Freeze After Dewinterizing 2015 Sightseer 35G

[Lpick1970]

I need to dewinterize my 2015 Sightseer 35g next Monday for a trip on Tuesday. It is supposed to get down into the upper 20s Monday night. Should I run my generator all night to keep heat in the unit?

 

[Eagle5]

Hi Lpick1970,
Just one night in the upper 20s shouldn't cause any problem, but can you not plug-in somewhere? You could run your propane furnace set on 55ºF, and for just overnight you wouldn't need to run your generator.
Eagle5

 

[Lpick1970]

Thanks but nowhere to plug in.

 

[Grapehound]

I would dewinterize on the road and not the night before. Assuming you are staying the first night at a campground, it's much less work to de-winterize than to winterize. Add some water to your holding tank in the morning before you leave to use the toilet on the road.

 

[AlanO-WO]

Make sure you have RV antifreeze in both black and grey holding tanks. Leave your fresh water tank empty and carry a gallon container of drinking water. Keep the freshwater lines (hot and cold) empty. No damage will happen if water isn’t used.
If you use either the sink drain or the toilet, add antifreeze after.
Toilet can be flushed with a bucket of water.

 

[dkoldman]

I need to dewinterize my 2015 Sightseer 35g next Monday for a trip on Tuesday. It is supposed to get down into the upper 20s Monday night. Should I run my generator all night to keep heat in the unit?

Courious to know what you have done or plan to do?

For me, there is no way I would dewinterize the same day I know it is suppose to get to the 20s that same night.

Traveling with a winterize coach is not a big deal and I agree with above that says to winterize when on the road, but you really should not need to if you are headed to a campground.

 

[roundtail]

Can't speak to choosing whether to leave it winterized for the trip as others have suggested, but if you have reasons to dewinterize first, I would look at your question about the generator this way: What would you rather have, 8-10 more hours on the generator, or frozen plumbing? Not even a question in my mind. Run the generator. It's much, much cheaper (and infinitely easier) than frozen plumbing.

 

[Morich]

There are a lot of personal choice decisions involved that most of us will not know about.
If my wife and I were doing this trip, I would book a campground and go without using anything involved with water! During the trip, treat the RV as if it were a big bulky car and find other places for bathrooms.
But then time and reasons for using the RV may change the ideas that fit? There have been times when we used the car on trips as the difference in time and expense for the RV were enough to offset the expense of motels.
If needing to sleep in the RV during travel, I suggest a full electric site but not using water. The heat and comfort of a good night's sleep is certainly worth it to me.
During the travel, do what you would do in a car trip and rough it!
If absolutely needing to have a bath in the RV, a bit of thinking should drum up alternates to flushing the stool. Plastic bags hang over the edges of the stool if you are a real deep thinker! Campground bathrooms may be a better option?

Can't really say running the generator in my neighborhood is one I would try! I assume I have to come back to meet the folks that live around me!

 

[dkoldman]

There are a lot of personal choice decisions involved that most of us will not know about.
If my wife and I were doing this trip, I would book a campground and go without using anything involved with water! During the trip, treat the RV as if it were a big bulky car and find other places for bathrooms.
But then time and reasons for using the RV may change the ideas that fit? There have been times when we used the car on trips as the difference in time and expense for the RV were enough to offset the expense of motels.
If needing to sleep in the RV during travel, I suggest a full electric site but not using water. The heat and comfort of a good night's sleep is certainly worth it to me.
During the travel, do what you would do in a car trip and rough it!
If absolutely needing to have a bath in the RV, a bit of thinking should drum up alternates to flushing the stool. Plastic bags hang over the edges of the stool if you are a real deep thinker! Campground bathrooms may be a better option?

Can't really say running the generator in my neighborhood is one I would try! I assume I have to come back to meet the folks that live around me!

Well said sir. 100% agree. I will give the OP the benefit of the doubt that where his RV may be parked and given there is no electricity there, if any are around they should be good or understanding of why the generator would have to run. Even so, there is no circumstance our dewinterize the day I expect a freeze.

When we do travel with as you stated as a big bulky car (more like big SUV) we have plenty of bottled water in the RV and our porti potti mod that I put in the shower. The shower is perfect place for it, because if coach is winterized, there is no shower. If we add water to tanks during the trip, we just put the porti potti mode in a basement compartment.

 

[Lpick1970]

Thanks for the info. I have decided to wait until we get to our first campground to dewinterize. It will be in southern Alabama and not as cold, after that the nights keep getting warmer.

