Folks, we’re just about halfway through February! Can you believe it? Spring is just around the corner… a dark, snowy corner, but it’s coming!
Did you winterize your RV this winter? We’d like to know. Please tell us in the poll below. Leave a comment too and tell us why you did, or didn’t, winterize your RV this season.
Also, did you know we have an entire section on our website about winterizing? Anything and everything you’d ever want to know can be found under the tag here. Pretty neat, huh?
Stay warm, stay dry, and we’ll see you on the bright side of things here soon!
I do it myself every year here in Ohio and help others who might not be familiar do theirs also. Plus I have a comprehensive blog post on how to do it: https://rvmentor.com/2020/09/23/winterization-of-your-water-system-in-your-rv/
It also includes info for you who have dishwashers, ice makers and washing machines.
My class c is not that complex, I dump the tanks, blow out the lines through the city water fill, then pump antifreeze through the city water fill until pink comes out of ALL the taps (remember the outside shower…). Leave pink stuff in the p traps, and pour A bit on top of the toilet to keep the seals moist. We haven’t really had a ‘hard’ freeze in Northern Virginia, but I don’t want to have to spend the time and money to fix something that is easily prevented.
Leaving in a few hours for a meandering trip from N Michigan to Arizona. Camper was winterized in October but will be de-winterized at our first full stop in Laurel, MS. Carrying a jug of antifreeze for flushing until we can sanitize the tank and waterlines while we boondock our way to MS.
I live in northern Indiana, winterizing is a must. I’ve been blowing out my air lines for 30 years. It is much faster than using RV anti-freeze (in my opinion). I still use RV anti-freeze in the drains obviously. (the air is clean, it goes through filtration, both intake and output in my case).
I winterize/dewinterize several times each winter as we go camping year round.
Us too, John. It’s kind of a ‘PITA’ but doesn’t take all that long. The worst part is taking the anode rod out of the water heater, draining, wrapping it with plumber tape, and fighting to get it back in. We use air to blow out the lines.
I use an extra long deep wall socket on the anode. I can then use both hands to steady & aim it to get it threaded straight before putting the ratchet on it.
Actually, that’s pretty much what I do. I have an extension attached to the socket and use that to try and start the anode rod. I don’t attach the wrench part of this arrangement until it’s for sure in the threads.
I hope I did a good job, it’s been below zero for the last few days and going colder. Saw a post of a jug of frozen antifreeze hope mine wasn’t from same company.
We live in Florida, so when winter arrived in January, we stayed inside that day!
I winterize. Just drive it down to Florida in the fall!
Nope – decided to head to southern Florida instead!
We are fortunate to have a heated garage big enough to fit our 24′ motorhome. Have not winterized the unit since it was new in 2005.
I did not this year yet! I thought I made it but the forecast is low 20’s this week end. I live a little north of Houston usually do not worry much about the cold.
We keep our rig (a 40′ coach) in an RV Barn that we built for that purpose. I keep it on 30a shore power and keep heat on in it (around 55 degrees), which keeps it warm, dry and prevents freezing.
An absolute must where we live now (NW Montana) and the previous 24 years (8500′ elevation in Colorado). This morning it’s up to 14 degrees (low was 9, so far, with colder temperatures coming).
We have a Newmar New Aire, which has a heated water bay. In addition, we have a heated RV barn to keep the motorhome out of the weather when not being used, so winterizing is not required. The great thing is the New Aire is ready for winter camping any time we can get away. Getting ready now to head from NJ to FL late in February. Just have to make sure the RV driveway is clear of any ice or snow.
I have always winterized. Three years ago I failed to drain the hot water heater and it turned out to be our coldest winter in years. Yep, HW heater froze and had 2 large cracks. The hefty price tag to replace it taught me a lesson. Winterize everything!!
We have a 32 foot 5r and I have winterized for the past few years. In Wisconsin we have to be carful not to get caught if the temperature drops. I also can’t afford to pay the prices of a dealer. it is easy and KZ has provided instructions that made it great.
Winterizing is one task you have to worry about if you live full time in your coach.
When you full time, winterizing is not necessary. We have been in some sub zero temps and our Aqua Hot keeps our coach and bays nice and cozy! Enjoy our beautiful country in all it’s seasons!
No I didn’t because it is in a heated garage. Normally We would be in warmer climates.
We live in it full time . . . In San Diego.
We have stayed in 10* weather and as someone else said our Aqua Hot came through and kept us toasty and for additional heat in our bays I used small electric heaters just to add extra warmth. Water & of course sewer hose in the bays. Next morning left @12* and AH was going strong.
Good thing we did! Tomorrow night is supposed to be in the single digits here in the Denver area. It may stay that way for a week.
