It’s that time of the year again….RV winterization 🙁 Winterization means to properly flush your water lines to prevent freezing and potential damage. Leaving water in your RV pipes can cause them to expand and burst. Nobody likes the sound of that, or the cost that will come with repairing a damaged RV. Here is the process I use, along with some quick videos and tips for winterizing our camper, Rocky.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Please see our Full Disclosure for more information.
When to Winterize
Once temperatures begin to drop below 32 degrees, it is very important to winterize your RV before storing it for the winter. There are a couple different thought processes about whether you just need the drain everything and blow the lines with an air compressor – or do these things plus an additional step of pumping antifreeze into ALL the lines. The debate seems to be whether or not any residual water could freeze and damage/crack the lines. Year round, I leave 90 degree elbows on the exterior hookups to help decrease stress on the black plastic hose fittings. This seems to allow for a quicker hook up.
RV Winterization Steps
Here are the steps that I take to winterize our RV. I also have posted a video below. (Disclaimer: If you are not comfortable winterizing your camper yourself, I do suggest you seek a professional. Any RV shop should be able to winterize for you, but will charge $100+. I feel RV winterization is completely doable yourself. The steps that I take comes from several years of RV experience and the guidance of other fellow campers.)
Step 1
Drain the hot water tank and the low point drains. In addition, open and close all faucets to empty residual water.
Step 2
Remove the indoor RV water filter from the canister (if you have one, and plan on using it the following year). If you are replacing the filter, you can leave it, just make sure you have a new one for next year. This only needs to be done if you are putting in antifreeze.
Step 3
Open one faucet. Hook up the air compressor to the city water inlet using the Blow Out Plug and turn on the air compressor to a pressure of about 40 PSI.
Step 4
Systematically go through the RV and turn on the cold side of each faucet until water stops blowing, and then turn them all off. Do this process to the hot side of each faucet. Try to move quickly in between each (not sure if too much air pressure would damage lines). Make sure to do both the shower faucet AND shower head. Also, any outdoor faucets/showers need to be blown out as well. If you only want to blow your lines, then you’re almost finished! Pour antifreeze into all the drains and leave several inches in the toilet so the tank valve doesn’t dry out. If you are adding antifreeze to the lines, move to step 5.
Step 5
Close the hot and cold line valves leading to the hot water tank so that you don’t waste the time and antifreeze filling the hot water tank (it should have already been drained in step 1). The filter should have been removed in step 2.
Step 6
I am lucky to have an antifreeze inlet which makes this step a little easier. If you do not have an antifreeze inlet, my understanding is that you need to funnel antifreeze into the fresh water tank and then pump the antifreeze from there in the same fashion as above. For an RV with an antifreeze inlet, simply connect a hose onto the inlet connection, with the other end of the hose in the antifreeze bottle. Once this is set up, go inside and turn on the water pump. I hook up my battery and connect the 7-plug into my truck to provide enough power to the pump. Monitor when the antifreeze bottle runs out so you can swap bottles.
Step 7
Do the same approach (as in step 4) of systematically opening and closing all faucets hot/cold, indoor/ outdoor, leaving the faucets open until they each run pink antifreeze.
Step 8
Pour antifreeze in all drains and toilet.
Other RV Winterization Tips
If you are not hooked up to power while storing your RV, disconnect the battery and put on a trickle charger. If you are hooked up to power, I suggest you place a couple electronic pest deterrents in various outlets in addition to the spray/granules. Mice do not enjoy the smell of mint, so I lay several bars of Irish Spring around the camper as deterrents. I also spray a mouse deterrent on my camper cover, around the RV, on the wheels, and throw granules underneath. Please make sure to remove all food or anything that would attract mice/pests! This is YOUR home, not theirs!
Congratulations….your RV Winterization is complete. It is very doable to do on your own, with a little time, and you saved yourself a couple hundred dollars. Please feel free to message or contact us with any questions! Until next year, happy campers!
