Talk to me like I'm stupid; how big a PITA is winterizing a camper? Assume one with a fresh water tank, water heater, electric pump for the sink, gray water tank, and maybe a water filtration system. I have never owned a camper of any type, except a tent in the back of my truck, but am in the market for a camper of some sort (what sort is a whole other issue). But, we will not be on the road full time, and live in a place where it gets cold in the winter. The camper will not be parked inside, and I expect in the winter we will use it a lot for short (3-4) trips to warmer climes, then returning home. I am intimidated by the prospect of having to drain (and flush with antifreeze?) every time we take a short trip. Is this an irrational fear? It seems like this would be a common problem, so what do people do?
School me on winterizing
- Thread starter gdaut
- Start date
mezmochill
Is outside
Use strapped in jerry cans for water and a hand pump. Use the ground for grey water, use vinegar and h20 dishes with and Bronners for yourself. Keep it simple.
GHI
Adventurer
Step 1: drain water from holding tank and hot water heater.
Step 2: run a tube from a bottle of RV antifreeze to your water pump
Step 3: turn on water pump and watch antifreeze level drop from bottle
Step 4: turn on faucet and let it run into a bucket until you see the antifreeze coming out. Flush toilet and run shower hose until you see pink as well
Step 5: dump a little antifreeze in P-traps and toilet
That is a very basic description for what I do. I close a valve to my hot water heater and don't put anitfreeze in there. Takes about 10 minutes. Some folks blow out the lines with air. Also, I'm fortunate in that I have a place to dump gray/black water tanks right here at my house.
Realistically whoever you buy from will walk you through this and if new the manual will have all the needed information. Or make friends with that neighbor down the street who has an RV parked in their driveway.
Step 2: run a tube from a bottle of RV antifreeze to your water pump
Step 3: turn on water pump and watch antifreeze level drop from bottle
Step 4: turn on faucet and let it run into a bucket until you see the antifreeze coming out. Flush toilet and run shower hose until you see pink as well
Step 5: dump a little antifreeze in P-traps and toilet
That is a very basic description for what I do. I close a valve to my hot water heater and don't put anitfreeze in there. Takes about 10 minutes. Some folks blow out the lines with air. Also, I'm fortunate in that I have a place to dump gray/black water tanks right here at my house.
Realistically whoever you buy from will walk you through this and if new the manual will have all the needed information. Or make friends with that neighbor down the street who has an RV parked in their driveway.
And, then there is the air method. https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Fresh-Water/Camco/CAM36103.html
I still use the RV Anti-freeze method. I do have the blow out plug though. I use that to rid the lines of as much water as will come out, then I use the -50*F RV anti-freeze. Our camper has the line that you can draw directly from the bottle. Easy peasy. Do 1 faucet at a time till it flows pink. Kitchen, bathroom, toilet, shower, outside shower. I also pour 1 gal into the fresh water tank after I drain it, 1 gal in the black water tank & 1 in the gray water tank. Our hot water tank has a bypass so I put it in bypass & remove the plug from the tank on the outside & let it drain & leave it removed all winter.
I do it the way i do because, on our first camper, just using the air method failed. There was enough residual water in the lines to gather at a low spot, freeze & crack some plastic pipe & the flush valve of the toilet. Yup, even with 120 psi of compressed air going through the lines & only opening 1 fixture at a time. You can't always trust the "low point drain" to drain it all. That was a $150 fix & i did it myself. If i had to pay, it would have been $500 easy.
I still use the RV Anti-freeze method. I do have the blow out plug though. I use that to rid the lines of as much water as will come out, then I use the -50*F RV anti-freeze. Our camper has the line that you can draw directly from the bottle. Easy peasy. Do 1 faucet at a time till it flows pink. Kitchen, bathroom, toilet, shower, outside shower. I also pour 1 gal into the fresh water tank after I drain it, 1 gal in the black water tank & 1 in the gray water tank. Our hot water tank has a bypass so I put it in bypass & remove the plug from the tank on the outside & let it drain & leave it removed all winter.
I do it the way i do because, on our first camper, just using the air method failed. There was enough residual water in the lines to gather at a low spot, freeze & crack some plastic pipe & the flush valve of the toilet. Yup, even with 120 psi of compressed air going through the lines & only opening 1 fixture at a time. You can't always trust the "low point drain" to drain it all. That was a $150 fix & i did it myself. If i had to pay, it would have been $500 easy.
Last edited:
IdaSHO
IDACAMPER
This topic was one huge factor when designing our true 4-season camper.
Extremely well insulated, and all tanks inboard.
No winterizing needed. I did the first year, and never forgave myself.
Damn that nasty anti-freeze in the fresh tank. Took WAY too much flushing to rid it of the taste.
Wasted a ton of perfectly good water just to get it clean again.
We also use the camper quite a bit during the winter. So "winterizing" it just isnt practical.
Most I do it any more is plug it in. It has a thermostat controlled 110V heater that kicks on @ 40 degrees when plugged into shore power.
heater can also be used when driving, to keep the camper from freezing when on the road during winter travel.
The camper is insulated so well that it takes next to nothing to keep it at 40 degrees, even in below zero temps.
Extremely well insulated, and all tanks inboard.
No winterizing needed. I did the first year, and never forgave myself.
Damn that nasty anti-freeze in the fresh tank. Took WAY too much flushing to rid it of the taste.
Wasted a ton of perfectly good water just to get it clean again.
We also use the camper quite a bit during the winter. So "winterizing" it just isnt practical.
Most I do it any more is plug it in. It has a thermostat controlled 110V heater that kicks on @ 40 degrees when plugged into shore power.
heater can also be used when driving, to keep the camper from freezing when on the road during winter travel.
The camper is insulated so well that it takes next to nothing to keep it at 40 degrees, even in below zero temps.
mezmochill
Is outside
Weve got it all ( no toliet though). But good luck with whatever you choose, im sure youll work it out.