{More} Winterizing Questions

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johnshenry

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Oct 9, 2005
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I had a 26 ft class C in 2006 and winterized it successfully (compressed air) with no damage found in the spring
Googled RV winterizing checklists, read
Read some winterizing threads here
I blow out and maintain an extensive underground irrigation system here (12 years)
I live in MA, 3 mi from the NH state line it gets brutally cold here in Jan-Feb

So I made the city line to air hose fixture, blew they system out, opened all sinks, shower and toilet (no outside shower) removed air and pulled the plug on the water heater.  Don't have any anti freeze at the moment but can get some for the J traps.  Supposed to get to 27 degrees tonight.  Maybe just drain the traps?  Does the shower have a trap or does it just dump right into the GW tank?

My question is how to leave the valves.  I have always left every outdoor valve spigot open on my irrigation system on the advice if there is some water in there, and it does freeze, it has a place to go.  Do folks leave sink and shower valves open?  What about black and grey waste water?  I would think no on those as critters could go up in there and those tanks are big and empty and so what if a little bit of moisture freezes in them.

Battery?  Trailer is a 2013 Amerilite, don't have the inverter make handy, but I really think that no matter the advise that the battery is coming in my shop and will get a 12volt tender on it all winter.  Easy to take off the tongue and very exposed to the cold out there.  On the other hand nice to have 12volt power out there if I have to go out in the winter for something....

Speaking of critters, my wife was just getting some food prep stuff out and said she saw mouse dropping in cabinet and drawer floors. Ideas to keep mice away?  I heard peppermint oil works.  Soaked on something left in the cabinets?  Don't want poisons that can leave a dead mouse in there.  No idea how they are getting in, my underside is plastic screened front to back.  Ideas?

Am I forgetting anything??

Thanks
 
johnshenry said:
I had a 26 ft class C in 2006 and winterized it successfully (compressed air) with no damage found in the spring
Googled RV winterizing checklists, read
Read some winterizing threads here
I blow out and maintain an extensive underground irrigation system here (12 years)
I live in MA, 3 mi from the NH state line it gets brutally cold here in Jan-Feb

So I made the city line to air hose fixture, blew they system out, opened all sinks, shower and toilet (no outside shower) removed air and pulled the plug on the water heater.  Don't have any anti freeze at the moment but can get some for the J traps.  Supposed to get to 27 degrees tonight.  Maybe just drain the traps?  Does the shower have a trap or does it just dump right into the GW tank?

My question is how to leave the valves.  I have always left every outdoor valve spigot open on my irrigation system on the advice if there is some water in there, and it does freeze, it has a place to go.  Do folks leave sink and shower valves open?  What about black and grey waste water?  I would think no on those as critters could go up in there and those tanks are big and empty and so what if a little bit of moisture freezes in them.

Battery?  Trailer is a 2013 Amerilite, don't have the inverter make handy, but I really think that no matter the advise that the battery is coming in my shop and will get a 12volt tender on it all winter.  Easy to take off the tongue and very exposed to the cold out there.  On the other hand nice to have 12volt power out there if I have to go out in the winter for something....

Speaking of critters, my wife was just getting some food prep stuff out and said she saw mouse dropping in cabinet and drawer floors. Ideas to keep mice away?  I heard peppermint oil works.  Soaked on something left in the cabinets?  Don't want poisons that can leave a dead mouse in there.  No idea how they are getting in, my underside is plastic screened front to back.  Ideas?

Am I forgetting anything??

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi neighbor,
You may have some traps like these so there would be no need of antifreeze. https://www.amazon.com/HEPVO-BV1BUB112-1-1-2-TRAP/dp/B00NLMPLDU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477447815&sr=8-1&keywords=hepvo+waterless+trap

As far as mice, I've tried everything and nothing worked for me. The only way is mice traps.
Google the ultimate mice bucket trap.
 
johnshenry said:
Don't want poisons that can leave a dead mouse in there. 
Click to expand...

Hello,

I wanted to say that the standard poison kills through dehydration, and therefore the mice don't smell AS bad as one that died naturally--or by traps. I use live traps, but not in a MH. You would have to check it and thats not viable.
 
johnshenry said:
Does the shower have a trap or does it just dump right into the GW tank?
Click to expand...

