Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-18-2020, 10:20 AM   #1
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 4
Question Winterizing our A122?

My husband and I recently (June) purchased a 2018 A-122. We live in Southern Oregon on the coast where the climate is mild, and we store the trailer in the garage when not in use. (BTW, we've used it three times since June for short trips, and absolutely love it.)

My question concerns the upcoming winter season. Our temps here in winter occasionally dip into the low 30s or high 20s, but never any colder, and as we store the trailer inside, I am wondering if and what we need to winterize. Water heater? Fresh water tank?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Rocky4us is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2020, 10:34 AM   #2
Part-Time Campground Host
 
cboss's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 3,181
If there is even a remote chance it could freeze I would winterize it. It could be $10 in RV antifreeze or possibly big buck$ and time in repairs.

__________________
Craig & Cath
2018 2902WS Rockwood Ultra Lite (with tons of Mods)
2022 F250 Lariat Super Cab, 7.3 gas w/10 Spd Xmsn
Equalizer Hitch w/4-Point Sway Control

Days camped since 2015(retirement): 1659
cboss is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2020, 11:19 AM   #3
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 4
Talking

Thanks, that is what I was thinking. In the past we have had various assorted RVs and have always had them winterized by an RV mechanic or dealer, but am thinking that with the simplified system on the A-frame, could do it myself for much less of an expense. My husband is the first to admit he's not any kind of handyman, so I am going to put on my Rosie-the-Riverter boiler suit and headscarf and try this myself. Any suggestions about the best place to research how to do this?:
Rocky4us is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2020, 11:21 AM   #4
Part-Time Campground Host
 
cboss's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 3,181
A quick search found this:

__________________
Craig & Cath
2018 2902WS Rockwood Ultra Lite (with tons of Mods)
2022 F250 Lariat Super Cab, 7.3 gas w/10 Spd Xmsn
Equalizer Hitch w/4-Point Sway Control

Days camped since 2015(retirement): 1659
cboss is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2020, 11:30 AM   #5
Retired Army MSG!
 
lazyjj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Sharon, SC
Posts: 588
Winerize

I am in the south so all I do each year is make sure I open my low point drains as well as drain the water heater. I also open all the faucets on the unit and leave them open. I have never used antifreeze in any of my units. We get below freezing from time to time but doesn't last but a day or so. We camp in January and February so want to be able to use the unit without cleaning out antifreeze. I will also set my furnace thermostat to lowest setting so it may cycle on and off if we expect to have below freeing temps for several days.
lazyjj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2020, 12:27 PM   #6
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 4
Thanks, guys, for the responses. Now I have two different views. Watched the video, cboss, looks like I could do this. Lazy jj, just draining all the water I can, that's the original thought I had--that it won't get too cold here, and maybe I could run the furnace if the cold spell lasts for more than a couple of days, which it seldom does here. Could I run the heat pump (KoolKat) instead of the furnace? And what about the rig being inside a fairly small garage. Would it be safe to run either furnace or koolcat? So many questions, so little knowledge...
Rocky4us is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2020, 01:40 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 3,083
The CoolCat won't provide any heat when outside temp dips below 40 degrees. I proved it the hard way in Colorado on a cold night. The CoolCat would come on, but no heat comes out of the vents from about 45 degrees and lower.

We live in Colorado Springs, where we get nights in the 20s regularly, and occasionally negative single digits. But our attached garage doesn't seem to go below freezing as witnessed by snow and ice melting on our cars when we pull them in at night. I guess there's enough leakage from the house and sun during the day.

Our A-frames (we're on our 2nd) have always been stored in the garage. After evaluation, I decided just to drain water out of the low point drains (open the outside shower faucets) and the water tank. In 6 winters of A-frames, we have yet to have any freeze damage. The little water that's left in an A-frame after draining isn't enough to cause freeze damage.

Having lived in Coos Bay in an earlier point in my life, I wouldn't worry about it. If you feel so led, on the coldest nights throw an electric heater in the camper (on low), and open the cabinets on the port (left) - except for the water tank and the feed to the pump, the water lines are all above the floor at the back of the cabinets, running from the water pump to the water heater. Or you can test your garage by putting out a shallow pan with a 1/2" of water and see if the water freezes in the pan.

Like Lazy J said, we like to go camping anytime of year day temps are forecast above 50 (and below 90!). We'll often get weekends in Jan and Feb that meet this standard. Because we don't winterize, just fill the water tank and go. Drain low points and tank when we come home in the winter. While camping, we have warm blankets, and set the thermostat in the low '50s. I crank it up to 68 when DW is getting ready to get up. I also keep the vent cracked open a little, along with one window to prevent condensation while we sleep. Something I learned the hard way tent and pop-up camping.

I have run the fridge on propane in a 3 bay closed garage for about 8 hours without setting off the CO alarm (I put one in the garage while I was doing it). I would not run the propane heater (or water heater) in a closed garage. Too easy to get dangerous level of CO. An electric heater on "low" should be all your A-frame would need to be quite warm - especially if folded.

just my thoughts and experiences
Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time
pgandw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2020, 01:44 PM   #8
Site Team
 
bikendan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Goodyear, Arizona
Posts: 33,607
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocky4us View Post
My husband and I recently (June) purchased a 2018 A-122. We live in Southern Oregon on the coast where the climate is mild, and we store the trailer in the garage when not in use. (BTW, we've used it three times since June for short trips, and absolutely love it.)

My question concerns the upcoming winter season. Our temps here in winter occasionally dip into the low 30s or high 20s, but never any colder, and as we store the trailer inside, I am wondering if and what we need to winterize. Water heater? Fresh water tank?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
I live in the PNW and we also have mild winters. I simply blow out the lines with air and put antifreeze in the traps.
__________________
Dan-Retired California Firefighter/EMT
Shawn-Musician/Entrepreneur/Wine Expert
and Zoe the Wonder Dog(R.I.P.)
2016 PrimeTime TracerAIR 255, pushing a 2014 Ford F150 SCREW XTR 4x4 3.5 Ecoboost w/Max Tow Package
4pt Equal-i-zer WDH and 1828lbs of payload capacity
bikendan is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2020, 10:06 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: TEXAS
Posts: 9,133
Quote:
Originally Posted by bikendan View Post
I live in the PNW and we also have mild winters. I simply blow out the lines with air and put antifreeze in the traps.
That's what we do to our rig (located near Houston, Texas). If it looks like a 'hard freeze' is on the way, it's easy to pump antifreeze into the lines as the cold front approaches. Some winters we never have a hard freeze.
__________________
2015 Dynamax REV 24TB class C
Reverse_snowbird is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2020, 04:34 PM   #10
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 4
Smile

Thankyou, everyone, this info really helps, and we feel more secure now about draining the water and perhaps running an electric heater if the forecast is for a particularly cold night or too. Have to say that that is one of the things we love about living here on the Southern Oregon coast where it never gets too cold or too hot!

Linda, Randy and "Rocky"
Rocky4us is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
a122, winter, winterizing

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:41 AM.