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Markrving · 01-24-2013, 12:47 PM

Never owned an RV ever before. Just got one this fall. It is parked about 1 hour away ( no RV storage here in NYCity) and I need to winterize it ASAP. I know all the tanks are empty because the sensor inside says so, but I watched the winterizing video on youtube by Lichtsinn motors ( helpful) and I am wondering if I need to add the antifreeze to all the water lines also ?? On the video they also spoke about the water heater drain. HELP PLEASE my Hurricane is a year 2000 model

Bobb.25 · 01-24-2013, 01:05 PM

Experts here might not agree, and once you've done it a couple times it gets simple, but what I did year before last with my 2003 RV was to take it to a RV repair facility to winterize, with the agreement that I could watch while they did it, and ask questions. Some have video taped the process, i took notes.
I hope it's not already too late for you in the NYC climate.
Bob

DGBPokes · 01-24-2013, 01:16 PM

Danger, just because the gauge says the tanks are empty, does not mean there may not be a small amount of residual water left in it, enough to do damage. Open the valves and let them drain. Drain the hot water tank, the fresh water tank, and the two holding tanks. To drain the hot water tank, probably have to remove the electrical heater anode, open the pressure relief valve so it drains completely. Then close all those on the water heater, and look for the hot water tank bypass. Usually on the inside near the hot water tank.

Go to Walmart, Lowes etc and by RV antifreeze, it will be pink in color. I buy 4 gallons( more than I need, if you go cheap, and miss something and it freezes and breaks, it will cost a lot more to,repair than a $ 5 gallon of anti freeze).

Pour or pump, all but 2/3 of a,gallon into your drinking water tank. With the pump on, turn on the kitchen faucet, and let it run until it is pink in color. Do each faucet kitchen, bathroom, shower sink, toilet. Couple words of caution. The 2/3"gallon you did not pour into the tank....pour a,little in each drain to make sure anti freeze is in the traps. Buddy forgot the shower drain, it burst the next spring and was,a,real pain to repair. My toile has a pedal flush valve and a rinse hose, I forgot to move the pedal up as well as down one year, cost $80 for a new toilet input valve. If you have a hose or outside shower, make sure you run pink stuff thru that, and the shower hose as well as,the shower faucet. Ice maker? Disconnect the input line and make sure you have run pink stuff thru it. Washer? Drain it all hoses, input and drain lime and trap. I then drain the black and grey tanks again, to get the water out that went in there when I started process. Once that is done and closed pour what is left of your antifreeze into the toilet and flush it. Pure antifreeze now in the black tank and at the dump valve

coachdog · 01-25-2013, 06:40 PM

Exactly what DGBPokes says! I would like to add one thing I have learned that it works well. Put a cup of soap in the toilet put a small bag of ice and a few gallon jugs of water. Take it for a drive. The shaking of the ice will scrub the walls of your black water tank. Then dump it one last time. Then do your winterizing. Good tip I picked up.

DGBPokes · 01-26-2013, 09:17 AM

Good idea CoachDog. For cleanliness, I picked up a tip here last year. I went to the Dollar store and bought a cheap generic bottle of Pinesol. After I dump, I always add 3-4 gallons of fresh water, now I add 1/2 cup of Pinesol. As I drive to my next destination, the mixture sloshes around and cleans the sides of the tank. And a bonus is it smells good.