I winterized the trailer 2 days ago, and tonight it is going down to –10c, 14f. We actually thought we may get back out for another weekend, but nope, it’s all over for the season.
My method of winterizing is as follows.
1. Drain the fresh water tank by opening the drain valve on the front of the camper. Close the valve and put 4 gallons of RV antifreeze into the fresh water tank. Open the drain valve again until the pink stuff start to pour out, then close the valve. I made a handy funnel from a water bottle and a chunk of hose for filling the tank as it is quite messy and awkward to try and pour straight into the water inlet.
2. Drain the hot water tank from the outside access panel by removing the plastic drain nut and opening the relief valve. let the water drain out, then replace the nut, but leave the relief valve open. (Don’t worry, if you forget to close it, in the spring water will spew out and remind you the first time you fill the tank).
3. Open up the access door to the water pump and water heater from inside the camper and switch the water lines to bypass the hot water tank. It is closing the top and bottom water line to and from the tank and opening the line that connects the two in the middle.
4. Now turn on the water pump and methodically run the taps until the pink stuff comes out of each. do the hot AND cold taps as they are different pipes, even though they are in the same sink or tub. Run the tap into both sides of you sink so the traps get filled with the pink.
5. Once that is done, you are done with the water lines. Don’t forget to turn off the water pump.
6. Next I remove the batteries to store in my heated garage. You can tape together and label the wires if you are uncomfortable with re-hooking up them next spring.
7. Turn off the propane, furnace, fridge. Close the vents, make sure the hood fan vent is closed, Take out the LCD (LIQUID crystal display) TV and store in a dry warm place (don’t forget the remote and power cord, you may want to use the TV at some point this winter).
8. Turn off all the breakers at the inverter.
9. I clean out my toolbox, as there are items I need at home, plus I throw away the water filter, as it is good for only 1 season (at our usage rates).
10. have a really good look around the camper just to see if anything is out of place, and check the tire pressures. We store all our chairs and other camping gear in the camper, as we don’t have much storage at home for this stuff. I did fill the black and grey tanks about 3/4 full, put some bleach in, then went to the Flying J and dumped one last time. That’s it really, pretty simple. We do place about a dozen Irish spring soap bars around the interior of the camper as it seems to keep the mice out. Traci had already done a deep cleaning of the interior, so it is ready to go when we are next May!
3 comments:
Very nicely explained post.I haven't winterized for awhile,so it was a good reminder.
One of the extra steps I took was to draw the last of the water out of the hot water tank with a baster attached to some plastic tubing.I found that after draining,I could get another gallon of water and sludge out of the bottom with this method.
My Trail-lite fresh water drain is in the same place and I've had to replace the shutoff tap twice,because it keeps seizing up.Might be because of the bleach I add to the water for my Everpure filter system.
I was looking at the photo of your water pump, and I am curious where the clear line goes? It appears like an alternate inlet to the pump, so you can suck antifreeze directly from a jug instead of dumping it in your fresh water tank. I just winterized my 5th wheel in Lake Louise and used only about 1.5 gallons (circumventing the inside water filter). Just curious!
Ivan - from RoadTrip '09
The clear pipe doesn't go anywhere, it's open, I always thought it was for emergency blowouts/cleanouts etc. What you do makes good sense, and it makes sense of the clear pipe, but I was comfortable doing it this way (still pretty new, this is only my second winter with the RV). My Fresh tank is about 6 feet from the pump, I wonder how that line would get protected if I winterize with the clear pipe (and I don't have an inside filter to worry about)? Food for thought for next spring.
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