Questions for those in the South

[Second_Chance]

Not counting the Westfalia VW pop-top in the '70s, my wife and I just purchased our first "hard-sided" RV (had a Coleman PUP for a while). Based on our location on the Savannah River in SC, I have some questions related to when the TT is not in use (stored at the house). Our summer days are typically in the upper 90s to lower 90s - but I have seen 107 and above on my personal weather station at the house. Our AVERAGE low temp in January is around 33 - but it can get into the teens with cold fronts. The trailer is a 2013 Surveyor Sport 200 by Forest River. My questions:

1. What types of things do or do not do well left in the trailer during the hot months? I'm thinking of things like toiletries, a few cleaning supplies, perhaps some non-perishable food items. How about soft goods like towels and linens. (I know to empty and turn of the frig and prop the doors open for air circulation.)

2. To what extent do you winterize your water systems and do you "blow it" or use antifreeze?

3. I have the option of leaving the trailer plugged in with the battery on board or pulling the battery and storing it in the garage (the latter being more work). If I have a reminder to check the electrolyte levels monthly, is it OK to leave everything plugged in?

4. Anything else you can think of?

Thanks!

Rob

[bound4fl]

Heat is not good on can food.
Everything else stays.
Drain low point drains and pink stuff in all drains so p-traps won't frezze.
Battery is up to you I leave mine in. Just ck it monthly and recharge

[Bob___Ann]

Everybody has already covered this topic well but I will add two things. First of all I would winterize the RV. I do mine in North Alabama. I blow it out which has worked well and is very easy to do. Second a little trick for keeping your salt shaker working in the south is add some rice to it. I will keep your salt from getting hard.

[2012Coleman]

When I put it up for the winter we put some Damp Rid in it. That stuff really works. Also all the vents are left open.

I generally leave vents open (with vent covers) and use damp rid all the time. $2 containers are cheap way to manage moisture.

Not trying to be a wise a$$ but would someone please explain this to me? Isn't the damp Rid trapping the moisture that comes in through the open vents? The presense of moisture to me means damp air is somehow getting in. I close up my TT tight, and cover it when stored. Notice I live in Florida where you start sweating the minute you walk out the door. Humidity has been in the 90 percentile lately. Just reterived my TT from storage last weekend - it's as dry as a bone in there and the interior temps stay down due to the reflective top of my cover. Why not just use the Damp Rid in a closed TT - just in case?

[popeyemth]

I used to have pink stuff taste and smell till I realized I had not been flushing the low point drains and they held a tad that let just enough siphon every use to detect
Flushing my low drains (2 sets!) solved that
Adding pink to the tank instead of the lines always leaves some in the tank too so avoid that.
Good Luck, Mike

[wannavolunteerF]

1. As soon as I arrive home, I wash linens and then replace in TT. Food is dependent on how long it will be before I go again. Some stays regularly however, I do try to rotate with what is in house. spices are the things that I have found the heat affects most.

2. First year I used pink stuff, last year I drained good and turned heat on low on the nights we were to get below freezing with cabinet doors open. I am a bit south of you and felt like the pink stuff smell stayed in the lines forever.

3. I stay plugged in almost all the time, I just check battery periodically.

I generally leave vents open (with vent covers) and use damp rid all the time. $2 containers are cheap way to manage moisture. I do park in my yard, so it is easy to go out and check on things. I also try to open doors and let fresh air circulate through regularly.

4. I have been lucky and not had a mouse problem (yet), but I did go through the trailer carefully looking for anywhere I could see light seeping through and fill with Great Stuff flexible..

[mlts22]

Second Chance wrote:
Not counting the Westfalia VW pop-top in the '70s, my wife and I just purchased our first "hard-sided" RV (had a Coleman PUP for a while). Based on our location on the Savannah River in SC, I have some questions related to when the TT is not in use (stored at the house). Our summer days are typically in the upper 90s to lower 90s - but I have seen 107 and above on my personal weather station at the house. Our AVERAGE low temp in January is around 33 - but it can get into the teens with cold fronts. The trailer is a 2013 Surveyor Sport 200 by Forest River. My questions:

1. What types of things do or do not do well left in the trailer during the hot months? I'm thinking of things like toiletries, a few cleaning supplies, perhaps some non-perishable food items. How about soft goods like towels and linens. (I know to empty and turn of the frig and prop the doors open for air circulation.)

