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Old 11-30-2012, 03:38 AM   #1
prootze
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Smile New Jersey Newbie

Hello All

Wanted to check in and say hello. I am brand new to the game.
This is my first rig ever, never even overnighted in one. picked up a used
2006 cougar 290 EFS, and have zero experience and will have to learn on the fly. I am sure i will have many simpleton questions for you folks and will be asking many.. will be looking at a 06 f-250 king ranch this weekend..
this will be my first pickup as well. I look forward to reading and learning from you folks!!! Mike
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Old 11-30-2012, 03:46 AM   #2
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Welcome to the forum neighbor. This is a great place for information I learned a lot here.
See you on the road, Mike
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Old 11-30-2012, 04:46 AM   #3
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Welcome to the group.


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Old 11-30-2012, 05:25 AM   #4
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HI TO THE Forum.i just left you a long reply in your other post. enjoy your new camper and please ask all the questions you want. have you winterized it yet or are you one of the lucky ones and are going south?
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Old 11-30-2012, 08:43 AM   #5
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prootze -
Hello and to the forum. Jump in and ask questions - you will find plenty of members willing and able to help you out. If you decide on the F250 King Ranch, you will have a very nice combination.
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Old 11-30-2012, 09:01 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prootze View Post
Hello All

Wanted to check in and say hello. I am brand new to the game.
This is my first rig ever, never even overnighted in one. picked up a used
2006 cougar 290 EFS, and have zero experience and will have to learn on the fly. I am sure i will have many simpleton questions for you folks and will be asking many.. will be looking at a 06 f-250 king ranch this weekend..
this will be my first pickup as well. I look forward to reading and learning from you folks!!! Mike
Howdy Neighbor, Point Pleasant here. In '07 Keystone changed the model number to 290 RKS. Mine says RKS on the title but the door sticker says EFS ... guess they had a few stickers left over that they did not want to waste.

Hopefully you have all the paperwork and manuals that came with the Cougar. If not they are available online from the individual manufacturers of each appliance or component. Send me a PM if there is something you can't find and I will try to copy mine and get it to you somehow. If it was purchased in this area it most likely came from Meyer's RV (now Camping World, Lakewood) so they may have some service records if you need them.
The F250 is a perfect match for that trailer. I hope you enjoy your Cougar as much as we do. Travel safely, Hank
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Old 12-01-2012, 06:59 PM   #7
prootze
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newbie

Thanks to all for the warm welcome.(Doc).. As of now i have not winterized as i am hoping to be southbound for x-mas. i am concerned about the cold temps. so i have a portable oil filled radiator running when its cold. the rig has polar package so i hope this will suffice till i can install some tank heaters.. i will search this forum for more info.

Hank,, thanks for the offer i just may take you up on it as i have 0 paperwork.. i purchased unit down south from private seller who got it the same way. 0 papers!!! keystone is mailing me a manual and i also checked their site and saw that i can also download it..

Looks like i will be picking up the truck ( 250 KING RANCH DIESEL) this week
i feel like a kid on christmas eve!!!! thanks again to all and happy holidays Mike
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Old 12-01-2012, 07:31 PM   #8
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prootz -
A word of caution about the "Polar Package". I too have that same sticker applied to my Cougar and if you were to take the time to do a forum search on this package (see Arctic package, Polar Package, etc.), you will find numerous posts outlining exactly what this designation really means. Do not be misled into thinking that your RV is safe without taking the normal winterizing precautions while it is sitting there in freezing temps - even for short periods.

Having a space heater running will not protect your water lines and pump from freezing up if you were to experience a sudden cold snap with freezing temps. You do not want your lines to freeze - not at all pleasant nor cheap.

