First Night Well Below Freezing

[suzhou]

Our trailer is in storage for the winter. A few weeks ago I pumped antifreeze into all the water lines and drained the water heater. This week we hit our first night time temps in the upper teens. Our lowest during the winter months can sometimes get to low teens or even barely double digit, but not for very long. I plan to go today and remove the battery, put it in my garage and connect it to a a trickle charger. Will make sure all the canned goods are removed and no water bottles or other liquids are inside. Anything else I should do? I can't think of anything else to do but wanted to check with the experts here. I don't plan to cover it for the winter but may put an AC cover on.

[oldmanAZ]

Did you put antifreeze...
- Into the p-traps in the drains?
- Through the toilet water lines?
- Through the outside shower?

Drain the fresh water tank?

We have vent covers so we leave the ceiling vents open.

Do you need to take steps to deter/trap/kill rodents?

That's all I got.

[troutslayer]

I also put a couple of those Damp Rid containers in there to keep the moisture down.

[suzhou]

Thanks - did all listed except not 100% sure I flushed toilet to get antifreeze in lines. I did pour some into bowl but will check lines when I'm there. Easy to see if they are pink. Don't believe I'll have a rodent issue but good point to check from time to time.

[suzhou]

I checked and I did flush the toilet when I put antifreeze in the lines. Easy to see the pink color in the plastic tubing throughout the trailer.

Question - what about the water in the line from the pump back to the fresh water tank? No real way to get antifreeze into this section of piping is there?

[bankr63]

Originally Posted by suzhou

I checked and I did flush the toilet when I put antifreeze in the lines. Easy to see the pink color in the plastic tubing throughout the trailer.

Question - what about the water in the line from the pump back to the fresh water tank? No real way to get antifreeze into this section of piping is there?

It should naturally drain back into the FW tank, but to be sure you can open both valves (FW and AF) in front of the pump, or screw the top off the strainer to expose that pipe to air.

A little bit (few ounces) of water in the FW tank isn't generally a problem as it has a lot of room to expand. I keep the FW drain cock open though in case any water settles into there after winterizing and then driving to the storage lot. I have had that valve leak come spring.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by suzhou

I checked and I did flush the toilet when I put antifreeze in the lines. Easy to see the pink color in the plastic tubing throughout the trailer.

Question - what about the water in the line from the pump back to the fresh water tank? No real way to get antifreeze into this section of piping is there?

No. After I drain the FW tank, I run the pump a few seconds so, hopefully, water in the pump will then be in the lines and the line to FW tank will be virtually empty. Actually, the PEX lines can stand the freezing water and a bit of water in the lines is OK. It's the fixtures and fittings that will break.