Should I "winterize" my Roadtrek for the summer?

[AG_Ltd]

Hello all!

My 2013 Roadtrek Agile (Mercedes short sprinter) will be parked 6 months in the hot Arizona sun. A friend recommended that I leave it "winterized" to protect my seals (such as in the toilet) from drying out.

I've never heard of this. Is it a common practice i.e. a good idea?

Thanks!

[GallenH]

I live in Phoenix and I never have. I do tend to do some traveling to the higher elevations to escape the heat, though. Thetford has a product for lubricating the toilet seal. I usually store with 1/4" at bottom of bowl. I suppose you could try placing something (tape/plastic) over sink and shower drains to avoid evaporation of the p-trap water. Greater concern for me is protection from the sun: paint and tires.

[avanti]

"Seals" can be an issue, but the only ones that you are likely to have are (a) the toilet flush seal and (b) your dump valves. The former can be dealt with by leaving a bit of water in the bowl (as @gallenH has mentioned), or else a thin coating of silicone. The dump valves are problematic. Best to take them apart every few years for a silicone treatment. "Winterizing" won't help much. The rest of your fixtures are unlikely to have any rubber in them. Even so, winterization is often done by blowing out the lines. Wouldn't that be worse than leaving water in them?

I will leave it to people living in the South to comment on whether summertime "winterization" is a common practice, but I have never heard of it.

[AG_Ltd]

Thanks Gallen H so much for the tip about the Thetford product. I'll pick some up. You bring up another good point, however - protecting paint + tires. I'll pick up some tire covers, but might you have any suggestions about protecting the paint? I'll do my best for find a spot with a little shade but that may not be possible. Thanks for any further info, it's really helpful

[AG_Ltd]

Thanks, Avanti, for the good tip about the dump valves... never heard about those either. Goodness, there is so much to learn!

[avanti]

Protecting tires is a big deal--direct sun can drastically reduce their useful lifetime, especially at altitude.

I am a bit of a skeptic about protecting paint, though. Modern automotive paints are incredibly robust against sun damage. This is one issue I don't lose sleep over.

[GallenH]

These are pricey but I found them to last several years in the AZ sun:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Avanti is probably right with the newer paints especially on a sprinter chassis. My RV is a 97PW which has the fiberglass roof. I found that the roof began to chalk (you'd get white dust on your hand when you touched it). Used a marine fiberglass product on it which stopped the chalking. You wouldn't have that problem.

So when we're not using it for a long period, I put a cover on. But I have to tell you putting that cover on and taking it off and rolling it back up is a PITA.

[tarp]

I just have to replace black door seal goo that seems to fail in extreme heat.

Despite the hardy Kool-Cat, I decided to stop summer night camping in Texas unshaded campgrounds while visiting family. Last summer it didn't cool down much in the night and I don't want to risk a bad outcome.

[Thevon]

You can drill a 1/8 inch hole in the top back side of the valtera black and gray valves. Every time I change the oil, I shoot some silicone in each valve with the included little red straw. Haven't had a problem with sticking valves ever since.