Newbie Snowbirds - When to Dewinterize??

Tin Trekkers · 12-26-2021, 10:06 PM

Hello Folks -

We will be travelling south from Maine to Florida for the first time this year at the end of January.

Planning to stay in hotels for the first couple of nights until be begin to hit some warmer weather.

One planned stop is in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Is this far enough south to safely dewinterize? Should we wait until we hit Savannah, Georgia?

Any advice on this topic will be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Happy Trails,
Claude and Marianne

l1v3fr33ord1 · 12-27-2021, 03:36 AM

Claude-

It's all about the weather forecast for where you're headed. If predictions say the nighttime temps at my remaining (southward) stops will be above freezing, I de-winterize. I have de-winterized in Doswell, VA and Fayetteville, NC most often. I've also de-winterized in New Jersey and Maryland, riding a warm snap south, but it's chancy; one time I got caught having to stay in place for longer than expected, and the tanks and piping came close to freezing.

On occasion the cold weather will cover the Southeast. If that happens, I can leave the coach winterized until I get to my destination. I'll use disposable plates and utensils, bottles of drinking water and flush water and the shower facilities at open campgrounds (New York/New Jersey and south).

It helps to reduce the chance of freezing after de-winterizing if you keep the "house" at a human-comfortable temperature. For that reason, I try to leave home with a full propane tank, to run the furnace.

Finally, you may want to stock antifreeze at home before you leave. Should you need to come home while temps are below freezing, you'll have the antifreeze on hand to re-winterize the RV. It's easy to buy antifreeze in the Fall/early Winter, but can be tough to find in the Spring. Keep your winterizing tools and instructions handy (at home), too. If the temps are quite cold, you'll need to re-winterize in a hurry!

DavidM · 12-27-2021, 05:58 AM

If you are staying aboard and keeping your RV heated then check the weather forecast and anything above 25 at night, particularly with rapidly warming daytime temps, you should be fine.

But you can spend a night in a winterized RV at any temps. Just don't use the water (well there shouldn't be any), use bottled water and pour a couple of cups of water/antifreeze down the toilet as a flush.

David

David

Marine359 · 12-27-2021, 09:34 AM

Why bother staying in hotels? This is why we have rvs.
Stay in your rv and run the furnace until you get far enough south, 3 days at most. Maybe do some lot docking at Cracker Barrel, and have a few good meals indoors.
If you have a MH, it’s gonna be warm inside while you’re driving. If you have a TT and don’t want to heat it while driving, leave it winterized and carry a 7gal jug of water under the dinette. It has enough thermal mass that it won’t freeze in a couple of days even if you don’t heat. Last year when we headed to FL in January it wasn’t warm enough to de-winter until we got to Jacksonville. We just lot docked at CB in Georgia for a night.
Happy trails be safe, lots of fruits and nuts driving the I-95.

Tin Trekkers · 12-28-2021, 06:59 PM

Hello folks -

Some good advice here.

Mark - yes I think we will wait until we get to Savannah (at least) and see what the weather is like there. Good idea to pick up some antifreeze before we leave. Odds are we will need to winterize again before heading north.

David and Marine - Yes, we have stayed in a winterized RV before. We did that frequently during hunting season but usually not in the dead of winter. No problem carrying water containers for flushing etc and using paper plates/plastic utensils. We have a good space heater to supplement the furnace. Just worried about using a ton of propane running the furnace if it is super cold night.

Thanks for the helpful info!

MainelyScott · 01-02-2022, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tin Trekkers

Hello Folks -

We will be travelling south from Maine to Florida for the first time this year at the end of January.

Planning to stay in hotels for the first couple of nights until be begin to hit some warmer weather.

One planned stop is in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Is this far enough south to safely dewinterize? Should we wait until we hit Savannah, Georgia?

Any advice on this topic will be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Happy Trails,
Claude and Marianne

We’ve made that trip three times, twice to Florida and once to New Orleans. We did the same thing, hotels the first 2-3 nights and de-winterized when we go to the Carolinas or when the weather seemed good enough to trust. Our rig fits nicely in a double parking spot, the hotels always seemed to be able to accommodate us. Happy travels!

Dennis4809 · 01-02-2022, 06:52 PM

A lot depends upon what kind of rv you have. If you’re in a motorhome with heated tanks, no problem. Use it from the time you leave home.
If you’re in a trailer with exposed tanks then weather is an issue.

dale57 · 01-02-2022, 08:03 PM

We live near Charlotte and will have temps with lows in the 20s next week and prob most of the rest of January.
Savannah’s is a good choice.

jmo01830 · 01-03-2022, 10:17 AM

We live in New Hampshire and have been travelling to florida in either January or February for 20 years. Our Itasca(s) have always lived in a heated garage. When we decide to leave we look at the long range forecast all the way down, and have never had a problem. Our first night stay is usually somewhere between Chambersburg Pa. and Winchester, Va. on I 81. Never have we had a problem. Propane is filled, fresh water is filled, gray and black are empty when we leave. This year we are planning to leave around the 27th of Jan. Good Luck