Winterizing

[NEILSOD]

I own a 2007 RF25RL 5th wheel.

Two questions -1. Is using a air compressor to winterize the plumbing system reliable. Seems this is the most economical procedure.

2. Water pump appears to be in a very difficult area to access. Underneath the shelf by the goucho and looks like you have remove a panel and contort your body to get at the fittings to see if it isequiped with an ez winterizing system. Is this correct? I have had many camper units and always the water pump was easy to access. I do not favour dumping RV antifreeze directly into the water tank. Thanks for any help one might provide.

[mbinohio]

I use an air compressor to blow out the lines then fill them with anti-freeze, the anti-freeze is cheap, alot cheaper than a broken pipe or a water damaged floor....better to pay somebody to do it that to chance it not being done right......much better to be safe than to be sorry....

[rcflyer]

Originally Posted by mbinohio

I use an air compressor to blow out the lines then fill them with anti-freeze, the anti-freeze is cheap, alot cheaper than a broken pipe or a water damaged floor....better to pay somebody to do it that to chance it not being done right......much better to be safe than to be sorry....

X2Blowing the lineshelps prevent a water lock somewhere that can freeze. Then you have almost 100% anti-freeze in the lines. As said anti-freeze is cheap. Trailer $30,000 + anti-freeze maybe $9.00 max. Frozen water line $100 up to ????.

[ryeja]

Winterizng??? Not even thought about it today as temps are better than they've been all summer. I agree with the antifreeze. Even just blowing the lines may not get the water all out as it may settle in a low spot. Very cheap insurance.

Does your water line to the fridge have a shut off valve somewhere? If so close it off the winterize as usual then leave the line disconnected making sure there is no water left in the ice maker. I don't think you'd want put antifreeze through it as the smell andtaste never seems to really go away.

I've always run antifreeze through the lines (minus the hot water tank) then leftall taps openafterwards incase of freeze up and expansion.

I left half a jug of antifreeze last winter in my unit and at -40C the jug was slushy. Now I'm surely going to leave the taps open. Even the low point drains.

[pulpwood007]

On other trailers I have had I always just opened the hot and cold water low point drain valves under the trailer and then tilted the trailer front up and down as far as it would go in both directions.

It appeared to get all the water out, and I have never had a freeze problem, how ever it does not get that cold during the winters here in East Texas.

Can anyone offer a reason why this would not work with my Cruiser?

[Hunter11]

pulpwood007, we have very few times here in Central Texas that it gets cold enough to worry about the trailer freeezing up but when it does happen all I do is drain the hot water tank and open the low point drains with the all the facets open. I have never had a problem with doing it this way. I just leave the trailer level and wait for everything to drain.

[pulpwood007]

Thanks Hunter,

Over the years we have experienced some cold nights here in East Texas (probably would have been like a summer night for our friends to the north). They were cold enough to break a plastic plumbing pipe.

I've never had a problem (in the newer trailers) by just draining. I've never lost a water pump and I'm not sure you can actually get all the water out of them.

I did use the compressor blow out method a couple of times but it yielded no additional water after "the drain".

I've only had my 29RK a few months and I guess my only concern is the possibility that there is a place in the plumbing that might capture water some way. 30 years ago I had a old Shasta with galvanized pipes. They plumbed it where there was a dropped pipe to accommodate the bathtub. It trapped water and I had to replace it twice. Doubt they would plumb like that with the plastic tubing of today.


Edited by: pulpwood007

[rcflyer]

Originally Posted by pulpwood007

On other trailers I have had I always just opened the hot and cold water low point drain valves under the trailer and then tilted the trailer front up and down as far as it would go in both directions.

It appeared to get all the water out, and I have never had a freeze problem, how ever it does not get that cold during the winters here in East Texas.

Can anyone offer a reason why this would not work with my Cruiser?Yes! Read all the posts of this thread. If you happen to have a trailer with a low spot in a line that is tucked between a waste tank and floor repairs can get pretty large. I have a problem with not spending less than $10.00 to make sure this can not happen. But it is your gamble to take.

[pulpwood007]

Originally Posted by rcflyer

I have read all the posts in this thread or would not be to this point. Also. money is of no issue. I'm just trying to prevent putting the potential of bad aftertaste antifreeze in my lines.

I use my trailer many times during the winter months here in East Texas and it would be a pain to have to repeat this procedure after each trip.

I've traced all the plumbing lines in my 29RK and it looks like the only runs I can't see is between the front storage and the kitchen. this is about a 12 foot run and it would be the only place water could get trapped. As far as I can see there are not lines between the waste tanks and the floor.

[rcflyer]

Originally Posted by pulpwood007

I have read all the posts in this thread or would not be to this point. Also. money is of no issue. I'm just trying to prevent putting the potential of bad aftertaste antifreeze in my lines.

I use my trailer many times during the winter months here in East Texas and it would be a pain to have to repeat this procedure after each trip.