 

[Morich]

For bathroom convenience and considering you will arrive at a campground where freeze or dumping options are available, I might change up the plans. A bathroom stool is handy and a bit of planning might make the trip more fun?
Options?
I have filled milk jugs at home to carry as handy for drinking as well as scrubbing the face or flushing anything needed into the stool and black water tank. Add a gallon of pink antifreeze to the black water tank through the stool and there is no longer a problem with it freezing! Or add a bit of pink to the grey as well and use the basin to wash up?
Maybe wash in a dishpan and dump into the black to avoid pink in both tanks?
Depending how quickly you get from home to warmer, refilling the spare water jugs along the trip seems workable?
If a guy can live out of a metal brain bucket for a week or more, most us us can survive using a dishpan if we really get tough and up against it??

Just suggestions that may work. Wild and far younger guys do far worse.
But do consider options with what any folks in the right hand seat may consider too extreme!

 

[Tillie]

This is why I just blow out my water lines and put anti-freeze in traps and a splash for the gray and black. That has worked for me for decades.

 

[wyocamper-WO]

This is why I just blow out my water lines and put anti-freeze in traps and a splash for the gray and black. That has worked for me for decades.

This is the way.

 

[klook]

Nah, I make everything pink. Except the fresh water tanks.

 

[dkoldman]

Nah, I make everything pink. Except the fresh water tanks.

Have you ever tried to blowout an had issues?

I do exactly as stated above by Tillie & Wyocamper. I pour pink stuff in the traps but it has nothing to do with freeze concerns. Just trapping vapor. My WBGO manual actually says the pink stuff is optional thus not necessary. I find it interesting that per my manual to use the antifreeze, it says to do the air blowout method first. Now if one is unsure they can drain and blowout properly, the antifreeze may be good contingency. But at the end of day if there is no liquid (water) nothing can freeze.

 

[klook]

I disagree. I lived in Maine for many years and I knew people that insisted they could blow it all out. All it
takes is one mistake. I winterized campers for people here in Tenn. for the last 3 1/2 years and I use
antifreeze and no freeze ups .I have however fixed freeze damage for people that knew better then I and
used air.
I don't care what you do, I know if I put in antifreeze it will get to the low areas where water could collect. Since it is rated to -50F even if some water is in there it is not going to freeze, most likely even in Maine. It cost about $7 a gallon and most rigs take 1 or 2 gallons. I us a shurflo pump and pressurize at the city water inlet unless they have the winterization tube installed already. I don't have to dump any in the traps because I run it out of the taps everywhere.
We had a young man from Alaska work for us for awhile and they blew everything out up there at a large dealership. If one froze because they didn't get it all they just covered the repair. They were getting a low fee and doing them in minutes. It was a money maker. I don't want to repair anything.

 

[Tillie]

Have you ever tried to blowout an had issues?

I do exactly as stated above by Tillie & Wyocamper. I pour pink stuff in the traps but it has nothing to do with freeze concerns. Just trapping vapor. My WBGO manual actually says the pink stuff is optional thus not necessary. I find it interesting that per my manual to use the antifreeze, it says to do the air blowout method first. Now if one is unsure they can drain and blowout properly, the antifreeze may be good contingency. But at the end of day if there is no liquid (water) nothing can freeze.

 

[Tillie]

I actually discovered that of the 4 places I would expect a trap only the kitchen has one. The rest have those flap valves not a trap.

 

[dkoldman]

I actually discovered that of the 4 places I would expect a trap only the kitchen has one. The rest have those flap valves not a trap.

I have noticed the same. Kitchen is only true P trap in my coach as well. I went a step further, once I did not put anything in kitchen P Trap and drove the RV a few times while winterized. I never smelled anything from Gray Tank. But I pour a little in anyway, I got a few gallons of pink stuff in the garage that I have to use somewhere. I even put some pink stuff in my porti pottie flush water supply, but it has never frozen anyway.

Again I emphasize that the RV must be drained and blown out properly and it will not have freeze damage. No doubt if a mistake is made, or not done properly you may have freeze damage, but one can also improperly apply anti freeze and still have damage. I am not gonna ever need to use anti freeze in fresh water lines because some people can't follow the directions properly

I recall my brother with a Class B paid to have his RV winterized by a professional dealer every year and one day he just wanted to see what I was doing. So I helped him do his and I learned that the Dealer has never properly opened/closed valves for his electric tankless heater, it had been bypassed for years, good thing he never tried to take a shower in that thing.

Note: I would expect most Dealers or Professionals to use AntiFreeze because besides the fact that it is more money involved with materials and labor, it protects the Dealer from having to know the specific nuances or every coach. Some coaches as designed may require or mandate antifreeze because it may not be possible to gravity drain / blowout 100%. That is why I say read the Manual. WBGO manual for 2019 29VE says drain and blowout is all that is required.

 

[klook]

I actually discovered that of the 4 places I would expect a trap only the kitchen has one. The rest have those flap valves not a trap.

Hepvo valve.