Newer RVs that are hard to winterize.....grrrrr
So today Ed and I wandered over to a Florida CW dealer to look at some new, smaller Class C's in the 22 to 24' size. It's been 3 years since we sold the trusty, entry-level 28' C we owned previously - the one where we could open the lower door and SEE how much water was in the fresh tank; and could access (easily) the pump to switch the 3-way valve so it would suck antifreeze directly from the bottle. We could winterize that thing in under 10 minutes - it was easy.
We were admiring the nice airy floorplan of a Thor Freedom Elite 23' - it was perfect, in my mind - and then in a flash of brilliance, I asked where the water pump was. We searched everywhere. Turning on the pump switch didn't help - the battery was disconnected it seems. Finally, our salesgirl went and got someone from the service department - he wasn't much help; but we all deduced that it *might* be between the outer wall and the freshwater tank under the screwed-down dinette seatbase. Assuming that was it - it was in an incredibly-awkward spot for a procedure that needs to be done at least once - or multiple times if you live in the north and use your RV :-( And if you spill antifreeze - it will be INSIDE the RV.
Hoping to get more insight - we moved over to the same make in a 22' length, and were stymied again. We moved to a Forest River Forester - a massive creature; and of course it had the winterizing system all set up and ready to go. But this particular dealer didn't have any small FR models on hand. I finally apologized to our salesgirl - she had been very helpful, but I told her that not being able to winterize the RV quickly and easily was a deal-breaker for us. I feel bad for the newbies who don't know to look for details like this.
I've been on RV.net for over a decade and have read many complaints about RV designs that make no sense from a utilization standpoint; and now I realize we're about to experience that, too. Ugh.
Are there any 21-to-25' entry-level Class C's with easy access to the water pump?? I'm perfectly capable of adding a 3-way valve to the intake of the pump for winterizing - I just need to get AT the pump to do it.
Deb
We were admiring the nice airy floorplan of a Thor Freedom Elite 23' - it was perfect, in my mind - and then in a flash of brilliance, I asked where the water pump was. We searched everywhere. Turning on the pump switch didn't help - the battery was disconnected it seems. Finally, our salesgirl went and got someone from the service department - he wasn't much help; but we all deduced that it *might* be between the outer wall and the freshwater tank under the screwed-down dinette seatbase. Assuming that was it - it was in an incredibly-awkward spot for a procedure that needs to be done at least once - or multiple times if you live in the north and use your RV :-( And if you spill antifreeze - it will be INSIDE the RV.
Hoping to get more insight - we moved over to the same make in a 22' length, and were stymied again. We moved to a Forest River Forester - a massive creature; and of course it had the winterizing system all set up and ready to go. But this particular dealer didn't have any small FR models on hand. I finally apologized to our salesgirl - she had been very helpful, but I told her that not being able to winterize the RV quickly and easily was a deal-breaker for us. I feel bad for the newbies who don't know to look for details like this.
I've been on RV.net for over a decade and have read many complaints about RV designs that make no sense from a utilization standpoint; and now I realize we're about to experience that, too. Ugh.
Are there any 21-to-25' entry-level Class C's with easy access to the water pump?? I'm perfectly capable of adding a 3-way valve to the intake of the pump for winterizing - I just need to get AT the pump to do it.
Deb
