Hello All,
I bought a 2005 Fleetwood Bayside. I have had a few issues with it but hopefully all have been fix.. Including a replacement roof because of a manufacturer's defect. I had it winterized by the RV dealer last year but do not want to pay the $100 again. Does any know of a check list for the process to complete the winterize or where I can look for one? Thanks
Bob & Tina
Winterizing the camper is not hard to do.
Drain all of the water that you can from the water lines, tank and water heater. You need to bypass the water heater. Your water heater may have a permanent bypass on it or you may need to use the short sort of U shaped hose that came with the camper. They bypass stops water from going into the water heater. The bypass connects the incoming water line on the water heater to the out going line from the water heater, bypassing the water heater. If you have a permanent bypass just turn the handle(s). If not you unscrew the incoming and outgoing water lines from the water heater and connect them together with the bypass hose. Once the water heater is bypassed you can buy several gallons of pink rv antifreeze and pour a couple of gallons into the fresh water tank of the camper, of course after you have closed the water valve on the tank. Then pump antifreeze thought out the water lines until it runs pink out of the faucet. OR you can buy an RV antifreeze pump stick the end of the pump into the jug of rv antifreeze. Attach the other end of the pump to the city water connection and then pump the antifreeze through the water lines. You have to keep at least one faucet open at all times. When done pumping pour about 1/2 cup of antifreeze down each drain. If you the pour the antifreeze into the tank method there is one more thing you need to do. Take the screen out of the city water connection, push on the little plastic thing in the middle and some water should run out. The water system is now winterized. :)
Just as Tracey said. Just open each faucet until pink stuff comes out.
If you have a simple water system like my old Sedona (no hot water heater) you can get away with disconnecting and draining all lines and pulling the pump. My new Niagara has a much more extensive water system so I'm going the pink stuff route.
Quote from: rpstmsI had it winterized by the RV dealer last year but do not want to pay the $100 again.
That comes close to theft.
I noticed you are from Attleboro. Is that the Attleboro in Mass.? My Father's family lived there for many generations, and at one time owned every square inch of the land containing the TI/Metals and Controls facility.
I still have a small interest in land there, land that's been in the family since the 1830's.
Austin
Winterize Your Pop Up (http://www.popupcamping.info/Winterize.htm)
Thanks for the instructions. I just bought a 2007 Fleetwood Sun Valley and was looking for the same advice. One further question: do you also need to drain the water from the hot water heater?
Quote from: AquadogThanks for the instructions. I just bought a 2007 Fleetwood Sun Valley and was looking for the same advice. One further question: do you also need to drain the water from the hot water heater?
Congratulations on your new camper and welcome to PUT.
YES you need to drain the water heater.:)
Quote from: AquadogThanks for the instructions. I just bought a 2007 Fleetwood Sun Valley and was looking for the same advice. One further question: do you also need to drain the water from the hot water heater?
Yes, you would drain the hot water heater. It also needs to be bypassed, as in tlhdoc's post above. I would not, and have not ever, put antifreeze in my fresh water tank. It's really difficult to get it all out in the spring. Any leftover water remaining in the bottom of the tank after draining won't pose any problem at all. Same thing with the hot water tank. I unscrewed the inlet tube from the water pump and used that same port to pump antifreeze through the water lines. I believe a plastic or braided toilet fill tube fit the inlet port on the pump. I also believe I found one with a 1/2" treaded connector on the other end, allowing me to attach more tubing to make it easier to get the end of it into the gallon container of antifreeze.
Quote from: dthurkI would not, and have not ever, put antifreeze in my fresh water tank. It's really difficult to get it all out in the spring.
If you have never put RV Antifreeze in your fresh water tank, how do you know it is difficult to get out? Up until last fall that is the way I always did it. I used the trailer water pump to pump the antifreeze through the water lines. There isn't any problem getting it out either. Open the valve on the water tank and tow the camper a few miles. Any liquid in the tank will be gone. I open the valve when I tow the PU to the dealer over the winter for my annual service. This is also how I drain my water tank completely after each trip. The second way (no towing involved) is to tilt the camper so that the drain on the water tank is facing down. Drain as much antifreeze as possible and then add a few inches of water. If you do this several times you will get the antifreeze out. :)
Quote from: tlhdocIf you have never put RV Antifreeze in your fresh water tank, how do you know it is difficult to get out? Up until last fall that is the way I always did it. I used the trailer water pump to pump the antifreeze through the water lines. There isn't any problem getting it out either. Open the valve on the water tank and tow the camper a few miles. Any liquid in the tank will be gone. I open the valve when I tow the PU to the dealer over the winter for my annual service. This is also how I drain my water tank completely after each trip. The second way (no towing involved) is to tilt the camper so that the drain on the water tank is facing down. Drain as much antifreeze as possible and then add a few inches of water. If you do this several times you will get the antifreeze out. :)
Actually, I think I read it hear somewhere on this board, and have read it multiple times. It makes sense really. Why put antifreeze in a part of your fresh water system that doesn't need it? If the little bit of water in the drained fresh tank freezes, It has the space in the rest of the tank to expand into, resulting in no damage to the tank. Only freezing water under compression will damage anything. The tank is a low point, any water in the fill line will drain into the tank, as well as any water from the line that goes to the pump.
