wintering in a whitehawk

[Kidd280]

upstate new york, snow belt.

if you were doing it, what would you think would improve the quality of life?

[schrederman]

Use the blow-out method and then pump antifreeze into it. If I lived where it gets as cold as it does in New York, I'd do it that way. Here in North Central Texas, I blow everything out and add antifreeze to the traps, and I have no problems. But when I lived in Clovis, New Mexico, I pumped in antifreeze. I don't think you can blow out all the moisture from these plastic fixtures good enough for a prolonged hard freeze. When I tried that up in that part of the country, I replaced the outdoor shower and bathroom fixtures because I found them cracked after the thaw. Never a problem pumping antifreeze... but not needed here unless the forecast says it's a long, hard freeze.

[Kidd280]

Originally Posted by schrederman

Use the blow-out method and then pump antifreeze into it. If I lived where it gets as cold as it does in New York, I'd do it that way. Here in North Central Texas, I blow everything out and add antifreeze to the traps, and I have no problems. But when I lived in Clovis, New Mexico, I pumped in antifreeze. I don't think you can blow out all the moisture from these plastic fixtures good enough for a prolonged hard freeze. When I tried that up in that part of the country, I replaced the outdoor shower and bathroom fixtures because I found them cracked after the thaw. Never a problem pumping antifreeze... but not needed here unless the forecast says it's a long, hard freeze.

I am planning to stay in my whitehawk all winter, just below Lake Ontario. We did a portion of the winter last year and fared well. Curious for anyone's ideas of tips and tricks to beat winter in a TT.

[schrederman]

Originally Posted by Kidd280

I am planning to stay in my whitehawk all winter, just below Lake Ontario. We did a portion of the winter last year and fared well. Curious for anyone's ideas of tips and tricks to beat winter in a TT.

Skirting of some kind will help. Even though the underbelly is closed, skirting will keep you warmer and using less electricity and propane. The two winter months I spent in a travel trailer I used hay bales for skirting, and sold the hay in the spring... I'm cheap... I used urethane foam (spray can foam from big-box home store) and sealed my current trailer up everywhere I could. I also use a heated hose in winter and keep an insulation kit for the water bib.

[jdorant]

Run a dehumidifier for less condensation and ice build up. I also used an electric heater in addition to the propane heat for more consistent heat.


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[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by schrederman

Use the blow-out method and then pump antifreeze into it. I don't think you can blow out all the moisture from these plastic fixtures good enough for a prolonged hard freeze. .

There is a lot of misinformation on this subject. A bit of moisture is not going to crack plastic in the RV. Its the expansion of water in a pipe that cracks it. As long as there is minimal [very minimal] moisture left in a pipe it will not cause a problem. A prolonged hard freeze vs a prolonged normal freeze doesn't make a difference since once water freezes it doesn't matter how low the temp might go.

I am in the camp of blowing out the lines and have been doing so for years without problems all in Northern Midwestern states. I have described my procedure many times on the forum so not going to repeat now. The key is to be careful and blow out each line one at a time and then do it again a second time. Key is to remember the toilet water line, the outdoor shower, and the water pump. I did kill my water pump last winter because on a re winterize after a short winter trip, I apparently forgot to run the pump as I was blowing the lines and left some water in the pump chanber. PS I also remove the flex line on the shower and the outside shower, open the flow on the hand wand and allow the water to drain from the wand.

There is nothing wrong with going the pink stuff way vs the blow method. You can run into problems either way if you are not precise in going thru all the fixtures. I do not like the smell/taste that seems to linger in the lines after you flush in the spring. I had to use the pink method on my houseboat and the only way to eliminate the smell/taste was to pour bleach into the fresh water tank and then flush it thru all the water lines.

Do it how ever you prefer. They both work just fine.