Do we have to winterize if we use our RV during the winter?

[forrman]

We live in Southern Utah, where temperatures are starting to dip in the low 30s and high 20s at night. But during the daylight hours temperatures are in the high 40s to Lowe 50s. We still plan to go camping every 3-4 weeks from now through the Spring. Do we still need to winterize bnow and de-winterize right before our next trip?

[markdaniels]

If you plan to use your RV during the winter, it's still important to take certain precautions to ensure that your vehicle functions properly and is protected from the cold temperatures. Winterizing an RV typically involves protecting the plumbing system from freezing, which can cause damage if water expands as it turns to ice.

[hotpepperkid]

It suck to live at an elevation where it gets into the 20's for 4 days out of 20. Some times I leave the heater on set at 50deg and sometime I just bite the bullet and winterize

[2_Retired]

We winter camped in the Poconos for a number of years. Had our RV on a permanent site. The water at the site was turned off, so no water ran through out water pipes, which we had drained before the cold weather hit. We also made certain all plugs were left open. We did use the drains of the sinks, and also the toilet (used gallon bottles of water to flush). At the end of each weekend, we would dump at our sewered site, and after closing the levers drop a gallon of cheap windshield washer fluid down each drain and the toilet to protect the levers from freezing shut. It worked perfectly. We would never leave any chance for water to freeze in the pipes. We used a large 60 cup coffee maker for our hot water and a 2.5 gallon plastic jug with a petcock on it for our cold water needs. Worked like a charm.

[blofgren]

NamMedevac 70 wrote:

CFerguson wrote:

NamMedevac 70 wrote:
This is to notify new RV campers that pink RV antifreeze will freeze hard in winter time hard freezes. For instance like others I poured generous amount of antifreeze in my toilet bowel to stop the flush valve from drying out and the antifreeze froze solid one winter while RV was in storage in Reno, Nevada and yes the antifreeze is a 50/50 water mix. Just saying

Did you have appreciable damage?

No damage only stain from pink liquid. I did not use antifreeze in any other part of the trailer as I drained all water from tank and lines. antifreeze does not quickly evaporate like water is why I put it in toilet bowl.

RV antifreeze is not supposed to be diluted with water. Yes, the antifreeze will get slushy or possibly even freeze, but it will not expand like water which is what damages plumbing components.

[NamMedevac_70]

CFerguson wrote:

NamMedevac 70 wrote:
This is to notify new RV campers that pink RV antifreeze will freeze hard in winter time hard freezes. For instance like others I poured generous amount of antifreeze in my toilet bowel to stop the flush valve from drying out and the antifreeze froze solid one winter while RV was in storage in Reno, Nevada and yes the antifreeze is a 50/50 water mix. Just saying

Did you have appreciable damage?

No damage only stain from pink liquid. I did not use antifreeze in any other part of the trailer as I drained all water from tank and lines. antifreeze does not quickly evaporate like water is why I put it in toilet bowl.

[FlashBuddy]

Buy some remote thermometers that will report temps to your smart device
https://amzn.to/3lwwMaJ

[CFerguson]

NamMedevac 70 wrote:
This is to notify new RV campers that pink RV antifreeze will freeze hard in winter time hard freezes. For instance like others I poured generous amount of antifreeze in my toilet bowel to stop the flush valve from drying out and the antifreeze froze solid one winter while RV was in storage in Reno, Nevada and yes the antifreeze is a 50/50 water mix. Just saying

Did you have appreciable damage?

[NamMedevac_70]

This is to notify new RV campers that pink RV antifreeze will freeze hard in winter time hard freezes. For instance like others I poured generous amount of antifreeze in my toilet bowel to stop the flush valve from drying out and the antifreeze froze solid one winter while RV was in storage in Reno, Nevada and yes the antifreeze is a 50/50 water mix. Just saying

[mr_andyj]

atreis wrote:
PEX probably isn't going to burst, but the plastic elbows and other fittings will if they happen to have enough water in them.

Theoretically, yes, but in practice I have yet to see one crack. The elbows dont contain a lot of water, it is a very small diameter pipe inside so much less pressure than would be on a bigger inside dia pipe fitting. 3/8 pipe fittings are small, even 1/2 might be small enough, bigger ones I am sure would prob crack. Most RVs are 3/8 that I have seen.

[atreis]

PEX probably isn't going to burst, but the plastic elbows and other fittings will if they happen to have enough water in them.

[mr_andyj]

You winterize for that one time when it freezes enough/ long enough for pipes to freeze, so doesnt really matter one day or 90 days, but, BUT....

Some people never winterize and are fine when pipe freeze solid, yet some have pipes burst.
The PEX pipes do much better than any other pipe.
Plastic water tanks take a very long time to freeze and are able to expand some, I have seen people store a full fresh tank for years in freezing winters.

Up to you, there are risk no matter what advice you get...

[Desert_Captain]

I had been putting off doing my "Arizona" winterizing but we had a dusting of snow last night and a few flurries through the afternoon. With the forecast calling for sub freezing temps from 11 through 8 tomorrow morning I finally decided it was time to "Git er done."

Drove over to the nearby Giant gas station and their free dump sites and drained both tanks. I then drained all of the fresh water from the coach and drove around with the valves open until
the remaining water in the lines had cleared the coach. Added the RV antifreeze to the sinks, shower, and about a quart each in the black and gray tanks.

Parked our 24' Class C back in the driveway and hooked up a small AC heater, put it on low {1,300 watts} with the fan at the minimum setting. I opened the lower drawers and cabinets and for good measure turned on my tank heaters. This is probably overkill for a long night at 26 - 30 degrees but it could easily get a lot colder without warning.

I'll check the coach before going to bed and of course in the morning when I will turn off the heaters and expect this to work well. Film at eleven...

:C

[dedmiston]

There's no easy answer. Conditions vary by climate and by RV.

It was 27° when I hitched up at 6:30 this morning. It was chilly enough indoors that I didn't want to get up. Once I got moving though, I couldn't believe how cold, sluggish, and crunchy everything was in my pickup while all my tools and accessories were toasty warm and pliable in my storage bays. The ducting for our furnace is good, but not great, which means that the basement stays pretty warm.

Ditto for the cupboards. It was nice and warm when I opened the cupboards under the bathroom and kitchen sinks.

So for us, a few nights where the overnight temps dipped into the 20s with 45° daytime highs worked out just fine. I wouldn't chance it if it were much colder though.

[Grit_dog]

I'm not aware of a spot in Southern UT that is not subject to hard freezes during the winter, regardless of what the "average" temperatures are.

Are you saying you'll be around to babysit the trailer daily depending on temperatures?
If you're OCD about watching the weather and around, then it may be fine.
At the temps you said, it IS fine, but you may not have thought it through.