Winter weekend camping

[NCskibum]

My plan: Camping every weekend in winter conditions (possible 5 degree lows here and there) hooked to 30amp source, gone M-Thur back for work.

When I leave on Sundays...Fill water tank to 2/3, black & gray to 1/3 turn on heatpads and 12v tape on waterline, leave furnace at 45, drain water heater, turn off water pump and open all faucets.
When I arrive on Fridays, close faucets, turn water pump back on, drain black and gray if needed.

Backup plan. In case of power failure when not onsite...Could I turn furnace off and blow lines out through city connections to save propane usage before I leave every Sunday? I would turn off 12v heat tape if I did this and put a heat bulb in fresh water pump area.

Or is it best to leave furnace on at 45 setting?

First year winter camping with water on board. Anythoughts on this or recommendations?

 

[danemayer]

Hi NCskibum,

There are a lot of things that could go wrong while you're absent. Power failure to the park, propane supply failure, power converter failure allowing the battery to run down and shut down the furnace, furnace failure, circuit breaker trip, blown fuse... These things are all low probability, but if something fails, the damage could be both extensive and expensive. Think of damaged tanks, faucets, traps, toilet, pump, water valves...

I'd recommend using compressed air to winterize and pour 1/4 cup or so of RV antifreeze in each drain to protect the p-traps. Drain the water heater. Drain all tanks. Make sure the pump and it's filter cup are empty. (Might be time to hinge the plumbing area acess wall or add an access panel.)

For the fresh tank, pump all the water out through the faucets and open the drain under the axles to catch the remainder in a bucket (so you don't end up with ice on the site). Leave all tanks empty and all water lines and pump empty.

If you have an ice maker or water line to the refrigerator, winterize it and shut off that water line. If you have a washing machine, or washing machine prep, I would add cutoff valves near the water pump and leave them shut off for the winter.

Once you get practiced, winterizing will take you less than an hour. De-winterizing will only take a few minutes to fill the water heater and put some water in the fresh tank.

 

[pcardoza]

I have to agree with Dan....... Way too much risk leaving the rig unattended in that weather for 5 days at a time, without winterizing.

 

[ILH]

X3. Don't know where your camp is, but most 'wilderness' areas have frequent power outages during winter months. Even if the power is only out momentarily, these tend to trip breakers and cause havoc on electronics.

An ounce of prevention...

 

[NCskibum]

Was leaning blow out method, can I just blow out line in winterize position on water hookup, understand everything else

 

[danemayer]

Was leaning blow out method, can I just blow out line in winterize position on water hookup, understand everything else

I don't have the 4-way valve, but I think you'd 1) set the valve to NORMAL and run the pump to empty the fresh tank, 2) set to WINTERIZE and turn on the pump to evacuate any remaining water from the pump, and also from the pex lines and faucets, 3) set the valve to CITY and use the air to evacuate water from the remaining pex lines and get any remaining water through the faucets, 4) set the valve to TANK to evacuate water from the line that fills the fresh tank. I think this line will already be clear from step 1, but you'll also want to get water out of the valve.

Check the filter cup on the pump. It will probably still have water in it.

Don't forget the outside shower.

I would hang a 60W drop light in the UDC to protect the valves and fixtures in case there's a little water left somewhere.

 

[oscar]

Yup, don't leave it un-winterized. So, make the process faster.

I don't trust the blowout method. Any water that stays in there poses a risk. I like the pink.

So, first question: Do you have the 4 way valve or a winterization intake connection on the water pump? f not I would consider installing the latter. Having to put the pink in through the water tank makes it a pain to get it out of the system. A tee, a shutoff valve and a piece of hose is not that hard to add. If you don't want to do that, get a simple water pump, $30- ish, from the home improvement store of your choice and connect it to your city water supply.

I can winterize my 4100 in 15 minutes. Open the water tank drain, open the two low point drains, open ALL faucets. Drain all holding tanks, close the valves. Put the water heater in bypass mode and drain it. If you don't have one, install a valve in place of the drain plug. Now it takes no tools to drain it. When all the dripping stops, run the water pump until it sucks air.

I mix pink 50/50 with water, 4 gallons total. Don't recall the exact temperature it protects to, but it's low, check the label if it's low enough for you. Attach the hose to the winterization intake and run all faucets until they produce pink. Run the toilet(s) until the bucket of pink is empty. Now you KNOW there's pink in the pump, all water lines, and a layer in all holding tanks sitting up against the dump valves.

De-winterizing is a mere matter of hooking up city water, switching the water heater back in line, and running the faucets to flush out the pink and fill the water heater.