Need step by step help de-winterizing

Here's a diagram of common water heater valve system.
I took this from a previous posting by our friend Roy Braddy.
If you have this system on your Trailer, the dealer likely closed the valves to the water heater (photo 2). Once you rinse the antifreeze out of your system, you need to open up the valves (photo 1) so water goes into your heater before you attempt to turn it on and heat water.

First, welcome. We'll all get you through this. Not as difficult as you think. To dewinterize, open low point drains (should be 2 lines dropping below trailer). Open any faucets, hot and cold. The antifreeze won't hurt your lawn, but you can catch it in a bucket, either way. You'll know when it's drained. Close the low point drains. Hook up the city water, open each faucet until no pink antifreeze comes out. Turn off the city water. Next, set the valves on the water heater. You should have 2 lines, one going in, one out. You probably have a line between them. Open the 2 going in and out (valve handle in line with pipe). Close the one in between the 2 (handle at 90 degree angle). Are you drinking from the water system? If not, I wouldn't bother worrying about sanitizing the system at this time until you're more familiar and confident. When you turn on the water again the water heater should fill. Open a hot water faucet near it. It will take a while to fill, and when it does the water will sputter. Let it run until it runs smooth. ONLY THEN turn on the water heater. NEVER turn on heater unless you know the water heater is full. You really don't need to do anything with black and gray tanks except empty them. More questions or things look different? Post them here. Have fun!

Go look at you tube. There are lots of de-winterizING videos.

jerseyjim wrote:
How long at the fairgrounds? Days, weeks? When I de-winterize, I hook up the hose and open each faucet until the (pink)antifreeze does not show anymore. Sometimes I have to open then more than twice...opening them in sequence. Then...once that is done, keep running the water thru to flush the system. Of course, you should drain the greywater tank after this...you have a dump station nearby?

What you should REALLY do, in my OPINION, is to use the TT more than your "once a year" thing....to get familiar with it. Go to a nearby campground where they offer a full utility site (water, electric, sewer (and cable?)...get to KNOW your trailer...then all mysteries will go away. Who knows? You might enjoy the thing more if you use it more !

Thanks for the feedback. We are at the fairgrounds for a week, hooked up to city water. We pay there to have the tanks emptied by a truck about halfway through. There's no dump station around here that I'm aware of - we're out in the country.

How do I know the sequence of faucets?

And while I'd LOVE to use the camper more, having 3 young children and a farm makes getting away impossible in this stage of life. The camper at the fair is our "vacation" as it gives us a place to sit in a/c and sleep at our exhibit.

2oldman wrote:
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DE-WINTERIZING help needed!

How long at the fairgrounds? Days, weeks? When I de-winterize, I hook up the hose and open each faucet until the (pink)antifreeze does not show anymore. Sometimes I have to open then more than twice...opening them in sequence. Then...once that is done, keep running the water thru to flush the system. Of course, you should drain the greywater tank after this...you have a dump station nearby? Personally, I have never used the freshwater tank except to fill it about 1/4 full when on a trip...for the bathroom toilet. For "insurance) I have 2 one-gallon bottles of tap water available if we want coffee or anything on the road due to anything unexpected..

What you should REALLY do, in my OPINION, is to use the TT more than your "once a year" thing....to get familiar with it. Go to a nearby campground where they offer a full utility site (water, electric, sewer (and cable?)...get to KNOW your trailer...then all mysteries will go away. Who knows? You might enjoy the thing more if you use it more !

This is all foreign to me. I don't know how to set the water heater correctly. Do I keep it set as the dealership left it during this whole process, or when should I open the valves? Do I need the hot water heater to be lit during any part of this?

I located what I believe is the fresh water holding tank drain (should there be others? If yes, where?) It's ok to drain the antifreeze into my lawn? After all this flushing and rinsing and my grey/black fills, what do I do with it?

I'm sorry for all the newbie questions. We dove into this head-first with basically no knowledge and no help nearby. I'm hoping someone here can hold my hand through this!

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There really isn't any "step by step" procedure ... just open the low point drains and allow any RV antifreeze to gravity drain, run the pump if you want to help the process. Fill the fresh water tank with water, make sure any water heater bypass valves are set correctly, and use the pump to pressurize and purge the system of air. Some also choose to sanitize the water system at this time by adding a bit of bleach (1/4 to 1/2 cup) to the fresh water tank and running it through using the pump but you'd probably want to do a second flush with fresh water to minimize any bleach after small. That's about it, not much more to than that.