Water Pump - Advice Needed for Winter Travel

We winterize in October, clearing out all water. When we head to Fla. in Jan. we keep the rig winterized. We use bottled water for coffee and food prep., and Camp Ground water for anything else. Mostly use rest stops for other "needs", but if we need to use the BR in the rig, that's OK. The only time we would not use the BR in the rig, is we expect to be in way below freezing temps. most of the day. This is not inconvenient for us, and we don't have to worry about freezing temps.

rk911 wrote:
we're very experienced RV travelers having started back in 1986 but

we've never traveled in winter

. that's about to change next January.

we'll be leaving our home

in our 2016 Itasca Suncruiser 38Q in mid January and heading towards Florida.

after leaving here I am planning that

we will be in freezing overnight weather for 1-3 nights

depending on the time of day we leave home, driving conditions, etc.

I'm originally from the same area you are from.

NO. Do NOT unwinterize the MH.

It did take me two trips to Florida leaving during the cold weather to completely figure out how to do it!

1. Leave MH winterized.

2. Bring jugs of water for drinking, washing hands and making coffee. You can always stop and get more along the way if needed. They sell water at all the gas stations.

3. Yes ALL the CG's in our area are completely closed for the winter I didn't even think about that my first trip down. Luckily I didn't need one until I was on the interstate where they were open.

4.I found out that all the CG's along the interstate ARE open. There are many of them on the route you will be on. You can just pull in any of them without even having to make a reservation and you will get a site and have electric and sewer but no water.

5. They do not shut off the water to the bathrooms and showers as those buildings are heated. So you can wash up and shower at a CG every night along your trip.

6.For me, because I do NOT like to use gas station bathrooms so I bought a thetford porta-pottie. And before you turn your nose up on this, it looks just like the RV toilet and is as tall as your RV toilet. Will fit right next to in your bathroom. In case you need to use it between CG's. I just felt better knowing it was there.

It has a cassette holding tank under it which you remove to dump. there is ABSOLUTELY no smell what so ever and when you dump it it has a swivel arm so you don't have to look at it either!

7. If you find you are using the toilet a lot while on the road. You just take the cassette, which just looks like a suitcase into the rest stop or gas station bathroom and dump it in the toilet.

That all said......
The biggest thing I learned is.
NO Kentucky is NOT far south enough to unwinterize the MH!!! :W

I was so excited to be so far south and the weather was so much nicer than up North I pulled into the CG and unwinterized and hooked up to the water with my inline filter in place.

Temps dropped that night and in the morning all I saw was blue plastic pieces all over from the filter freezing and blown apart!
My first clue should have been that the CG water hookup was wrapped in heat tape. :S

After that first trip my MH did not get unwinterized until I was firmly planted in a CG in Florida!

You can pick up a thetford porta-pottie at any Walmart. For around $50.


Hope some of this helps and enjoy your trip down.:C

We only de-winterize once we know that we are no longer in freezing temps. For us it usually means that the first travel night is at a hotel.

I also do not have any freash water In the tank, until we've de-winterized.

This is how we proceed based upon years of experience; we learned after freezing and breaking a plastic fitting.

Ivylog wrote:
I would not un-winterize...just carry 5 one gallon jugs of water for drinking and flushing.

X2. Make it an adventure. A night in a motel is not a bad idea either. When it is safe, enjoy your winter instead of possibly replacing plumbing.

How cold is cold? I trust the tech that says the water heater will provide enough heat.

Run the water heat a few days before you go and have a thermometer in the water pump compartment. Then you will know if you need the extra heat.

Your strategy is risky. If very cold, your holding tanks and associated plumbing could freeze during the day as you happily motor down the highway. The furnace could not work properly or at all with the wind from the road buffeting it. I would just plan on a few days of lodging at a motel until I got far enough south that freezing was no longer a concern.

I've driven with the WH and furnace on. Works fine.

Most people who head south that late stay in hotels/motels the first couple of nights until south of the freezing line. Driving easterly to get closer to the ocean will get you above freezing sooner, but that depends on which part of FL you're going to.

This way, you get to leave the rig winterized until you get warm.

I would not un-winterize...just carry 5 one gallon jugs of water for drinking and flushing.