2. To what extent do you winterize your water systems and do you "blow it" or use antifreeze?

3. I have the option of leaving the trailer plugged in with the battery on board or pulling the battery and storing it in the garage (the latter being more work). If I have a reminder to check the electrolyte levels monthly, is it OK to leave everything plugged in?

4. Anything else you can think of?

Thanks!

Rob

1: TP, linens, and bedding stay. All food goes. The heat does a number on anything.

2: I use an air compressor at 30PSI, blow the lines, moving faucet to faucet to the toilet, making sure the water heater is drained, anode replaced, and bypassed. Then, I pump some cheap vodka in the lines and blow the lines dry again. Low-hanging areas are then protected because of the ethanol in case the temperature gets into the teens (worst case.) Traps and drains get RV antifreeze.

3: I'd consider pulling the battery, leaving it in the garage hooked up to a Battery Minder (trickle charger/desulfater) so it is ready for the next season.

4: Yes, mice and rats. Also, check the roof caulking seals. One cracked seal can turn your rig's value into scrap in just a few months.

[Campinghoss]

Rob, we leave canned goods, linens, clothes, toiletries in. When I put it up for the winter we put some Damp Rid in it. That stuff really works. Also all the vents are left open.

I always use the rv antifreeze and have never had any problems. The stuff is cheap and I use a gallon or two extra just to get it into the gray and black tanks.

I keep the battery in it and just plug the fiver in once a month. I do keep a check on the battery level but you will have to do that regardless of where you keep it.

Mine stays under a shelter when not in use so the sun does not beat down on it either.

[wbwood]

Hi Ron. We are originally from Augusta ourselves and lastly lived in North Augusta before moving away from the area almost 11 years ago. Our parents still live over on the Georgia side of the river and we were just at Ridge Road Campground at Lake Thurmond a couple weeks ago.

I know the climate in which you are speaking of. Personally, all the items you mentioned should be fine in the camper. However I would probably remove any food items, especially during the summer months unless you can run the air conditioner/fridge. Humidity and heat are going to be the worse things. Toiletries will be ok unless aerosol. I would pull that type of stuff out. Especially, tooth paste. I don't like hot tooth paste. Lol

Winterizing is going to be another personal preference. Which ever way you go, use antifreeze in the pipes. My brother in law south of at,ants thought he blew the lines out good, but didn't use the antifreeze. He had some repair work to do in spring. We have never blow. Ours out, we just pumped antifreeze through the lines. Was easier to do and no worries.

[rockhillmanor]

Zip, zero on ALL food stuff. It ALL gets taken out of the RV. And ditto that on ALL toiletries. I strip the beds of sheets and take all towels in also.

It only takes one time of temps dropping and items freezing and splitting open and damage from critters. Many items are affected by heat also.

Guess it's up to you if you want to 'wait' until that one time happens and you have to clean it up and hope it has not permanently damaged the interior of your RV or take 10 minutes to remove it all. :W

[fla-gypsy]

Q1. 1. What types of things do or do not do well left in the trailer during the hot months? I'm thinking of things like toiletries, a few cleaning supplies, perhaps some non-perishable food items. How about soft goods like towels and linens. (I know to empty and turn of the frig and prop the doors open for air circulation.)

A1. I leave non perishables and soft goods in mine

Q2. To what extent do you winterize your water systems and do you "blow it" or use antifreeze?

A2. I empty the fresh water and holding tanks except for a few gallons in the black tank including the water heater, I drain the system through the low point drains and place RV antifreeze in ALL traps (sinks, shower) and in the toilet to maintain a barrier seal. I do not blow out the lines and never had an issue just draining them.

