Winterizing (blowing out lines) and a few random questions

[CampPete]

I have asked a few questions already and everyone has been so helpful.....

We have had our new Imagine 2400bh in our driveway for a week and things have been going pretty well. We have used almost all features to test it out before taking it to it's permanent campsite. Now that that day is approaching, I am starting to panic. We plan to winterize it by blowing out the lines and putting antifreeze in drains and toilet only. We will use it about once a month for a weekend so I don't want to clean antifreeze out of my tanks each time. We don't get a lot of freezing temperatures in the Pacific NW. I'm reviewing my winterizing notes from our walkthrough. We want to practice blowing out the lines before we leave but now Im question if we can do this.

1. Do we need to empty our black and grey tanks to blow out the lines? (not an option in our driveway)
2. Do I leave all the faucets closed when I turn on the air compressor and then open one at a time?

This also leads to some other really important questions by this extreme newbie.

1. When storing, I turn off the battery, right? When I am using it for a weekend, do I turn the batter back on and leave on the whole time?

2. In case of a flat tire, what do I do? Is there a jack or do I need to get one? will the one from my Tahoe work? Also do I need to get a special tool to remove nuts from the the tire?

Thank you so much!!

[bry1956]

1. No 2. Yes 1. Yes 2. Barrel jacks work, plus short pieces of 2X10 Truck jack won’t work . Use 3/4 or 7/8 socket or other to determine size of lugs . Invest in good torque wrench that should be used just before every trip. I have a 20 inch cross bar that I use to take tires off if need be.


Bryan

[RVRunners]

On your winterization you should be able to drain your low points and water heater tank and can use air from there. I believe you would keep all fixtures closed and open one at time. Remember to bypass the water heater tank. Not sure what type of water distribution system you have we have the Nautilus P1 and I use antifreeze. You would need to drain your black and grey water tanks - not to enable the air winterization of your supply lines but to keep contents from freezing.

On the battery yes disconnect when not in use (I use the disconnect on the camper) and I use a solar battery tender when in storage. Others remove the batteries altogether or use a 120V battery tender if they have electric available at the storage. Others who have an RV plug in their storage facility just leave the camper plugged in.

On the flat tire you will likely need a different jack than the one offered with the tow vehicle. Most are using a bottle jack usually 12ton or up. Also wise to have dunnage available to accommodate grade variations, etc. (I keep 2x8 blocking for this and for under my leveling jacks). No special tool required for the lug nuts you likely have either 3/4” or 13/16” lugs. I keep a four way, sockets and a torque wrench.

Good luck and enjoy your camper!

[bry1956]

You could use a cordless Torque drive, for lugs as well !!!


Bryan

[Barbara & Dave]

Hi Pete!

1. No need to drain the holding tanks, but remember those contents could freeze too if the get extended sub-freezing weather. Dropping to the upper 20s overnight then warming the next morning shouldn't be a problem.

2. If you open all the faucets at once, there's a chance that one or more of the lines won't have enough pressure to get all the water out.

_-------------------

1. Turning off the battery switch won't remove all loads from the battery. It's best to completely isolate the battery by disconnecting the negative lead at the battery. Yes, you would then re-connect it when you want to use the trailer. Reconnect it before you leave home, since the fridge needs 12V to operate.

2. I've never seen a trailer come with a jack. I carry a 6 ton bottle jack, along with some blocks to get the jack up to the frame, and a couple of jack stands for safety. For the lugnuts, I use a 1/2 inch torque wrench, an extension, and the appropriate size six point socket.

Dave


Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

[Bamaman]

Be careful with the compressor. Little air pressure is required. Step #1 is to cut off the 110 volt hot water heater at the switch and cut off the circuit breaker.

I pop the low level plugs and leave them uncapped for the winter. I also remove the plastic drain plug on my hot water heater and pull up on the temp/pressure relief valve. Then I step on the toilet trap valve and open the kitchen, bath sink, shower, outside shower and outside kitchen faucets and gravity drains everything.

I have a secondary drain pipe gate that makes it cleaner hooking up the gray/black water drains. I keep the black water valves closed exceptions dumping. And I keep the gray water valves open anytime I am hooked up to the campground sewer system.

I shut off the 12 volt system anytime I am not using my trailer in case any lights in the trailer are left on by accident. My trailer front jacks are hooked directly to the battery and it has to have juice before the trailer can be hitched up.

I can winterize and dewinterize my trailer in 10 minutes.

[Steve7]

I agree with all said above, but make sure that after you have flushed out your black tank, always leave some water (1-4) gallons in it. I throw in an Aquachem pod after adding the water. You never want it to run dry, as any leftover solids will dry up and be almost impossible to get out. Some recommend leaving a bit of water in every tank so the valve gates stay lubricated. A few gallons in the tank will not cause any issues as those tanks are large, and in your area, and mine, the temps don’t generally stay in the hard freeze zone.

I use about 45 psi when I blow out the lines. Don’t forget the outside shower and the black tank flush line. I use a different connector for the airline when blowing out the black tank flush.

[Cate&Rob]

One comment on this (similar to Bamaman's) . . . be careful with the air pressure. 45 psi air pressure is a lot more "explosive" than 45 psi water pressure. If you open the faucets one at a time, starting with the highest and working to the lowest, you can get the water out with less than 20 psi air pressure.

If you are not in a "hard freeze" area, there is an advantage to leaving more water in the holding tanks. It takes a lot more "cold" to freeze 10 gallons of water than it does to freeze 1 gallon . . . particularly if the 1 gallon is spread out with lots of surface area, in a thin layer across the bottom of the tank.

Rob

[Steve7]

Interesting point Rob. I had no idea air and water pressure differs. When I perform the blow out of the lines, I always have a faucet (or shower) open, and then proceed to the next before shutting the previous. So in essence, the pressure never builds up. I have had them all closed at least once during a brain fart though.

[Cate&Rob]

Interesting point Rob. I had no idea air and water pressure differs. When I perform the blow out of the lines, I always have a faucet (or shower) open, and then proceed to the next before shutting the previous. So in essence, the pressure never builds up. I have had them all closed at least once during a brain fart though.

Hi Steve,

In my experience, it is good to have all faucets closed between opening each one individually. This stops the movement of air and allows water inside the pipes to drop to the lower areas and air only to rise to the upper areas. This is a lot safer to do at 20 psi than at 45 psi and why I start with the upper lines and move to the lower lines. With your process of opening the next faucet before closing the previous, you are probably actually running at less than 20 psi as well. If you close everything and then open a faucet at 45 psi air pressure . . . that's the "explosive" part .

Rob