How to de-winterize your trailer? *UPDATE*

brmiller wrote:
I 'think' I got everything ready to go finally!

Got the propane tank bracket remounted and a new tank full of propane.

stopped and picked up a few nylon drain plugs for the hwh and installed one. finally figured out how to light the pilot light (thought it was electric) and got hot water running last night.

installed a new t-stat as the dometic one was broken in our brand new camper.

so crossing fingers we should be ready for the maiden voyage this weekend. Can't wait to create some new memories with the family.

Thank you again for all the help and support. Hopefully I can return the favor to someone else down the road.

Good luck, hope you have a fun and uneventful trip!

As an aside I thought all new water heaters were direct spark ignition, can't believe they're making a pilot based design. I guess I have something to look out for next time I'm trailer shopping!

I 'think' I got everything ready to go finally!

Got the propane tank bracket remounted and a new tank full of propane.

stopped and picked up a few nylon drain plugs for the hwh and installed one. finally figured out how to light the pilot light (thought it was electric) and got hot water running last night.

installed a new t-stat as the dometic one was broken in our brand new camper.

so crossing fingers we should be ready for the maiden voyage this weekend. Can't wait to create some new memories with the family.

Thank you again for all the help and support. Hopefully I can return the favor to someone else down the road.

Welcome to RVing. It is a marvelous adventure with lots of fun. However, you are pulling your summer cottage down the road, including your bedroom, bath, kitchen and appliances.

As you can tell, it is a bit a challenge to the new owner but it is just another ho-hum day to the folks with a bit of experience.

That is the advantage of this board, if you have a problem someone or several people will tell you how they fixed it when it happened to them.

Not to worry most issues can be solved by common sense thinking and moderate skill. Perhaps the most unique adventure is changing a TT tire. That take the proper tools.

Twice I have had to do it and knowing how is the difference between an annoying twenty minute delay and waiting for Roadside Assistance to find you on some county back road.

Safe travels

Do NOT put a bolt into the hot water tank. If you accidentally cross thread this it can and probably will destroy the threads in the tank. They use these plastic plugs for a reason.

Your photo shows (at least to me) that you are set up to use the HW tank. The bottom valve is allowing the water to flow into the bottom of the tank while the top valve is allowing it to leave. If you turn the bottom one to stop the flow, it will redirect it to the vertical pipe. When you close the top valve no water will get into the tank. Don't close one without closing the other.

Good luck. I think you have a good handle on things.

You seem to be doing well so far in your learning process. The water heater plug is no big deal as it is nylon and would not have damaged the tank threads. You do need to pick up another NYLON plug though, don't get just a PVC one as its not rated for the heat and will melt. Its wise to have a couple spare ones on hand anyway.

I think cross threading the plastic hot water plug should not have messed up the tank threads. Take the plug to the hardware and get another.

My twin LP tanks are held in place by a long rod a T bar and giant wing nut. They hide that with a shroud.

Take care.

It's been interesting. I hooked up to city water and flushed out the faucet, shower and toilet. However, I didn't realize there were main water drains that hadn't been plugged up. Guess how I found that out.

Anyway, I got that done and decided to run the hot water heater. I opened the line on the inside to fill the tank before turning it on.



the top valve filled the tank and I opened the bottom valve which I assume is the return to the rest of the trailer? (hopefully)


However, before I filled it I attempted to put the drain plug in and somehow have stripped it. It would only go in a quarter turn so I applied a little pressure with the socket wrench and it's now crooked.



I'm hoping I can get it out and try again or pick up another "bolt" at an RV place???

but it all amounted to nothing as I went to turn on the propane and realized the dealer did not fill the tank. So it was empty. Upon removing the old tank to get a new one I realized the bracket was being held on by only one bolt!!!





this wasn't something we noticed at delivery because that was a cluster in itself.

needless to say I won't be buying another camper from CW.

So I will re-attach the bracket, hook up the propane and the water then attempt to light the water heater tomorrow. Crossing my fingers that nothing else pops up.

perfect. I will be doing this in a few hours so I will be referring back to this thread.

thanks again for all the advice and feedback.

If your water heater has a bypass, it will be empty. The procedures outlined above tell you how to reverse the bypass and fill the water heater. It's very important that the water heater is full before you turn it on or it will be damaged particularly if you run it on electric. To make absolutely sure it is full, pressurize the system either by connecting a hose to the water input or filling the tank and turning the pump on. Then standing aside lift the pressure relief valve at the top of your water heater. If the tank is full water will spray out. Return the pressure relief valve to the normal position and turn on the water heater. You should periodically activate the pressure relief valve anyway to make sure it is not clogged so this test actually accomplishes two things at once.

Another tip since I didn't see it mentioned, if you have a taste left over from the antifreeze then pack about a cup of baking soda into the hose and run that through the lines. My family was quite offput the one time we winterized with the pink stuff and the water had an aftertaste even after running the faucet for a half hour, used the baking soda and problem solved.