First Winter Prep Question

[Bilgerat]

We are going on our 4th FTing month . The house has not sold yet so, we are going to winter here in Southern Maryland. I have done the following things to get myself prepared:
1. Read my Fleetwood Owners Manual for winter operation.
2. Read the rear heater winter operating temp guide, Min heat settings for outside air temps.
3. Talked to the other Full Timers here.Lots of good advice.
4. Purchased a heated city water hose. And a "Poop Chute", to remove "P Trap" in sewer hose. Also have been leaving the Grey Valve closed so we can establish a dump schedule. Purchased ceramic heater 110 volt to help save on propane.

My Questions are:
1. Am I Missing Something?
2. From Fleetwood Owners How Effective Is The Heating System For The Waste Tanks & Plumbing???
3. I get mixed answers in the CG (None Are Fleetwood MH Owners), should I drain the Fresh Water Tank??? I am not going to travel. And If I Drain It, Should I put A Gallon Of RV Pink In Empty Fresh Tank???
4. When it snows/freezing rain; SLIDES IN OR OUT? I am thinking SLIDES IN. (Again this is where I am getting mixed answers here in the CG.)
5. Do any of You dump a small amount of RV Pink down a fresh drain to treat the waste valve in the Grey & Black tanks when you empty them???
6. I have an indoor/outdoor electronic temperature gauge, (where on my Pace Arrow would You recommend I place my remote sensor to determine if my basement heater is effective? NOTE: manual says I have 4 ducts under coach. I have only identified 1 in the back of my Service Bay.

The hard winter weather typically is Jan-Feb (temps highs 35-45 & lows high teens to mid 20's, with typical high winds in March but with warming weather. I know this as I have lived here since December 1997. (But In A Sticks N Bricks).
Also this part of the CG is Full Timers Only. Most only move their RV once a year. The annual migration is every September. I am kind of odd man out
as I am doing 30 days at a time and will be very migratory once the house sells.
Any And All Advice Will Be Most Welcome.

[Ray,IN]

Read this link: Winterizing the RV. This applies if you are not going to live in the RV of course. NEVER pour RV anti-freeze into the fresh water tank, drain it only. When you use the LP furnace (s) they also heat the holding tanks, so no need to winterize them. If you have water lines in the RV near an outside wall, leave cabinet doors open to allow warm air to circulate around the water lines.
Condensation inside the RV is a big problem when in use during cold weather. Monitor condensation on windows and open a roof vent a bit to allow it to escape when cooking or bathing. You'll be surprised at the amount of moisture in the air simply from you breathing.
Drain the outside shower hose and head or it will freeze.
I would draw the slides in when it snows or ice falls, otherwise it might melt slowly and run under the seals and saturate something that is supposed to stay dry.
I'll stop now, others will be along soon with more suggestions and advice.

[Bilgerat]

Ray,IN

Yes I am living in my RV and will be I hope for years to come. It was not my intent to be here past Halloween, But have had unexpected problems getting the house sold, "So Close, Yet, So Far Away! That said, house is empty, "FOR SALE" sign is out, and we play the waiting game. We spend a lot of time planning on places to visit during the winter, AND NOT ONE LOCATION HAS SNOW!
Also the Full Timers Here have lived "Here For Years"!
My RV expertise is: 1985 - 1990, an 18 year old 18' Nomad TT, I lived in Southern California and never needed to winterize. Like I said I have been Full Timing since July 27th of this year! Most of my RV education has been here at irv2, and YOUTUBE RV How Too Videos.

So Ray I agree 100% with you "Slides In", would you recommend I drain my Fresh Water Tank? If so should I leave the valve open until I'm ready to re-fill and hit the road? FYI, I do drive the RV "every 30 days" to refill my Propane, lube & cycle the hydraulic levellers with grease & silicone spray, and I hope to keep "Annie" road "Worth & Ready"!
As of yet although most of Maryland is in or near freezing, here at the southern part of the Chesapeake Bay temps are steady at about 38 degrees for the low. And day time temps have been in the 70s .
Thanks Again, I Always Welcome Any & All Advice.

