 2019. Arthur was parked at Midway RV Park on Naval Support Activity Mid-South base, Millington, TN when temperatures plunged low enough for the park’s water service to freeze and fail. To protect Arthur back then, we bought a roll of thick visqueen and duct taped it as a skirt around Arthur and placed a small electric heater beneath him with the hope of preventing our fluid tanks and pipes from freezing. Fortunately, Arthur survived. Unfortunately, we definitely crossed the line for looking like “Trailer Trash.”
Since then, we’ve added a number of changes, each of which improved protection from freezing temperatures. We had Facco electric heat blankets added to our black, gray, and fresh water tanks; added a heat-tape-wrapped fresh water supply hose; laid a carpet runner the full length of our floor; ran a small electric space heater to take the chill off and reduce propane consumption (worked extremely well); strategically placed rolled-up towels to block cold air infiltration; and installed cut-to-fit 3/8″ thick rigid insulation for four windows and both skylights. The window insulation slides easily between the glass and screen.
But the biggest change (and most expensive) was purchasing AirSkirt custom-made inflatable tubes placed as a skirt around the bottom of Arthur. This has been an extremely worthwhile investment. Not only do they help insulate the space beneath Arthur in the cold, but similarly insulate from extreme heat (reduces the load on our air conditioning). And as a side benefit, the tubes also improve our stability in high winds. We required six tubes to complete our skirt: two 6-footers and four 8-footers. Our purchase included a compact air pump (handles both inflation and deflation), and I can set the skirts up easily in less than 15 minutes. Take down requires a bit more time because I like to clean the tubes before storing. MFI took this breakdown video to demonstrate the simple efficiency of the design.
We only install them when parked for five days or longer. Invariably then, we get plenty of Lookie-Lou’s who are curious about the skirts. Should we be outside when they come by, we get asked all the standard questions. What are those things? What are they made of? What do they do? And of course, how much do they cost? We’re more than happy to not only answer all their questions but share the history of the designer and the company he started. In three years of travel, we’ve only seen AirSkirts beneath one other Airstream. Sometimes, even great inventions catch on slowly.
We plan on visiting Alaska during 2024. In order to reduce the distance needed to get there, we will be camping in Oregon or Washington this coming winter. With all the improvements made and precautions taken, we’re highly confident in Arthur’s ability to survive.
