Newbie wInterizing an RV

[munndl]

Hoping for some winterizing advise. We have a forest river xlr and have never used the water heater or water pump. We only hooked up to park water one time and used one faucet and toilet. Is it necessary to do the full winterizing exercise or is it possible to just drain the black and gray tanks?

[realebill]

if you hooked up to park water,then you have water in your lines to the sink,vanity tub and toilet.also ,unless your w/h bypass was on,you will have a water heater full of water.

[rskrbina]

Being around Ft. Worth, I would fully winterize. It's been known to freeze in that part of Texas.

[markb5900]

Originally Posted by munndl

Hoping for some winterizing advise. We have a forest river xlr and have never used the water heater or water pump. We only hooked up to park water one time and used one faucet and toilet. Is it necessary to do the full winterizing exercise or is it possible to just drain the black and gray tanks?

Yes you need to fully winterize it.
Being hooked up to park water is the same as using your pump for winterizing purposes.
Don't forget to drain your freshwater tank also. Even if you didn't put water in it, the dealer probably did to test the pump etc..

[munndl]

Thanks for the advise! So now I need to know if the bypass valve to the water heater was on or not. Where is that located? Is that on the outside panel or would it be under the sink?

[markb5900]

On my Cruise Lite it is under the sink. There are actually three valves. you close the two going to the water heater and open the one that then bypasses it.
Once you see it, you will see what I mean.

[munndl]

No luck finding any kind of valves. Looked under sinks, under bed and outside.

[BarryD0706]

You can tell where your water heater is on the outside. Figure out where that is on the inside. It's got to be there somewhere.

[munndl]

I have unscrewed every panel remotely near the water heater and nothing. Is it possible to pump the antifreeze in without bypassing the water heater? I know it will use more...

[wrvond]

Your bypass valves are going to be on the backside of the water heater itself.
Yes, you can winterize by filling the water heater with antifreeze, but nobody likes doing that. It'll use 6 gallons of anti freeze in the water heater alone.
It is possible that your camper did not come with a water heater bypass installed, though that is rather rare these days.
Once you find the backside of the water heater, ensure that you can see one water line going into the cold fitting (bottom) of the water heater, and one water line coming out the hot fitting (top), with no connecting line between the two lines with one or more valves in the circuit.
If you establish that you do not have a bypass kit installed, I'd recommend purchasing one and installing it yourself, then winterizing. They really aren't that hard to install.

[wrvond]

First, ensure your holding tanks are empty, then close the drain valves.
Then looking at your water pump, you should see a hose coming from the water tank to the pump and a hose not connected to anything going to the pump as well. There will be a valve at that 'T' fitting. Turn the valve so that the handle is in line with the tube that doesn't go anywhere. Stick that tube into your jug of antifreeze, turn the pump on, and it will start pumping anti freeze all through your camper. If you have elected not to bypass your water heater, go outside and hold the pressure relief valve open until you get solid pink coming out of it. Then go to each sink and open the faucet handle for cold and hot. Start with the sink closest to the pump. Leave the valve open until solid pink comes out, then close it. Go to the next closest one and repeat. Keep an eye on your antifreeze jug, that stuff will pump out fast. After the sinks are done, do the shower (don't forget the outside shower) and the toilet. Turn off your pump and remove the antifreeze jug. Pour about a cup of antifreeze into each sink and shower drain. Then pour some into the toilet without flushing. That will help your flange seals stay soft.

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by wrvond

First, ensure your holding tanks are empty, then close the drain valves. Then looking at your water pump, you should see a hose coming from the water tank to the pump and a hose not connected to anything going to the pump as well. There will be a valve at that 'T' fitting. Turn the valve so that the handle is in line with the tube that doesn't go anywhere. Stick that tube into your jug of antifreeze, turn the pump on, and it will start pumping anti freeze all through your camper. If you have elected not to bypass your water heater, go outside and hold the pressure relief valve open until you get solid pink coming out of it. Then go to each sink and open the faucet handle for cold and hot. Start with the sink closest to the pump. Leave the valve open until solid pink comes out, then close it. Go to the next closest one and repeat. Keep an eye on your antifreeze jug, that stuff will pump out fast. After the sinks are done, do the shower (don't forget the outside shower) and the toilet. Turn off your pump and remove the antifreeze jug. Pour about a cup of antifreeze into each sink and shower drain. Then pour some into the toilet without flushing. That will help your flange seals stay soft.

Dang...you are good!!!

[buskirk21921]

Just another tip, to make sure to purge the fresh water inlet. Relieve some of the pressure in the system by opening a faucet and then go to the fresh water inlet and remove the screen from the fresh water inlet. Push on the white piece inside of the inlet which is spring loaded(valve) and let the antifreeze flow. People forget about this. See the attached winterizing site that I found.

PontiacRV.com's Winterizing Your RV - YouTube

Hope this helps.

[munndl]

Thanks everyone for the advice. Finally figured out where everything was and still nothing coming out of faucet. Finally gave up and took to rv repair to winterize and turns out the water pump wasn't working. Thank goodness still under warrantee!