# Winterizing For Portland Oregon



## 4H1DinaOB (Jan 5, 2006)

Portlad Oregon winters may be wet but they are not exactly cold (relative to many areas of the country) so.... 
I am looking for advise from the Portland area outbackers on whether blowing out the lines and then putting anti-freeze down each sink is enough or - are you finding that the full anti-freeze treatment is the way to go? 
I had Curtis do the anti-freeze treatment this past winter since we just purchased it in January and didn't want to take any chances. 
Now - since I have vowed to never darken Curtis Trailers doorway again - I will be doing this myself and wanted to see how the rest of you are handling this.

thanks,
Jonathan


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

Oh Doug............
It's for you........

I dunno bout Portland, pink stuff for me in KY.


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

I use the pink stuff - Great for Canadian winters

Thor


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Jonathan,

Unless we get an extremely cold winter (not likely!), you will be fine with just blowing the water lines out with compressed air, and pouring a little antifreeze into the drain traps. Be sure to drain the fresh water tank, low point drains and H20 heater as well as you can first. That's what I will be doing, so hey, if it dosen't work you can take comfort in knowing that the guy that gave you the advice is in the same boat! And I don't want to replace my plumbing any more than you do!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## ARzark (Aug 9, 2005)

That's pretty much what I do up here. It's worked just fine over the years since we are not in a super cold climate. I better get my tail out there and do it today though, 32 last night and calling for a low of 28 tonight


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## 4H1DinaOB (Jan 5, 2006)

Thanks all - and now for a couple more quick questions:
Do you leave the low point drains open while storing for the winter or do you put the caps back on?
I usually leave a couple gallons of water and some chemical in the black tank between trips - for winterizing should I dump that completely or can I just put come anti-freeze in there?
How much anti-freeze do you put down each sink and into each tank and when you put it down the sinks, doesn't it just drain into the grey tank? If so, how does that protect the lines?

thanks again
JS


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## ARzark (Aug 9, 2005)

Johnathan,

Here's what I do. Right or wrong it works fine for the climate here, plus we tend to use the Outback over the winter so this is not by any means a full on winterizing.

Water heater- Flip the bypass valve, drain water heater completely and replace drain plug.
Fresh water tank- drain completely. I usually leave the valve closed after it drains.
Gray/Black- Empty completely.
Water lines- Open all faucets, open low point drains & drain. I replace the caps to keep dirt & such out.
The pink stuff- I pour about 1/4 to 1/3 gal in each drain. This fills the p-trap so it won't freeze. Yes some will go into the gray tank, but that will help protect and lubricate the valve on the tank. Also pour some in the empty black tank for the same reason. I don't use the pink stuff in the lines itself.

That's it. Again, we don't live in a harsh climate and since we use it over the winter it is easy to prep for a trip and repeat the process upon returning. You may want to do the full on winterizing. If so, just do a search for winterizing and there is a ton of information on the more detailed process









Oh yea, I pull out anything that may freeze from the interior too such as water, soda cans or any food stuff that may freeze and burst.

Good luck!
Jeff


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

All great advise. I had the bypass device tha connects to my water pump, so I have antifreeze in all water lines. I find it very easy to do and I slee well knowing I'm ready for a very cold winter.


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## NWcamper2 (Mar 28, 2004)

jskeele said:


> Now - since I have vowed to never darken Curtis Trailers doorway again - I will be doing this myself and wanted to see how the rest of you are handling this.
> 
> thanks,
> Jonathan


We understand that program also! So much so we drove 4-5 hours to not buy from them...

We echo what pdx has said.... we bypass the hot water, blew out lines, used the pink stuff on pipes and bypassed the batteries


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

Just my .02, but the pink stiff in cheep, what, $2.50 a gallon at Menards. I'm sure that it is over kill, but I blow out the lines and fill the lines with the pink stuff. I think of it like this, it's cheep insurance. When the lows are below zero outside,







I can turn on my heating blanket and sleep all night long not worrying about if I got all the water out.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

H2oSprayer said:


> Just my .02, but the pink stiff in cheep, what, $2.50 a gallon at Menards. I'm sure that it is over kill, but I blow out the lines and fill the lines with the pink stuff. I think of it like this, it's cheep insurance. When the lows are below zero outside,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


If it was ever below zero here in the PNW I'd worry about my house...not my Outback. We might see a week in the upper teens, but that is about it for our harsh winter.


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