Winterizing needed in Central Texas?

[Wybdgrl]

I've read tons about winterizing and printed out all of the steps, but I have one pretty important question. What do fellow campers do in central Texas? This will be out first winter with a camper and wondered if it's necessary to do all of the same steps as the folks up North. Thanks, in advance!

[BarryD0706]

Yes, no difference. Water freezes in Texas just like everywhere else.

The thing is that you don't really need to do it until there's a freeze coming, because you'll probably be going camping between now and then, and you'll need to do it several times during the winter because you'll want to go camping on those beautiful weekends between freezes.

[whj77372]

I live in SE Texas about 35 miles NNE of Houston and I don't do much. Your tanks should be almost empty and if and only if it is going to freeze do I turn on the tank heaters. I leave the heater on set low and if it is going to freeze I will also run the little electric heater(s). My fiver is next to my house on my little ranch so I have power. The last real cold weather that we had was the winters of 1989 and 1990 and if it gets that cold again, I would wintersize. It does get to 28 or 30 a time or so during many winters but the heater tanks and RV heat are all that is required for that. Good Luck

[Wybdgrl]

What's a tank heater? We're expecting a light freeze tonight so we're planning on draining the water heater and maybe adding antifreeze as directed.

[BarryD0706]

A tank heater is a heating pad put on the bottom of water tanks to keep them from freezing. This is generally part of a "four-seasons" or "arctic pak" option on RVs. You may very well not have them.

Note also that you can't use them unless you have a source of electricity (other than your RV battery).

[Wybdgrl]

Ah...yeah, our camper doesn't have them. Well, I guess we'll attempt our first winterizing process since we're expecting that freeze tonight. Thanks!

[Prothos]

Here in Houston i dont plan on doing anything for this tiny cold snap we have this week as i will be using it this weekend. At most i would turn on a small electric heater i have that has a thermostat and keep the Tt a bit above freezeing

[Wybdgrl]

This may be obvious, but will a small heater keep it warm enough for the tanks and the hot water heater, too?

[Witch Doctor]

It is supposed to get down to 26 tonight in Virginia, It might be that temp for 1 or 2 hrs only I do not winterize or have I ever. I have tank heaters but you do not, Is your bottom covered? If so leave you cabinets door open put a electric heater inside. You should be fine. You could dump some antifreeze in your gray and black tank and some in your traps at the sinks. It's prolonged below 32 is what you have to worry about not just a few hours. If you have an out door shower put a piece of insulation behind the door and leave your hot water heater on. Remember that's just me, and others have other ideas, depending on where you live. Do what you think is best.

[garbonz]

Originally Posted by Wybdgrl

This may be obvious, but will a small heater keep it warm enough for the tanks and the hot water heater, too?

In a light freeze, probably yes. More than that, I wouldn't take the chance.

[Wybdgrl]

No the bottom isn't covered. We've got a small Vibe that is stored at our daughter's between her fence and the house so it's somewhat protected.

Thanks for all the responses. gljurczyk, I hadn't thought of it that way--"It might be that temp for 1 or 2 hrs only..." We'll probably take a few precautions but at least I'm not going to worry quite so much about it.

[bradnailer]

I drain all the tanks, normally on my last trip home from camping. I open the low point drains and all the faucets and let them drain. Other than that, I add some RV anti-freeze to the traps in the sinks, the shower and pour a little on the toilet flapper.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by Wybdgrl

No the bottom isn't covered. We've got a small Vibe that is stored at our daughter's between her fence and the house so it's somewhat protected.

Thanks for all the responses. gljurczyk, I hadn't thought of it that way--"It might be that temp for 1 or 2 hrs only..." We'll probably take a few precautions but at least I'm not going to worry quite so much about it.

well did you make it alright last night? I always look up accuweather and get the hourly prediction, it got down past 32 for I think 4 hrs only and by 8 this morning it was 35. I go out then and run hot water to each faucet and the cold. No problem yet. Like I said if it's going to stay below 32 for 2 or 3 days that might be different........

[RKR]

Originally Posted by Wybdgrl

I've read tons about winterizing and printed out all of the steps, but I have one pretty important question. What do fellow campers do in central Texas? This will be out first winter with a camper and wondered if it's necessary to do all of the same steps as the folks up North. Thanks, in advance!

I store my 5ver in San Antonio but I live about 2hrs away. If I error it will be on the side of caution.
I fully winterized mine for storage. I didn't want to be worrying about the weather and my 5ver. I know Texas winter weather can be very unpredictable and I have too much $ tied up in my 5vr to chance lines freezing and breaking. I have read the horror stories about broken water lines and the major repairs that follow. The dealer I use will winterize for around $100. I already had it in for a warranty work punch list. They typically don't fully winterize but the shop manager told me a winter we had several years ago where they had RV's lined up for days with broken water lines. It took them months to get them all done and it ruined many spring camping trips.
When we hit the trail again in March we will re-install the battery, hook it up to de-winterize then hit the trail. At least that's the plan ...lol

Happy Camping

[Wybdgrl]

Well, I have an update and am titling it "Winterizing - A Tale of Woe." We opened the plug and let the water drain from the water heater. Then, we began the search for the back of the water heater to locate the by-pass valve. The manual was no help. We pulled out the slide and looked behind the panel (which is directly behind the water heater) - nope, not there. Then, we thought it might be in the storage area and pulled everything out - nope, not there. Then, we thought maybe it is accessible from underneath - nope, not there. So, we decided to forget that part and just concentrate on getting anti-freeze into the fresh water tank and running through the faucets. We started our search for the water pump to pull in the anti-freeze. Again, the manual was no help as it is generic and doesn't show locations of anything specific to our 6502 Vibe. Finally, in desperation we decided all we can do is drain the water heater and all tanks and pour some anti-freeze into the traps. Done - now all we have to do is pull in the slide and call it good enough. What? We now have no power! We checked the breakers both in the camper at in the house and tried again. We instantly flipped the breaker in the house again. So, we decided to locate the manual crank and again tried to refer to the manual. Again, there is no indication of the location of the manual crank - only a mention that we may need to purchase a handle if it didn't come with it. Does anyone want to buy a 2012 Vibe only used 4 times??? Is it normal to have this many issues with a new camper? The camper wasn't new to us - we bought it after the original buyer realized their TV wasn't strong enough and put it up for sale without using it once. So, we have no warranty and the company won't help us because we didn't purchase it new directly from a dealer. What a mess!!!

[BarryD0706]

Call RV Specialists, a mobile RV Tech service, at 512 470-3070. They are right there in Leander. I've used them and they are great. They will come to you and resolve your problem.

[Wybdgrl]

Really? That would be fantastic! We'll do that - thanks