A colleague's husband came by and determined that the water was frozen not at the inlet, but right at the faucet! And this despite the fact that the faucet has heat tape on it and so does my hose! He applied a heat gun to the area for about two minutes and then I had water! Okay, I still don't have water in the toilet room, but this is a vast improvement over my situation this morning and it's good to know that, except for whatever is going on with the toilet hose, Miranda's holding together.
The propane tank still feels quite heavy, but I'm not taking a chance. :-) Soon as the noon day sun has time to work its magic on the roads, I'm going to risk my life and go into Osoyoos to fill up on propane.
Sitting here last night, I wondered why I shouldn't just get a second auxiliary tank and then I remembered why I debated getting a single one in the first place. It's nice to have them when you're parked... but where, praytell, would I store them when I hit the road again?! My vague plan is to just store the empty tank in the trunk of the car, but I doubt that's a very good plan. :-S
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I know I'm very late responding to this, but there are some strategies I've used for cold-weather camping that can help avoid some of the problems you've been having.
First, I never hook up to campground water. My rig has a good-sized (60 gallon) freshwater tank. I fill it, draw from it until it's nearly empty, and then refill. This eliminates frozen hoses, and it also has a secondary benefit; by not letting water stagnate in the tank, I don't have problems with algae growth or odd taste and smells.
Second, I never hook up to campground sewer facilities. I fill my tanks (takes about three weeks with my Lazy Daze class C) and then dump them. That eliminates another potential frozen-hose problem, and doesn't leave a sewer hose exposed for critters to chew on. It also keeps the hose cleaner inside, because the only time water is flowing through it, it's a full-bore flood... not a trickle that allows crud to slowly build up in the hose's ridges.
Third, for interior compartments with plumbing that may be at risk of freezing, a heater is overkill. After all, you're not trying to keep that plumbing cozy--just above 5 degrees C. or so. A 60W or 100W incandescent light bulb (e.g., an old-style automotive trouble light) will provide just the right amount of warmth, without putting you over your total energy budget.
Hope it warms up soon! And I hope to see you in New Mexico next winter. :-)
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