[Ray,IN]

I would drain the fresh water tank if it is unused. Close the drain valve afterwards (as with all drain valves) to prevent critters and dirt from entering the tank. A small amount of water will remain in the tank if the drain opening is on the side instead of directly in the bottom, do not concern yourself with that freezing because it is not enough to be a problem. It will simply hump-up near the center when it expands. This same thing happens with RV water heaters in storage, and is never a problem.

[patterbery]

In order to keep the waste lines open folks in our park encase the slinky hose inside 4" PVC pipe. I'm told it provides enough insulation to prevent freezing. We'll see.
For easy storage in the basement, I've cut the 10ft stick into two foot pieces. To each piece I glued a union to one end. I place the pipe end to end over the hose. I pitch the pipe with 2x lumber. Again, we'll see.
I guess I've got more to learn about winter ops though. Woke up this AM to a frozen drinking water system. Coffee was delayed. The hose is heated but the inline filter wasn't. Got it thawed out with a hair dryer then I bought a "milk house" space heater and put it in the water compartment to keep things warm. Let's see, that would be experiment #3.
Updates when they happen.

[Bilgerat]

Thanks again Ray, will drain FW today. I just decided to contact a propane delivery company here for regular deliveries. Since cold weather is a temp situation for us didn't want to spend the money for a "Buddy Tank".
Howdy KilroyWelcome to the not so fun side of RV'ing, "Winter Ops".
A guy recommended I put my filter and regulator in my Service Bay, which I did so that will be heated by my rear propane heater. I am going to place a 60 watt light under my rig but away enough not to heat damage anything. Should help keep the frost moving,
"I Hope".
Oh just a Tid Bit of opinion, there are different classes of Full Time RV'ers;
1. What I always thought of were "Road Ramblers", travelling with their Hearts Desire.
2. Here where I'm at, we have the "Damn Close To Permanent". AC units mounted in the side if TT's, in removed window. Full size decks, S&B room additions. Slides that wont or can't retract any more. Trust me the list goes on & ON!
So as the saying goes "That Dog Wont Hunt", Cuz It Broke The Chain And Is Running Free!!!

[patterbery]

Hey Chuck? I feel better now that I'm not the only one with MH issues.
Last evening my lack of planning became painfully evident. I allowed the propane to run out. Yeah, NO HEAT, upset wife. My first act was to call a local propane supplier. On the third call I found one with a standby driver. His company policy was that he couldn't deliver to a MH. I would have to drive the coach to his shop 15 miles away to get 21 gal of propane at the cost of $275. Well, that didn't happen. I discovered our parks owner in the office doing paper work. He opened his pump, I moved the coach, propane serviced, coach reparked, heaters started, wife less upset.
This story leads me to a question. Will your local propane service deliver to your coach? I've got to figure out why mine woun't. TTFN

[Bilgerat]

No Heat. Zikes! $275.00!?!
Wow what a rip-off. I was running paperwork yesterday morning with Taylor Gas. They deliver every Thursday, but coming today as the truck is in the area. With us being migratory "no local address" we had to leave a credit card on file. Cost at ACE to fill our 24.2 gal tank was $28.00,@$2.70 per gal 2 months ago. Taylor charged this morning; $75.34 for 12.2 gals. Cost @$4.95 per gal but they charge a $20.00 delivery fee and a TAX Surcharge. So to save me from driving it cost about $50.00. I am just glad this will be a temporary situation. I don't know how rapidly I will use up the propane. So this could become very expensive.
I don't know if anyone has reminded you to use "Slide Seal Lube" on your seals, it makes a HUGE difference, 100% silicone spray for lubricant on awning tracks, locks, and the recommended lube for your Kwikie Steps. "Do Not Use WD-40, it causes more problems than it fixes. Now what I do love using WD on is; duct tape glue, oil based road grime splatter.
DW is going to post a pic of winter from the Sticks N Bricks.
Just remember, "Stay Motivated", and "Try To Smile When You Pull A Boner", You will hopefully survive to laugh about it around the campfire later.

[fleurdalune]

This is what it is like here in January and February, hoping we are gone before then.......