I'm not going into the Arctic/Polar Package discussion here - it has been given quite a thorough examination on the forum. Briefly, it is a promotional/advertising gimmick which leads one to believe that the RV is able to withstand sub-zero temps on its own merit. It cannot. An oil-filled heater won't keep the pipes beneath the floor and in the storage compartments from freezing.
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Old 12-01-2012, 08:50 PM   #9
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Mike, Do yourself a favor and at least get the use of a small compressor and blow out the lines and drain the water heater. Draining all the tanks and lines takes less than 1/2 hr. and you will not have to run the heater. Put some RV antifreeze in the traps and you will be good until you head South. Do a forum search for "Winterize" and many posts will come up. Keystone has videos on Youtube with step by step instructions on winterizing and other maintenance also. Good luck with your new to you truck and trailer, Hank Keystone video here
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Old 12-01-2012, 09:30 PM   #10
prootze
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Wow thanks for the heads up guys.. wondered if this polar package was for real or just a marketing gimmick..
i hope my ignorance hasnt cost me any damage. have already had sub freezing temps here
hmmmm..

Question???--- will camping world send someone to my home to do the winterization for me??? my rig is not yet registered and i wont have my tow vehicle good to go for at least a week.

As of now i am totally clueless as to how these systems of heaters- pumps -valves etc. etc. work and would want to watch someone at least once..and i honestly dont feel comfortable or have the inclination to do it myself at this time.. thanks for the link to you tube video.. was helpful !!! thanks guys Mike
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Old 12-01-2012, 10:46 PM   #11
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Mike -
As a temporary winterizing "fix", I would :
1) Drain the water from your hot and cold water lines. There are two white plastic pipes that protude a few inches from the underbelly of your RV. Look underneath near the wheels for these low point drains. They will be capped in some way. Remove or loosen the caps. Water in the lines will start to drain out. Go inside and open all of your faucets. Open any outside faucets as well. This will help in the draining.

2) Drain your FW tank of water. There is a single petcock or similar drain valve at the bottom/center of this tank. The tank will most likely be located near your pump and kitchen sink area. You can't see the tank but should be able to find this drain valve.

3) Locate your Hot Water tank (from the outside). Pull up on the pressure release valve. Some water will come out. At the bottom of your tank, there is a drain plug. It looks like the head of a bolt. Get a wrench or ratchet and slowly loosen this drain. It may be tough to loosen so you may have to put some muscle behind it. As it nears the end, slowly loosen it and water from the HW tank should start to flow out. Remove the plug and long anode from the tank.

4) Now you have drained the lines and there shouldn't be any more water in the lines.

5) Now you can blow out the lines with air. Get an adapter that screws into the city water inlet. It has a regular car/truck tire air valve on one end. You can use a compressor set to about 35 lbs or if you don't have one, a good bicycle pump will do the job. Your faucets should be open when you do this.

Instead of winterizing with air, you can purchase some RV antifreeze and using your RV pump, pump the pink stuff into all of your lines. Before you do this, you need to locate your HW bypass valve.

Since you are not comfortable with doing this yourself, draining your lines and HW tank is a start and will go a long, long way to prevent pipe freeze up.

If you don't want to carry out any of the above steps, then you should locate an RV dealership or RV service center and they may send someone out to you. Be prepared to open your wallet if someone has to come to do this job for you.

It really isn't that hard. Take a look at the videos that Hank recommended - they will help you immensely. The first time people do this it seems a bit intimidating but it is not that way at all.

Hope this helps.
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Old 12-02-2012, 06:57 AM   #12
prootze
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Festus

Kudos to you and the forum. i recieved some helpful feedback and plan on taking your suggestions. i have watched the link provided by Hank and im gonna print out your post and take it outside with me. Thanks for the kind encouragement.. Mike
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Old 12-02-2012, 08:04 AM   #13
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Lightbulb Winterizing and welcome

Someone with a similar unit will surely respond. It's really not hard and you need to not be dependent on CW or any dealer for services. For starters. Go to Walmart and buy about 4 gallons of anti freeze. Second, really first, get that small inexpensive air compressor and use it. You can buy a portable compressor which will have enough psi for tires on rv and King Ranch for around $50 with attachments. Learn QUICKLY how to drain that hot water tank, find the hot water heater bypass valve, and generally 3 protruding tubes UNDER the rig. They have caps and water must be released or they will crack.
You will want to consider the kit that installs on your water pump for winterizing made ez. Takes 20 mins to put on. No brainer to install.
Last; a warning. If you have had cold temps, there may be damage from freezing at any fitting area. Especially if plastic. First chance you get, go inside and have someone turn the water on. YOU look for incoming water. I broke a line at the top rear of my toilet 2 yrs ago. Caught it before flooding the rv or damage.
These are BASIC tips. Make your first trip south a good one. When coming home, the last morning below projected freeze warning, winterize that rig. We choose to use bottled water for those occasions. Then all you have to do is drain tanks and add small amount of rv antifreeze into traps and toilet.

