# Pseudo Winterizing



## GlenninTexas (Aug 11, 2004)

OK, first I guess I need to humble myself for crowing about 80 degree temperatures which my yankee breathern were facing Artic blasts and blizzards.
Winterize - not me - I live in Central Texas where it doesn't get too cold!









Well ordinarily we get our share of overnight freezes, mostly down into the 20's and occasionaly into the upper teens, but it quickly warms back up above freezing once the sun comes up. I don't woory about winterizing under these conditions.

Occasionally however,we get an extended freeze that lasts more than just a few hours. We are facing one of those events over the next two nights, so I ned to do something. Unfortunately my RV is located out at my ranch about 50 miles west of Austin. When I let this past weekend, I just unhooked the water hose to the city water supply inlet and that was that. Now I'll have to go out there after work tonight and do a little bit more.
The question is of course, just how much more. Temps may fall into the single digits. I expect we will get above freezing at some point during the intervening daytime, but I don't know if it will get warm enough to thaw any water that may have frozen during the first night.
My plan is to drain the low point drains, dump the holding tanks, and blow out the water lines with compressed air. I will bypass the HW heater and drain it as well.
I could leave the heater on low setting, but would rather not because I won't be going back out until Sunday. I have electricity so I could put an electric heater inside, but I'm leary of leaving an electrical appliance on while I'm not there.

Since I use it most weekends, I really don't want to go to the trouble of adding antifreeze.

So what are your thoughts?

Regards, Glenn


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

So after all the crowing about the warm weather, Now you want help?









What you are planning should do well. I would also blow out all water and drain low points. Do not forget to blow out the traps. I would use a small heater inside and just leave it set as low as necesary. The only place blowing out all the water and worrying about any left is the toilet. The heater inside would eliminate that worry.

I never used antifreeze in my first TT. I always just used air and did it thouroghly. I never had a problem but I knew of people who did not get all the water from the toilet and had leaks in the spring.

Watch how much pressure you use obviously. Repetative blasts is the key.

Dust off your jacket and stay warm









John


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Glenn,

I think you will be fine with what you are planning. From what you have said, I wouldn't bother with the heater. Itwouldn't hurt, but may not do much either.

If you have a Quickie-Flush, dont forget to blow that out also!









Happy Trails,
Doug

P.S.: When you say 'Ranch' in Texas, that means at least 10,000 acres, right?


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

Blow everything out just like you said, don't forget the outside shower.
Spend a few bucks on some RV antifreeze and pour it into the traps and you'll be set.


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## Markh1 (Sep 11, 2005)

I have my "new" used 2003 26RS out at the deer lease outside of Del Rio. Like you, I never anticipated that we would have a hard enough freeze to justify all of the winterizing our Yankee bretheren seem to always be worrying about.

I have been shutting off the water supply, draining the lines, then opening up the low point drains and trying to get as much water out of the system as possible.

Like you, I use the trailer just about every weekend this time of year, so I really don't want to be putting any foriegn substances in the water lines. I'm hoping that it won't freeze hard or long enough to do any real damage.

Let me know how you come out.

P.S. The best news is...I was supposed to stay home and take the girls to the theatre this weekend. Now I have to go check on the trailer (and that big buck I saw last weekend at #12!). If I see him again, I'm going to have to let the air out of that one.

Mark


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## Pastor John (Oct 13, 2005)

Glenn, living in Atlanta I face the same dilemma as you. We use our camper year-round, so "pink stuff" winterizing isn't a good solution for us. Here's what I do:

- open lowpoints and allow camper to drain; leave open and put the caps in the sink
- drain water heater; leave drain cap in sink. Leave bypass valve "open"
- open all faucets in kitchen and bathroom
- blow air through the lines using my portable air compressor
- empty gray water tank and leave open
- pour 1/2 gallon pink antifreeze in black water tank
- pour a little pink antifreeze in the sink and tub drains to displace water in the traps
- open all cabinet doors and bathroom door to expose plumbing
- run an electric space heater overnight to keep inside of camper above freezing

This has prevented any problems so far, but my coldest nights have only been in the mid-twenties.


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## aantolik (Apr 8, 2005)

Move north & you can winterize every year & not worry about doing it or not!


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## Devildog (Sep 8, 2005)

Do you all think it is alright to run an electric heater on low for an extended period of time? I keep mine in storage and thought about doing this...


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

Running an electric heater probably won't do much good as the heat is not going to get to those places that need it. As for the rest of the rig, I would pay particular attention to the traps, the pump, and the hot water tank, as those places don't have much "give" and will easily crack. The water lines themselves are made of pretty decent stuff and will hold up fairly well to some amount of freezing. But, if you have been in the low 20's for a couple days now and if the rig is outside, it may already be too late. That having been said, I once ran out of time to winterize my Prowler when I was in Fairbanks. All I had done was somewhat drain the system. The TT sat thru the AK winter with temps sometimes as low as -40. Next spring I expected to have to replace the entire system. As it turned out, everything was fine. I may have just been lucky, but the systems do seem to me more resilience than we think.


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## GlenninTexas (Aug 11, 2004)

Well, I won't know until I go back out on Sunday whether or not my efforts were good enough. I'm pretty sure I took care of everything well enough within the RV.
I removed the low drain point caps , drained the HW heater, blew out the water lines with compressed air, drained all the holding tanks and poured anti-freeze in all the drains. I didn't mess with the outside showers since I've never used it.

My bigger worry is my water system. I've installed a rain-water collection system that has a pressure tank and several filetes, and two separate pumps. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to drain the system and the one pump with a strainer basket on it had already froze before I arrived. Of course all this is up in the air and completely exposed. I'm sure I'll have to fix some pipes, I just hope none of the pump or filter housings are broken. I'll update on Monday.

On another note, we had freezing rain Wednesday afternoon and night that put a very thin sheet of ice on the roads yesterday. That makes Austin near impossible to navigate because of the hills.

Regards, Glenn


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