I played lazy this year and didnt do any winterization other than keeping a
small electric heater plugged in inside the rv. My thought was that I didnt
want the lines full of antifreeze if our odd weather patterns here brought a
nice weekend and we decided to take a spur-of-the-moment weekend trip.
Well, I got off work early today and rushed home to hook up and go. We
were hoping that a quick, close to home trip would give us a chance to see
what items we need to purchase to be prepared for the season. Well, I
stepped inside the rv to make sure everything was situated for travel and
noticed that the cold water knob on the kitchen faucet was loose. I decided
to bump the water pump switch to see if water would leak from the faucet.
I heard water running near the bathroom so I immediately knew that "OH
CRAP.... MY PIPES BUSTED". I quickly went outside, (running right by the
jugs of antifreeze that I bought and set just inside the door), crawled
underneath and started dismantling the underbelly covering so that I could
search for the bad pipes and make a quick run to Home Depot. Shortly after
getting started, my son got home from school and was gonna help with
the project. I took a moment to take him inside and show him the damage
that I had noticed. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment but I hit the pump
switch again but this time it sounded like the water was coming from the
cabinet that houses the pump. I opened it up to find that my water filter
canister had busted just below the threads. The plastic where it broke is
about 1/2 inch thick all the way around. WOW!! It musta took a good bit
of force to break that. From a little more inspection, it looks like the pipes
were all ok so we reassembled the underbelly and I guess its off to the store
first thing in the morning to get a replacement canister and a new kitchen
faucet. I called and the canister is in stock and not too terribly expensive
but I think the the faucet will be a little more pricey.
I have definately learned my lesson from this. You guys may wanna buy stock
in antifreeze because from now on, I will have plenty on hand and make sure
I use it!!!!!