We payed to have our 5th wheel winterized. Upon pulling it into the storage building we pulled the grey tank gate valve and was surprized to find that they were not emptied.
One must specifically ask to have those tanks emptied when paying for winterization.
Glad wechecked the tanks as it was -10ยบ F here last month.
During the winterizing process antifreeze is poured into each drain. Some of that will make it into the tanks so if there was some liquid left over from the last dump the antifreeze should keep it from freezing. I guess it's possible that just enough antifreeze was used to fill the traps and nothing made it to the tanks.
That's why I do my own winterizing. At least then I know for sure what has been done. If you empty your tanks the last time you are out, then pump anti-freeze through your lines and each faucet, pour some down each sink, shower trap, you will have plenty in each holding tank.
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Dale & Carol
Bradley, Il
2007 F-250
2010 CF30SK Patriot
2007 CF30SK
I'm with Dale, I do it myself. True story: picked up new motorhome and dealer had performed fresh water pressure test for all systems. They "thought" they winterized the lines and we left after the PDI. For some reason I noticed a drip from a faucet, it was water! We caught it in time and winterized. Some water turned to slush but I warmed up camper and believe I caught it before damage occured. The test will be in the spring when I perform a pressure leak down with a gage.
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Mike
2013 Jayco Eagle 334RBTS
Crossroads Forum Lurker
As long as the amount of liquid in the holding tank is minimal, does it really matter if it freezes or not? I can't see it causing any harm as long as the drain lines are not full.
I doubt that the gate valves would survive the ice expansion. <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />
Before last fall, I had always done my own winterizing and have never had a problem. Of course, I may use more antifreeze than necessary, but who wants to spend time making repairs?
Yep....I will 3rd the motion for the do it yourself group. I use 5-gallons of the stuff, that way I know there will be a good mix in the tanks to help protect the valves....
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2015 Rushmore Springfield
Disc Brake upgrade, Goodyear G614 tire upgrade
RV FLEX-ARMOR roof, Mor-Ryde IS suspension
Just to be safe, I pour a half gallon of windshield washer fluid in each waste tank thru the drains. I also leave my dump valves open all winter with a rag stuffed into the outlets.