How to Winterize an RV
Dave SolbergDescription
Traditionally, winterizing a motor home, fifth wheel or any other kind of RV involves pouring four or five gallons of antifreeze into the water lines, then running the system in order to ensure that all of your pipes have antifreeze rather than water in them. This is generally effective, and not too costly.
There are, however, other efficient solutions that use less antifreeze and do a better job of keeping your water lines in tiptop shape. RV manufacturers have developed all kinds of tools and techniques for maintaining your water system. Whatever you’re in need of, we can guarantee there’s a quick fix out there!
In this quick lesson, RV expert Dave Solberg teaches you some of these alternative methods, and explains how to winterize an RV so it’s ready for the holiday season, whether you’re long-term storing or taking it out for a spin in colder climates. With his step-by-step demonstration, you’ll be able to navigate the process with no issue whatsoever.
Learning how to winterize an RV through other methods
Dave begins by walking you through the traditional method of flushing antifreeze through the lines via a basic funnel. Then he shows you how to do with these other simple but reliable ideas on how to winterize an RV:
- 1. Buy a winterizing kit. These kits are available through a number of reputable dealers, and can be combined with an easy-to-use hand pump. All you have to do is utilize the pump and one of these aftermarket kits to pump antifreeze through the RV’s system. Once the proper amount of antifreeze is flushed into the system, Dave shows you how to open up each faucet (kitchen and all bathroom appliances (i.e. toilet, shower hose, etc.)) and let them run until you can clearly see the colored antifreeze flowing.
- 2. Blow it out. Dave also shows you how to winterize an RV by blowing out the water system with city water. In order to do this, you’ll need to attach a small, specialized component geared toward winterizing an RV and simply run water until you see the colored antifreeze come through. Only once you can see antifreeze do you know all of the water is out of the lines. As an extra solution, some people also like to add a little antifreeze to the fresh water storage tank in order to ensure that any remaining water left over from your latest journey cannot freeze and harm the system. A cracked tank, water line or accessory part is never a good time!
In addition to this handy video on how to winterize an RV, don’t forget that we have a huge library or RV repair videos that you can utilize to maintain all the components on your rig. Whether you’re looking for more advice on winterizing RVs or you want to focus on another of your vehicle’s systems, Dave and his team of experts have everything you need. Check them out if ever you feel lost, and have a great and safe time on the road!
There's several different ways to winterize your RV. If you're gonna be camping in the mountains or into cold weather, you'll definitely want to protect the water lines, freshwater lines inside. The old fashioned way, is to take this RV antifreeze. You'll definitely wanna use RV antifreeze because it's odorless and it's tasteless but it also doesn't have the chemicals and some of the stuff that would eat up some of the seals inside, the old fashioned way was to simply open the gravity fill, here, use a funnel and pour four or five gallons in here and then run it through the system. Turn your water pump on but you use an awful lot of antifreeze when you're doing it that way. A second way to do it is there's a winterizing kit and we can see right here where this will actually pull out and goes into the antifreeze bottle here, open up this compartment inside here to this valve and then I use my pump, now that's a kit that can be added on after-market. Some of the manufacturers will put that on their unit as an option as well. Camp Co makes an interesting pump and this one will actually hook up to the city water fill on the outside, and then I'll just put this into the bottom and literally pump antifreeze up into the entire system. And the way this is going to work is when antifreeze comes in, I'll open up each one of the faucets and let them run until I see the pink antifreeze come out. The last way to do it is to blow out the system and you would take a small little threading piece like this and this would go over to our city water fill and then we're gonna take compressed air, hook this up and literally blow out all the water inside the system. So I would just go to each faucet when I hooked this up, open the faucet up let it run till the water blew out and then make sure all the water is out of my fresh water tank as well. Just hit these drains right here and make sure that all the water is out of that system. The reason I'm putting antifreeze in and sometimes people like to put a little bit of antifreeze in here is to if they're still using the system, if they're still using the RV, traveling in the mountains, whatever. If I have RV antifreeze in there I can still use the toilet inside with that antifreeze, I don't have to worry about water running through it. And then the last thing I wanna do if I'm blowing these out, I wanna take a little bit of RV antifreeze and just put down the pee trap inside each one of the sinks, just to make sure I get water into that area where there would be some water standing or get some RV antifreeze I should say, into that area that standing. So you can use your unit year round to adjust some precautions that you need to take and it's very easy to winterize.
I hooked up the hose and bypassed the hot water heater on my camper but when I put water pump on to flush water lines antifreeze started to spray out of one of the water pump hoses. I tried taking off and putting it back on tight but it still sprays.
When winterizing do I also need to fill the hot water heater with antifreeze?
Where do you get this no smell, no taste RV antifreeze?
You didn't mention draining and bypassing the water heater. It will take a lot of $3/gallon antifreeze to clear the water heater using the fresh water pump. Also, I used -50 windshield washer fluid in my P-Traps. A lot cheaper than RV antifreeze and just as effective. Never use that in the freshwater system due to toxins though. Last thing is to pull the holding tank valves to assure no residual water that was pushed out of the lines is still in the tanks. It will freeze and could damage the valves. Don't forget the Ice Maker!
I am trying to purchase a cover for my RV for the winter but i don't know how to get the right size b/c the dimensions are not lining up with the covers. does the AC unit have a seperate one?
What's the best way to winterize a RESIDENTIAL three door fridge that has ice & water on the fridge door and, a second ice maker in the pull out freezer compartment? I have no access to the back / sides of the fridge.
when winterizing a rv, you should drain hot water tank, turn bypass on hot water tank, then start pumping antifreeze