Short Term Winterizing?

[Hoka_He]

Hey there!

First post. Own a 31ft "winterized, 0 Degree" Keystone TT, first RV, have had it two months now. Living in it while touring USA, and now facing a dilemma.

I need to fly away for two and a half weeks. The forecast shows only one day getting below freezing (31 degrees F). Airport parking is cheap (under $10 a day) but of course has no hookups (so I can't leave a ceramic space heater running for warmth.) Propane and batteries would run dry in two or three days.

So- how do I guard against freezing my water lines without doing a full winterizing? I know "better safe than sorry," but if you know a good solution to keeping things from freezing over that length of time without going full-monty on winterizing I'd love to hear it.

My backup is to just spend the money on a local KOA and let the space heater keep things above freezing just in case- but that's a lot of money. (Less than repairing burst water lines...I know.)

Any tips? Thanks!

[Hoka_He]

Hey- thanks again! I called every RV place I could find and got the only Valterra handle/rod replacement available. It works, we're good. What a relief!

Thanks everyone for the help!

[DutchmenSport]

It's just really sad to think that winter weather is getting this close. So sad.

[DrewE]

My first check would be whether the handle from the black water tank can be unscrewed and screwed into the gray water tank valve to open it. If so, problem solved for now.

Failing that, I'd wash in a goodly amount of rock salt through whichever drain goes the most directly into the tank. That will keep it from freezing at least as effectively as diluted RV antifreeze, and cost a good bit less to boot.

[Hoka_He]

Hi there!

Thanks again. I took the consensus advice, got a small compressor, blow out valve, and two gallons of antifreeze for the drains.

I did a practice run today, took about 20 mins. All easy enough. Except...

My grey water valve handle is gone (missing completely, second time in two months this has happened.)

It's in the closed position.

I can't dump the tank, I fly out Sunday, and one day of 25 degree nighttime weather is in the forecast now.

Any thoughts about blowing the lines as per normal, then filling the grey tank the rest of the way up with -50 RV antifreeze? That might keep it from freezing?

Thanks for any thoughts you have on this new situation.

[BizmarksMom]

You don't need to do anything with the underbelly.

Look under the trailer. See those hoses hanging down? One drains the fresh water tank, the others are your low point drains. Unscrew the caps and let the water drain out.

Your water heater is behind one of the vents on the side of your trailer. It's a smallish box looking thing, with a plug on the side. Remove that plug and let the water drain.

Your water heater bypass valve can be hard to find. Mine is in the bathroom, behind what looks like a cabinet. It's a simple gate valve - turn it so it's closed.

Now, screw the drain caps back on underneath the trailer and start an air compressor. 30psi will do the job just fine. One by one, open your faucets and let them go until all of the water has been forced out. Don't forget your toilet. Then open the drains again and pour pink antifreeze down all of your sinks, into the shower and down the toilet.

All of this took longer to type than it is to do. It takes me about 15 minutes, start to finish.

[rhagfo]

So when we were still working and the 5er was in storage my winterization, consisted of opening the low point drains, while doing this I open the pressure relief valve. Then blowing the lines and opening each faucet and flushing the toilet while charged with air. This took about 20 minutes, I would do any time I was going to be out of town for more than four days. Pink stuff in P traps.
The beauty of the blow method is it doesn't require flushing afterwards, many of our winter parks didn't have full hook ups so flushing into tanks was not an option.

[memtb]

Hoka He, I'am with most here... winterize! If you are uncomfortable, perhaps someone in campground or someone you know, can help you

Drain Water heater - remove outside vent cover, pull drain at bottom of tank. You will need a ratchet , extension, and sockets ( you should have these anyway for use on road)

Bypass heater - probably under kitchen sink area

Blow-out lines - probably can rent a "pancakeair compressor" for near nothing locally. Adjust pressure regulator on compressor to "under" 45 psii. Open each and every faucet, one at a time. Don't forget to blow thru toilet flush and also the rinse hose

Antifreeze - pour the "pink stuff"" into all drains

Good Luck

[DrewE]

It makes little sense to me to spend the money for a campsite with electricity (if you can find a campground that lets you store the unit on a site while you're away for that length of time) or an indoor storage facility rather than learn how to winterize yourself. It's not like you'll never have need of winterizing and dewinterizing in the future, and it's really not that hard to do though it can sometimes be a bit time consuming. You shouldn't need to undo the enclosed undercarriage, nor need much in the way of tools.