What you say about getting it out makes sense, but still is more work than necessary.
Quote from: dthurkWhy put antifreeze in a part of your fresh water system that doesn't need it?
Why, because it is the easiest way to pump RV Antifreeze through your water system. No unhooking plumbing lines to your water pump, no connecting a line to the water pump, no mess with water or antifreeze spilling out of the pump and lines when you take them apart. Just pour a couple of gallons of antifreeze into the tank, turn your pump on and open the faucets.:)
Quote from: tlhdocWhy, because it is the easiest way to pump RV Antifreeze through your water system. No unhooking plumbing lines to your water pump, no connecting a line to the water pump, no mess with water or antifreeze spilling out of the pump and lines when you take them apart. Just pour a couple of gallons of antifreeze into the tank, turn your pump on and open the faucets.:)
Guess it works for you. I think I'll keep my fresh tank fresh. At least we both winterize the lines with antifreeze, neither of us will encounter problems from freezing water in the lines, so the arguement's somewhat academic. I have heard of those who swear by simply blowing out their lines. Now there's a risky way of winterizing. Some water trapped in a line where compression can occur and your hunting for a break in your water line come warmer weather.
To winterize my PU I remove all food, clean it out really good and put it into the garage.
(I have a manual pump, don't use the onboard tank and I've never hooked up to city water. Makes winterizing ever so easy. :))
Quote from: dthurkGuess it works for you.
For years I poured antifreeze into my fresh water tank. Now since I do more cold weather camping and winterize/de-winterize the camper more than once a year, so I purchased a permanent bypass valve and an antifreeze hand pump. So now I pump the antifreeze in to the water lines through the city water connection.:)
Quote from: tlhdocFor years I poured antifreeze into my fresh water tank. Now since I do more cold weather camping and winterize/de-winterize the camper more than once a year, so I purchased a permanent bypass valve and an antifreeze hand pump. So now I pump the antifreeze in to the water lines through the city water connection.:)
I've thought of doing that myself. Of course, our winterizing this year is going to be much more complex than before. We'll be looking to do a dry camping experiment the weekend after Columbus Day, probably at Watkins Glen SP. That's our planned last gasp of the camping seaon, although plans can change. :) We'd be looking to winterize after that, so I've got a bit more time to think about it. If a practical winter camping opportunity materializes...who knows? :frosty: At any rate, I'm getting off topic.
How does your newer method get antifreeze into the water pump? That needs to have antifreeze in it, it's one of the most expensive parts of the system. I assume by bypass your talking about the water heater? Our new camper came with water heater bypass installed. I was thinking of using my water pump method, but the water pump is much less accessible in our new camper. I can get to a point where I can see it, but I may have to cut an access panel to work on it, then figure out a way to aesthetically remount it. If I do that (cut the panel), I may end up adding an accumulator tank to the system.
The manual pump is simple to use. The pump looks like a pump for putting air into balls, but it has 2 hoses. The hose off of the bottom goes into a jug of RV Antifreeze. The hose off of the side has a fitting on it to allow you to screw it onto the city water connection of the trailer. After the water heater is bypassed, open one faucet and start pumping. When the antifreeze comes out that faucet, close that faucet and open another one. Pump the antifreeze through all of the water lines and the water pump gets filled along the way. Pour some antifreeze down each drain so that the traps are protected. I have to add antifreeze to the cassette potty separately since it isn't connected to my water lines. If you have someone opening and closing the faucets it take just minutes to winterize the water system with the pump.:)
Quote from: tlhdocThe manual pump is simple to use. The pump looks like a pump for putting air into balls, but it has 2 hoses. The hose off of the bottom goes into a jug of RV Antifreeze. The hose off of the side has a fitting on it to allow you to screw it onto the city water connection of the trailer. After the water heater is bypassed, open one faucet and start pumping. When the antifreeze comes out that faucet, close that faucet and open another one. Pump the antifreeze through all of the water lines and the water pump gets filled along the way. Pour some antifreeze down each drain so that the traps are protected. I have to add antifreeze to the cassette potty separately since it isn't connected to my water lines. If you have someone opening and closing the faucets it take just minutes to winterize the water system with the pump.:)
So what about the 12 volt water pump in the camper. How do you get antifreeze into that?
Quote from: dthurkSo what about the 12 volt water pump in the camper. How do you get antifreeze into that?
Quote from: tlhdocPump the antifreeze through all of the water lines and the water pump gets filled along the way.
