I do the following:
1. turn off the water heater (gas and or electric) and water pump power. If you have hot water, wait several hours for the water to cool down.
2. find the drain for the water tank - if there is one. It should look like this:
Open the drain to empty the fresh water tank.
(not all coaches have such a water drain. If not, you will have to run a faucet until all of the water has been drained out of the tank.
3. remove the drain plug in the lower drain on the water heater, and open the upper safety valve to allow the water to drain more quickly.
4. Virtually all late model RVs have a winter bypass kit on the water heater. Turn the valves so that the in-line valves are closed, and the crossover valve is open (turn them in the opposite direction they are normally in).
The valves are closed when the knob is perpendicular to the water line, and open when the knob is in line with the water line. Like this:
In the winterize position, the bypass kit couples the hot and cold water lines to the cold water inlet. This means that both lines will be simultaneously fed from the water source. Of course, you still have to open the faucet on the hot and cold water side to drain the water from the hot and cold water lines.
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