To Winterize or Not to Winterize?

[theHueg]

My wife and I live in San Antonio, TX and own a 2018 Winnebago ERA 70X. It is stored inside an enclosed garage with cement floors and electric hookups. Given the relatively milder climate here (compared to our prior home in Wisconsin) and our desire to travel over the winter to Phoenix and Florida, we're hesitant to winterize the unit. Obviously we won't travel northward as the danger of freezing weather, even as close as Dallas or Oklahoma is real. If we travel only along the southern border and store in an enclosed facility, is it necessary to winterize? Alternatively, if while in storage we get a bout of really cold air, couldn't we simply place a space heater near the undercarriage of the RV? We just hate to put the unit out of commission for a few months while living in such a temperature climate.

[avanti]

If you are confident that you can keep the van from getting below freezing for more than a few hours at a time, then I can't see any reason to winterize.

[jrobe]

If the temperature dropped much below freezing, I would put a space heater inside the van too probably with a thermostat to keep the heat contained and warm inside.

[BrianCO]

If by winterize you mean adding antifreeze to the lines, I would agree that you do not need to.

However, I would blow out the lines when the RV was going to sit for any period. Using air to clean out your water lines is super easy, and fast but gives you a bit of piece of mind.

I've transitioned over to blowing out the lines and will never go back to using antifreeze (except a bit in the traps of sinks). No crazy tastes, no drama.

[Calson]

The RV should have PEX type water lines which can expand slightly if the water inside becomes frozen. This takes multiple days of subfreezing weather to occur.

A trick that works is to have a cold water tap left open so water drips out very slowly and this avoids having one section with sitting water freezing.

[Davydd]

If you turn your water pump off you don't have to drip water. You can leave your valves open for more comfort of mind. Most all water in the lines will gravity feed back to the tank. Some vans like my former Pleasure-way had low point quarter turn drains in the water lines. The tank is not going to be a problem if it is partially filled as it will just expand in the empty space, but if you want to use it then heat can be applied to it prevent it from freezing if on the road.

I've boondocked in temperatures of -15F with water in my tank with no problems. I do have all pex water tubing.

[Calson]

There is a difference between using a RV in very cold weather and leaving it sitting for months during the winter where temps can fall below freezing for weeks at a time.

I had the water inside the pump freeze it solid after only a night of sub zero weather and had to wait for the temperature to warm up so we could get water out the tap. The basement was not insulated and it was really a 3-season RV.

[Pentex3]

If you are stored inside a closed garage in San Antonio TX you have very minimal exposure to a freeze in Texas. I am a life long Texan so winter freezes in SA are normally just a few hours minimum to a few days maximum for the entire winter. Certainly full winterizing of a vehicle stored inside isn’t needed. I have a very small electric oil radiator heater I keep on a low setting and keep cabinet doors open if the temps are going to dip low but my Roadtrek sits uncovered on my driveway plugged into a 30 amp. Would this option work for you?

[Smcqueary]

If getting ready for a trip and leaving Ethos 20t class B in driveway for a night and it gets to 30 what are suggestions to make sure nothing freezes before taking off early in morning. It will only stay in driveway one night before heading out.. any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated

[@Michael]

Originally Posted by Smcqueary

If getting ready for a trip and leaving Ethos 20t class B in driveway for a night and it gets to 30 what are suggestions to make sure nothing freezes before taking off early in morning. It will only stay in driveway one night before heading out.. any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated

If your water pipes are inside the coach (not underneath) I would simply heat the coach for the night, with either its own furnace or an electric heater, opening any cabinets that have pipes behind them. If the plumbing is exposed under the van I'd open the low-point drains and all the faucets (but still heat in interior). Most of the water will be out of the pipes, and if any freezes, it'll be unlikely to fracture them.

Also, If the tanks are empty, I'd dump bit of RV antifreeze down each of the drains, mostly so that the dump valves are coated in antifreeze.