First Time for Winter Storage

[rockin'ray]

Being new to owning a trailer, I have a couple questions about winter storage for our new trailer. We will be storing it in an unheated but insulated storage building.

Do people remove mattresses and cushions for the winter and store them inside?

I already have and use a Dri-Z-Air unit in there which worked great all summer long and really takes a lot of moisture out, in fact I am going to pick up a second one for the winter. Should the vent also be kept open a small amount, I do have a MaxxAir vent cover over top so there is a double screen to help keep any critters out.

I already have everything done except for putting antifreeze through the lines and removing tanks and battery, just want to make sure I am not missing anything.

The building it is going in is brand new with concrete floor and the owners do the parking as far as I know. Is there any concerns that I should be aware of like lifting the weight off the tires and such as I am not sure if and how much room there will be to be to do anything once parked or if I can do anything.

[NWJeeper]

Sounds like you have things fairly well covered. Bringing in the bedding, pillows, towels, etc is a good idea. Remove all food items as it is a pest draw. I prefer to keep some heat (45 to 50 degrees) in my rig but I know not everyone can do this. Do a Google search on tire storage or go to the web sites of some of the major manufacturers as they all have pretty good information about care of your tires in storage.

I don't know what you are refering to with "removing tanks".

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by NWJeeper

I don't know what you are refering to with "removing tanks".

I really hope Ray means "disconnecting the propane tanks."

Question for you NWJ- how do you maintain the temperature inside? Do you use the trailer's furnace, electric heat, or something else? I seem to recall hearing somebody mention keeping a 40 watt light inside the trailer to provide a bit of heat and help with excess condensation.

[NWJeeper]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I really hope Ray means "disconnecting the propane tanks."

Question for you NWJ- how do you maintain the temperature inside? Do you use the trailer's furnace, electric heat, or something else? I seem to recall hearing somebody mention keeping a 40 watt light inside the trailer to provide a bit of heat and help with excess condensation.

My father used to have a 80watt light bulb with a coffee can for a shroud around it that he would hang from the controls in our airplane that would suffice to keep the moisture at bay. I don't know how well this would work in an RV, most of which have much more square footage inside. I have a small electric space heater that has a digital thermostat that can be set for any temp you like. I put that on the kitchen counter in the rig for the winter and open all the cabinets under the sinks. I bought the heater on close out at Home Depot several years ago for around $12. It has a tip over safety so that it will turn itself off if it falls over. I set it for around 45 degrees and let it run. I consider the cost of the electricity to run it part of my expense in owning the RV and keeping it up. It draws a lot less than running Christmas lights every night for a month...

[ken0042]

Yes, the advantages you Americans have.... much better shopping deals to be had! I have never seen an electric heater with a thermostat for that low up here.

The other thing I'm thinking of is the square footage difference between your rig and mine; yours is probably 3 times bigger than mine.

And a side note- you should look into LCD Christmas lights. I hooked mine up to a power meter and a string of 100 lights draws a whopping 3 watts of power. I went crazy last year with the lights and I'm up to a total of 20 watts now. I just wish they made LED patio lanterns; that would be great for dry camping.

[NWJeeper]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Yes, the advantages you Americans have.... much better shopping deals to be had! I have never seen an electric heater with a thermostat for that low up here.

The other thing I'm thinking of is the square footage difference between your rig and mine; yours is probably 3 times bigger than mine.

And a side note- you should look into LCD Christmas lights. I hooked mine up to a power meter and a string of 100 lights draws a whopping 3 watts of power. I went crazy last year with the lights and I'm up to a total of 20 watts now. I just wish they made LED patio lanterns; that would be great for dry camping.

So a space heater would probably run 2/3 less time to keep your rig warm than mine

I have a few strings of the LED lights I got on close out last year but not enough to do my entire house the way I like. They are getting a lot cheaper and they are in my future. I spent the money on LED bulbs for the RV instead.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by NWJeeper

So a space heater would probably run 2/3 less time to keep your rig warm than mine

Yeah, but then factor in you being in PNW and me being on the Canadian prairies and that may be a wash.

[rockin'ray]

Yes, I was referring to the propane tanks. Storage facilities are kind of picky about those things, less chance of leaks and such I guess. This way too it allows me to make sure the tanks are full and battery is charged up for spring before I get it out of storage. I understand the concept of the heater to keep moisture at bay and wish I had the availability to do that but I don't unfortunately. That is why I have the Dri-Z-Air, in fact I was going tp pick up a second one for the winter but both the Walmarts close to me were sold out. I will have to look furter around for another one.

Originally Posted by ken0042

I really hope Ray means "disconnecting the propane tanks."

Question for you NWJ- how do you maintain the temperature inside? Do you use the trailer's furnace, electric heat, or something else? I seem to recall hearing somebody mention keeping a 40 watt light inside the trailer to provide a bit of heat and help with excess condensation.

[jimh]

are u going to pump antifreeze thru the hot water heater? that is a dead item during the winter and has a nice uninsulated channel thru it to outside air ie the burnner air in and out.

[NWJeeper]

Originally Posted by jimh

are u going to pump antifreeze thru the hot water heater? that is a dead item during the winter and has a nice uninsulated channel thru it to outside air ie the burnner air in and out.

ABSOLUTELY NOT! Never put antifreeze in the water heater. Normal procedure is to pull the annode or drain plug and let the water drain from the tank. This is why they install bypass sytems on water heaters is for those that do insist on using the pink stuff don't waste all that money on filling a 5 or 10 gallon tank with antifreeze.

[rockin'ray]

No, I drained the hot water tank by removing the anode and then with a small long wand and wet vac sucked out as much of the remaining water that I could. I used the bypass valves on the lines to bypass and pump the pink stuff through the rest of the plumbing.