Is there a comprehensive list for winterizing my particular jayco

[scottraycraft]

Having owned a pop up, I know the importance of rv intifreeze in the water lines, drains, pump, and fresh tank

Ive never winterized a trailer with grey or black holding tanks...
I want to make sure nothing freezes, expands, and breaks...seals, the valves...etc

emptying the grey and putting antifreeze in the tank is a no brainer
but should I open the valve to let some antifreeze run through the outlet, leaving the cap on..

and the black tank...once I empty it this weekend after use, do I simply flush some antifreeze down the toilet, leave some in the toilet bowl??
Lol...do not want a broken toilet next spring

[tnchuck100]

There is no need to put antifreeze in the black or grey water tanks. Just empty them. What little water remains has plenty of room for expansion and will not cause any damage. Just do not operate the dump valves until they have had time to completely thaw.

[MtnPlayVA]

We've never owned any type of RV so this is all new to us. We were thinking of paying to have it winterized but someone said it is over 300.00! Does that sound right and is it hard to do or is it something we (having no experience at all) could handle?

[tnchuck100]

$300.00 is definitely a dealer taking advantage (gouging) a customer who does not know what is done.

The cost should be $50 - $100 for a dealer to do it.

Look for YouTube videos. A lot will be learned. It is NOT difficult. It is, however, a meticulous process.

[mike837go]

X2 & X3 on the Youtube. Use your google-fu and read up a bit too.


A gallon or 2 of RV anti-freeze, some book-learn'n and an afternoon's trial-and-error.


You'll be an expert for next year.

[scottraycraft]

Its very easy to do
I would suggest researching it and making a to-do list you can print out every time

I have winterized my pop up for almost a decade and NEVER had a busted water line or damage due to frozen water

This will be my first time winterizing my trailer...its very similar to pop up
drain and bypass hot water heater (there are bypass valves, I know where mine are as I de-winterized it when I picked it up)
open up all faucets
run hose from water pump to rv antifreeze jug and turn pump on
make sure antifreeze flows from all faucets (hot and cold lines)
dump some antifreeze in fresh tank
I will put some in grey even though many think its uneccessary
still not sure what im gonna do with black tank, I don't want residule waste to harden

this is just the plumbing...you also need to remove all food so you don't attract rodents, I will leave fabric softner all over the camper...some swear by this, some say its useless...im gonna try it
I will remove the battery and take home, fully charge it and leave it over the winter

I am in Michigan and will store my trailer outside at a storage sight...will park it on wood blocks, remove battery, cover tires...

there is probably stuff im missing but im looking into it all now

[tnchuck100]

Originally Posted by scottraycraft

Its very easy to do
I would suggest researching it and making a to-do list you can print out every time

I have winterized my pop up for almost a decade and NEVER had a busted water line or damage due to frozen water

This will be my first time winterizing my trailer...its very similar to pop up
drain and bypass hot water heater (there are bypass valves, I know where mine are as I de-winterized it when I picked it up)
open up all faucets
run hose from water pump to rv antifreeze jug and turn pump on
make sure antifreeze flows from all faucets (hot and cold lines)
dump some antifreeze in fresh tank
I will put some in grey even though many think its uneccessary
still not sure what im gonna do with black tank, I don't want residule waste to harden

this is just the plumbing...you also need to remove all food so you don't attract rodents, I will leave fabric softner all over the camper...some swear by this, some say its useless...im gonna try it
I will remove the battery and take home, fully charge it and leave it over the winter

I am in Michigan and will store my trailer outside at a storage sight...will park it on wood blocks, remove battery, cover tires...

there is probably stuff im missing but im looking into it all now

As with the black and grey tanks, there is no need to put antifreeze in the fresh water tank. Just drain it. Leave the drain valve(s) open. What little water remains has plenty of room for expansion and will not cause any damage.

[SkyBound]

It is my personal preference to dump a gallon of antifreeze in both the black and grey tanks once winterization is complete. This will prevent the rubber seals from being exposed to dry air and potentially drying out. It also keeps a bit of liquid in the tanks which may prevent any remaining solids from hardening completely. It's the same concept of keeping a few gallons of water in the tanks in the summer between uses. I leave the fresh tank(s) empty and dry since there is no rubber valve seal as with the grey and black. The fresh tank uses ball valves.

I also go to the extent of blowing out the lines with a compressor at 45psi until the water is completely gone, and then using antifreeze. Even after "draining the lines" with the low point valves like you would typically do between trips, there is a considerable amount of water that gets pushed out by the compressed air afterwards. This water would dilute the antifreeze to a certain extent.

