Winterizing Disaster

[motodude79]

I've been trying to get to my 3171 to winterize for the past 2 weeks but its about 25 miles from the house and I haven't been able to get down there. This week it dipped below freezing for the first time so I rushed down during work and the kitchen faucet had frozen water in it and had cracked. Tried turning on the pump and running water through it but only got a little drip. So I ran the heater for 3 hours and blew some air through the lines and several gallons of water drained out. I don't have any way of telling though if there is a giant ice block in my tank or lines and its going to do more damage. Any advice on what I could do? It won't be warm here until Monday when it will be near 70. I'm in Virginia and normally we don't get a freeze like this so early. I guess next year I'll know I need to winterize a lot sooner.

[Canonman]

Others may have a little better idea of what to do, but I would wait until Monday and pretend it's spring. Chances are any damage has already been done and you've done what you can for now. Go through your normal "start up" process and find any leaks or problem areas. At least you can get those resolved before you need to use the camper. One thing, if you haven't done this already, pull the P traps and drain those. Then a full winterize operation and wait for the cherry blossoms next spring. There are several threads on this site if you have any questions about winterizing, antifreeze etc.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by motodude79

I've been trying to get to my 3171 to winterize for the past 2 weeks but its about 25 miles from the house and I haven't been able to get down there. This week it dipped below freezing for the first time so I rushed down during work and the kitchen faucet had frozen water in it and had cracked. Tried turning on the pump and running water through it but only got a little drip. So I ran the heater for 3 hours and blew some air through the lines and several gallons of water drained out. I don't have any way of telling though if there is a giant ice block in my tank or lines and its going to do more damage. Any advice on what I could do? It won't be warm here until Monday when it will be near 70. I'm in Virginia and normally we don't get a freeze like this so early. I guess next year I'll know I need to winterize a lot sooner.

Where do you live in Virginia? We are now on a warming trend by the news, supposed to stay above freezing tonight that will help. This week or next week go down and start your water pump and see where the damage is. I would go to a HD or somewhere and get a standard kitchen faucet and replace that one or cap off the hot and cold lines then do your winterization as normal. This is the first year I did winterize here in Virginia. If I can be of help PM me...Good Luck .....

[Boss Hoss]

If your trailer is fairly new-you probably have "PEX" plumbing for supply lines.Pex is very forgiving-you should be ok there.As was stated-get those drain traps thawed and put Rv anti in there or they Will crack.

[RamblerGuy]

Don't forget to empty the water filter.

As for the kitchen sink fixture, you haven't lost anything. You can buy another one like it at a Home Depot, Lowe's, etc., for a few bucks. I replaced ours as soon as I could with a single handle fixture with a pull-out spray head. Look under the cabinet and figure out what connection type you need. The first one I got would not work without modifying the PEX. I had to drill a center hole in the countertop. The new fixture was made for one hole and had a plate to cover the two existing holes. I also replaced the bathroom fixture with a single handle one. Just our preference.

[jriddering]

I winterized this morning camping in Virginia. It was 14 degrees outside. I couldn't wait to do it when we got home because everything would have frozen solid as soon as heat was turned off. Tonight we are dry camping except for black tank. That gets flushed in the morning. Tomorrow we are home.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[ATVer]

Originally Posted by motodude79

I've been trying to get to my 3171 to winterize for the past 2 weeks but its about 25 miles from the house and I haven't been able to get down there. This week it dipped below freezing for the first time so I rushed down during work and the kitchen faucet had frozen water in it and had cracked. Tried turning on the pump and running water through it but only got a little drip. So I ran the heater for 3 hours and blew some air through the lines and several gallons of water drained out. I don't have any way of telling though if there is a giant ice block in my tank or lines and its going to do more damage. Any advice on what I could do? It won't be warm here until Monday when it will be near 70. I'm in Virginia and normally we don't get a freeze like this so early. I guess next year I'll know I need to winterize a lot sooner.

I wish you luck but if the faucet inside the insulated part of the coach froze and broke I'm afraid things underneath like the pump, line fittings, and even the outside sprayer probably got damaged too. When you fill and pressurize the system with antifreeze you can look for leaks. If the system holds pressure with the pump off that would be a good sign for areas you can't see.

[motodude79]

Originally Posted by gljurczyk

Where do you live in Virginia? We are now on a warming trend by the news, supposed to stay above freezing tonight that will help. This week or next week go down and start your water pump and see where the damage is. I would go to a HD or somewhere and get a standard kitchen faucet and replace that one or cap off the hot and cold lines then do your winterization as normal. This is the first year I did winterize here in Virginia. If I can be of help PM me...Good Luck .....

Thanks everyone. I'm in Northern Virginia. Hopefully when everything thaws on Monday it will only be the sink that broke.

[Arefbee]

Originally Posted by motodude79

Thanks everyone. I'm in Northern Virginia. Hopefully when everything thaws on Monday it will only be the sink that broke.

Good luck with it!

A soon as the Halloween trip was done I blew the water out and pumped the red stuff in. I actually opened all the low point drains while unloading at home to minimize risk of getting behind the ball.

I know you learned (I usually prove the adage about wisdom coming from bad experience myself) but just a couple of suggestions for next year.

[awellis3]

Originally Posted by motodude79

Thanks everyone. I'm in Northern Virginia. Hopefully when everything thaws on Monday it will only be the sink that broke.

Richmond chiming in. If you don't own one, beg, borrow or rent an air compressor. Get a blow out plug (see here)Blow-out Plug - Camco 36104 - Winterizing - Camping World
and push air into the system at 40 psi. I'd rather listen for hissing than I would chase leaks of liquid.

[Brother Les]

See if there is a clear water filter by the pump, take it off and get the water/ice out. The freezing water will shatter the threads and cause a leak in the spring.

[motodude79]

Went down there today to check on it since it was 70 degrees. Everything worked fine and there were no leaks. The ice did crack the tip of the sink faucet but, other than that everything worked and i couldn't find a leak. Thanks everyone for the advice.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by motodude79

Went down there today to check on it since it was 70 degrees. Everything worked fine and there were no leaks. The ice did crack the tip of the sink faucet but, other than that everything worked and i couldn't find a leak. Thanks everyone for the advice.

That is good to hear, I was at ACE today and I couldn't believe it They had both a kitchen and wash basin faucets. The same junk that's in the trailers. I mean the exact same model. After I finish running my dedicated buried 30 amp line to my trailer and using a brick column for my pedestal, I'm going to start replacing my fixtures with house hold Delta units. I know it just me but that plastic crap they put in is just pure garbage.( I think I have OCS ) Not quit sure what I can do with the shower yet. That will take some planning being that will need backing to hold a house hold one. If you push on my shower surround it will go in at least a good inch. You got lucky, no real damage. Very happy for you..

[motodude79]

Originally Posted by gljurczyk

That is good to hear, I was at ACE today and I couldn't believe it They had both a kitchen and wash basin faucets. The same junk that's in the trailers. I mean the exact same model. After I finish running my dedicated buried 30 amp line to my trailer and using a brick column for my pedestal, I'm going to start replacing my fixtures with house hold Delta units. I know it just me but that plastic crap they put in is just pure garbage.( I think I have OCS ) Not quit sure what I can do with the shower yet. That will take some planning being that will need backing to hold a house hold one. If you push on my shower surround it will go in at least a good inch. You got lucky, no real damage. Very happy for you..

If you are looking to replace your shower head the oxygenics was the best thing i've done to my RV. Its better than my shower at home.

[LKicklight]

the hot water heater would be and should be your main concern, get the water out of it right away, expensive to replace...if you have any low point drains, get them opened up also...the toilet water valve you can probably chaulk it off as it does not take much for it to freeze up..leave some heaters on just to keep everything warm..even though we winterize our crusader, we leave our electric radiator oil heater on its freeze setting just in case...

Originally Posted by motodude79

I've been trying to get to my 3171 to winterize for the past 2 weeks but its about 25 miles from the house and I haven't been able to get down there. This week it dipped below freezing for the first time so I rushed down during work and the kitchen faucet had frozen water in it and had cracked. Tried turning on the pump and running water through it but only got a little drip. So I ran the heater for 3 hours and blew some air through the lines and several gallons of water drained out. I don't have any way of telling though if there is a giant ice block in my tank or lines and its going to do more damage. Any advice on what I could do? It won't be warm here until Monday when it will be near 70. I'm in Virginia and normally we don't get a freeze like this so early. I guess next year I'll know I need to winterize a lot sooner.