Seems like a lot, not really, i use and re winterize mine 3 or 4 times during winter. Takes 30 minutes once you have tools and process down pat.

Welcome and safe travels.
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Old 12-02-2012, 02:12 PM   #14
prootze
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winterized

Whew!! rig is winterized, not difficult at all once i located drains and valves..
Video was helpful as were your posts, took about an hour, next time should be easier.. one Q-- Water heater bypass valve is at 12:00 oclock position, do i leave it there or should i put it back at 3:00 oclock where it was??

Thanks Mike
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Old 12-02-2012, 02:48 PM   #15
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Mike -
Are you going to use the RV antifreeze method or the air-in-the-lines method? If you are going to use the RV's pump to fill your lines with the pink stuff, then you need to isolate your HW tank so you don't fill it up with 6 gallons of RV antifreeze. If you are just using air to blow out your lines, then you don't need to worry about the water heater bypass.
If there was water in your HW tank, then the bypass valve was not turned to the shutoff position. Now that it is empty, turn the valve 90 degrees so that it is shut off and no water (or RV antifreeze) will get into the HW tank. In other words, 90 degrees from where it was prior to you beginning to winterize - in its normal, operating position.

Also, now that your HW tank is empty, make sure that you have shut off the electrical supply to it so if you have to plug in to shore power, no electricity is getting to your tank's electrical system and trying to heat an empty tank. You don't want to "fry" your tank.

Not sure about your tank, but, looking at it from the outside, there may be a small, black rocker switch located in the bottom left-hand corner of the tank. This is a switch that turns the 110V supply to your tank's heater. This switch should be OFF. You can tell if it is off by pushing on the top half of the rocker switch. If the top half is pushed in, the switch is OFF. Note that all RV's have this switch - yours may or may not.

If it does have such a switch, the rocker has a small hole at the bottom which holds a small cotter pin. Since yours is an older unit, the cotter pin may or may not be there. If it is there, insert it through the hole and this will prevent any accidental turning on of the switch. Again, the hole will be in the bottom portion of the rocker switch.


You may also have an interior switch to control the electrical side of you HW tank. This should also be turned off.

Let us know how you are making out.
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Old 12-02-2012, 04:52 PM   #16
prootze
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Festus: blew out all water under compressed air. the bypass before
i began was at 3;00 oclock, so as per video instruction i rotated valve 90 degrees to the 12:00 oclock position and blew out water. i am confused,
did i mess up?? should i put the valve back to its original 3:00 position,now that i have finished winterization ??

I have located the rocker switch you speak of and is turned off!
If the heat pump switch inside rv should accidently be turned on
will i be ok??

Can i plug in shore power and safely run furnace now??
thanks for your patience.. Mike
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Old 12-02-2012, 06:43 PM   #17
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Mike -
Be assured, you haven't "messed up". Your lines and HW tank no longer have water in them so you don't have to worry about freeze up. Since you used air to clear your lines, the position of the HW bypass valve is not that important at this time. It only should be in the closed position IF you had pumped RV antifreeze into the lines.

When you de-winterize - the reverse of what you just did - just make sure that the valve is in the same position as when you started. This will allow water to flow back into the tank. On my tank, the bypass valve is in the vertical (12 oclock) position when the HW is isolated from getting any water. In the horizontal (3 oclock) position, it will allow water to flow into the tank. Your setup will probably be the same.

Now that you have found the rocker switch, turned it to the OFF position, there cannot be 110V supply to your tank. It will be ok to use your furnace now that you have isolated your HW tank from any electrical current.

Sounds like you are good to go. Congratulations! I can remember feeling the same apprehension when I first winterized our RV. I had directions in hand and wasn't sure if I was doing things right. When you de-winterize, it is basically the reverse of what you have done. Think it through and you'll be just fine. If in doubt, ask here.
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Old 12-04-2012, 01:57 AM   #18
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Ok i feel better, thank you all for your help. Mike
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