The water/antifreeze doesn't bypass the water pump when you are using the city water connection.:)
Quote from: tlhdocThe water/antifreeze doesn't bypass the water pump when you are using the city water connection.:)
Sorry, I missed that. Maybe I'll give that a try and see how it works. I would hope the same method would work on our camper. Our water system's a bit more complex now that it was when we started the year.
My toilet doesn't come off of the campers water system, but I have 3 faucets, water heater and 2 drains.:)
Last time my dealer winterized my pu. I'm also planning on winterizing the pu myself. QUESTION- I have been told to use my air compressor, attached to the city inlet line to blow out the excess water. Is this needed?
Thanks for all the past helpful input.
Quote from: outdoors5Last time my dealer winterized my pu. I'm also planning on winterizing the pu myself. QUESTION- I have been told to use my air compressor, attached to the city inlet line to blow out the excess water. Is this needed?
Thanks for all the past helpful input.
Some people blow out their lines instead of using antifreeze. I am not comfortable just blowing the lines out. If some water does pool in a low spot it could cause damage. One year I blew my lines out after I pumped antifreeze through the system. I couldn't see taking the time to do it after the first time. If you do blow your lines out make sure that you keep a faucet open all the time when you have air blowing through the water lines.:)
We blow out our lines to avoid dealing with the anti-freeze remnants in the spring. We used anti-freeze the first couple of years & have done without the last several, without any issues.
Sharon
Well thanks to all for the advice. It really is going to help me take care of the pop this year.
AustinBoston - Yes it is Attleboro MA.
Quote from: tlhdocWinterizing the camper is not hard to do.
Drain all of the water that you can from the water lines, tank and water heater. You need to bypass the water heater. Your water heater may have a permanent bypass on it or you may need to use the short sort of U shaped hose that came with the camper. They bypass stops water from going into the water heater. The bypass connects the incoming water line on the water heater to the out going line from the water heater, bypassing the water heater. If you have a permanent bypass just turn the handle(s). If not you unscrew the incoming and outgoing water lines from the water heater and connect them together with the bypass hose. Once the water heater is bypassed you can buy several gallons of pink rv antifreeze and pour a couple of gallons into the fresh water tank of the camper, of course after you have closed the water valve on the tank. Then pump antifreeze thought out the water lines until it runs pink out of the faucet. OR you can buy an RV antifreeze pump stick the end of the pump into the jug of rv antifreeze. Attach the other end of the pump to the city water connection and then pump the antifreeze through the water lines. You have to keep at least one faucet open at all times. When done pumping pour about 1/2 cup of antifreeze down each drain. If you the pour the antifreeze into the tank method there is one more thing you need to do. Take the screen out of the city water connection, push on the little plastic thing in the middle and some water should run out. The water system is now winterized. :)
***** CAUTION *****
Not sure if I did something wrong here but last night when I was winterizing my RV I completed the antifreeze stuff and remembered about the city water connection and the little plastic thing in the middle ... well, my little plastic thing did not want to be pushed in so I forced it ... guess what happend???? Ok ... it broke and this resulted in me taking a rather forceful shower of pink antifreeze shooting back out of the city water connection (thank god it's non toxic). So now I am in need of a new city water connection as this one is toast. My question is why did this happen, are not all of these meant to be pushed in????? I understand this is actually a backflow preventer, not sure if this last step is needed.
If there is water there and it freezes it can break your city water fill connection. I don't know why yours was hard to push. The water pressure of the hose is enough to move the piece so that water can fill the lines. Did you have any pressure in the lines when you pushed on it? Was the water pump running? Sorry that you have to replace the city water connection on your trailer.:(
Update - After removing the water line inside the camper that attaches to the city water connection we (DW and I ) were able to fix the city connection. DW on the inside and I on the outside .... now I feel stupid because the release valve does indeed push in very easily without the water pump being on. When I originally did this I had left the pump on and the water system was pressurized ... all makes sense now ..... be sure to shut off your water pump before attempting this last step. Lesson learned from a newbie. - lol
Quote from: kampingkogeUpdate - After removing the water line inside the camper that attaches to the city water connection we (DW and I ) were able to fix the city connection. DW on the inside and I on the outside .... now I feel stupid because the release valve does indeed push in very easily without the water pump being on. When I originally did this I had left the pump on and the water system was pressurized ... all makes sense now ..... be sure to shut off your water pump before attempting this last step. Lesson learned from a newbie. - lol
We call these SPUT's...Stupid Pop-Up Tricks. We've all done things like that (I tried to tow with the tongue jack down, and have banged my shin on both the hitch ball and the tongue
really hard). Only those who are very new (or liars) have never had a SPUT.
Austin
I have never thought to say that you shouldn't have any pressure in the lines when you drain the water. Sorry it happened to you, but you have brought it to everyone's attention. Like AB says we all have done SPUTs. Some of us have done a fair number of them.:yikes: