Winterizing a 2014 T@b with Alde

Cheryl74074

Are there any good videos or detailed instructions with photos (for a non-technical person) on how to winterize your T@b and the Alde hot water heater?

Cheryl74074

Oops, ours is a 2015 T@b.

Wanderoo

Cheryl -- There are none (yet) that I know of.  It seems that the 2014 and 2015 T@Bs have different piping and drains, even though they both have the Alde.  My T@B has T-stem valves on the hot and cold water lines (on the floor by the Alde). Pull up on the T-stem valves to drain the water from the lines.  The water will drain below the T@B under the left rear.  Another T@B owner I know with a 2015 has a by-pass valve.  So, I think that's why there aren't any definitive instructions in print.  Have you heard the expression, "No two T@Bs are alike"? 

What I did last weekend was to drain all my water from the hot and cold lines by pulling up on the T-stem valves.  Additionally, I drained all the water from the fresh water tank via the drain under the left front of the T@B.  I then shut the valves and blew compressed air through the lines, opening up one faucet at a time for both the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink and the shower until there was no water coming out of the faucet.  I did this rotation of blowing air two times, for a total of about 10 minutes each time. I then poured pink RV antifreeze in the drain traps, the toilet, and the fresh water tank, and also poured a gallon in the grey and black water tanks.  Total pink stuff used:  2 gallons. 

The reason I poured some pink stuff in the fresh water tank is that with the design of my tank, the drain is a 1/2 inch off the floor and it's impossible to get all the water out of the tank.  I didn't want that last 1/2 inch of water to freeze into a solid block and crack my tank.

This scenario assumes you have already drained your grey and black water tanks before you start winterizing.  If you have any other specific questions, I can try to help. 

   

Cheryl74074

Thank you Beth! 

We're going to take an October trip to New England and Canada and I'm a little nervous that we may hit some freezing temps. I don't plan on doing the official winterizing until we get back (today's high temp here is 90 degrees), but I want to know what to do if we have a cold snap while on the road.

Cheryl74074

And we will be visiting the Little Guy factory on our trip, so I'll be sure to ask for their advice on this. Maybe I'll be able to make a video.

Wanderoo

Now, THAT would be sweet, Cheryl!!!!  Hope you have a great trip.  I'm sure you'll have pics to post up. 

jkjenn

I will probably have to winterize here within the next few weeks. I will try to make a video if I can.

Dalef39

The dealer that I bought my T@B from, offers winterization for $89.00 He said people typically will pay to have it done the first time, and during this first time, the tech will show you, and explain what he's doing. 

I figured for a newbie like myself, this is a cheap lesson.

jkjenn

Dale - I wouldn't trust my dealer, truthfully. I know there are good dealers out there, though.

Wanderoo

Is the winterization instruction they teach directed specifically for the T@B?  Did you have a good experience with your dealer when you bought your T@B?  If so, then I would say it's worth the peace of mind for the first year.   

Michigan_Mike

This was sent to me by Ed Kauffman at the factory:

DurangoTaB

Ed used some of my pix....

jkjenn

I thought these instructions looked familiar.

Justjudy

I've been scouring the Internet for information about the Alde system. I am determined to understand it frontwards and backwards. I had read somewhere that freshwater was not required to run the heating system. This is from caravan guard.co.uk (a forum or blog) about that and winterizing: I asked the Alde UK team if I could heat van not water. Here are their replies: “If there is freshwater in the system, it will be heated along with the antifreeze solution. However, the system doesn’t require fresh water in it to operate. Over the winter, for example, you’d drain down the freshwater and run the central heating as normal.” I sent them second email just to be sure asking can I run the heater without water and heat the caravan using the mains electricity with the main isolating switch on? They replied “Correct, and indeed that’s what we advise you do over the winter.” then Alde added “Some horsebox manufacturers never even connect the freshwater side of the boiler, using it for central heating only. No damage results.” Hope this helps Jan

Justjudy

Another note...our dealer, who shall remain nameless, doesn't know the first thing about the Alde system. You fabulous people on the forum are a much better resource. I really appreciate all of you. Judy

PaulaK

Thanks for that info, Justjudy. As cold weather approaches we have been wondering if we could use just the furnace.

Wanderoo

Yes, absolutely, you can run just the Alde boiler (furnace).  I did just that recently, and it was fantastic.  No water involved -- in fact, I had already winterized my fresh water tank and water lines.  I LOVE the Alde. :x

RZRBUG

This is only sort of related, but thought I'd throw it in instead of starting a new thread.  When I winterize (and at least once during the camping season) I clean all the filters in the T@B.  Those include any screens and coils in the air conditioner, refrigerator, etc.  If you can't take your screens out for cleaning (all systems seem to be different for different trailer models and years), then blow them out with compressed air.

