Winterizing Question

[alex668]

Going to be taking possession of a brand new Roadtrek SS Agile in a couple weeks and I plan on immediately taking it on the road. I'm in CA and will heading to Santa Fe, NM first, then probably up through Colorado, back through Utah, into Oregon and back down the coast.

My question is whether or not I need to winterize and how important it is. I'm thinking the coldest nighttime temps I will be in will about low teens, maybe single digits Fahrenheit. I'd like to be able to use my plumbing, but if I winterize then (from what I understand) I can't use the water at all.

Is there a hard and fast rule about winterizing? Like absolutely if you will be in temps below X, but at your discretion if the temps will only get down to Y, etc.

[BBQ]

Originally Posted by alex668

Going to be taking possession of a brand new Roadtrek SS Agile in a couple weeks and I plan on immediately taking it on the road. I'm in CA and will heading to Santa Fe, NM first, then probably up through Colorado, back through Utah, into Oregon and back down the coast.

My question is whether or not I need to winterize and how important it is. I'm thinking the coldest nighttime temps I will be in will about low teens, maybe single digits Fahrenheit. I'd like to be able to use my plumbing, but if I winterize then (from what I understand) I can't use the water at all.

Is there a hard and fast rule about winterizing? Like absolutely if you will be in temps below X, but at your discretion if the temps will only get down to Y, etc.

Water expands when freezes.

How many pipes and joints do you have in the RV?
What if water leaked onto the floor and soak through?

What would ice do to the water pump and macerator?
How much are the pump$?

Do you have a hot water tank? with ice-protection auto-drain relief valve?
If you do, that part is covered.


If the temp gets down to 32F for a couple of hours at the middle of the night, you might be ok. I wouldn't push it beyond that.

[Davydd]

I never worried about winterizing on the road down to 20F overnight with any of my Class Bs as long as I had heat on in the cabin and the temperature was above freezing during the day. Don't top off your fresh water tank. Use the pink antifreeze in your black and grey tanks proportionally as an extra precaution. Open cabinet doors at galley sink and water pump to circulate heat.

With my current Class B I have traveled unwinterized with fresh water down to -5F but it is a bit different than an Agile. But then 30 some odd Roadtrek owners (and some others) will show up this January at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It has been done for two previous years. It is possible. Some were winterized, some were not. Having shore power overnight helped. The temperatures were always well below freezing.

So, I would say watch your future weather carefully. If extremely cold just quit using your fresh water from the tap and turn off your water pump. Most of it will drain back down. Your cabin heat will help as I mentioned. Antifreeze in your waste tanks will work. Use water sparingly from 1 gallon jugs. You could winterize if necessary. Just drain your fresh water completely. I carry an air compressor so could even blow out the lines and not put antifreeze in the freshwater lines as some recommend.

[coveman]

I carry a bicycle pump and blow out valve and blow out all of the water lines
when there is a chance of freezing. RV antifreeze in the holding tanks
is also a good idea. I have camped in -4C temps many times and have never had a problem. Keep the interior warm and you should be ok. Not a bad idea to put antifreeze in the traps you are not using.
2007 Roadtrek 210 P






QUOTE=Davydd;51126]I never worried about winterizing on the road down to 20F overnight with any of my Class Bs as long as I had heat on in the cabin and the temperature was above freezing during the day. Don't top off your fresh water tank. Use the pink antifreeze in your black and grey tanks proportionally as an extra precaution. Open cabinet doors at galley sink and water pump to circulate heat.

With my current Class B I have traveled unwinterized with fresh water down to -5F but it is a bit different than an Agile. But then 30 some odd Roadtrek owners (and some others) will show up this January at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It has been done for two previous years. It is possible. Some were winterized, some were not. Having shore power overnight helped. The temperatures were always well below freezing.

So, I would say watch your future weather carefully. If extremely cold just quit using your fresh water from the tap and turn off your water pump. Most of it will drain back down. Your cabin heat will help as I mentioned. Antifreeze in your waste tanks will work. Use water sparingly from 1 gallon jugs. You could winterize if necessary. Just drain your fresh water completely. I carry an air compressor so could even blow out the lines and not put antifreeze in the freshwater lines as some recommend.[/QUOTE]

[avanti]

DavyDD and Coveman are spot on. A few hours below freezing are generally not an issue (although, it is somewhat more of a concern while you are driving, since the moving air takes away heat faster). How many are "a few" depends upon how your vehicle is plumbed. The more that is exposed under the vehicle, the sooner things will freeze.

I also carry a compressor and the requisite schrader valve adaptor, along with RV antifreeze for the tanks and traps. If I run into a serious cold spell, I can winterize in maybe 30 minutes.

One hint: If it is very cold outside, open any cabinet doors and hatches that lead to plumbing to let the warm in.