Q3. I have the option of leaving the trailer plugged in with the battery on board or pulling the battery and storing it in the garage (the latter being more work). If I have a reminder to check the electrolyte levels monthly, is it OK to leave everything plugged in?

A3. I unhook the battery but leave it in place to lessen the amount of maintenance required after each camping trip. It would be OK to leave it in but any mistakes could ruin it.

Q4. Anything else you can think of?

A4. Always double check the refrigerator and cabinets for perishables. We also have our home pest control treat the TT quarterly to ensure no surprises. Some folks open vents and such but I do not and have never had an issue. We use our trailer off and on year round so it never sits more than a couple of months without us in and out of it. Always do your preventative maintenance as required regardless of how often it is used.

[TxTiger]

I've had my TH for about 2 yrs and leave it at an RV park several months of the year and try to use it about one week per month. When I leave I close everything, leave the refrig doors open, turn off the propane, unplug the elec and disconnect the water. I dump my black water and then flush it at least twice, my gray water gets dumped and flushed once. I put some Pinesol in the gray water tank and the pea traps and the deoderant packette in the black. I close each tank at the valves. Everything has always smelled fresh upon arrival.

This in Texas where we commonly have numerous 100+ degree days in the summer. I leave all my cleaning supplies, spices, canned foods (tuna fish etc), crackers, peanut butter, water bottles, beer, whiskey, etc. in it when I leave. I don't have any spray items under pressure. I leave my bed made and keep all linens/pillows in it and have never had an oder issue from construction glues. I do not leave any vents open, although it has some side vents I'm considering leaving open but don't think it will lower the heat much, and possibly allow water in during heavy rains. The only thing I've noticed occurring is the liquid soap I keep in the bathtub sometimes dribbles out of the bottle a little.

With respect to winter, I have it in my driveway then where I winterize it by blowing out the lines, put antifreeze in the pea traps and both holding tanks. Make sure you thoroughly clean the black water tank and then about 3 gallons of antifreeze keeps liquid in the tank so nothing sets-up that may still be in there.

[prothos]

i store my TT at my house so i leave it plugged in and the ac is set to about 88. It keeps the rv at a reasonable temp inside and living in Se Texas we dont worry to much about the cold. all i do is drain all the tanks and lines. i do have a small ceramic space heater i will plug in and set at 45 to keep the inside from getting to cold on those rare below freezing nights. We leave prety much everthing inside with the exception of food items.

[2012Coleman]

Don't leave spices - salt, pepper, etc or anything under pressure like bug spray. Linins will take on the smell of the glue that is used in construction. I also remove the first aid kit. Due to humidity, I do not leave a vent open as suggested on other threads. I keep a cover on it while in storage as well which reduces the interior temp. Although I may get the damp rid packs to be on the safe side, I have never had a mold issue.

[robsouth]

Second Chance wrote:


1. What types of things do or do not do well left in the trailer during the hot months? I'm thinking of things like toiletries, a few cleaning supplies, perhaps some non-perishable food items. How about soft goods like towels and linens. (I know to empty and turn of the frig and prop the doors open for air circulation.) What you mention, is usually what we leave in the camper.

2. To what extent do you winterize your water systems and do you "blow it" or use antifreeze? I generally use the antifreeze, but I have been know to just blow it out. Never a problem either way so far.

3. I have the option of leaving the trailer plugged in with the battery on board or pulling the battery and storing it in the garage (the latter being more work). If I have a reminder to check the electrolyte levels monthly, is it OK to leave everything plugged in? I take the battery out and store it in garage when camper is not in use. I use a trickle charger to keep the charge up and check the water often. A few days before a trip, I will put the battery back and bring the camper around to the driveway and plug it up to check the operation of everything, A/C, fridge, pump, water systems, etc.


4. Anything else you can think of?Check the air pressure in tires, repack wheel bearings every two years or more often depending on mileage, inspect roof for caulk cracks and re-seal if necessary, wash often and wax about once a year.

Thanks!

Rob