That "W" word.

[FW28z]

Well darn...

Being located in the upper midwest, fall is upon us and soon expect to get freezing temperatures - at least overnight.

So I am starting to do that W thing (Winterizing).

I have not given up yet on fall camping, so I suppose it could be called pre-winterizing rather than winterizing.

So I am now in the mode of draining the water and heater tanks by blowing the lines with compressed air after every use. I won't dump antifreeze into the holding tanks (to treat the P traps) and dumping those out until we put the rig away for sure though.

We're thinking of a trip to Florida (or at least driving south until we reach warm weather) in the Feb/March timeframe, so hopefully the "W" thing will be short term.

[JamieGeek]

I hear ya. Sadly ours is fully winterized already, but we may make a winter trip with it (which will involve unwinterizing it and then rewinterizing it again).
Its not covered yet but will be soon...

[FW28z]

Jamie - where at in Michigan? I live in Southwest Lower Michigan.

[JamieGeek]

I'm in the greater Detroit area.

[FW28z]

OK, so you get about the same weather as we do. Maybe a bit less snow as we are on the border of whether or not we get lake effect snow.

[Larry]

[QUOTE=FW28z;5024]Well darn...

So I am now in the mode of draining the water and heater tanks by blowing the lines with compressed air after every use. I won't dump antifreeze into the holding tanks (to treat the P traps) and dumping those out until we put the rig away for sure though.

I'm planning on only winterizing on those days here in GA when the temp is near freezing since we will be taking the coach out a few days during the winter months. Any suggestions on winterizing during the frigid days? My plan is to only blow out the lines with compressed air and maybe dump a little RV antifreeze into the traps and utilize the tank heaters. Do you use the commercial blow out plug, and if so, is anything else needed to connect it to the shop air compressor? I checked thru your most informative instructional videos but didn't find anything you've made on winterizing your RV. Thanks in advance.

[JamieGeek]

On the Axis its pretty easy to pump antifreeze through the lines. Only takes me about 30 minutes and uses just under two gallons. Just pop off the passenger side bed and its all right there. I picked up a fitting and some hose that I can use to connect to the winterizing connector there that loops over the top of the bed to a bottle of antifreeze sitting on the floor (I leave the hose+connector stored right there in the compartment so I don't lose it).
Depressureize the system and pop off the water heater plug, open the tank drain valve, close the tank feeder valve, and change the state of the two valves by the water heater (so that the heater intake is closed off and the crossover is open). Then start the pump with the kitchen faucet open (so that the pump can get a prime). As soon as the pump has pressure close the kitchen and start with the outside shower opening each faucet in the camper until pink comes out (both hot & cold). Don't forget the toilet.
When you're done with the faucets I open the two low point drains to let some out that way and open the water heater feed. Finally bleed off a little pressure and tap the check valve on the outside for the city water feed to make sure some is there..

Granted you had asked about blowing out the lines...I have the fitting and tried it but our compressor doesn't have the volume for that so I just use antifreeze.

[Larry]

Thanks for the very useful information JamieGeek. I found the dump valves, etc. under the passenger side bed and noticed a stand up tube that's capped off and connects to the pump ( I think). Is this where you connected a siphon tube? And which valve bypasses the water heater? I notice 3 valves at the flooring which I'm guessing is for the individual tanks low point and another valve at the pump. Do you ever use the tank heaters while in storage or are these only used while winter camping?
Thanks for the help.

[FW28z]

I made a blow out hose by cutting the end off an old water hose and attaching a air fitting to the cut off end with a hose clamp.

While you can use a commercial one, the one I made means you don't have to hold on to it as you use it.

I also found about 10psi is sufficient (although you could probably go 35psi as that is about what the water pump's capacity is).

[Larry]

Thanks. What type of air fitting did you use. Local hardware store item?

[JamieGeek]

I used a brass blow out plug like this one:
Camco Blow Out Plug, Quick Connect, Brass - Walmart.com

Although this hose from Campingworld seems to be a nicer option:
Blow Out Hose - Four Corners TS-N19 - Winterizing - Camping World

[Larry]

Thanks. Like the quick disconnect attachment on both. Going to CW this weekend and will check them out.

[FW28z]

Well, I guess I forgot how I made the fitting. I went out to the RV and took a photo of it:



I cannot remember where I got the short hose; I think it was left over from one of those water filters that come with a short hose.

At any rate, it is just standard plumbing adapters to fit a standard air hose fitting.

One thing though. There is no shut-off on the hose - so you need to attach it prior to turning on the air compressor, and remove it after turning off and bleeding the compressor... or at least turn the pressure all the way down before attaching and removing the fitting.

Of course, you could also put a valve in line - but then it gets complicated.

I made this one 5~10 years ago for when I used to winterize my boat... didn't know about the Camco version - which is ready to go. Probably cheaper too.

[Larry]

Thank you so much for the info, picture and trouble you went through. All the information both you and JamieGeek provided is very helpful.

[FW28z]

Jamie, I just use an inexpensive Porter Cable Air Compressor... just north of $100. I permanently mounted it into the storage compartment of my RV, so it is always handy.

[JamieGeek]

I use a little 3 gallon Craftsman compressor:
3-Gallon Portable Air Compressor: Get the Air You Need with Kmart
It didn't really have the oomph to clear out the lines.

[petef]

After reading these posts I think I am going to "w"interize by driving to a warmer climate