[starfighter]

Colorado and over passes in Oregon.....ify.........
We once tried to bomb through New Mexico without winterizing and ...surprise !! interstate closed for the night..........
Best to be safe.....
Drain fresh water supply, winterize.
Now,....carry bottled drinking water inside and use RV antifreeze to flush toilet.
No worries.

[starfighter]

...and Carry chains and know how to put them on.
yesterday all passes over the cascades were a base of packed snow, and New Mexico and Colorado altitudes almost certainly.
In Oregon when the sign says "carry chains" it means you are REQUIRED by law to have chains that fit your vehicle on board, and you do not want to be sitting in the snow and wind trying to figure how to put them on.........
On the bright side ....you'll love your new Agile and I wish you many happy travels.

[alex668]

Hey All,

Thanks for all the great (and quick) feedback! I've also been watching a bunch of videos and I'll probably winterize to be safe. Couple more questions and I think I'll be set:

I watched an "easy winterizing" vid on roadtrekking.com (see vid here: Winterizing an RV: The easy way | Roadtrek Class B RV Blog) and he said he doesn't do any AF in the freshwater tank and uses a bicycle pump along with this adapter (Camco 36153 RV Brass Blow Out Plug) to push out residual water and then he uses this kit (The Camco 36543 RV Pump Converter Winterizing Kit) to introduce antifreeze to all the plumbing lines via the water pump (lookes like a little valve permanently attaches to the pump). He bypasses the water heater completely. It looks easy and sensible - do y'all agree?

Other question is about compressed air - it's not recommended by Roadtrek, but sounds like a lot of you use it anyhow - what do you use and what do you do to ensure the PSI is low enough not to damage any of the plumbing/components?

Finally - if I didn't mention, I'm going to have the diesel Alde system for my furnace and water heating - so I don't know yet if that's a different plumbing set up than the regular propane water heater. Or if it has an anode rod or anything like that.

Thanks

[gregmchugh]

With the diesel Alde you just need to make sure that the automatic cold weather water dump operates. You keep using the heat function but not the hot water function.

Best place to connect with diesel Alde owners is on the Roadtrek & Hymer Owners Group on Facebook.

[starfighter]

Winterizing according to RT instructions is pretty easy and definitely gets the plumbing pipes done.
and, yes, the hot water tank gets drained so you'll not have hot water on demand.........but, water heated on the stove, a sponge, and towel and you're good to go.
Remember every time you put water down a drain in freezing temps. follow it with antifreeze.

[avanti]

I would NEVER put that stuff in my fresh system. Compressed air done properly works just fine and takes much less time, money, and grossness. Do it twice with a 10 minute rest between tries, and start at the fixtures closest to the air source and work your way out. If you are at home, consider taking any easily-removable fixtures (such as shower wand, etc) indoors. Drain your water heater before blowing--if it can be bypassed, do so [EDIT: I guess this doesn't apply to you]. As I said, after a bit of practice, this is a 30 minute job. Perfectly practical to do on the road. I really don't know why you would want to do without your water system "just in case" (although I guess there is a case to be made for going slowly with a brand new rig).

I suppose that technically it would be a good idea to limit the pressure, but if my plumbing system were not able to tolerate the pressure that can be produced by a cheap tire inflator, I personally would want to know about it. in any event, with a small compressor, it takes a long time for pressure to build up and keeping it controlled is not difficult. Just don't stop for lunch with the compressor running. I can't imagine that a bicycle pump would be even close to adequate.

[gregmchugh]

The winterizing method recommended by Roadtrek is chosen, I expect, because it is simple and foolproof. No risk of not getting all the water out of the system, no risk of damage from compressed air at high pressure, and instructions that are easy to follow. Works fine for the majority of owners with no need for any special equipment except a funnel and a socket to remove the water heater anode if you have a Suburban water heater.

I realize there are "better" methods but none are any more effective in protecting the van which, I suggest, is the prime reason for winterizing.

I do use compressed air at low pressure but also use antifreeze to insure there is no water trapped anywhere. To each his own...

[Bruceper]

although, it is somewhat more of a concern while you are driving, since the moving air takes away heat faster

I'd like to add to this just so people are clear about driving in the cold.

Moving air does take heat away from an object faster, but at no time can that object get colder than the actual air temperature.

Stated another way, what we call wind chill only affects skin. Wind chill does not affect water or metal or any other material.

[Davydd]

My system is set up so you syphon antifreeze into the water lines but not the fresh water tank. Also I have no hot water tank. Flushing out the gallon of antifreeze it takes to get pink flowing through the faucets is quick and easy. If you get antifreeze in your fresh water tank it can take a couple of cycles to push it all out.

[gregmchugh]

This type of winterizing kit allows direct injection of antifreeze using the water pump without adding antifreeze to the fresh water tank...

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-36543-P...interizing+kit