Make sure you push a bit of compressed air down the black tank flush line as well. This line holds water and you can hear it spraying out once the compressed air makes its way down.

Make sure you remove the little screen filter in the city water port and push that little white button in there while the system is pressurized. Stand clear of the spray! Water can get trapped in the hose leading from the city water port to the plumbing lines of your fresh water. This practice gets rid of said water.

Open your low point drains momentarily as well to allow some antifreeze to flush through those lines.

Do all of your faucets and toilet and don't forget the outdoor shower. Leave a bit of antifreeze in the toilet bowl as well to protect the rubber seal.

I use 4 gallons of antifreeze each time I winterize. 2 to push through the lines and 1 in the black tank, 1 in the grey. I make sure lots of fluid goes down each drain so the P traps are well filled with pure antifreeze. I could do it with less, but the peace of mind is worth the 20 dollars it costs me in fluid.

[scottraycraft]

There are low point drains in the back of my trailer...where do I access the valves for these...would they be by the hot water bypass valves?

[tnchuck100]

There should be labels on the outside "LOW POINT DRAIN". There should be two. One hot and one cold. They are usually T-type valves. You pull them up to open them. They should be located immediately above the drain tube protruding under the trailer. These are not part of the water heater bypass valves.

[SkyBound]

I think on your trailer they are under the rear bunk just above where those two drain lines come out the bottom of your trailer. They are a T handle on top of an elbow fitting. Just grab the T and pull up and then push it back in. It's about 1/2 inch of travel.

[SkyBound]

And make sure you take the plug out of your hot water heater too so it can fully drain. You can put it back in loosely afterwards to keep bugs and critters out if you wish.

[Crabman]

As you will see in this poll most JOF members find winterizing so easy they do it themselves. Also basic winterizing instructions and discussion:

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f1...12-a-9335.html

[Gone campin]

Like everyone said, do a little research and buy a couple gallons of RV anti-freeze... it's a piece of cake. Did mine the first time in about an hour last year.

[scottraycraft]

Originally Posted by SkyBound

I think on your trailer they are under the rear bunk just above where those two drain lines come out the bottom of your trailer. They are a T handle on top of an elbow fitting. Just grab the T and pull up and then push it back in. It's about 1/2 inch of travel.

excellent...thank you...

[scottraycraft]

any other winterizing tips?? Keep em coming if we missed anything

[Benjaminkell]

I'm about to take possession of my first TT, a 2010 28BHS. I've been reading all the various posts about Antifreeze vs compressed air. My question is about what setup you use for blowing out the lines. If I understand correctly, I don't want to use a traditional air compressor because of the oil right?

Some of the portable compressors that I've been looking at don't look like you can operate at a set PSI. (On that note, what PSI should I be working with?) What compressors are you guys using?

Any other tips if I go this route? Thanks from a newbie!

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by Benjaminkell

I'm about to take possession of my first TT, a 2010 28BHS. I've been reading all the various posts about Antifreeze vs compressed air. My question is about what setup you use for blowing out the lines. If I understand correctly, I don't want to use a traditional air compressor because of the oil right?

Some of the portable compressors that I've been looking at don't look like you can operate at a set PSI. (On that note, what PSI should I be working with?) What compressors are you guys using?

Any other tips if I go this route? Thanks from a newbie!

I use a small Porter Cable oil less compressor. I can set the line pressure (I usually go around 40 PSI) and I use a threaded QC on the city water inlet AND the black tank flush. I have one of those cheap white plastic fittings that I used exactly once; I recommend u don't even bother with it.

One of the Youtube vids on the subject, the guy uses a high pressure/high volume 12V tankless compressor (a Viair IIRC).

[Arctic Bos'un]

‘tis unfortunate that the manufacturer as well as the dealer are less than forthcoming about winterization. Makes one ponder another manufacturer and dealer when ‘tis time to upgrade. I saw nothing useful in the manual. The trailer tank and lines were not labeled.

I mistakenly thought that two of the aft low-point drains were inline valves, whereas contributors to this forum taught me that two of my aft low-point drains were push-pull petcocks. One would think that the manufacturer and the dealer would have pointed this out.

A little online research as well as helpful contributors to this forum have sufficiently educated me as to effective winterization techniques.

Attached are a hot water tank photo as well as a schematic that I found enlightening.

[bwalton]

I like to pour some antifreeze down the drains as well so that the traps have antifreeze in them rather than water.