Shower has a trap.  If it didn't, the smell in your RV would be unbearable.  Pink stuff down the traps and all will be well.
 
A single night that dips below freezing for perhaps an hour should not cause a major problem, if you haven't fully winterized yet.  Full freezing and expansion is more of an issue with hard freezes, when you are looking at all night or at least several hours below 32F.

Rather than retype everything else I just read/wrote in another winterizing thread, check out this conversation: ;)

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,99911.0.html

I think everything else you asked (including batteries and mice) is mentioned there too.
 
Usually the shower drain in a RV doesn't have a conventional trap like you see in the sink drains. They normally install traps that allow water to drain out of the shower but don't allow it to come back in from the tank when you're driving. These type traps dont have water in them and can't freeze. There is no need to put antifreeze in them.
http://www.rvpartscountry.com/Waterless-Trap-1-1-2Inch.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwqMHABRDVl6_hqKGDyNIBEiQAN-O9hO07aVIfSY-4dZWEsf18XZLTtl-KYzvdlEylPvjgNAYaAsfb8P8HAQ
 
bross said:
There is no need to put antifreeze in them.
http://www.rvpartscountry.com/Waterless-Trap-1-1-2Inch.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwqMHABRDVl6_hqKGDyNIBEiQAN-O9hO07aVIfSY-4dZWEsf18XZLTtl-KYzvdlEylPvjgNAYaAsfb8P8HAQ
Click to expand...

There must be a echo in here!!! ;D :D ;)
 
Oh I'm so sorry. I must read these posts more carefully. I would never want to post the same thing as a forum staff member.
 
bross said:
Oh I'm so sorry. I must read these posts more carefully. I would never want to post the same thing as a forum staff member.
Click to expand...

Better to be said twice, than not at all!  It's okay... just shows how equally smart we all are.  ;)
 
Better to be said twice, than not at all!  It's okay... just shows how equally smart we all are.  ;)
 
Two other questions:

To folks leave all the taps open?  Drain plug out of the water heater?

Also, when I was putting it back in its storage spot in my yard, I attempted to put the jacks down on one side to tilt it a bit to insure that water ran off the backside.  As I was doing that, it rolled back slightly (yeah, I hadn't chocked it, idiot move  :eek:) and one of the jacks folded under.  As long as it isn't too cold this weekend I'll take it off and either fix/replace.  But I had the thought that maybe it would be good to jack it on all 4 corners and just relieve pressure/contact patch on the wheels?  Its a tandem.  Does anyone do this?
 
Opening taps and removing plugs just allows for air to move in/out of the plumbing system, so it's not sealed... which could otherwise increase the amount of residual water expansion in freezing temps.

What kinds of jacks do you have on your Class C?  If they are hydraulic jacks (unlikely on a 26-ft) then sure, you can lift up the whole rig a bit if it makes you feel better.  If they are corner stabilizing jacks (often the hand-operated "scissor" style), those are NOT designed to support the entire rig.  They are just made to firm up the corners and prevent wiggle, when the rig is leveled by driving onto boards or other physical devices.

Preventing flat spots on the tires can be done a couple ways; you can inflate the tires to their max if the rig will be sitting still, or even better you take the RV out for a short drive at least once/month.  Just long enough to get up to running temperature.  That warms up the tires and circulates the rubber chemicals (the best way to prevent dry rot and prolong tire life), as well as warming/exercising all the other rubber parts and components of the drivetrain and suspension.

EDIT: just re-read your first post and realized you have a trailer now, and not the Class C.  Keeping the tires inflated to max is probably the best technique for tire maintenance on trailer tires, since short  You can cover the wheelwells with a board if there is any substantial amount of sunlight that hits your tires, to prevent UV damage.  But it's probably not a huge issue unless you live somewhere with high UV ratings in the winter months, which is rare anyplace that has actual winter weather.  ;)
 
To get water to run off the roof, just crank up the tongue jack a little.

There's no advantage to leaving the stabilizer jacks down. As you found, that leaves them prone to damage.
 
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