91seabreezeowner Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 I am a real newbie...........have never had a mh till 4 months ago. Have had Anita out on several trips..........just got back from the redwoods and she travelled great. I live in the Salem, Oregon area, will have Anita parked inside for the winter. What do I need to do for winterizing her? Since we get more rain than freezing weather, do I still need antifreeze in the water lines? What if I want to use her a few times this winter? Love this forum. It's already answered so many of my initial questions, THANKS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogre Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 I am a real newbie...........have never had a mh till 4 months ago. Have had Anita out on several trips..........just got back from the redwoods and she travelled great. I live in the Salem, Oregon area, will have Anita parked inside for the winter. What do I need to do for winterizing her? Since we get more rain than freezing weather, do I still need antifreeze in the water lines? What if I want to use her a few times this winter? Love this forum. It's already answered so many of my initial questions, THANKS. Hi, I would advise doing some winterization even in Salem. You should make sure your water tanks are empty, that the pressurized water lines are empty (my rig has three little pop-up valves that will allow the lines to drain), and that your holding tanks are empty. When you have accomplished those tasks you might do well to pour a gallon or two of RV antifreeze in the watertank, then repressurize your water system and then run each tap (both hot and cold) in your sinks and shower till you get pinkish fluids flowing out of each tap. I also add some RV antifreeze to the p-traps in the sinks and enough to the holding tanks to be sure that any remaining water is protected. DO NOT USE AUTOMOTIVE Antifreeze (the stuff you put in your radiator). I also pull my house battery and bring it indoors till I next want to use it. I don't trust the built in pseudo-trickle charger to keep from boiling the battery. I put it on a real trickle charger just before I want to use it again. You should probably get some Stabil fuel preservative, add it to your gas tank and then fill up so that water condensation doesn't foul your fuel. Gasoline can start breaking down in 30 days (especially the ethanol added crap) so the Stabil is cheap protection and will keep your gas fresh for up to a year. If possible, get your rig under cover as water is your biggest enemy. It is insidious and will find the smallest crack to invade. You might also want to get or two of the chemical dehumidifiers that take the little white pills to keep the moisture down as your rig sits and heats and cools. These can be found at most hardware stores or boat supply stores. These precautions should get you thru the winter, and if you want to use the rig this winter all you have to do is flush your water system with clean water, put your house battery back in and you are good to go...just remember to do all of the above again after your adventure. Better to be safe than sorry. Hope this helped. Dave in Chelan, WA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogre Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I am a real newbie...........have never had a mh till 4 months ago. Have had Anita out on several trips..........just got back from the redwoods and she travelled great. I live in the Salem, Oregon area, will have Anita parked inside for the winter. What do I need to do for winterizing her? Since we get more rain than freezing weather, do I still need antifreeze in the water lines? What if I want to use her a few times this winter? Love this forum. It's already answered so many of my initial questions, THANKS. Oh, yeah, another thing to consider. Little critters want to stay dry so you may have visitors this winter. You might want to remove food and clothes. I had a little stowaway join our trip this summer. A mouse came in out of the rain in the UP of Michigan and was so quiet that I didn't notice his presence till he jumped out from under the rig while I was fueling in Grand Coulee, WA. I determined when he started his journey after I found several cherry pits in my clothes drawers (I'd been parked under a cherry tree in Michigan) The little ingrate not only left me mouse turds but he also ate thru a couple of my favorite t-shirts. I'm not sure how you can winterize against rodents. I now toss my cat into the rig every week or so for a couple of hours. Nothing so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91seabreezeowner Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 Hi, I would advise doing some winterization even in Salem. You should make sure your water tanks are empty, that the pressurized water lines are empty (my rig has three little pop-up valves that will allow the lines to drain), and that your holding tanks are empty. When you have accomplished those tasks you might do well to pour a gallon or two of RV antifreeze in the watertank, then repressurize your water system and then run each tap (both hot and cold) in your sinks and shower till you get pinkish fluids flowing out of each tap. I also add some RV antifreeze to the p-traps in the sinks and enough to the holding tanks to be sure that any remaining water is protected. DO NOT USE AUTOMOTIVE Antifreeze (the stuff you put in your radiator). I also pull my house battery and bring it indoors till I next want to use it. I don't trust the built in pseudo-trickle charger to keep from boiling the battery. I put it on a real trickle charger just before I want to use it again. You should probably get some Stabil fuel preservative, add it to your gas tank and then fill up so that water condensation doesn't foul your fuel. Gasoline can start breaking down in 30 days (especially the ethanol added crap) so the Stabil is cheap protection and will keep your gas fresh for up to a year. If possible, get your rig under cover as water is your biggest enemy. It is insidious and will find the smallest crack to invade. You might also want to get or two of the chemical dehumidifiers that take the little white pills to keep the moisture down as your rig sits and heats and cools. These can be found at most hardware stores or boat supply stores. These precautions should get you thru the winter, and if you want to use the rig this winter all you have to do is flush your water system with clean water, put your house battery back in and you are good to go...just remember to do all of the above again after your adventure. Better to be safe than sorry. Hope this helped. Dave in Chelan, WA Thanks alot Dave, One more question.......where are your 3 pop up valves located? Anita is stored in a big metal building, so should stay dry through winter and spring. Guess I'll do the antifreeze and fuel stabilizer, want to keep her in top shape! Sorry to hear about the pesky little bugger eating your clothes. When I got my mh, the dash fan made a huge racket, so I took it to my mechanic. He found a huge nest from the little critters, although they had already vacated. Think I'll put DeCon in the coach. