Winterizing in central Texas

[jjjandrbaker]

I am buying a new coachman freedom express next week. None of my friends who have campers winterize them here in the San Antonio area. My question is for other RV people in this area. How many of you winterize? if you don't, have you had problems from not doing it? Having full use of the onboard facilities year-round will increase the likelihood that my wife will join me.

[Community Alumni]

I typically don't winterize unless I know for sure that I'm not going to use it over the winter. Mostly unnecessary since we typically don't get low temperatures for extended periods, but there's no point of running the risk of damage when I know I won't be using it. For other times it's easy enough to winterize / de-winterize on the fly so I'll keep an eye out for those rare winter phenomenons.

[Timtation]

Opening the low point drains as well as draining the HW tank and using a vac on the lines (water valves on all faucets open, don't forget the ones for outside shower if you have one) should take care of your cold weather. That's about all I do and I'm a long way north of you. I do add pink to the traps.

[jjjandrbaker]

I'll keep it at a lot right by the house. Won't have any electricity. I'll just make sure the tanks are all drained, drain the hot water heater, and keep an eye on the weather. It's a real simple thing to put anti freeze in on the spur of the moment if the weather gets bad. I think it'll be OK. Thanks for all your help. The little trailer I have now doesn't have very good protection on the underbelly. I always winterized it at the end of the season, and then just didn't use the plumbing during the winter. I camp every two weeks rain shine snow it doesn't matter. This luxury upgrade is all new to me.

[Tyandkate]

We live up in round rock, (love your town by the way!) I don't winterize mine. I keep the furnace set to about 55 however I do dump my lines and water heater just to be safe

[starlord]

Ha, Ha, noticed on my post the web site didn't like the word c r a p when I said it was a c r a p shoot.

[starlord]

Had an RV in San Antonio for a long time, never winterized it, never had any problems. But...that being said, two years ago I ended up having to replace the faucet in the kitchen and the valve assembly on the toilet. So, it's a **** shoot on if you will have a problem, chances are you won't but there is a possibility you could.

[hindes]

I'm 30 miles south of San Antonio and the only winterizing I do with my Class C is to put an electric heater in the coach on nights that go below freezing (which isn't often.) I run the heater with thermostat set low and open all the cabinets so the heat can get to the pipes. I've been doing this for 5 years and have never had a problem. Of course my only hookup is the electric.

Jim

[FireRob]

I am West of Fort Worth. The first winter I drained everything and used compressed air to blow every thing out. Last winter I didn't do anything at all, but it was a very mild winter and we didn't have any of those couple days in a row were it didn't rise above freezing (or dip very far below freezing).

The first winter there were a couple times we wanted to take the trailer out for the weekend but didn't because I was feeling lazy and didn't want to have to worry about getting water back out of the system. Last winter we took the trailer out a time or two we might not have had I drained all the water lines. This winter Ill keep an eye on the weather reports again and if a good cold spell comes Ill get out there and "winterize" it.

All that said I don't think its worth taking a chance just because your lazy (referring to my self not you). Here in Texas we are fortunate enough that we get lots of great weather during the winter that its the perfect time to be out in the trailer. If you are one who decides your not going to go camping at all during the winter months by all means winterize and put the RV to hibernation for two or three months. If you like to get out when temps hit the 70's in January and the weather is good for a week or two between cold spells, be prepared to winterize again. This is why I blow my lines rather than use the "pink stuff"

One more alternative is go camping but don't use the water system.

Robert

[RamRider]

I drain the lines and the hot water heater; add a little of the pink stuff to the sink traps and watch the weather. If we get a really cold forecast I heat the trailer (its in the side yard). Using the heat pumps

We are in Temple , 100 miles north of you

[BB_TX]

If you have lived there very long, you know winters are typically fairly mild. But if you have lived there long enough, you know temps can drop into the teens and low twenties. Those teens don't seem to occur like they did 10-15 years or more ago. If I did not winterize, I would certainly keep up with the forecasts and be prepared to do it quickly if an unusually cold spell was forecasted. Winterizing is cheap. Busted pipes not so much.

According to this historical data it dropped to low 20's and below in Dec 1990.

Or December daily record temps show records in the single digits for some days.

[2oldman]

Looking at historical weather data, I see where Dec 2009 had 2 days where the temps went below freezing, and that was just a degree or two. January didn't look any worse.