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Old 04-16-2014, 05:41 PM   #1
BirchyBoy
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Our first trip

We're taking our first trip this coming weekend to a local state park for a shake-out run. My thought is to do the de-winterization at my house and let all of the antifreeze go into the grey and black tanks until I get to the campground. This way, I can look for any leaks in the pipes and resolve them before we leave home. Is that generally what people do?

Also, how cold does it need to be get before I have to worry about re-winterizing. The weather here in CO can be pretty crazy. My thought was to drain the water heater after every trip, but do I need to go through a full winterization until we're well beyond the chance of any freezing temps?
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Old 04-16-2014, 07:14 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by BirchyBoy View Post
My thought is to do the de-winterization at my house and let all of the antifreeze go into the grey and black tanks until I get to the campground. This way, I can look for any leaks in the pipes and resolve them before we leave home. Is that generally what people do?

. My thought was to drain the water heater after every trip, but do I need to go through a full winterization until we're well beyond the chance of any freezing temps?
When you de-winterize, one of the first steps is to open the low-point drains which allows the RV antifreeze which is in the lines, to drain out onto the ground. These low point drains are located, as the name implies, at the bottom of or underneath the RV. I'm not sure how you plan on "letting all of the antifreeze go into the grey and black tanks". Your unit may have some other method or configuration of allowing the antifreeze to drain directly into the tanks but I can't see how this would be accomplished.

I would think that, by this time of year, it wouldn't be necessary to drain the HW tank and winterize each time but the weather has been so unpredictable to say the least. You know the weather in your area the best so it's hard to say whether or not you need to do this.
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Old 04-16-2014, 07:44 PM   #3
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If you are going to use the trailer after you have dumped the antifreeze and feel the temps are going below freezing, you can always blow the lines with air. Just make an adaptor with a garden hose male end on one end and a male end in the garden hose for the compressor. Doesnt take long to blow the lines. No fear of water trapped in the lines.
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Old 04-16-2014, 07:45 PM   #4
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We also live in CO and the spring weather can be unpredictable. I was going to de-winterize yesterday, but it was supposed to get into the mid 20's, so I thought I would wait until tomorrow.
We are headed out for the maiden voyage tomorrow. Hoping for warmer weather and NO wind!
Not planning on re-winterizing unless we expect a really cold snap.
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Old 04-16-2014, 07:52 PM   #5
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When you de-winterize, one of the first steps is to open the low-point drains which allows the RV antifreeze which is in the lines, to drain out onto the ground. These low point drains are located, as the name implies, at the bottom of or underneath the RV. I'm not sure how you plan on "letting all of the antifreeze go into the grey and black tanks". Your unit may have some other method or configuration of allowing the antifreeze to drain directly into the tanks but I can't see how this would be accomplished.

