Partial Weatherization

[Streak]

Hi all.  I haven't posted in a long time but I changed equipment and now that my wife is retired we plan on heading out after Christmas for Arizona.  Can't take another MN winter!  We traded our small 5th wheel for a new 32' Keystone Sprinter, and upgraded our truck to a new Ram 3500.  Ya, shed a tear when I saw the dollars floating away!  Anyway, we usually store our RV in November but since we are leaving the end of December it doesn't make much sense to take it to the storage place for two months.  I don't have a problem winterizing the water and tanks but I don't know what to do with the roof.  Should I cover the whole thing and worry about taking all the snow off and the possibility of the cover freezing down or should I just cover the air conditioner? How about the vents and skylights?  Any advice on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

I could also use some advice on the best route.  We will be staying at Desert Gardens RV park in Florence AZ.  We will be going through Fargo ND and down I29, but from there we aren't sure what is the best way. Not keen on going through a lot of mountains. We were thinking about dropping down through New Mexico and going up through Tucson to Florence.  I would appreciate hearing from anyone with experience and a good route plan. Thanks

 

[Mud Puppy]

Four years ago in January I went from MN to Peoria AZ. I went down I35 into Texas and across I10 through Tucson. We hit a little snow in northern Texas and some ice in MS. The rest was just fine. Not sure about ND in Dec. or Jan. Good luck Cathy

 

[Streak]

Thanks for the info. We live in northern MN and Fargo (I29) is closer for us.  We are allowing time for the unpredictable weather.

 

[Mopar1973Man]

This is all I do to winterize... Just blow all the plumbing out and cover the tires.

 

[Rene T]

I leave to go south from NH the end of November. I watch the weather real close and if it looks like it's going to get real cold, I eikther just blow down my system or do the antifreeze thing. If I do the antifreeze, the day we leave, I add water to my fresh water tank and while we're traveling, I dewinterize using that water. I don't drink it but use it for flushing. I would not cover the roof with anything. Same with the air conditioner and roof vents. They'll take quite a bit of snow load. If you put a cover on and you get some freezing rain then snow, you'll probably have to cut it of. Just make sure you remove as much snow as you can prior to leaving.

 

[Becks]

Congrats on being able to head south for the winter. We're from MN also, but our last winter spent in MN was 2010. As others have said, just winterize, don't cover, then pick your best weather time to leave. If you run into bad weather just stop and wait it out. Enjoy.

 

[John From Detroit]

This is all I do to winterize... Just blow all the plumbing out and cover the tires.

First winter in MI.. I did the Pink Stuff in all the lines bit.... What a mess (poor design on the fresh tank made a real mess of it)

NEVER AGAIN

Second,third, forth.. What Mopar man did except I added Pink Stuff to traps and toilets.

Since then I have used the "S" method.. in this case upstate S.Carolina.  Full time.

 

[Streak]

Thanks for the info. Not going to cover it and will just take as much snow off as I can. We are REALLY looking forward to getting out of the cold this winter. 

 

[Roodie]

Is there any possibility you can take it part of the way there in October or early November?  Enough south that the weather might be less of a problem?

 

[Mopar1973Man]

This is all I do to winterize... Just blow all the plumbing out and cover the tires.

First winter in MI.. I did the Pink Stuff in all the lines bit.... What a mess (poor design on the fresh tank made a real mess of it)

NEVER AGAIN

Second,third, forth.. What Mopar man did except I added Pink Stuff to traps and toilets.

Since then I have used the "S" method.. in this case upstate S.Carolina.  Full time.

I blow out even the sink & tub p-traps as well and add many be about 1 ounce of pink to the toilet. Up here in Idaho I see temps around -25*F and it sure does freeze the pink stuff tight. I'm not going to risk my RV plumbing to some cheap pink anti-freeze. It takes a lot more to freeze air.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_air

 

[elliott-maine]

When my plumber winterized my house last fall, he told me too be careful when buying the pink stuff.  The cheaper varieties tend to have the chemicals that keep it from freezing volatilize, thus raising the freezing point of the antifreeze.  Just passing on what he told me.

 

[George_C]

I picked up my first RV this summer (an old Class C, but I assume my question applies to those as well as TTs). I've not been able to get it out for some learning trips, and the Ohio weather is going to require winterization soon.

My intention was to get a few local learning trips in, then head down to RV with my mom for a few weeks in October, but that's not looking likely.

So my question is: would I easily be able to winterize the RV, yet still head out in December? I'd be heading to Florida and then back to Ohio, so it would require re-winterizing. Since I've never even camped with the RV, let alone winterized/de-winterized one, I'm a bit overwhelmed with this new wrinkle to the plans.

Is winterizing relatively simple, something I could do on the road back to Ohio? When heading out with the winterized RV, when/where should I de-winterize it ? in cold Ohio, or on the road once I hit warmer latitudes?

Maybe it would be easier (and smarter) to just stay in Florida until winterizing is unnecessary

 

[HappyWanderer]

Winterizing your rig isn't a big deal, so don't change your plans based on that.

Winterize it now, or whenever you're done for the season, so you can figure out how it's done. The first time is always the hardest, it's very easy afterwards.

I'd leave everything in place for the trip south, and stay the first night at a campground with full hookups. Flush the system there, and continue on your way.

Winterize again on your last night on the way back home. Now that you know how, it should only take about 15 minutes.

 

[George_C]

Winterizing your rig isn't a big deal, so don't change your plans based on that.

Winterize it now, or whenever you're done for the season, so you can figure out how it's done. The first time is always the hardest, it's very easy afterwards.

I'd leave everything in place for the trip south, and stay the first night at a campground with full hookups. Flush the system there, and continue on your way.

Winterize again on your last night on the way back home. Now that you know how, it should only take about 15 minutes.

Many thanks. That makes me happy to hear. I think I build up a lot of the unknowns in my head! I was imagining it being more involved and a bigger headache.