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it. Linda in Keizer, OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogre Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Thanks alot Dave, One more question.......where are your 3 pop up valves located? Anita is stored in a big metal building, so should stay dry through winter and spring. Guess I'll do the antifreeze and fuel stabilizer, want to keep her in top shape! Sorry to hear about the pesky little bugger eating your clothes. When I got my mh, the dash fan made a huge racket, so I took it to my mechanic. He found a huge nest from the little critters, although they had already vacated. Think I'll put DeCon in the coach. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it. Linda in Keizer, OR Linda, The small pop up drainplugs in my rig are under the galley sink and the sofa, both on the left (driver's side). They are very easy to overlook. One is back by between the shower and waterheater (closer to the shower), and two are under the sofa. They are only about 3/4" tall and have metal splitrings thru the top of the plugs. The sofa has to be reclined and then you have to do some searching with a flashlight. One is located to the left of the back of the sofa, and the other is almost impossible to find without pulling the sofa out (easily done with a socket wrench, two or four bolts and its removable. You can find this third plug by locating the pressure pump and then feeling around to the feed side (where the water comes into the pump from the storage tank). It is located about 2" from the pump. I marked my plugs with bright colored plasic strips when I had the sofa out earlier this year to replace the crumbling water fill tube. I will attempt some photos tomorrow and send them along at this site. I also read somewhere that opening the pressure relief valve on the hot water tank will allow it to drain more thoroughly but I haven't done that yet. Remember to close the plugs before adding the RV antifreeze or it will just drain out on the ground Does anyone reading this thread have more info than I have mentioned? Please share! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Get a heater bypass kit, and an antifreeze tap kit. I can winterize my RV with just 1 gallon of the pink stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky60 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Get a heater bypass kit, and an antifreeze tap kit. I can winterize my RV with just 1 gallon of the pink stuff. Hello, I have a heater bypass kit on my 1983 Dolphin. I used it when I first started using my RV because I didn't need hot water at that time. Now I use hot water. I know the bypass is used to take the hot water tank out of the loop but as far as winterizing why would I need to use the bypass ? Is it wrong to get the RV antifreeze in the tank ? I just put a bit of air pressure in the lines to blow them out. Tomorrow I'll try to figure out how to drain the hot water tank. I think it's just the large plug near the bottom ?! Should I use a bit of antifreeze in the toilet to keep the seal moist? Also , what is an antifreeze tap kit ? As you can see I'm a fairly new owner.....Tks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 The by pass is to avoid having to fill your hot water tank with antifreeze after you drain it(they hold 6 gallons). Some MH have taps very low in the water system that you can open to help drain the lines. Good ideal to pour a little antifreeze in the drains and the toilet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91seabreezeowner Posted October 14, 2009 Author Share Posted October 14, 2009 Thanks for all the help everone! Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky60 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 The by pass is to avoid having to fill your hot water tank with antifreeze after you drain it(they hold 6 gallons). Some MH have taps very low in the water system that you can open to help drain the lines. Good ideal to pour a little antifreeze in the drains and the toilet. Thanks 4 the info...going 2 take care of it today hopefully...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogre Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Thanks alot Dave, One more question.......where are your 3 pop up valves located? Anita is stored in a big metal building, so should stay dry through winter and spring. Guess I'll do the antifreeze and fuel stabilizer, want to keep her in top shape! Sorry to hear about the pesky little bugger eating your clothes. When I got my mh, the dash fan made a huge racket, so I took it to my mechanic. He found a huge nest from the little critters, although they had already vacated. Think I'll put DeCon in the coach. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it. Linda in Keizer, OR I am attempting to attach a photo of the drain plugs. While taking the photos I found that I actually have four of these, two side by side just to the left of the hotwater tank, and two under the fold down sofa. You can see why I have chosen to mark these with bright plastic ribbons. They are easily overlooked. The first photo was obtained by sticking my camera under the sofa and blindly shooting. You can see the colored tapes, one in the left side and the other is barely visible to the right of the back of the water pump. The second shot is a close up of the two by the hotwater tank. Hope this helps. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellvue Robin Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 My 84 Dolphin (which has an unusual layout: coach door toward the rear & no sofa, lots of storage) has just 2 drain plugs which are located under the driver's side closet next to the furnace. I had the bypass kit installed last Fall and it takes just 1 gallon of the RV antifreeze to winterize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.