Winterizing

[palehorse89]

Hello, we have just bought a 2000 mountain arie in the spring and had a great summer with it. It was our first motorcoach. I am storing it in a heated garage for the winter. My question is do i have to do anything to the coach other than shutting off the propane tank and batterys?

["007"]

Welcome palehorse89 to irv2.
Congrats on your MA many more enjoyable safe years for you.
As long as you will always have heat in garage you should be ok. I would drain all tanks and get new filters for next year or for trip south later this year.
If you have 110 outlet in garage I would leave coach plugged in never know when you may want to make a quick getaway. If you have wet cells just watch the water levels.
Come and join us down in Newmar forum and the link below will get you to some Quick Tips & Mods some of us Newmar owners have done to their coach's and some links to a full winterizing.

[TW]

You are LUCKY... a heated garage?!!
Never was soooo lucky !!
This what I would do:

Maybe take the MH once a month ( on a nice day) out and do about a 30 mile trip or so.

Otherwise keep it clean and waxed, change all fluids, Gen service etc., keep tire pressure up.

"Heated" RVgreetings
TW

[Rockhouse]

Mine sits inside, too, although the steel "barn" is not heated it is insulated and does not freeze even if the outside temperatures briefly do. I leave the MH plugged in only part time to avoid battery damage since I do not have one of those new fancy smart chargers. I also drain the heater and pump in the anti-freeze to the water lines . . . just in case. Cheap insurance against unusual and unexpected terrible weather.

[Jeff_in_The_Dalles]

Not a bad idea, IMHO to dump the hot water heater and other tanks, and blow out the lines. If ever there was a power failure or you wanted it outside to do a project... plus less likely to have something grow if it's dry.

Anyway, enjoy the RV, and welcome to the forum.

[palehorse89]

I HAVE READ IN DIFFERENT FOURMS THAT IF THE GARAGE IS HEATED LEAVE THEM FULL LESS CHANCE OF THINGS GROWING? WHEN YOU DRAIN YOU TANKS I WOULD THINK IT WOULD STILL BE WET IN THE TANKS OVER THE TIME OF STORAGE AND THAT IS WHEN THINGS GROW. WHEN YOU DRAIN YOUR TANKS FOR STORAGE FORUMS TELL YOU TO BLEECH YOUR TANKS BEFORE USE(TO KILL THINGS THAT HAVE GROWEN OVER THE STORAGE MONTHS) I AM STILL THINKING ABOUT WHAT TO DO. MY GARAGE IS LARGE ENOUGH THAT IT WILL NOT HAVE TO MOVE ALL WINTER UNLESS I WANT TO USE IT, THANKS FOR ALL THE REPLYS

[Jeff_in_The_Dalles]

I don't think it matters hugely one way or the other, but if I'm not going to use the rig for a while personally I prefer to drain it out.

You are right, there will still be some water in the bottom of the tank and in the lines if you choose to drain them.

Either way (drained or not) when you bring the rig out in the spring, and every couple of months, you will want to sanatize the tank and water lines.

I like to use 1/3 cup bleach for every 30 gallons of tank capacity. That is plenty to kill anything, but not too much where it will be difficult to rinse out. Use cheap bleach with no purfume or color brighteners.

Let the tank fill part way with water before adding the bleach. Then while the tank continues to fill I run each tap to get the solution in all of the lines.

Wait at least 4 hours, drain and rinse the tank a couple of times and run fresh water through the lines...

[J Walker]

When putting the MH away for the winter, it is a good time do some yearly maintenance. A yearly oil change is a good thing and not letting the old oil sit it the engine. There are a few other things to attend to on the chassis like lubing it. If you have the manuals for the MH develop a list of maintenance items and time intervals.