Winterizing a Red Hawk

[momperry]

My husband and I spent two hours winterizing our Red Hawk recently. There seemed to be a lot of air in the pipes. Any suggestions on how to speed up the process? Is the Jayco set up for an air compressor? We couldn’t find anything in the Owners Manual about using one.

[jimp]

You can use any size air compressor you may have but it needs a control valve on it to limit the amount of air going out of the air compressor, and into whatever you are attaching it to. Max psi for blowing the water lines out with an air compressor is 25-30 psi.

You can get an adaptor that screws into the city water inlet connection (where the fresh water hose attaches to the RV) like this https://www.amazon.com/Camco-Brass-C.../dp/B002XL2IEA
or one that has a short 3-6" hose but the same end connections as in the link.
Then just follow your manual, or even better, google how to use an air compressor and watch some of the utube videos.

It;s a bit confusing the 1st time, but keep good notes, write out a step by step checklist for next year, and it will be easier.

[Love To Travel 2]

I must add that to me, two hours is not a lot of time to spend winterizing a motorhome. If you rush through the process and forget one thing, like the tiny valve on the toilet, and it freezes and cracks, you now have a problem and most likely a huge bill at your dealers. I have always winterized our RV's, and it gives me time to check everything inside, outside, top, bottom, front and back, and I actually enjoy doing it. And there are always things that need tightened, or adjusted, or cleaned, or lubricated, or repaired, and this is a good time to do it.

I use an air compressor (30 psi MAX) to blow out the lines which takes time if done thoroughly, I drain the water heater, the fresh water tank, remove the whole-house filter, and a hundred other things, but I don't add the anti-freeze now. We keep our MH in southern South Carolina and use it during the winter, so unless I see that we are going to get some very cold temperatures, I don't use the anti-freeze. But if I do need it, everything else is completed, so I break out 2 gallons and suck it through the lines, which takes very little time.

Also, there are hundreds of posts and helpful comments from fellow RV owners on this forum that you can read. There is also a 17 page document done by an owner that details how he winterizes his MH. You don't have to follow it word-for-word, but it's amazing how I think I know it all, then I read something on this site and say to myself, "why didn't I think of that?"

Good luck!

[Jayco 24B]

What year is your model. The new models are very easy to winterize and it takes 10 min total. There is bunch of videos on YouTube and never be afraid to ask. This forum is like Facebook for some of us

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by momperry

My husband and I spent two hours winterizing our Red Hawk recently. There seemed to be a lot of air in the pipes. Any suggestions on how to speed up the process? Is the Jayco set up for an air compressor? We couldn’t find anything in the Owners Manual about using one.

There's a Hatfield/McCoy line over blowing them out with air or using antifreeze.


Since we know cold out here (it's going to break a record tonight at 7*F) I use antifreeze. Pushing the Pink Stuff through our Greyhawk takes me about 15 minutes.


Perhaps you could share with us what you're doing?
Then we can suggest ways to speed it up.

[jimp]

IF the HW heater and water pumps were in more accessible locations, it would be a 30 minute job total. The water pump is under the kitchen sink in our TT, door opening width is about 12" max, the HWH is behind a panel under the bath sink, and not terrible, but still. Decent instructions from the makers would be great too, but we all know how the RV makers feel about their customer base. LOL