I would think that, by this time of year, it wouldn't be necessary to drain the HW tank and winterize each time but the weather has been so unpredictable to say the least. You know the weather in your area the best so it's hard to say whether or not you need to do this.
I didn't think the anti-freeze should be drained onto the ground even though it is "potable". That's why I asked about pushing all the anti-freeze that's in the lines into the gray and black tanks and then dumping them once I'm at the campground.
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Old 04-16-2014, 07:52 PM   #6
BirchyBoy
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If you are going to use the trailer after you have dumped the antifreeze and feel the temps are going below freezing, you can always blow the lines with air. Just make an adaptor with a garden hose male end on one end and a male end in the garden hose for the compressor. Doesnt take long to blow the lines. No fear of water trapped in the lines.
Thanks for the tip.
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Old 04-16-2014, 07:53 PM   #7
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We also live in CO and the spring weather can be unpredictable. I was going to de-winterize yesterday, but it was supposed to get into the mid 20's, so I thought I would wait until tomorrow.
We are headed out for the maiden voyage tomorrow. Hoping for warmer weather and NO wind!
Not planning on re-winterizing unless we expect a really cold snap.
The weekend looks good in the Denver area. We're heading to Cherry Creek. You?
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Old 04-17-2014, 05:23 AM   #8
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I didn't think the anti-freeze should be drained onto the ground even though it is "potable". That's why I asked about pushing all the anti-freeze that's in the lines into the gray and black tanks and then dumping them once I'm at the campground.
I don't think that potable RV anti-freeze would be harmful to the environment.
However, if you don't want to drain the low point drains onto the ground, just catch the antifreeze in a bucket. If you drain the anti-freeze into the CG sewer, it will still end up in the ground via the waste water discharge from whatever waste plant to which the CG is connected (or septic system). Just sayin'
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Old 04-17-2014, 07:09 AM   #9
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Last year when we still owned our Rpod, we went on a camping trip at this time of year. We "lightly" re-winterized when we returned. When we went out the next time, we had a geyser in the bathroom. Toilet valve still had water in it and froze. Weather in our neck of the woods is too unpredictable at this time of the year. Just when you think it's spring, it's winter!
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Old 04-17-2014, 07:14 AM   #10
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The low point drains are not a "closed loop system" back to a holding tank. Look at t them as another faucet in the hot and cold water lines. If there's no sink under them, nothing will flow into the holding tanks. RV antifreeze is not toxic and won't hurt the environment. The majority of the lines can be cleared of antifreeze through the faucets in the trailer and into the holding tanks. but the low point drains don't have a sink under them. If you're really concerned about dumping that small amount on the ground, then put a 5 gallon pail under the drains, then pour that into the holding tank. As jsmith948 said, when you dump your holding tanks at Cherry Creek on the way out, that waste water will eventually be leached out onto the ground to dry/evaporate and the antifreeze will be dispersed onto the ground through the waste water system.
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Old 04-17-2014, 07:32 AM   #11
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I think I see what I was missing before. If I don't flush the AF out through the low point drains, it's going to stay in there because it won't have anywhere to go unlike the other lines.

Thanks for the advice everyone.
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Old 04-20-2014, 06:20 PM   #12
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The weekend looks good in the Denver area. We're heading to Cherry Creek. You?
We are in the SW corner! We just got back from our maiden voyage! Ended up going just over the New Mexico border. Great weather...a little wind, rain and lots of sunshine!!
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Old 04-20-2014, 08:33 PM   #13
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We had a great weekend in Cherry Creek state park. I thought we'd see a few other campers there; it was sold out!

Everything went great for our maiden voyage. Learned a few things about our camper and made a list of things we need to buy, with the first item being a better memory foam topper for the bed.
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Old 04-21-2014, 11:07 AM   #14
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One of the routine items that got annoying was trying to stow the dinette table when it was removed from its spot. I held it up to a few spots, such as against the dinette bench by the entry door, in an attempt to see where I could add some tether straps to secure it. Before I do any drilling, I'm hoping I may have missed an obvious solution.

Is there a place it is supposed to go that isn't obvious? I put it on one of the lower bunks that isn't really ideal.
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Old 04-21-2014, 01:25 PM   #15
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Our table has the two pedestal legs and we just leave in up position when traveling.

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Old 04-21-2014, 01:30 PM   #16
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Our table has the two pedestal legs and we just leave in up position when traveling.

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Thanks. Ours has a single folding leg and attaches to the wall. I'm trying to find a good place to stow while we're camping and don't need it.
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Old 04-21-2014, 05:53 PM   #17
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Ours also has the 2 pedestal legs, we slide the table & legs under the couch. Will yours fit there?


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Old 04-21-2014, 08:26 PM   #18
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Ours also has the 2 pedestal legs, we slide the table & legs under the couch. Will yours fit there?


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No couch
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Old 04-22-2014, 05:55 AM   #19
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No couch
Sorry, I just looked at your floorplan, what about under the bed? or outside under the awning?
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Old 04-22-2014, 06:03 AM   #20
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Sorry, I just looked at your floorplan, what about under the bed? or outside under the awning?
Outside would work but not under the bed. Thanks for the suggestions!

I was hopeful that Keystone had a built-in spot for it to be stowed and that someone else with the same unit would know where that was. I'll find a place for it to live soon.
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