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Did not winterized

rtaylor0830
Explorer
Explorer
Hi my buddy did not winterized his 2012 camper this year, he did empty the water heater and opened the low point drains but that is it. We have had one of the coldest winters ever in Maryland what problems do you see him having when he tries it out. I told him if every thing is fine I will never winterized mine again lol.
37 REPLIES 37

Katdaddy
Explorer II
Explorer II
danager wrote:
You become a plumber, carpenter, contortionist and master of linguistics.


Best description ever!!!!!!!
Little by little, one travels far - J.R.R. Tolkien
There ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them. - Mark Twain

Bobbo
Explorer II
Explorer II
A friend bought a brand spanking new 5er a couple of years ago. He winterized his first winter by opening the low point drains. He was lucky and only had to replace the shower fixtures. Lesson learned.
Bobbo and Lin
2017 F-150 XLT 4x4 SuperCab w/Max Tow Package 3.5l EcoBoost V6
2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB

mich800
Explorer
Explorer
Well here is my story. I was out yesterday starting to get everything ready. I blow the lines and use the pink. Due to my work schedule I actually did not get to winterizing until after one freeze/thaw in Michigan but I thought I was good.

Yesterday I had water on the floor by the bathroom sink. Opened up the cabinet and the trap had exploded. Many pieces. Luckily no other damage. Lesson learned, make sure you get the pink in the drains BEFORE the first hard freeze.

B_Sjulestad
Explorer II
Explorer II
I opened all low point drains, blew out the lines, added pink stuff but missed the line going to the ice maker. Solenoid froze and cracked going to ice maker and needed to be replaced.
Bob & Dianne
2016 GMC Denali 3500HD 4x4 DRW D/A
2013 Cedar Creek 36ckts
Emmy,Sassy and Flower our 4 legged kids

austinjenna
Explorer
Explorer
I think he will be fine since he used the low point drains to let it all drain out. Its the expansion that will crack it the pipes but if its drained then anything left will have room to expand.

2010 F350 CC Lariat 4x4 Short Bed
2011 Crusader 298BDS 5th Wheel
Reese 16K

dahkota
Explorer
Explorer
We are from Maryland. Our first winter with a tt, we winterized three times. We winter camp. The second year, we said, "Screw it." We drained everything, opened up the faucets and left it at that. Winter camped three times and re-emptied three times, no problem. The third year, we said, "Screw it!" and didn't winterize before we went to Florida for a couple of weeks in January. When we got back, we drained everything and dumped some anti-freeze in the toilet. Everything was fine. This year, we actually winterized in November and de-winterized in January to go fulltime. Still no problems... Maybe we are just very lucky.
2015 Jeep Willys Wrangler
2014 Fleetwood Bounder 33C
States camped: all but Hawaii
more than 1700 days on the road

colliehauler
Explorer III
Explorer III
good luck

Tom_Diane
Explorer
Explorer
One year, I failed to get the pink stuff to the toilet. Cracked the flush valve. Fastest 45.00 I ever spent! Valve took all of 30 to 45 seconds to remove and install! I dodged a bigger bullet that year and will not let it happen again. I got off easy compared to what I fear for your buddy. You might be camping with out him for a while till he gets his system repaired. I wish him luck and hope he gets a cheap lesson so he will make winterizing a priority next year.

super_camper
Explorer
Explorer
rtaylor0830 wrote:
Hi my buddy did not winterized his 2012 camper this year, he did empty the water heater and opened the low point drains but that is it. We have had one of the coldest winters ever in Maryland what problems do you see him having when he tries it out. I told him if every thing is fine I will never winterized mine again lol.
Every camper is made differently so its not really possible to tell what might be damaged until it's checked out. Every place where water is trapped and confined is going to break something!

Dave_H_M
Explorer II
Explorer II
The results on this one will be interesting. We had friends in WI. He did not winterize and did not have anything broken. it was not last winter though.

wbwood
Explorer
Explorer
Years ago in Georgia, my brother in law blew out the lines of his toy hauler. He was sure he got all the water out. That was until spring when he learned otherwise. Costly for him too. And besides the cost of fixing it, it would be a real bummer to be ready for your first trip of the season and then have to deal with that. The antifreeze is only $3/gallon. I think it's worth $10-15 to not have to worry about it.
Brian
2013 Thor Chateau 31L

bucky
Explorer II
Explorer II
Drained the water heater. Ran the pump dry. Opened ALL faucets, and opened the low points. Opened the drain to the fresh water tank. Poured the pink anywhere a trap was, and in the toilet. Went on first trip 2 weekends ago with zero problems. And then that damn storm came, and I had to do it all over again arrrrrrrrgggggggg.
Puma 30RKSS

Captain_Obvious
Explorer
Explorer
I didn't winterize in my OLD trailer. I did however, drain the water heater and empty the tanks.

I had to replace a section of pipe underneath the kitchen sink (CPVC). Pretty easy.
It cracked the toilet valve. Since the toilet was old and the part was no longer available, I ended up having to replace the toilet. That was $180ish.

Replacing the toilet was a good thing, since the vacuum breaker had been bypassed.

Fortunately, I no longer have that trailer...

If the tanks were emptyish, they'll likely be fine.

The nice thing about a demand pump is you know when you have a leak. The pump will run mysteriously = problems!

DutchmenSport
Explorer
Explorer
Shoot! I winterize every year. I started blowing AND following up with pink with our new camper! And come spring, I STILL hold my breath that there are no leaks, the pump still works, and the water heater didn't crack!

All that comes through my mind is the old spiritual song: "No..body ... knows... the trouble I've seen!...."