Do I have to winterize my TT?

[bandsmills]

My husband says if we have it plugged in and the heat on we do not need to winterize. I am not so sure about that. Don't want any burst water lines or problems with the water heater. We live in Coastal Washington where it is pretty temperate most times but the temperature can get down to freezing at times. Sometimes it will even get lower than freezing for a short while. We do get times during the winter when we will want to use it, either for guests or to go camping as we can have those stray balmy days where it will be in the 60's and nice. So my questions to all the experts out there is do we need to winterize and if so what do we need to do? We own a 2014 Winndebago Minnie TT with fully enclosed underbelly with ducted heat in the underbelly. Thanks in advance for any insights or help.

[palehorse89]

As long as the heat stays on when it gets below freezing and it stays warm inside (40 deg.) you should be ok. Just like using it in cold temps. if it is kept warm things won't freeze.

[jesilvas]

27-32*F for a few hours is fine. That's how it is in East Texas.
Is your underbelly enclosed, insulated, and heated?

[CampDaven]

You state that your rig has a "fully enclosed underbelly with ducted heat in the underbelly". This is good!

If it gets too cold outside, I would consider putting a shop light in the wet bay. Couldnt hurt.

[myredracer]

Yes, you should winterize. We're north of you just outside Vancouver. Pretty much the same climate and everyone here winterizes.

Even if you have a heated and enclosed underbelly (like us too) you still should. You'd have to keep your furnace running a lot to keep it warm underneath and you'd run up a pretty high bill for LP. The underbelly is heated by a run of ducting off the furnace. It's not exactly a high tech. design and it's not evenly distributed.

Some hardy folks camp in the sub-freezing weather but they have taken various steps to do this. For storage, I haven't read of anyone just keeping the furnace on.

TTs just aren't particularly well insulated for sub-freezing temps., unless you've got a 4-seaon insulation package. Your furnace will be running a lot just to keep even a minimum temp. inside.

For the cost of some RV antifreeze, that's going to be way cheaper than keeping the furnace going all winter. You can either blow water out of the plumbing lines with air or draw antifreeze into the lines. I use compressed air, but then I already have an air compressor. You can be fully winterized in about 1/2 hour and it's really quite easy to do. If you need info. on the procedure, just do a search here or ask.

They are predicting a big blast of cold weather and snow coming towards the coast this weekend so I wouldn't wait too long to winterize.

[Ray,IN]

I've been successful with this personal rule-of-thumb. When highs reach the 50's and lows stay above 27 the plumbing does not freeze in an unheated RV. Setting the thermostat at 45/50 should eliminate freezing, I would open drawers and cabinet doors for better air circulation to the plumbing.

[Tom3205]

If you are not using the trailer until Spring, then certainly you should winterize. A few bucks of "pink stuff" is cheap insurance. And it is not that hard/inconvenient to do.. And it will save a lot of LP. And if plugged in, a lot of electric too...

[TDI-Minnie]

Quick, cheap and easy. I winterize mine several times a season and use inbetween. I just posted a 101 writeup with pics. It's really easy and takes me 15 minutes.
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/wint...le-184071.html

[schrederman]

I live in Texas... I thought just draining and blowing it all out would be OK... I ruined a pump and my outdoor shower... The $15- I just spent on antifreeze is cheap, and it took about 20 minutes to drain the water heater, flip the valves, and pump in the antifreeze. You could be looking at a big repair bill if you don't. A little maintenance goes a long way, sometimes...

[jesilvas]

Air blowing is fine IF you run the pump dry with no water in the fresh tank AND blow out the outside shower, toilet valve, and all faucets.

[TDI-Minnie]

No matter how you winterize (air or antifreeze) remember that if you have a black tank flush, it is a completely seperate system that must be blown out, too!
Many people overlook this.

[Jmjtx]

Originally Posted by TDI-Minnie

No matter how you winterize (air or antifreeze) remember that if you have a black tank flush, it is a completely seperate system that must be blown out, too! Many people overlook this.

I read somewhere on this forum regarding winter camping about using windshield wiper fluid in the black water tank to flush and hold as it won't freeze and is cheaper than rv antifreeze. Not to be used in the lines to winterize as wiper fluid is toxic, but ok for boondock flushing. I also have always been told to leave some fluids in the holding tanks so the tank seals stay moist? Just my 2 cents. Safe travels and happy camping!

[jesilvas]

Originally Posted by TDI-Minnie

No matter how you winterize (air or antifreeze) remember that if you have a black tank flush, it is a completely separate system that must be blown out, too!
Many people overlook this.

The black tank flush is SUPPOSED to have a high point vacuum breaker to let air in the lines and drain them out. But, never hurts to blow some air.

[muelldawg]

Even in Phoenix we drain water from lines and tanks. One year we did not and kitchen faucet froze at top and toilet pump was damaged; all discovered on our first spring outing.