NEWBIE WINTERIZING QUESTION

I agree with johnwalkerpa1, but if you are really concerned about that little bit of water, you could blow out the lines and dump the tanks before adding the antifreeze. I blow out my lines but don't dump the tanks again before adding the antifreeze.

jarata1 wrote:
I did the winterization on my travel trailer with the anti -freeze.One question I have is when I was running water out the faucets before the color turned pink wouldn't that first bit of water sit n the gray water tank and freeze

It might but shouldn't matter as long as its just a little. The very last thing I do in the process is to dump extra antifreeze in all of my traps (sink and shower) and put a gallon down the toilet. I'm not so much worried about freezing in the waste tanks but in the traps and the valves at the waste tank drains. I like to leave my tanks a little wet anyway this works for all purposes.

I use a little more antifreeze then absolutely necessary that way but its not that much and it simple and works...

I blow out the lines before using the pink stuff, then use plenty of pink stuff to fill the traps and have some in the black and grey tanks. There is a little water left in the fresh water tank but it is below the level of the drain valve and has never caused a problem. I leave the drain valve open a little.

When running antifreeze through the plumbing, I make sure plenty goes down the sink traps and down into the black and grey tanks. I've never had any issues.

Some people have said that the black and grey drain valves shouldn't be allowed to "dry" out, as that may dry the seals and ruin them. I don't know about this, but I figure having liquid in the tanks covers me for this.

I usually let the gray and black open to let the water out while the antifreeze pumps through the plumbing. Once I get pink out of all of the faucets I close the valves and dump some antifreeze down the terlet and sinks.

I do the same, the anti freeze is cheap so I dump half down the toilet, half down the shower and all drains. Maybe its overkill but it makes me feel better.

Watch out where you put the pink stuff. It kills grass. Learned that the hard way. :S

SoundGuy wrote:

jarata1 wrote:
I did the winterization on my travel trailer with the anti -freeze.One question I have is when I was running water out the faucets before the color turned pink wouldn't that first bit of water sit n the gray water tank and freeze

So what? ... there's plenty of room in the tanks for any residual water to expand as it freezes without any cause for concern.

THIS^^^^

For winter I dump both tanks as usual. But the manufacturer put a second black tank valve (winter) very close to the black tank. That is the one I close during winterization when I am dumping. On my rig the three inch pipe runs all the way across the camper from the tank to the “summer” valve. I suppose there are two reasons for the two valves. One is if something hits the pipe and breaks it there is a valve close to the tank you can close. The other is while winterizing the shorter the pipe the better to get pink stuff into it.

I have always put a bunch of pink stuff into all of my drains. About half of that does go into the black tank.

On all of my RVs I have never known were the water traps were. So I errored on the side of caution. Never had a problem up here in Wisconsin. Eh, it do get cold up here.

I use a lg cup to catch the non-pink water and toss it out the door. I take no chances.

Thank you all