Landmark/Bighorn/Big Country "Low Point Drains" - no longer offered
oppositelock
Member
Jarnold60
Here is the location for the "Low Point Drains" on my '08 3055. 18 inches (46 cm) forward of the steps is the "Low Point Drains" decal, but it sounds like your rig doesn't have the decal. From that point, the drains are on the far side of the I-beam which is approximately 18 inches from the side of the trailer. The drains hang down enough that they are visible and reachable. If yours are not visible, they might be short and blocked by the I-beam. You might need to do some crawling to reach them and pull them down for future access.
Hope things haven't changed since the '08 models.
Good Luck,
Jim
Here is the location for the "Low Point Drains" on my '08 3055. 18 inches (46 cm) forward of the steps is the "Low Point Drains" decal, but it sounds like your rig doesn't have the decal. From that point, the drains are on the far side of the I-beam which is approximately 18 inches from the side of the trailer. The drains hang down enough that they are visible and reachable. If yours are not visible, they might be short and blocked by the I-beam. You might need to do some crawling to reach them and pull them down for future access.
Hope things haven't changed since the '08 models.
Good Luck,
Jim
I crawled around underneath the rig, and I can't see anything except the one drain for the freshwater tank. The underside is sealed up with a corrugated material. Can someone from the factory comment and let us know if this year/model have low point drains and their location. Thanks.
(Combined double post by JimM)
(Combined double post by JimM)
Chuck Richard
Well-known member
Jarnold,
Checked under my '09 3055 over the weekend and did not see anything but the fresh water tank drain also. I am also very interested in a factory reply for this. I wonder if the plan is to have us all just pump the system full of antifreeze. I live in Oregon and have never done this since the cold spells here are short and not that bad. I have always used the air adapter and pushed the water out that way, would be nice to know if we do have low point drains though. I would hate to have to remove the underside covers to accomplish this. Hope the air works again this year on the new 5er.
Checked under my '09 3055 over the weekend and did not see anything but the fresh water tank drain also. I am also very interested in a factory reply for this. I wonder if the plan is to have us all just pump the system full of antifreeze. I live in Oregon and have never done this since the cold spells here are short and not that bad. I have always used the air adapter and pushed the water out that way, would be nice to know if we do have low point drains though. I would hate to have to remove the underside covers to accomplish this. Hope the air works again this year on the new 5er.
Shadowchek
Well-known member
I read somewhere in this forum that they discontinued the low point drains in the 09's
Greg
Greg
The scoop on "Low Point Drains" - they are gone.
Hi all and sorry for the delay in responding. As many of you know, Coley Brady is the Brand Manager for Landmark/Bighorn/Big Country. As such, Coley is the factory responder to the ATFs for those 3 brands.
This week, Coley is out of town and is unable to respond.
So here is the scoop on Low Point Drains for these 3 brands:
Short story:
We do not have them anymore. If your unit was "produced" in February of 2008 or later, it is likely you "do not" have them. This was a running line change.
Long story:
Historically, we have not had them. Based on customer feedback/requests, we tried it out. Later based on negative customer feedback, we decided to eliminate them.
The problem with them:
I do fully realize the benefits of being able to drain the water from your water system. The problem many owners experienced was freeze ups in cold climates. With a T in the hot and cold lines and a vertical drop of the lines to just below the underbelly and then a brass valve at the end - it was just a freeze up waiting to happen for those who full-time or extended camp in their units in weather that dips below 32 degrees for a day or more. Or even for those who "just got caught" in an unseasonably cold dip in temperatures for 1 or more days in an area that they did not expect this to happen.
Other solutions:
I am no expert on RV water systems and maintenance thereof and can only speak from my own short RVing experience and accounts I have been told and have read about from many others.
*Compressed Air
Using a Blow-out Plug (female hose threads to female valve stem threads adapter) to blow low pressure compressed air through the system is one method I have heard used with success. Air should still be able to push the water out of your system - even without low point drains. While some never use RV antifreeze when their air-clean-out method is used, I would still recommend using RV antifreeze afterwards.
*RV Antifreeze
The use of RV antifreeze is what I am most familiar with and is what most RVers use that I have encountered. By bypassing the water heater and then switching the fresh water system valve to draw antifreeze from a bottle, you are able to winterize your system. For brevity, I am over-simplifying the process as there are more steps to it. Especially if you have an ice maker.
*Other users of this forum may have and are encouraged to provide yet other solutions as well as finer points of the Compressed Air and RV Antifreeze solutions I touched on above.
I am now moving this thread out of the ATF and into the Bighorn plumbing forum with a 1 week expiring redirect.
Thank you for bringing this topic up and thank you for your patience for a factory reply.
Jim Beletti
Images:
Blow-out Plug from Camping World:
(click image for link to item)
Hi all and sorry for the delay in responding. As many of you know, Coley Brady is the Brand Manager for Landmark/Bighorn/Big Country. As such, Coley is the factory responder to the ATFs for those 3 brands.
This week, Coley is out of town and is unable to respond.
So here is the scoop on Low Point Drains for these 3 brands:
Short story:
We do not have them anymore. If your unit was "produced" in February of 2008 or later, it is likely you "do not" have them. This was a running line change.
Long story:
Historically, we have not had them. Based on customer feedback/requests, we tried it out. Later based on negative customer feedback, we decided to eliminate them.
The problem with them:
I do fully realize the benefits of being able to drain the water from your water system. The problem many owners experienced was freeze ups in cold climates. With a T in the hot and cold lines and a vertical drop of the lines to just below the underbelly and then a brass valve at the end - it was just a freeze up waiting to happen for those who full-time or extended camp in their units in weather that dips below 32 degrees for a day or more. Or even for those who "just got caught" in an unseasonably cold dip in temperatures for 1 or more days in an area that they did not expect this to happen.
