Hello all,This is my second post on here since we bought our first (new to us) TT toy hauler last month. It is a 2010 Sunnybrook THX 269.I have a 60x40 pole barn. The roof is insulated and two walls. It still gets pretty cold in there. I have a few questions I am having a hard time finding answers for when storing inside here in our OHIO winters. I will try to keep them short and sweet:A. Being inside the barn does it need to have the pink stuff added or just blow the lines out? If Pink is necessary, add it to all spots where water hits (including the black and gray tanks)?B. Should I leave the vents, doors, windows open?C. Any other advice? I have been reading about rodent deterrents. We lost our barn/field cat (was the neighbors) who really kept the mouse population down. I have trapped a couple Mice this year in the barn.D. Lastly, this spring I am going to build a lean to in the back of the barn to store the TT in the summer so as to not take up my whole barn. It will be a roof and one wall to block the direction 99% of our snow and rain comes and have a gravel base. The question I have is, would it be better to store it there next winter as well to keep it in fresh circulating air and at colder temps to deter the mice? Thoughts?That should do it :)Thank you all for any time in answering my questions.

You should do a complete winteriae. Blow out the water lines using LOW pressure air. Add antifreeze to the toilet and "P" traps. If you have a washer or ice maker, then you need to push anti freeze thru everything to be safe. If you have enecteicity in there, add an electric dehumidifier. Close everything up tight. Be sure to add a bunchmof mouse traps to srop unwanted guests. Either take the batteries out and store them someplace warn with a charger on then, or leave the trailer plugged in. Check the batteries monthly and add water as necessary.

I have done exactly as you, first in the barn, then a lean to with back and one side closed. Strangely enough my mouse problems happened when it was inside and none since being under the lean to.I leave hatches opened with max air cover over them and about a dozen dryer sheets inside strategically located. Smells great and no mice.Someone told me that mice hate the gravel. Who knows. No mice in a couple of years. Plenty caught in the barn.

We keep the MH in a 42x96 fully enclosed machine shed and leave the Bus open in the winter. Vents, a window or two and only the screen door closed. We do get mice, but the traps keep them under control. Since our barn has power we are plugged in 24/7 and do not have battery problems, especially with AGM batteries.

If it gets below freezing you have to winterize.

Thank you all so far. I will likely move it to the lean to for good next year if it will keep the mice out. Is there any harm to leaving it plugged in 24/7 or am I better off trickle charging the battery in our house basement? Does leaving it plugged in reduce any life expectancy of the electronics?Sounds like the group is 50/50 on leave some vents, windows, door open versus locking it up tight??If I add a de-humidifier would that go inside the TT?

Storing first TT inside pole barn | Good Sam Community

CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Oct 18, 2016
opnspaces wrote:
If the batteries are fully charged they will probably be fine disconnected and left alone all winter. If you have a trickle charger and power in the pole barn then just trickle charge them out there, no need to bring them into the house.

I agree.
Acdii
Explorer
Oct 18, 2016
I am doing the same thing, provided I can get it lowered an inch or two and not damage the tires in the process. As mentioned, drain the tanks, flush the lines, fill with the pink stuff, and bring the battery in. I made the mistake once of leaving the battery out and disconnected and it was d e d dead. I just bring them in the basement and toss a charger on them every so often.

To keep rodents out, get a box or two of mothballs, and spread them around everything that touches the ground, tires, tongue jack and if the stabs are down, around those too. Mice hate those and will stay away, also dryer sheets inside just in case.

Those desiccant type dehumidifiers work well too, they are nothing more than a bucket with a sieve and potassium chloride, non salt based ice melt, that absorbs moisture. Check into them at least once a month and drain or replace as needed.

One other thing, get a box of Brillo or SOS pads, and look into the cabinets for any opening, you should see one where the hose that connects to the pump enters from the fresh tank, open up a pad or two and stuff them into the openings. It keeps the mice from getting in, they don't like the soap, and even if they do, the steel wool keeps them from digging in.

If your floor is dirt, get a couple patio blocks, those flat 12" x 12" square ones work well, and park the tires on those and off the dirt. That keeps snails and other rot inducing things off the rubber.
opnspaces
Navigator II
Oct 15, 2016
If the batteries are fully charged they will probably be fine disconnected and left alone all winter. If you have a trickle charger and power in the pole barn then just trickle charge them out there, no need to bring them into the house.
mikakuja
Explorer
Oct 14, 2016
humblerb wrote:
solar07 wrote:
mikakuja wrote:

My method. Fresh drained, hot water tank drained and bypass valves off. Starting from the closest tap to the furthest including the outside shower and low point drains etc, run each tap until pink flows. If I have any left I pour a bit down each p-trap. there will be enough in the black and grey tanks to reach the drains. Fresh tank does not need any winterizing.
.

Could you explain "fresh drained"? Also, what is a P-Trap? So none of the antifreeze goes into the fresh water tank....

Thanks!

