Winterizing advice

[Rapidly]

Can I just fill my popup's water system with RV antifreeze to winterize it? Or does it have to drained and blown out.

[bankr63]

Drain first so that the water in the lines does not overly dilute the anti-freeze. If you are planning to use anti-freeze, I would not bother with blowing out the system however. Don't forget to bypass the HW heater after draining but before adding the AF.

The process is pretty easy in a pop-up as the system is much smaller than a full TT. Our 1007 took a bit more than a half jug of AF. Ours also had no traps, so didn't have to worry about the grey water side.

[technicalspectical]

should we not put antifreeze in the hot water tank?

[GrumpyDad]

Don't put anti freeze in the fresh water or hot water tanks. Just drain these and that's sufficient.

When pumping anti-freeze, make sure to open any outside taps and low point drains, as well as pouring some in all drains.

[Rapidly]

So, if not by pumping from the freshwater tank, how do i get the antifreeze into the system?

[bankr63]

In most trailers you will find a hose with a ball valve just in front of the pump. There will be another ball valve on the hose coming up from the fresh water tank. Turn both valves 90* (closing off the the tank, opening the winterize hose). Stick the winterize hose into a jug of anti-freeze and turn on the pump to draw it into the system by opening the valves around the trailer. Again, make sure you have bypassed the hot water tank or you will draw gallons of antifreeze into the hot tank.

Read a bit more here on JOF. There are many detailed threads here on the steps to successfully winterize. It is not difficult or time consuming to complete, but there are lots of little tricks to learn to do it well. Best to spend a bit of time researching so you don't get caught in the gotchas. You are on the right track by asking questions.

[Rapidly]

Thanks all for the help. Finally figured it out and now that finally I understand how it works, it was easy! It's getting to understanding that's not easy; it's like trying to understand how to play Bridge when you've never played cards in your life. The thing that's so lacking in the manuals is a simple, easy to understand diagram like the one the dealer finally gave me. Instead the manual refers to generically to valves (and there are half a dozen or more, none labeled) with a photo that looks like it's been been photocopied too many times; can't see a thing in it.

If the manual would just say something like "sure you can take it into the dealer and pay 150 bucks to have them blow it out, but it's much easier and just as effective to just close these valves (and here's a picture of exactly where they are), stick this hose (again with a picture) into a two-dollar jug of antifreeze, turn on the pump, and run both hot and cold taps until the water runs pink." So simple once the picture is clear.

[Rapidly]

Just one of the many things about trailering you have to learn the hard way...

[bankr63]

Sure, but if the manuals were so great, this forum wouldn't be half as good.

I have learned that hitting the search button up in the top bar and typing in a couple of relevant terms will bring me to much more detailed information often with pictures as well.

There are a few really good winterizing threads here on JOF. The hardest part is probably understanding the difference between your trailer and the instructions. A pop up is the easiest, but if your trailer grows, so will the process. Eventually you may find yourself trying to figure out the best way to winterize the ice-maker on the fridge (which you can find here on JOF too BTW!)

[Isaacs]

I can get a lot of the water out of my system just by letting the pump draw in air from the empty fresh water tank. I do this before sucking in the pink stuff (always use premium, nothing with ethanol in it). Then I do the same thing and blow a lot of the pink stuff out when I'm finished winterizing--just makes me feel better knowing there's a lot of air in the lines. This also forces more pink stuff down the drain into the traps.