Winterizing checklist needed

This will be my second year getting ready for the winter (thinking ahead!). My first year resulted in many errors...so I want to avoid that.

Can someone please post a list of "must do" items?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by DC Randy

This will be my second year getting ready for the winter (thinking ahead!). My first year resulted in many errors...so I want to avoid that.

Can someone please post a list of "must do" items?

Thanks!

Winterizing a TM is pretty simple. Open all the faucets, open all the drains under the trailer (four on my 2720SL), then a small amount of antifreeze (the book says this isn't necessary) down each sink/tub drain. Of course the toilet/sewer/gray water must have already been drained. I'd also take off the shower heads, both in the tub and in the outside shower. And I'd ensure you don't have things in the trailer that will be damaged by freezing (coke cans, water bottles, etc.). There's actually a winterizing check list in the manual that came with my TM.

You might also look in the section at the top of the forum called "TrailManor information you won't find anywhere else" for checklists -- some good stuff in there for overall readiness, operation, etc.

[Bill]

Also, a search on the term "winterize" will yield a lot of info, since the question comes up every year.

Bill

Also check to see if you have a screw-on cap where your kitchen sink faucet swivels. I have one and it retains water in that "joint". After having mine freeze and crack I highly recommend removing it. No replacement part is available - you have to buy a whole new faucet. According to the dealer this is a very common problem.

[commodor47]

Fdxflyer is right on with his advice. Our faucet developed a slight crack (unknown to us at the time) due to freezing temperatures which did not immediately impair operation. Imagine Jeri's surprise when she turned on the faucet only to have the tap fly off and water spray all over. The small crack on the screw-on cap finally grew large enough to break loose. Try as we might it was impossible to find a replacement tap. We ended up purchasing a replacement faucet at Camping World in Tucson, AZ. The parts salesman did point out that we would now have all the necessary spare parts for our kitchen faucet. The kitchen tap removal has become part of our cold weather routine.

Dick

I also remove the sink sprayer and pull out the sprayer hose to drain it. As paranoid as I am (lots of antifreeze down the drains and toilet, removing the sprayer, etc), it is still fun to watch the look on people's faces when I tell them that I winterize the trailer after every trip between August and June (the only months not commonly with freezing temperatures here are June, July, and August - and even they can have freezing temps on rare nights).

It's hard to believe that other RV companies don't see how elegant the TM system is, but it seems very few do. It's a major selling point IMHO, and shows attention to detail.

Of course there is another way of winterizing - how to use your TM in winter, but that's a different thread (gotta try that venting of the bath compartment mentioned elsewhere - that's a slick and elegant solution).

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by Fdxflyer

Also check to see if you have a screw-on cap where your kitchen sink faucet swivels. I have one and it retains water in that "joint". After having mine freeze and crack I highly recommend removing it. No replacement part is available - you have to buy a whole new faucet. According to the dealer this is a very common problem.

Originally Posted by commodor47

Fdxflyer is right on with his advice. Our faucet developed a slight crack (unknown to us at the time) due to freezing temperatures which did not immediately impair operation. Imagine Jeri's surprise when she turned on the faucet only to have the tap fly off and water spray all over. The small crack on the screw-on cap finally grew large enough to break loose. Try as we might it was impossible to find a replacement tap. We ended up purchasing a replacement faucet at Camping World in Tucson, AZ. The parts salesman did point that we would now have all the necessary spare parts for our kitchen faucet. The kitchen tap removal has become part of our cold weather routine.

Dick

I had this problem too, and here's the Mr. Adventure fix:
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=7588

....Or, you can move to Arizona and not worry about any of those things.

[arniland]

I have not seen any mention of how to get antifreeze into the toilet pump...or is this necessary? This will be our first winter with our TM. I've winterized a Hi-Lo before and used air to blow out the water lines, but I'm not sure how you would drain remaining water out of the toilet pump. Dumping 3 gallons of antifreeze in to get a charge to pump seems excessive.

Since this has not been mentioned previously that I've seen, I assume that I'm making this too hard, but it sure seems like the toilet pump would retain some water.

Arn

Arnold, I am 1 of those people who uses RV antifreeze in my TM. After draining all of my lines, I then put a couple of gallons of antifreeze in my freshwater tank, and pump through all of the lines. I do have a hot water heater bypass, so a couple of gallons is plenty, plus I understand that RV anitfreeze is not good for the anode rod. I redrain the lines and the tank, and dump the just the caught RV anitfreeze in the toilet. A little over 2 gallons will usually reach the pump. I run the pump, then make sure that I discard the antifreeze, so that I don't forget and use it again next year for the fresh water lines.

Chap