"Fresh drained" means his fresh water tank has been drained.
P-trap refers to the drains under your sinks. The P-Trap is the very bottom piece of drain pipe that is U-shaped (wonder why is isn't called a U-Trap?). When you run water in a sink, gravity will force it in to the drain. When you stop running water in the sink, water stops draining out of the pipes and the U-shaped pipe stays full of water. This is what prevents sewer gases (and smell) from coming in to your house/trailer. It is the same in your bathrooms/kitchen sinks in your home.

No antifreeze goes in the fresh tank. If you do you will have a hell of a time getting the antifreeze smell and taste out of the tank.

You will have a bypass at your pump. In order to winterize you will turn the bypass valve to draw from the winterizing line instead of the water tank. Basically just put the hose into your antifreeze jug and then proceed with the above procedure.

In the spring I fill the fresh tank with water and a couple cups of bleach (mixed) and run it through the lines (same as winterizing) and leave it sit a couple days. I then flush the tank and lines a couple times and that about does it for sanitizing for the season, unless I fill with questionable water which happens from time to time.
midnightsadie
Explorer II
Oct 13, 2016
I,m in canton ohio and mine sits in a bldg, no mice ,use peppermint oil and a product called fresh cab, you must use the pink stuff ,every where. and pour a half gal in each tank, so it gets to the gate valves.put a battery tender on the battery, I blow out my water lines ,then suck in the pink stuff.
Lynnmor
Explorer
Oct 13, 2016
I keep mine inside the pole barn, winterized and closed up. I think that the sun does more damage than weather and the lean-to may allow sun exposure. When not in use, it is inside. I'm in farm country and no mice problems yet, of course I allow the black snakes to live.
humblerb
Explorer
Oct 13, 2016
solar07 wrote:
mikakuja wrote:

My method. Fresh drained, hot water tank drained and bypass valves off. Starting from the closest tap to the furthest including the outside shower and low point drains etc, run each tap until pink flows. If I have any left I pour a bit down each p-trap. there will be enough in the black and grey tanks to reach the drains. Fresh tank does not need any winterizing.
.

Could you explain "fresh drained"? Also, what is a P-Trap? So none of the antifreeze goes into the fresh water tank....

Thanks!

"Fresh drained" means his fresh water tank has been drained.
P-trap refers to the drains under your sinks. The P-Trap is the very bottom piece of drain pipe that is U-shaped (wonder why is isn't called a U-Trap?). When you run water in a sink, gravity will force it in to the drain. When you stop running water in the sink, water stops draining out of the pipes and the U-shaped pipe stays full of water. This is what prevents sewer gases (and smell) from coming in to your house/trailer. It is the same in your bathrooms/kitchen sinks in your home.
DanNJanice
Explorer
Oct 13, 2016
solar07 wrote:
Hello all,

This is my second post on here since we bought our first (new to us) TT toy hauler last month. It is a 2010 Sunnybrook THX 269.

I have a 60x40 pole barn. The roof is insulated and two walls. It still gets pretty cold in there. I have a few questions I am having a hard time finding answers for when storing inside here in our OHIO winters. I will try to keep them short and sweet:

A. Being inside the barn does it need to have the pink stuff added or just blow the lines out? If Pink is necessary, add it to all spots where water hits (including the black and gray tanks)?
Yes, if it is below freezing you need to winterize.
B. Should I leave the vents, doors, windows open?
Yes, leave the vents and a couple of windows cracked.
C. Any other advice? I have been reading about rodent deterrents. We lost our barn/field cat (was the neighbors) who really kept the mouse population down. I have trapped a couple Mice this year in the barn.
Recommend you get another cat. Besides being good at catching rodents, they are cute and fuzzy.

D. Lastly, this spring I am going to build a lean to in the back of the barn to store the TT in the summer so as to not take up my whole barn. It will be a roof and one wall to block the direction 99% of our snow and rain comes and have a gravel base. The question I have is, would it be better to store it there next winter as well to keep it in fresh circulating air and at colder temps to deter the mice? Thoughts?
As long as you have it in some kind of shelter I don't think it matters much. I have to store mine outside, wish I had someplace to keep it under cover.

That should do it :)

Thank you all for any time in answering my questions.
solar07
Explorer
Oct 13, 2016
mikakuja wrote:

My method. Fresh drained, hot water tank drained and bypass valves off. Starting from the closest tap to the furthest including the outside shower and low point drains etc, run each tap until pink flows. If I have any left I pour a bit down each p-trap. there will be enough in the black and grey tanks to reach the drains. Fresh tank does not need any winterizing.
.

Could you explain "fresh drained"? Also, what is a P-Trap? So none of the antifreeze goes into the fresh water tank....

Thanks!
Campfire_Time
Explorer
Oct 13, 2016
shelbyd wrote:

Someone told me that mice hate the gravel. Who knows. No mice in a couple of years. Plenty caught in the barn.

I don't think they hate gravel as much as they stay away from areas that make them vulnerable to predators. In other words they like to hide. A trailer on a gravel pad with no growth of any kind near the trailer has kept the mice out of our trailers for over 20 years. And it's about 3.5' away from the garage, where I get mice all the time, especially winter.

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