I'm depressed!

[labontefan]

I winterized my pop-up today!   No more camping trips till at least March!  

It was rather an educational experience though. I learned where the drain valves for the hot water tank and the holding tank are. And I learned that your pop-up looks a lot different when you're lying on your back looking underneath it! LOL!!

I found out how to disconnect the hose from the outside shower--and learned that you should probably drain the water from the hose before you hold it up to look at it! Otherwise you get get big wet spots on your blue jeans!  :p

I think I did everything I was supposed to do...drained all the tanks, put the bypass on the lines to the hot water tank, poured RV antfreeze into the holding tank, and ran the faucets till pink stuff came out! Also turned on the faucets for the outside shower--a rather messy procedure since I had already taken off the hose. But after a moment or two I had a nice little pink fountain going, so the shower lines should be winterized also!

We found some plastic underbed storage bags at Wal-Mart and used those for the pillows, blankets, etc, that will be staying in the pop-up. They fit pretty nicely in the dinette seat storage compartments. Also bought some of the cedar blocks and cedar marbles that you use to keep moths out of your closet. Tucked a couple of the blocks in the bags with the bedding and scattered the marbles in all the various storage compartments. If nothing else, they should keep the bedding from getting a musty smell.

Took all the food out. Brought the TV, microwave, and other things that might not like the cold into the house, along with the battery. Also removed the propane tanks and stored them in an outside utility building.

Propped open the refrigerator door, and left a container of Damp-Rid sitting inside the camper door (where I can check to see if it need to be emptied).

Based on tim5055's suggestion, I sprayed some WD40 on the threaded rods for the stabilizers. They sure did crank back up a lot quicker!

After we got everything locked up and put away, I gave the pop-up a hug and told it to have a nice winter!  

Did I forget anything???

[Gone-Camping]

Well, no more camping, and by your screen name this must be a double whammy as after Sunday, no more NASCAR either!!!! Double bummer!

[SheBantam]

I had not yet winterized, we were going to go to Myrtle Beach for Thanksgivng, Jeffrey has been suspended 3 times so far and his grades leave much to be desired...even though at his age and camping with mom not being cool and all that, camping for a week would be punishment...we are not going.  Bummer

OOPPS, last night it got below freezing, well below...camper NOT winterized. How fast can you find the adapter to plug into the house? Empty the water heater, move the coolers to dig out the ceramic heater, re-move the coolers to prop the bathroom door open? Try everything in less than 10 miinutes at about 10:30 PM.

I guess my camping season is over too.

Shhhh, don;t tell the grown kids we will be home for Thanksgiving... I already have people inviting themselves over for Thanksgiving and the long weekend.

[labontefan]

"Well, no more camping, and by your screen name this must be a double whammy as after Sunday, no more NASCAR either!!!! Double bummer!"

You are soooooo right there, GC!      Definitely a double bummer!! Guess I'll have to actually think about things like housework, etc., now. No more excuses!  LOL!!

[byrdr1]

labontefan ,
You will have to make plans to go to Rockingham the last weekend in Feb.2004
That would get your camping season started a little earlier.
We missed the Rocks last fall race, I am headed for the beach Thanksgiving and I couldn't see spending that extra money at this time of the year.
But I will be saving all winter and looking forward to the Rock in the spring?? Spring maybe late winter is more like it.
If the weather is right I may go! It will be a long winter without Na$car. But having #17 win the last WINSTON CUP championship is cool cause he drives for co-owner Mark Martin...
Buy the way I met labontefan at the last race in Charlotte..
 
see yah,
randy

[tlhdoc]

It sounds like you did everything to winterize the trailer , and now you can join the rest of us in the north that have already tucked the PU away and are now dreaming of camping. :S

[labontefan]

I'd love to go to Rockingham...just wish the date was litte later! Camping at Bristol in late March can be enough of a challenge! We were tent camping there in the spring (?) a few years ago and the temperature dropped into the teens at night! We had a couple of the Black Cat heaters, but I think all they did was raise the temps in the tent up to the low 20's!  :p

And to show you how crazy I really am--I only live about an hour from Bristol! I could have been all snug in my own bed, but I was sleeping on a cot in a tent (under a regular sheet, a flannel sheet, a cotton thermal blanket doubled over, a flannel comforter, and three afghans)! I stayed warm...but I couldn't move!


Yes...forgot to mention that I met byrdr1 at Charlotte! I was sitting in front of the popup one evening and saw two guys walking down the roadway between the campsites. One of 'em stopped and was looking at my Durango. I thought he was looking at my license (which reads "18FAN5"). Then he walked over and said, "Don't you post at Pop-Up Times? You have to be labontefan!" He said he remembered I was from Virginia, had a green Durango, and went to the races at Charlotte. When he saw the green Durango parked next to a popup with the VA license and read the license, he figured it was too much of a coincidence to be anyone else! LOL!! (And if'd he looked under the bunkend at the trailer tongue, he'd have seen a PUT bumper sticker!)  

[vjm1639]

Ours is getting winterized on Friday.  We've had a couple of record lows for November here so we decided we had better not risk it any longer.  We're having it done where we store the popup. They charge $85 but that includes a month's free storage which is $45....so..it actually is only $40. Still seems like a lot to me, but, we have no place to do it ourselves. No power at the storage lot so...I guess they'll have to do it so that it actually gets done.  
 
It seems sad...but we will still camp if we have some decent weather on a free weekend.  We'll just use water like we did in the not so far ago tenting days!  :>