Winterize or no?

[Melntb1]

I live in southwest Louisiana and we are getting some majorly cold temps next Mon and Tues. highs in low 30's and lows in the 20's. By Friday will have warmed up and we actually had and to use our motorhome on that weekend. So my question is can we leave the heaters on Mon and Tues instead of winterizing the coach for just a few days? This is our first motorhome and we want to avoid costly mistakes! We do have tank heating pads too if that information helps. Thanks in advance for any advice!

[extxn]

Look at it this way ~
what was the cost of your motorhome?
how much would it cost for repairs for frozen/broken water lines?
how hard /time consuming to drain or refill tanks when needed?
can you afford the repairs vs a few bucks worth of antifreeze?

Basically ~ it's up to you and what you think.
I'm just north of Ft.Worth, cost me 3 gal. of antifreeze from Wally World and about 20 minutes of my time.
Glad I did it as we have been having chilly temps here as well.
Granted, I only have a tt, but it's what I've got and willing to take the time to protect it.

[SlfMdeFam]

Originally Posted by extxn

Look at it this way ~

what was the cost of your motorhome?

how much would it cost for repairs for frozen/broken water lines?

how hard /time consuming to drain or refill tanks when needed?

can you afford the repairs vs a few bucks worth of antifreeze?



Basically ~ it's up to you and what you think.

I'm just north of Ft.Worth, cost me 3 gal. of antifreeze from Wally World and about 20 minutes of my time.

Glad I did it as we have been having chilly temps here as well.

Granted, I only have a tt, but it's what I've got and willing to take the time to protect it.

X2 what he said. Better safe than sorry.

But hey, what do I know?! I’m in Southern California with a warm 84 degrees today [emoji41]

[Melntb1]

I don't mind doing it at all. My real issue is that my husband is off hunting so I will need to do it by myself and I have no literature for my particular motorhome (Forester 3011 DS) that tells me exactly how to winterize properly. I'm great at following instructions when I have them! So I'm ultra nervous I don't have a clue what to do about the antifreeze thing. I know how to drain freshwater and gray and black. Also I don't know if there is something special I do for the ice maker line. Any good tutorials "with pics" you guys know of?

[SlfMdeFam]

Originally Posted by Melntb1

I don't mind doing it at all. My real issue is that my husband is off hunting so I will need to do it by myself and I have no literature for my particular motorhome (Forester 3011 DS) that tells me exactly how to winterize properly. I'm great at following instructions when I have them! So I'm ultra nervous I don't have a clue what to do about the antifreeze thing. I know how to drain freshwater and gray and black. Also I don't know if there is something special I do for the ice maker line. Any good tutorials "with pics" you guys know of?

Sorry I don’t know anything of that model. Worse case I would turn on the tank warmers, heater inside and leave the cabinet doors open so the heat will get in them to heat any lines inside.

If it’s just for the 2 days and it’s not long periods of below freezing temps chances are you should be ok.

Hopefully someone with that model or similar will chime in with some info to help.

[Super8mm]

Originally Posted by Melntb1

I live in southwest Louisiana and we are getting some majorly cold temps next Mon and Tues. highs in low 30's and lows in the 20's. By Friday will have warmed up and we actually had and to use our motorhome on that weekend. So my question is can we leave the heaters on Mon and Tues instead of winterizing the coach for just a few days? This is our first motorhome and we want to avoid costly mistakes! We do have tank heating pads too if that information helps. Thanks in advance for any advice!

For starters be sure the water pump is turned off, unhook any water supply, be sure water heater is off (both gas and electric) then look around the outside for a decal marked Low Water Drain Open these drain lines. My Puma has caps on the so I had the hold the fitting with a pair of pliers and used a socket to loosen then until they start leaking real good. Now turn on all the water faucets.

Next you will need to find the water heater, do you know where that is?

[ben31]

You could leave the heaters on and not winterize. However, you will need to check it once in a while or get a remote temperature sensor. This is to make sure nothing happened to shut off the heat. Just disconnect any city water hose from the RV.

It is safer to winterize everything. However, what is the difference between you living in it and keeping the heat on, and it sitting in the driveway with the heat on? You don't winterize it, when you are living in it. So, it is really up to you. Just be sure the propane tank is full and be sure to check it periodically (evening and morning). I'd also leave the water heater on, to keep the water heater tank from freezing. That tank is on the outside of the RV, and therefore is subject to the cold temperatures out there.

[llr]

Not knowing your model it is hard to be sure.

On any camper I had in those conditions I would leave furnace on (not space heater) on set to at least 50 and leave the water heater on if it has not been drained. The tank heaters don't really matter unless you need to dump soon. If you are connected to city water disconnect the hose at both ends.

If you know where the low point drains are and how to use them I would turn off the water pump, open the drains and the inside faucets. this would give a larger safety margin but is probably not needed.

[5picker]

It is hard for us to give you recommendations about your rig when we really don't know what your rig is other than a coach/motorhome which is what you mentioned in your OP.

Putting your rig information in your signature line (or better yet in the body of your question) helps others make recommendations about your specific rig and not just broad generalizations. It also helps grab the attention of others with like units, when reading your post.(s)

With that said, IF all your water connections (wet bay) and plumbing lines are in compartments where heat can get to them from running the furnace, then a couple of days of below freezing temperatures shouldn't hurt anything. But again, without knowing your particular rig, we'd hate to say all will be OK only to find some plumbing or a connection is in an unheated area and could freeze.

Post some specific info about your rig and I'm sure someone with that exact unit will chime in and let you know what to do.

[ben31]

Op said Forester 3011 DS in the second post - Class C

[5picker]

Originally Posted by ben31

Op said Forester 3011 DS in the second post - Class C

You are right... sorry.