Winterizing 2014 Coachmen Freelander 31DS

Question

I am attempting to winterize my 2014 Coachmen Freelander 31DS. The booklet which came with the RV says to put RV antifreeze in the fresh water tank, then run the pump to circulate the antifreeze throughout the plumbing. I can't get the antifreeze into the fresh water tank. The instruction booklet does not tell you how to do that; says you will need a long funnel. When you use the funnel, the antifreeze runs down the side of the RV. The dealer omitted this item in his pre-delivery walkthrough.

After much twisting and turning, we were able to bypass the water heater. But no antifreeze in the system.

Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

dick_b · Answer

It's hard to believe why an RV manufacturer would recommend putting antifreeze into the FW tank when virtually no one in this Forum does that. Search this Forum for `winterizing' to find out how we do it. Some blow out with air and some, like me, use a separate hose connection to the pump to suck antifreeze out of a gallon jug.

chevyman2 · Answer

I have winterized a good many Class Cs this year. Not a 14 Freelander though. Every class C that I have winterized has had a open fitting near the water pump (likely under your bed in a small compartment at the head of the bed). This fitting usually has the same plug as an "Atwood" water heater uses for a plug.

Any RV shop will carry an attachment that will screw into that fitting (on one end) and allow you to place the other end over a typical hose (like a garden hose). Then just stick that hose in your antifreeze bottle and turn on the pump.

mbylone · Answer

I have the Coachman Leprechaun and our manual told us the same thing.  Having some experience orior to this rig with a TT, we just installed the winterizing attachment which you can buy at Camping World or others.  We located the pump in the rear cargo area, cut a section of the wall for easy removal each year and installed the valve.  Now we use the pump to push the antifreeze.  It was hard to beleive it was not installed as part of the design.  Hope this helps.

tenbear · Answer

I installed one of these winterizing kits. It makes winterizing painless.

You may need a few more parts, like elbows, available at your local hardware store. You will also need access to the water pump.

tenbear · Answer

A picture is worth a thousand words. Here is how my winterizer kit looks. It is in the line between the water tank and the pump. Because of the limited space I needed a few elbows to make it fit. The hose to the jug of antifreeze goes on the top of the kit, just remove the cap.

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