Nope, living near Death Valley it didn’t get down to 32 but for a few mornings.
Live in Florida so it would be pointless to winterize.
Always winterized in the past. This is our first year being in the rig in AZ for the winter.
Yeah baby!
We keep our RV plugged into a power pedestal and the thermostats set at 45 F when we are not using it November – April (and raise the thermostat to 80 F May – October). We traveled in November and January and will again in early March. We don’t winterize with the idea that we will travel for at least a few days every month. So long as we have the thermostat on “heat” and high enough, then the Aqua Hot prevents the pipes from freezing; the wet bay is insulated and heated.
I answered NO only because I had winterized n the fall of 2019 and because of the virus, the coach hasn’t been anywhere else, other than to exercise it every few months.
Twice. Dewinterized for trip to Quartzsite. After I got home, my lines and tanks were frozen. Managed to winterize the water lines. My tanks are still frozen.
The usual program is winterize Oct 1st, head south mid-Nov. Come home in Mar/Apr and winterize until going out again in May, so that’s twice a year. Temperature this morning MINUS 47° with the windchill.
Where are you that it’s MINUS 47 degrees with wind chill?
Saskatchewan. (Hi, Impavid. You’d better not be out shoveling snow, post-surgery!) 😯 —Diane at RVtravel.com
We are fulltime and always traveling to where it is warmer.
It may get down to 28 degrees this weekend in the Rio Grande Valley so I’m pretty sure I am good. 😁
The question should be did you last fall. Winter is too late to do that . Yes i did . If i hadn’t everything would has been frozen. Its -9 f right now.
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First time! We moved from lower AL to WA. It was 22* in the morning yesterday. Glad we have a Safari Trek – it is winter travel ready: heated water bay (original equipment), & great insulation.. We crack the cupboards where water lines are to keep them from freezing.
We live aboard and spend the winters in Tucson. Why would anyone NOT?
the RV was winterized but my shop did it. i’m tired of fooling with it.
Have never winterized in the 19 yrs we’ve owned our coach. Live in San Jose CA, so not necessary. And for winter from mid January to mid/late March we travel to FL. We have ability to heat our tanks if we encounter freezing temps. And since we only do electric except for 1 or 2 nights, we can manage cold temps on the trip out. In Daytona Beach and as I type it is 82 degrees.
Again the poll is missing options. E.g., Don’t need to. Live in it full time. Live in warm place.
Normal winterizing is to head South, but this year is a breaker. Hope to next winter!
I keep two 1500 watt heaters in the class c motorhome during the winter months. Living in North Florida we have below freezing nights. I have looked at the winterizing instructions, but in order to winterize the motorhome, you have to raise the mattress to get to an access hole where the pump is. Not too smart on Winnebago’s part. Plus, we use the RV during the winter months here.
Yes in Pennsylvania around October and then headed south at the end of December
Full timer here. This winter, I’m “isolating in place” in northeast TN. I’ve only experienced a handful of sub-freezing nights. I have a 60 watt “drop light” in my wet bay (turned on shortly before it’s needed) and two ceramic heaters inside (using the 50% power setting of 750 watts each). Each heater is on a different circuit and, I check the temperature of each plug daily. I would have been somewhere warmer BUT, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, I chose safety over mobility.
It gets pretty cold here in upstate NY. My unit is 43 years old so winterizing it is pretty easy as it takes less than an hour to do. Come spring, just have to flush out then fill the water system and I’m good to go.
Winterize? Heavens no, that’s when we use it. In the summer it sits behind the S&B in Western South Dakota. In the winter we live in it near Quartzsite, AZ.
We decided to try and RV during the milder Northwest winter instead of winterize. It’s been great to travel around the West side of Washington state, even with the rain. We have a ceramic space heater inside set on low and have put up cut to fit silver insulation on the windows. This has worked great until this week! It’s the first time it’s dropped below 30 and it will be subfreezing for a stretch so we did a quick homemade skirt and put a space heater under it. It’s so clever and was so cheap that I think I’ll do a short article and submit it to Mr. Woodbury with pictures!
We did not winterize the 5’er this year because we are using it as a home base while working 2.5 hrs from home we are living in it 3-4 days a week.
We are living in it in a comfortable climate so no need to winterize.
I have not winterized for several years as we have been going to a warm climate. For some unexplained reason(well not really) we decided to sell our class A last summer as we felt we were getting to old to make that long trip to and from our destination. At least 40 times this winter when we are basically trapped inside by the weather we’ll look at one another and say “why did we sell?” Now we look at real estate in FL thinking of moving but thinking of how miserable we might be in the summer trapped inside because of the heat.