Other solutions:
I am no expert on RV water systems and maintenance thereof and can only speak from my own short RVing experience and accounts I have been told and have read about from many others.
*Compressed Air
Using a Blow-out Plug (female hose threads to female valve stem threads adapter) to blow low pressure compressed air through the system is one method I have heard used with success. Air should still be able to push the water out of your system - even without low point drains. While some never use RV antifreeze when their air-clean-out method is used, I would still recommend using RV antifreeze afterwards.
*RV Antifreeze
The use of RV antifreeze is what I am most familiar with and is what most RVers use that I have encountered. By bypassing the water heater and then switching the fresh water system valve to draw antifreeze from a bottle, you are able to winterize your system. For brevity, I am over-simplifying the process as there are more steps to it. Especially if you have an ice maker.
*Other users of this forum may have and are encouraged to provide yet other solutions as well as finer points of the Compressed Air and RV Antifreeze solutions I touched on above.
I am now moving this thread out of the ATF and into the Bighorn plumbing forum with a 1 week expiring redirect.
Thank you for bringing this topic up and thank you for your patience for a factory reply.
Jim Beletti
Images:
Blow-out Plug from Camping World:
(click image for link to item)
TXBobcat
Fulltime
I used a similar device to blow out the water line of my first 5th wheel.
I have a compressor that I can adjust the maximum pressure. I set the compressor to 15psi, screw the adapter shown below into the shore waterline, connect the hose from my compressor, and turn on the compressor. I then go around and open all faucets to blow out the water in each line. I also open the low point drain to the water heater (be sure the water heater A/C and Propane is turned off). The 15 psi will blow out the drains and not over pressure the lines.
One thing I did forget to do. I did not drain the freshwater from the water pump and it froze. I did remove the water filter and drained the filter jar. The jar still cracked from the cold and flooded my basement when I went to get everything ready in the spring.
I got the parts to make my adapter at Lowe’s or Home Depot. It has been a long time since I put it together.
I have a compressor that I can adjust the maximum pressure. I set the compressor to 15psi, screw the adapter shown below into the shore waterline, connect the hose from my compressor, and turn on the compressor. I then go around and open all faucets to blow out the water in each line. I also open the low point drain to the water heater (be sure the water heater A/C and Propane is turned off). The 15 psi will blow out the drains and not over pressure the lines.
One thing I did forget to do. I did not drain the freshwater from the water pump and it froze. I did remove the water filter and drained the filter jar. The jar still cracked from the cold and flooded my basement when I went to get everything ready in the spring.
I got the parts to make my adapter at Lowe’s or Home Depot. It has been a long time since I put it together.
Attachments
Forrest Fetherolf
Senior Member
No low point drain is a very very bad idea...............with fresh water pick either from top or side of water tank means the tank can never be completely drained with air pressure or water pump. Ability to completely empty the fresh water is a necessity for health reason, dewinterizing, and sanitizing. Health reasons should far outweigh someone not winterizing properly or not aware of what cold weather can do. My 06 3600RL has the drain, not everyone lives in below freezing areas.
Forrest
Forrest
bill40
Well-known member
We have a 09 BC 3500 RL. It has the drains ( red & blue pipes ) located just in front of the steps. There is no decal. based on Jim's information I would assume my unit was made prior to Feb.08. It was purchased May 24 08. I'm glad to have then, have never had a unit that did not.
newbie
Northern Virginia
Our 09 Landmark has a 'fresh water tank' drain but no apparant 'low point drain' for the rest of the water lines. These are two seperate drains, yes?
Newbie,
Correct.........the low point drains and the fresh water tank drain are different entirely. The low point drains theoretically will drain the water lines throughout the coach. These are drains that have been discontinued.....not the fresh water tank drain. This is a good thing because as they were designed they created a vulnerable freeze point for the water system and they did not successfully drain the system.
Correct.........the low point drains and the fresh water tank drain are different entirely. The low point drains theoretically will drain the water lines throughout the coach. These are drains that have been discontinued.....not the fresh water tank drain. This is a good thing because as they were designed they created a vulnerable freeze point for the water system and they did not successfully drain the system.
Thanks Jim for the explanation. My newly acquired 09 3400RE did not come with LPD's and I queried the dealer -- they could not find them either. Had to leave the rig with the dealer during a very cold snap in Northeast Florida and I was concerned about burst water lines. Just got the rig back last week. Called Heartland twice for an explanation without getting a return call. My service tech at the dealer said that he was instructed by Heartland that using the pressurized air in the winterizing process was the way to go. Now that is fine, except the winterizing instructions placard on the inside of the compartment door still refer to the low point drains. Would seem to me that if they removed LPD's from the design, they would have updated the instructions as well. No blood drawn here as we do not have hard freezes like the Northerner's, but still we get some cold snaps that can cause line/pipe damage if not properly attended.
Thanks for this information. I guess I should have come here first rather than waste a month of frustration in not getting a good answer to my questions.
Safe Travels,
George & Helen Howard
Orange Park, FL
2009 BH 3400RE
2008 F250SD PSD
First outing with this new rig will be in three weeks. Finally, we get to enjoy it!
Thanks for this information. I guess I should have come here first rather than waste a month of frustration in not getting a good answer to my questions.
Safe Travels,
George & Helen Howard
Orange Park, FL
2009 BH 3400RE
2008 F250SD PSD
First outing with this new rig will be in three weeks. Finally, we get to enjoy it!
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