Any ideas how to winterize "sort of"?

H-12Mike · 10-30-2015, 05:58 AM

We are new to RVing this year. We want to be able to use the rv during warm spells during the winter but also want to protect it from freezing when not in use. When we kept boats at the marina we used engine room heaters. What should we use for our Minnie Winnie 25B? We live in Texas so there will be times that the weather will be great.

okcnewbie · 10-30-2015, 06:10 AM

One of the common ways to use an RV in colder weather is to winterize, then only use the toilet. Flush with the pink stuff.
If you decide to winterize with air pressure and just put a little pink stuff in the traps you could learn to do that each time I suppose.

ChasA · 10-30-2015, 06:14 AM

I have the same conditions in NC. I just blow out the water lines. I leave the fresh water tank about 2/3 full. If the forecast is for it to be in the 20s for 8 hours or more, I'll drain the tanks and do a more thorough winterizing. Usually blowing the pipes clear is sufficient. I never use antifreeze in any of the plumbing except the drains.

Statgeek · 10-30-2015, 06:20 AM

We also live in Texas, but we are south of Houston, so we don't have to worry about winter freezing. Where you are though, it is a risk. There are videos on YouTube about how to "winter camp" in your RV that include things like heated water hoses, shop lights or certain SAFE mini heaters in the water bay, etc, but those videos assume that you are camping inside the RV, with internal heat running to keep the humans from freezing.

I would think twice about keeping your RV in summer-mode, unless you are willing to winterize the water systems and not use your RV's running water. So you'd have to winterize the freshwater, including fridge if you have an icemaker, and the washer/dryer if you have that, and dishwasher if you have one. Then when camping you would have to either bring water with you in jugs, or use campground water, and re-winterize after you are done for that weekend's adventure.

If you really want to do this, I would encourage you to read up a bit on the two different methods for winterizing your water systems. One method, the safer one, is to blow out all water from all pipes and then use the RV pump to fill the lines with antifreeze. This is a pink colored fluid that will not freeze Normally you do this in winter, and then clear it out in spring time. I have had this done to my rig once when I had it serviced up north in the Winter time. It's hard to get this fluid out completely, and while it is "safe" to drink if there is some left in your pipes after you do your best to remove it, it tastes aweful so usually people go through a lot of effort to get it out. also--you have to remove your water filters when you do. so while this method is the safest, it is also the most labor intensive.

The second method is to "blow" the water out of your system and just leave the pipes dry. this is risky because there's a good chance that you won't get ALL of the water out, but some people do it. You'll need an air compressor and some fittings to direct the air from the compressor into your RV water system. You'll also need some know-how in terms of just how to go about this. I haven't tried it, but I do carry that fitting around with me in the event that I ever find myself getting stranded somewhere and have to do this in a pinch. I'm not qualified to tell you how to do this because I never have.

Seems to me if you REALLY wanted to do this, the second option would be more reasonable. If you got good at that, you could blow out your water system after every camp weekend, being methodical about it, and then store it until the next trip.

Other thoughts. Are you storing your RV inside a garage? Even if unheated, this helps quite a bit.

Are you plugged into at least a simple 20amp plug? This will keep your batteries topped off and warm. It will also enable you to turn on a heat pump (if you have it) or plug in other heating devices.

When I winter camp, I use a shop light in my water bay even though my water bay is supposed to be heated from my furnace. You know--the old fashioned yellow light bulb on an extension cord? I hang one in my water bay. Obviously you need the old-school light bulb, not a fluorescent or LED.

There are some relatively safer area heaters that you can buy also, but here's where you REALLY need to read up and be careful. At a minimum, you need one that has a shut-off when tipped or overheated. These draw a lot of power too, so be careful about that (popping breakers, heating up wires).

Finally, if your RV has a propane furnace and you are NOT storing indoors, but you ARE storing it within eyesite of your home, you could run the heater enough to help keep it thawed out too--just as if you were living in it. You'd also need to keep that hot water heater going too. But I think this is only an option if you can see the RV and check on it daily. I don't like leaving propane and flames running unattended.

similarly, if you store your RV at home, you could have a qualified electrician install a 50Amp (or 30 if that is what yours takes) outlet nearby and run the RV heat pumps (if you have them) and the electric hot water heater option (if you have that). This would also enable the light bulb in water bay too.

Just some thoughts. You'll get other opinions, I'm sure! Congrats on the new rig though. I totally get that you don't want to bundle it up all winter long. Even where you live, there will be great opportunities to camp over the winter. Here where we live, winter is my FAVORITE time to camp! no mosquitoes, cool enough that I'm not sweating 24/7, don't need to run the A/C all the time, and I can actually sit by the fire outside and not boil!! There are additional steps to take while camping, but I think it's worth it.

SuperGewl · 10-30-2015, 09:49 PM

Quick and dirty: Drain the Fresh Water, blow out the fresh water lines with 20lb air then leave the all of the faucets open. Drain the Sanitary tanks. Pull the drain plug on the Hot water heater (do this first, or you will get pressurized water in your face) Make sure to shut off the power and gas to the Hot Water Heater so you don't burn it up.
Then for extended cold periods add RV antifreeze to the toilets and drain traps, ALL of them.

AFChap · 10-31-2015, 08:56 AM

We are close to Tyler, and we don't winterize at all. Our coach is plugged in under an open cover. When the rare freeze is likely I put an auto trouble light, can light, or spotlight in the two basement compartments with water lines and I turn on the lp furnaces (2 in my coach) and set thermostats to 40.

If you cannot plug the coach in, it is not difficult to use when fully winterized. When we lived in VA we did every winter. With pink stuff in the lines, we carried bottled water for drinking/cooking and we carried several milk jugs of water for flushing. Those can be refilled from the campground water supply as needed. Before heading home we dumped the tanks, put a little pink in the sink traps, and were good until next time.

skigramp · 10-31-2015, 05:44 PM

"sort of winterize" is about like "my girlfriend is a little pregnant" ... I think you should fully winterize if there is danger of hard freezes for an extended period of time.

But that does not mean you should not use your rig while it is winterized ... think about bringing drinking water bottles and milk jugs ... and flush the toilet with windshield wiper fluid ... and minimize the dish washing by using disposable dishes ...

We sometimes leave Wisconsin in the middle of winter ... we travel for a couple days with our rig winterized ... sort of like when you used to camp in the northwoods in a tent and carried water to your campsite ...