I've traced all the plumbing lines in my 29RK and it looks like the only runs I can't see is between the front storage and the kitchen. this is about a 12 foot run and it would be the only place water could get trapped. As far as I can see there are not lines between the waste tanks and the floor.

It is your trailer. If you are able to make repairs yourself then a freezeup may not cost much. Here locally RV service shops charge about $150 per hour for labor. And they do not work very fast.
Edited by: rcflyer

[rock1424]

Originally Posted by NEILSOD

I own a 2007 RF25RL 5th wheel.

Two questions -1. Is using a air compressor to winterize the plumbing system reliable. Seems this is the most economical procedure.

2. Water pump appears to be in a very difficult area to access. Underneath the shelf by the goucho and looks like you have remove a panel and contort your body to get at the fittings to see if it isequiped with an ez winterizing system. Is this correct? I have had many camper units and always the water pump was easy to access. I do not favour dumping RV antifreeze directly into the water tank. Thanks for any help one might provide.

I also have a RF25rl. The water pump, while not exactly easy, is not all that difficult to access. The panel is held in place by two wood screws that are screwed into the floor through the base of the panel. I do have to have the slide room extended, and once the panel is out you can lay on your side on the floor and reach the hose and diverter valve. Turn the valve and stick the hose in the antifreeze jug and your good to go. I don't replace the panel until spring when I'm de-winterizing. The trick is to get the screws back in the same holes so you're not making new holes everytime you replace the panel.

[pulpwood007]

Originally Posted by rcflyer

It is your trailer. If you are able to make repairs yourself then a freezeup may not cost much. Here locally RV service shops charge about $150 per hour for labor. And they do not work very fast.

Please, I repeat, I know this is "my" trailer, but this is not about money (antifreeze or repair). I can do the repairs myself, but that is irrelevant to the issue. My post here is to explore alternate ways of winterizing in mild climate zones without using antifreeze.

I do not want to be argumentative, and I realize everyone has their way of doing certain procedures. I'm not trying to change anyones mind, just trying to find if anyone has tried the "non-antifreeze" method and succeeded or failed.

If it won't work I can accept that.

I think one way to find out would be to clear the lines, run antifreeze in, then re-collect antifreeze from the low water drain points. If you put in 2 gallons and retrieve 2 gallons you then know the lines are completely draining and there is none being captured in the lines. If you wanted to experiment and avoid the aftertaste of antifreeze you could use colored water. What do you think??

[ryeja]

When you talk about mild winter climates what temps are the absolute lows? Another alternative would be to blow out your lines, then antifreeze, then blow them out again. There would be miniamal antifreeze in the entire system which would minimize that smell and taste. I worked with a fella that did that routinely and never experienced any problems here in the great white north.

[cwit]

Where I come from it gets to 20 below and all I have ever used is air . I had coffee made with anti-freeze and never again. I put b30 lbs of air to my fresh water hookup and bleed all water out of system 3 times. I also turn on and off pump during this process. I leave all valves open untill I am ready to use camper again. I also leave the low point drains and fresh water caps off

[gball]

Pulpwood007:



I agree that everyone has their own idea about winterizing. We live in College Station and have owned travel trailers off and on for the past 30 years. I have never put antifreeze in any of my trailers and have never had a problem with any of the pipes freezing. I do drain the hotwater heater, fresh water tank and the pipes and leave the faucets open. It does sometimes get a little colder in East Texas than it does here in College Station so you might consider putting some antifreeze in the p-traps.

[Chrisnan23]

Last year was the first year we were not in the trailer for the winter. We stored it ouside in Northern KY (cincinnati area). All I did was open the low point drains, the water heater and the fresh tank as well as leaving all the faucets open. It got below freezing often and we had no problem when we moved back in this year. The tubing used can flex some when frozen so it is less likely to split. Just what happened to us.

[fhenn]

I am like George we use the Cruiser all year when we park it for the two or three weeks between trips. I will Drain the Hot water heater open the low point drains, put a litttle antifreeze in the p Traps, open the water valves and go home no trouble so far been doing this a while

[ClassicHammond]

Last year I used compressed air to blow out the lines, ran the pressure up then opened closer faucet to the line in and closed then worked down the line. Repeated several times, I only put anti-freeze in the p-traps. Gets rather cold here in Wisc! I leave all faucets open, minimal water will evaporate off. No problem this past year.I use bottled water for my coffee, I refill jugs from my homereverse osmosis system, I bring 5 or 6 gallons. Keeps my Bunn clean ! (Stop it)

So far so good

[scott]

I've owned my trailer for 3 years and the only place there has been antifreeze is in the P-traps. I've used a compressor to blow out all the lines, dumped antifreeze in the traps andput it away for the winter. I have never had any damage to any part of the water system. Using a compressor and simplyblowing out all the lines is a perfectly safe and effective way to winterize you camper.

[rcflyer]

Sorry!!!!! It apears I have hit a sore spot. Just want to warn new RV owners. From this post they may get the idea they do not need anti-freeze. Some do not use it and get buy. Others have tried it that way and ended up with expensive repairs. I have never had any problem with after taste from using anti-freeze.