Winterizing a MPG. A few questions

I watched a few video's on youtube the last week and thought most were the same so I figured the MPG would be simalar.I was wrong. How do i add anti-freeze? I removed the hatch where I can see the pump but I could not see any valves to turn off? Is there any valves to turn off on the MPG pump?
I see a white piece of hose from the pump. I thought it was a hose where i could put my jug of anti freeze? Is it?
Can you guys help me out with this process?
I wish there was a step by step manuel for doing this?
Thanks.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Quick answer....no. You will not be able to get all of the anti-freeze out of your freshwater tank.
I am not familiar with the MPG but if it does not have a winterizing suction tube you can purchase a winterizing bypass and install that. Cheap and easy. I did that at one time on a previous camper.

Peace
Dave
 

brains77396

Active Member
I have a MPG 186 but I would think all are basically the same. On the right side (door side) right in front of the axle, are two petcocks. That is the low water point of your trailer. Open all the faucets in the trailer and then open those two petcocks. That should complete drain the water from your trailer. If you get all the water out, you do not need antifreeze. This was pointed out to me be the tech when we were doing a new buy walk-through.



I watched a few video's on youtube the last week and thought most were the same so I figured the MPG would be simalar.I was wrong. How do i add anti-freeze? I removed the hatch where I can see the pump but I could not see any valves to turn off? Is there any valves to turn off on the MPG pump?
I see a white piece of hose from the pump. I thought it was a hose where i could put my jug of anti freeze? Is it?
Can you guys help me out with this process?
I wish there was a step by step manuel for doing this?
Thanks.
 
I have a MPG186 ,but I assume they are all very similar. Look on the right side (door side) right in front of the axle. There you will see two petcocks. These are the low points of the water system. Open all the faucets in the trailer and then open the two petcocks, one hot, one cold and this should drain all the water from the system. These are not to be confused with the petcock on the driver side which only drains the freshwater tank. I suggest that that be drained first. After it has finished draining, run the water pump 2 or 3 seconds to clear any water in the pump. Should remove all the water negating the need of antifreeze.
Ahhh i was thinking this and drained the water like you said earlier today. I often wondered if i needed anti-freeze after this.
Thanks brains77396.
 

Ethan

Member
I am new to the RV world. I just purchased an MPG and love it. I am trying to figure out the winterizing. Is there anyone out there that would be willing to put together a step by step manual for the MPG. It seems as though the How to's out there are for larger and perhaps more complicated RVs.

Thanks
 
I am new to the RV world. I just purchased an MPG and love it. I am trying to figure out the winterizing. Is there anyone out there that would be willing to put together a step by step manual for the MPG. It seems as though the How to's out there are for larger and perhaps more complicated RVs.

Thanks
You would think a step by step manuel on winterizing would come with different rv models. It sure would help out the new guys like me that is for sure.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Today, I received a basic winterization process document from Heartland Customer Service. It is not specific to MPG but it may help. I have placed this PDF file as a link in the Winterization "How-To" on the Heartland Owners Wiki. Click here to see that Wiki page.

Jim
 
I see a white piece of hose from the pump. I thought it was a hose where i could put my jug of anti freeze? Is it?

Yes, that is the hose that you want. You just have to turn the valve to the open position, and use the pump to suck it through the water lines. I have the MPG183, I had to unscrew the wood panel under the left side of the dinette to get access to the bypass valves of the hot water heater. You would think Heartland would make it easier?
 
I would definitely circulate some antifreeze throughout the system. There is water still lurking in a lot of places even after using the low point drains. For example : the toilet, the shower nozzle hose, in the holding tanks, and in the traps of all the drains. There is a antifreeze feed tube and valve on the pump for charging the lines with antifreeze. Splash some antifreeze into each holding tank and drain as well. Also the hot water heater tank needs to be drained. Use a 1 1/8" socket to remove the plug and drain all the water. Two jugs of antifreeze should do it.
 

Tumblebug

Well-known member
If you release the pressure relief valve on the hot water tank, you can get most of the water out of the tank with the low point drains. If not when you pull the plug, it will not drain very well until you release the valve to give it some air. The pump is difficult to access and the by pass for the hot water tank is under my dinette on my MPG 183. Screwed down of course.
 

Flapwing

Member
We have a 181... where is the hot water heater bypass? The HW tank is next to the furnace which is accessible under the queen bed but the HW tank only has access from the outside panel.
 

Tumblebug

Well-known member
It's probably under the bed. Mine was covered with ply wood that was screwed down into the supports. Had to remove the screws to be able to lift up the plywood to access the water heater.
 

kb0zke

Well-known member
Yes. You have to take out a couple of screws on the street-side plywood panel. Lift up the panel and the hot water heater is there. There are three valves, and you will need to turn all of them the other way. Then next spring you have to reverse the process.
 

GaryBJ

Member
I am new to the RV world. I just purchased an MPG and love it. I am trying to figure out the winterizing. Is there anyone out there that would be willing to put together a step by step manual for the MPG. It seems as though the How to's out there are for larger and perhaps more complicated RVs.

Thanks
I agree Ethan. I am a recent owner of an MPG also. I did see several other requests suggesting a owners manual for the MPG. I think it would really be helpful. There is a lot of things that are different between the MPG and the larger rigs.
 

Spanky

Member
Heartland should have a owner's manual for the MPG dealing with these issues and others. Is there a site from Heartland to download a manual of any sort? I recently purchased a MPG and there is no manual provided. It certainly would be helpful.
 

JayD

Member
We just bought a 2011 MPG 185. We picked it up and then did a tour of 11 days in it. It was a crash course on how-to do just about everything. You sure learn a lot on the road living in a trailer you know little about! Where we were the weather was good/warm but we live in snow country and we are home now. The Owner's Manual provided by Hearland which I downloaded from the site, is good but not MPG specific and therefore lacking for virgin RV owners like us. It took us 3 days to figure out how to get hot water when we bought it and another couple of days to figure out how to shut down/drain it when we got home. But we got there. This forum is a blessing because every time I need to figure something out that is not in the manual, I do a search here and learn how it is done. So thanks to everyone for your input on all things.

I've drained everything, run the pump, got out as much water as I apparently can but I'm still not comfortable that it is a done deal. I haven't found where the pump is yet and that accounts for my lack of comfort ..... That is tomorrows task to look for it. Even if I get all the water out of hoses, hot water heater, pump, I still have the p-traps and I've put anti-freeze in them already. I'm glad someone mentioned the shower hose -- that it holds water -- I will make sure I drain that tomorrow, too.

By the way, my MPG's water heater and furnace is under the dinette/bed under a wood panel but it is not screwed down. It actually has a hole for your finger to lift it out. It's very easy to access. That is where the HW Heater bypass and hot/cold shutoff valves are located in my unit.
 
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