Quote:
Originally Posted by Llampys
Hi John,
I was going to add RV Antifreeze to my black and gray water before i go to Quartzsite because i was afraid my tanks (located under my RV) may crack if it freezes? But now Im wondering if that is ONLY used when you are winterizing your RV for storage? Never had a problem before when I owned my lazy daze but am concerned with my new Class C winnebago as the factory told me to leave if it gets
that cold???
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In "MOST" RV's the drain lines (from the valve to the sewer outlet) are exposed and it won't matter whether they are exposed to freezing temps or not,
as long as the valves and back to the tanks is protected. The contents of the tanks on most travel trailers are protected by a coroplast underbelly, a "little heat" from the furnace and some residual heat loss through the floor and the RV furnace ducting. Many (certainly not all) Class C motorhomes offer the same features, but there are some Class C models that are built like the "extreme entry level travel trailer" and have no weather protection to the tanks or the valves.
Depending on how your Class C is built, you may need to follow the advice of the factory and "just leave rather than risk frozen tanks".... On the other hand, if your Class C is built like travel trailers with the artic package or polar package, you should be OK being exposed to a colder night or two. Without knowing how your Class C is constructed, it's impossible to make any recommendations, so I'd follow the factory's advice until you can prove them wrong......
That said, any RV with "half full holding tanks" won't freeze solid or damage the tanks if exposed to a few hours of "25-32F" temps. The amount of bulk of the liquid will protect the tanks and they won't typically freeze solid. Even if they do "ice up a little" you can still dump the tanks and flush with warm or room temperature water to thaw any "edge accumulation" if it should occur. Chances are the "above freezing temps" during the day will do that for you.
So, if you're going to be camping below freezing, dump your tanks during the day and close the valves, disconnect the sewer hose, fill the fresh water tank and disconnect the water hose, drain it and store it someplace warm. Use your self containment features through the cold part of the night and "reset/refill/drain tanks" the next day when it's warm.