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Doing things step by step will allow you to get to know your vehicle, its behavior in the cold, your needs in terms of energy and gas consumption. The beauty is that the camper offers many possibilities to learn by doing, and for this reason, in a short time, you will find yourself on New Year's Eve in the mountains with snow . It must also be said that campsites and parking areas often offer useful services even for those who want to stay still for several days, effectively eliminating the problems deriving from prolonged stops.
But how and where to start?
A nice long weekend , with two nights spent outside in temperatures around zero (-1 or -2 would be perfect), is ideal for a first test. Select a rest area, or campground , leave with full propane tanks, weigh them, and note the value on each tank. Then "waste" a couple of euros on electricity but don't connect it right away, instead try to understand how much electricity your stay in the camper absorbs in the afternoon, for dinner and in the evening. If the camper is equipped with battery monitoring systems , you will have direct information, otherwise you will have to go a little by nose, checking every now and then, turning everything off, the battery charge (even if the measurement should be done with the battery at rest): the value must be above 12.2 volts, a voltage which, "a bit by eye", indicates a discharge by 50% , already too much if you don't want to shorten the life of the accumulator excessively . Hence the obvious consideration of installing at least two service batteries .
Energy austerity (do you remember the one from 1973? No? Lucky you) will teach you that without television you will have lots of other things to do with your family. At the end of this first weekend, re-weigh the cylinders to accurately measure the gas used, but keep in mind that with lower temperatures, consumption will be higher. (rule of thumb, at -10, with Truma combi, a cylinder does not last three days).
What can be found in the equipped areas and campsites?
Certainly the 220v , which will allow you to forget about the capacity of the batteries and the consequent austerity.
The possibility of renting a propane cylinder (check with the manager), to be connected instead of one of your own. These are generally 20 kg cylinders that will not fit in your locker, leave them safely outside. Sometimes (it has only happened to me in a campsite) the structure can have a direct connection to gas , in practice on the pitch there is a long pipe to be connected as if it were a cylinder.
