Community Forums

AttilaKara72 · 08-21-2014, 06:51 AM

We are planning a trip to St Augustine in February of 2015. My rig will be fully winterized. Where along my trip south can I un-winterize it? How far south should I be?
It does have heated basements from the furnace and I also have a small 110 heater that is installed in the utility compartment that is connected to a thermostat that the previous owner installed. On the other side of the compartment there is a small fan that he installed that blows that extra heat into the wet bay where all the valves are to fill and empty my tanks. Also not sure where I should winterize on the way home.
Any advise would be great.

djpauls · 08-21-2014, 08:14 PM

My 2001 Dynasty that I owned last year made the trip from SW Michigan in January of last year with 4 below temperature to start and not winterized. I also had a 110v heater in the utility bay that I ran with the generator during the day while driving. At night the heat from the furnace was adequate to keep from frrezing. I monitored with a remote thermostat. It can be done.

bokobird · 08-21-2014, 09:45 PM

I did a trip like that earlier this year from CT. As you remember, it was a very cold winter so I was all the way down into the top of FL before I de-winterized. The thing to remember is make sure the overnight temps are above freezing wherever you are before you de-winterize.

jimbo2013 · 08-22-2014, 06:51 AM

Last Dec FL to NY stayed two weeks then back, never winterized it.

So I think you can de winterize when you leave or if concerned maybe NC.

Cousin Ed · 08-22-2014, 08:40 AM

We leave the very end of December and, if we had winterized, we would turn on the heat and fill with water a couple of days before we leave the Cape. We have been doing this for 14 years without a problem. Of course we do use some propane. If the chassis heat can't keep us warn enough we run propane as we travel.

HD4Mark · 08-22-2014, 09:01 AM

The Carolinas get freezing temps but nothing like the sub zero stuff we see in the northeast. I would be watching the weather right before leaving. You can fill your fresh water tank without much fear since it would take a lot of cold to freeze that much and the sloshing around while moving keeps the surface from freezing. Just don't turn on the pump or fill the hot water tank until you are somewhere warm enough. You can always flush the toilet with RV antifreeze and use bottled water for coffee and stuff.

We did that for years going from NY to Fl. The tough part was re-winterizing it to go back

vettenuts · 08-24-2014, 06:14 AM

Interesting information, we are hoping to leave Rhody for the winters as well but after the holidays.

GaryKD · 08-24-2014, 09:01 AM

Hi AttilaKara72,
Based on your OP, dewinterize before you leave so you can enjoy the coach capabilities for the entire trip. If you remain concerned, place a saucer of water in the utility bay. The water will freeze before the tank contents.

AttilaKara72 · 08-24-2014, 07:06 PM

I think I am more worried about the pipes freezing as opposed to the tanks.

pjkellrvers · 08-25-2014, 12:32 PM

My trips from mass, day after xmas till 4/1 Dewinterized at Flamingo rv park off 95 in jacksonville fl, no problem going home in april but you need a plan. paul

GaryKD · 08-25-2014, 02:30 PM

I'm not familiar with how your coach was built. If the pipes are contained inside the coach (hidden in the floor/ basement/cabinets) for me I'd not worry. Run the furnace and heaters, mentioned in the OP at night. You will be fine.

HD4Mark · 08-27-2014, 06:15 AM

Another thing we did when heading south when it was cold was to plan the longest day traveling as the first day. That way we could get as far south to warmer weather for the first night.

Now we are lucky enough to be able to leave well before that cold stuff and return after it is over.