The water heater is drained by removing the drain plug; this needs a wrench or channel lock pliers, and is done from its outside access panel. The water tank is drained with a drain valve, and the interior pipes mostly drained with low point drains. You may need a pipe wrench to open the low point drains if they're just pipe caps on nipples, but more common is a valve that just requires turning or pulling manually.

If you're winterizing by blowing out the lines with air, which is what I do, you do need access to an air compressor (with a regulated outlet, preferably) and appropriate fittings to attach it to the city water inlet. If you're using RV antifreeze, you may need a bit of tubing or a funnel or some similar odds and ends, depending on the specific setup of your RV's plumbing system.

There may be instructions in the owner's manual for winterization. There also may not be, as far too frequently the manuals are generic to the point of being nearly useless.

[Hoka_He]

Hey there!

Thanks for the quick replies. Right now, it's showing a low temperature of 31 degrees on only one of the days I'm traveling. So almost entirely above freezing, so long as the forecast is accurate. (I tend to trust current weather reports more than two or three-week forecasts!)

I do have the enclosed underbelly, which complicates things significantly. I can't get to the water heater, etc., without peeling that liner open. And, frankly, I have two months total experience with RVs in my life. I don't have my "real" tools, a garage, etc, to do this with because I'm on the road.

I was kind of hoping someone knew of a slow heat product, or whatever. You know, magic of some sort!

I think I'll end up looking for indoor storage, or a campsite where we have hookups to run space heaters while gone.

What does it typically cost do have a storage facility winterize and de-winterize? That would let me store it outdoors (cheaper than indoor storage!) without the danger of a space heater running unattended!

Thanks again for the good answers!

[Mortimer_Brewst]

JaxDad wrote:

Hoka He wrote:
Own a 31ft "winterized, 0 Degree" Keystone TT, first RV, have had it two months now.

I need to fly away for two and a half weeks. The forecast shows only one day getting below freezing (31 degrees F).

So- how do I guard against freezing my water lines without doing a full winterizing?

Maybe I misread the OP, a TT with better than average insulation, at 31 degrees for ONE NIGHT?

The sky is NOT falling.

The interior of the TT will be well above freezing and will take MANY hours below freezing to get close to being cold enough to even allow anything to freeze, let alone cause any damage.

Enjoy your trip.........

I wouldn't worry about 31° either. The OP said that he's going to be gone for 2.5 weeks though. Forecasts beyond 5 days tend to change. Anything beyond 10 days is a complete guess. He's going to be gone for 17 - 18 days. I'd winterize for peace of mind.

[JaxDad]

Hoka He wrote:
Own a 31ft "winterized, 0 Degree" Keystone TT, first RV, have had it two months now.

I need to fly away for two and a half weeks. The forecast shows only one day getting below freezing (31 degrees F).

So- how do I guard against freezing my water lines without doing a full winterizing?

Maybe I misread the OP, a TT with better than average insulation, at 31 degrees for ONE NIGHT?

The sky is NOT falling.

The interior of the TT will be well above freezing and will take MANY hours below freezing to get close to being cold enough to even allow anything to freeze, let alone cause any damage.

Enjoy your trip.........

[rockhillmanor]

bikendan wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
Pour antifreeze in fresh water tank.

DON'T put antifreeze in the FW tank.
It will leave a bad taste and requires flushing a lot of water to get rid of the taste.
And make sure you bypass the WH, for the same reason.

That way you will need a lot less antifreeze.

NO. It has no bad taste. Don't know what you are using.

You don't add the antifreeze to a FW tank filled with water. the only thing in the FW tank when winterizing is only the antifreeze. Other wise it would be diluted and worthless.

And all you have to do to unwinterize is fill tank and turn water on and run until clear.

To each his own how they winterize. But don't slam others simply because you don't use that method. OP asked for suggestions. I expressed what I have been doing for over 18 years winterizing. :C

[old40ford]

Blow it out, but, don't forget the toilet. Many people forget to blow the water out of the toilet valve and I used to sell dozens of them ever spring.

[Mortimer_Brewst]

Forecasts nowadays are accurate about 80% of the time. Since I'm not a gambler I'd winterize it. Antifreeze is cheap. Water damage is not.