How to Winterize an RV in 10 Easy Steps

Winterizing your RV comes with very simple, yet very important instructions. I will go into detail of How to Winterize an RV in 10 Easy Steps.

 

Water=BAD.

RV Antifreeze=GOOD.

That’s it! Article is DONE!

No, just kidding!

 

 

What Happens to an RV When Temps Drop Below Freezing

Water expands approximately 9% when frozen. As a result, you get broken or cracked waterlines, cracked faucet fixtures, a damaged water pump, and/or broke check valves on toilets (as we well know).

I used to use compressed air to get moisture out of the system and thought that was good enough. Consequently, a few years back, I took our old Sunnybrooke Travel Trailer out and hooked it up to a water source to find that to not be true.

 

 

I had checked all the sinks and outdoor shower and had no issues. When I went back outside to set up camp when we noticed it leaking under the Travel Trailer. Therefore, when I went back inside, I found the entire bathroom floor completely flooded and the valve on the back of the toilet spraying water!

I had no idea how or why this would have happened, so I went to the Dometic Site and looked at the valve. It is a very simple design, but it is plastic and since I didn’t get all the air out of the line, it froze as a result, creating the issue.

Hence, if I had taken the time to properly winterize with RV Antifreeze, I would have saved myself a lot of time and hassle!

 

 

Determining How Much RV Antifreeze You Need to Winterize an RV

First, it depends on your Make and Model. Next, it depends on how many water lines you have. Finally, you must determine how many gallons of RV Antifreeze you need to properly winterize the lines with that information that is specific to you and your RV.

 

 

Step 1 to Winterize an RV: By-Pass Your Hot Water Heater

The first thing you need to make sure you do is bypass your hot water heater. Generally, there will be 3 valves on the waterlines. The first will shut off the cold water entering the tank. The second will shut off the hot water leaving the tank if it was on. Finally, there is a line that links the cold and hot water together, which is closed while in normal use (hence the bypass valve). You need to open this line to allow the hot water heater to be bypassed.

What this does is it allows any RV Antifreeze entering the system to run through both cold and hot waterlines without needing to fill a 6–10-gallon hot water heater.

 

Step 2 to Winterize an RV: Determine What Line to Hook Your RV Antifreeze to

Now you must determine what line you need to hook your RV Antifreeze to. This may vary depending on the Year, Make and Model of your RV. For example, with ours, we just run a regular garden hose into our city water inlet, plumbed into a gallon of RV Antifreeze. We are then able to turn on our water pump which draws in the RV Antifreeze.

Next, I go to every piece of equipment in the RV to run water, making sure that every sink and low point gets RV Antifreeze to protect the P-traps (what prevents fumes from your tanks from coming back up) under the sinks.

 

 

 

Step 3 to Winterize an RV: Ice Maker, Washing Machine, and Dishwasher

Ice Maker

Most noteworthy, for those of you with ice makers, you will need to disconnect the ice maker and drain the line. You will have to read owner’s manual for your ice maker for more information.

Washing Machine and Dishwasher

Additionally, if you have washing machine or dishwasher, you will need to run them until it pumps RV Antifreeze out of the system, thus protecting the pumps from damage from water.

 

 

 

Step 4 to Winterize an RV: Exterior Low-Point Drains

On the exterior of your RV, you will have low-point drains. This will be a hot and cold-water side. The valves to open them may be inside the RV or they may just have caps on the bottoms of lines on the exterior. You need to open these valves or remove the caps until you have RV Antifreeze present. Then you can replace the caps and shut the valves.

 Just remember in the spring, you need to flush these with clean water!

 

 

Step 5 to Winterize an RV: The Hot Water Heater

Now we will turn our focus to the hot water heater. When you go to the outside of the RV and open the hot water heater door, you can see a plug on the bottom of the hot water tank that takes a 1 and 1/8” socket.

You need to unscrew this slowly because the system may have pressure (and can spray you down).

Do not, I REPEAT: DO NOT do this step of the hot water heater is on or has been on recently, as it needs to cool. Otherwise, YOU WILL GET BURNED!

When you take this plug out it will most likely have a rod attached to the inside that you have pull out. This is called the RV Water Heater Anode Rod. The Rods’ purpose is to protect the steel this from corrosion. There are generally two brands of Hot Water Heaters; the Suburban Anode Rod and the Atwood Anode Rod for 10 Gallon Hot Water Heater.

Once you pull this plug, it will allow the hot water tank to drain. You may want to flush your tank, but that isn’t necessary for winterizing an RV.

 

Step 6 to Winterize an RV: Outdoor Shower

Make sure if you have an outdoor shower, that you turn on the water valves allowing RV Antifreeze to run to them.

 

 

Step 7 to Winterize an RV: Drain the Fresh Water Tank

I wrote this article assuming that you would have already drained the freshwater tank, if not, now is the time to drain it. You don’t need to add any RV antifreeze to it, just make sure it’s drained completely.

 

Step 8 to Winterize an RV: Black and Grey Holding Tanks

Make sure that you have a decent amount of RV Antifreeze in your black and grey holding tanks with no water in them, just RV Antifreeze.

You are now done with the RV Antifreeze Winterizing an RV part!

 

 

Step 9 to Winterize an RV: Propane Tanks

Next, go to your propane tanks and make sure they are turned off!

 

Step 10 to Winterize an RV: Vents, Roof, and Slide-Outs

One last step that you need to take to prevent an unwelcome site in the spring is to check that all your roof vents are closed. Also, check any openings to the RV (like a range vent) and ensure it is closed. Additionally, be sure to check the caulking on the roof and slide-outs to ensure you don’t get any water damage through the winter months with the snow and ice!!

 

 

Conclusion of How to Winterize an RV in 10 Easy Steps

We hope that this information helps you to learn How to Winterize an RV in 10 Easy Steps! For more helpful tips, check out our article on 10 Tips on How to Protect Your RV with Proper Annual Maintenance and How to Go RV Camping in the Cold Winter Months!

.