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Winter is approaching, now is the time to put the coach in storage. You can’t just finish up the season and drive your coach into storage. Make sure you take the proper steps to ensure your coach is ready for winter storage by following our RV winterization tips.
Shopping for your Newmar? Let us help.
We’re here to help you find the perfect coach for you.
In short, RV winterization is when all the water is drained from an RV. This includes every holding tank, water line, and appliance. The process is conducted to protect the RV’s water system from leaks and damage from water freezing in the RV. Freezing water expands and can cause cracks throughout the system. To prevent damage, all water should be drained from the system, and antifreeze added.
You should winterize at the end of the camping season before temperatures fall below freezing. The time of year varies depending on where you live.
If you plan on storing your RV in an unheated building and plugged in, you should still winterize it. The RV water tanks and lines might still be exposed to freezing temperatures. It is not worth the risk of damaging your systems and having to perform repairs later.
Before we get into the general winterization process, let’s find out what kind of tools and supplies you need with a few special considerations.
Newmar’s instructions for this process are available in Newgle in the How to Winterize a Coach article. However, they also include steps for certain equipment that may not be installed in your coach, such as:
If you have one or more of these components, complete the associated steps. If the coach is not equipped with any of these components, skip the associated steps and proceed through the remainder of the process.
Save time by making sure you have the right tools and supplies before you start the process. Make sure you have non-toxic RV antifreeze available. Do not use automobile antifreeze; it is not safe for RV use. The amount of antifreeze will vary based on the size of the RV, as well as the number of water-using components and appliances installed that require winterization. It may take several gallons to effectively winterize all appliances and drains in the RV.
You will also need a regulated compressed air supply set to 50 PSI. Lastly, have a blow-out plug that you will use with the compressed air and a flashlight.
Make sure you have access to a proper sewer connection.
The first step is crucial, turn off your water heating appliance, and allow the water to cool. Once turned off, open the hot water faucets, and allow the water to run to reduce the water temperature. Otherwise, it may take hours for the water to cool. Reducing the water temperature is critical to preventing burns while draining your water system.
Turn on your refrigerator and disconnect your coach from city water.
Drain the fresh water holding tank by turning on your water pump and opening all hot and cold faucets, including outdoor faucets and your kitchen sprayer. Do not let the water pump run dry. As soon as there is no more water, turn it off.
Remove and bypass any inline water filters, including the refrigerator and drinking water filters. Check your water pump to make sure it is off.
Remember that water needs to be cool so that you do not hurt yourself. Close the valves to the water heater and open the bypass valve. Remove the water heater tank drain plug (if the coach is equipped with a standard water heater; if not, follow the instructions for your water heating device). Stand back because all the water in the water heater will come rushing out.
Open the low point drains for the hot and cold water, usually located in the water compartment.
The following steps involve blowing air into the system.
Connect the regulated air supply to the city water fill inlet using a blowout plug to run air through the system. While the air supply is connected, turn on every faucet one at a time for at least ten seconds. Don’t forget to also do this for the hot water spigot at the front of the coach (if equipped) with low point drain and the tank fill valve.
You can now disconnect the air supply.
Before you do anything else, close the low point drains. Otherwise, all the antifreeze you add will just go straight through your system, through the low point drains, and onto the ground.
If you have a whole house filter canister, remove it, dump the remaining water, and reinstall it.
Find the “A” and “B” winterizing valves in the water compartment. Rotate “A” valve clockwise to close it. Rotate “B” valve to a counterclockwise position to open it. Locate the winterizing hose and remove the plug. Insert the hose in the antifreeze container and turn on the water pump. You will see the antifreeze flow through the clear hose to the RV water lines.
Open each hot and cold faucet throughout the coach until antifreeze is detected. Don’t forget to also do this for the outdoor faucets and hot water spigot with low point drain. Next, flush your toilets, and use the toilet sprayers (if equipped) until you see antifreeze flow. Lastly, pour antifreeze directly into all drains.
Don’t forget about your appliances. Your dishwasher, refrigerator, and washing machine all need to be winterized as well, while the water system is still pressurized with antifreeze.
To winterize your dishwasher, run it empty through a cycle without soap. For the washing machine, run it empty for two minutes using a warm water setting. Then press “cancel” and “drain” to stop it.
To winterize your refrigerator, run water through the external water dispenser until you see antifreeze in the water. Next, make sure the ice maker is on and give the freezer time to make ice cubes. Once you see colorful ice cubes, you can turn off the refrigerator.
Now that you have run antifreeze through your entire motorhome water system, turn off the water pump. Close the wintering valve “B”, open valve “A”. Plug and stow the winterizing hose. Drain your gray and black holding tanks to make sure they are empty. If you have a macerator hose, make sure to empty it as well.
Your RV is now winterized and ready for long-term storage. Additional information can be found in the “How to Prepare a Coach for Storage” article in Newgle. Access it by clicking here.
There are a few things to keep in mind to save you time and frustration.
We hope this article helped you learn how to winterize an RV. If you feel overwhelmed, get help from a qualified RV technician.
Don’t forget that as a Newmar customer, you have no-cost access to Newgle, which is full of information provided by Newmar’s team of experts to help you. Click here for Newgle Winterization Articles.