I just cleaned mine for the end of the season and found the air conditioner screen very clogged (mostly the dog's fault, LOL).  This cuts down considerably on efficiency.  If they become completely clogged, it could eventually damage the equipment.

2014TAB

If anyone gets the details to winterize a 2014 Tab with only a sink ie no toilet please post with pics if possible. The instructions provided are minimal and incomplete. Thank you

breakaway

I downloaded the pdf file to winterize my 2014 T@B that we bought in April. We have the S model and our hot/cold hoses and value look nothing like the photo. Emailed Chris at the Massilion dealership which is the home base and where we bought our T@B  and no response yet. Any suggestions? Also learned that the instruction manual is REALLY out of date. Have learned much about our T@B by trial and error. Nothing anywhere will tell you about a battery cutoff switch  and how important that is when storing the trailer( we pull the fuse on the battery). Nor the cost of a controller for the electric brakes. Or how to winterize. The amp use is totally wrong. Can't get the filter for the AC out to clean(just partially). Still trying to find a leak in out water system. Working with Marvin on that. Other than that we love our T@B and put about 4000 miles on it this summer. Just need to find out exactly how to winterize. 

Wanderoo

Hi, Breakaway -- If your T@B S is like mine -- I do not have a water heater cut off valve -- there are white T-stem valves located on the hot and cold water lines on the floor of the T@B next to the Alde.  Make sure the T-stem valves are in the open position (inline) and pull up on them.  The water will empty below the T@B near the rear driver's side.  There are instructions which were posted today on the Yahoo T@B site about additional winterizing steps for the T@B after you get the water drained out. :-S

Nomad

Since my T@B just came off the line a couple weeks ago (picked up two days ago), these pics probably show the latest Alde/Mechanical layout.

I'm going to post pics in my other thread - "2015-S Max - Picked it up today" - of what it looks like under all the seating as they seemed to have changed the whole arrangement from the ones I had looked at previously.

1 - Drivers side seat.

2 - Drivers side back bench

breakaway

Thanks Wanderoo, I sent a long email to Ed today. I am interested to see what he will say and when he will say it. I will check out the Yahoo site.

PaulaK

We winterized our 2015 T@B yesterday using the Power Point that J. D. (DurangoTab) and Ed Kauffman created.  There is nothing in there that references the yellow lever (see PXLated's photo with I have annotated in my next post - it's the yellow lever near where the cold water goes into the Alde).  I figured that should be flipped as well, but then my husband said a LOT of "filmy water" came out of the bottom of the trailer.  His concern was that we may have been draining the glycol from the unit so I flipped it back into its original position.  Now I'm wondering if 1) I damaged something (always my first concern when working with my beloved little T@B) and/or 2) there is still water in the Alde itself which needs to be drained before it gets colder here in Minnesota. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!

Note: We bypassed the Alde before putting the RV anti-freeze into the lines.

PaulaK

See the yellow lever that I referenced in my previous post.

breakaway

This is a pic of our Alde system plumbing in a new 2014 T@B. We find 3 valves, black, white, and yellow handles.  Where do we start?

PaulaK

Ours is an early 2015 (vin # ends with 0022 = 22nd 2015 T@B, I believe), and your Alde config appears to look different than ours. Was yours an early 2014?

breakaway

Unfortunately Yes.  We ordered it Christmas 2013 and picked it up in April of this year. We have been trying to get better details on what we are looking at so we can winterize properly.  LG sent us the pdf showing the wrong setup.

mawebb

PaulaK, I don't have my T@B as of yet. I am expecting to take delivery mid December. but I do understand what needs to be done to winterize the hot water system. There are four things that need to occur. 1. Turn off the cold water feeding the tank, 2. Turn off the hot supply coming from the tank, 3. Allow the cold water to feed the plumbing supplying the hot water portion of your distribution system, 4. Drain the 6 gallons from the hot water tank itself. So in order to do step 1, find a valve on the "Blue" pipe that leads into the tank and turn it across (90 degrees) the pipe. Step 2, find the valve on the "Red" pipe the is coming from the tank and turn it across (90 degrees) the pipe. Step 3, find the valve that is connected to both the "Blue" and "Red" pipes and turn it so it is now in line with the pipe. For step 4, find a valve on either the "Blue" or "Red" pipes that connects to the tank (In the case of the photo, this is the Yellow valve on the "Blue" pipe. This valve should lead  to the underside of the trailer. When the valve is actuated (In your case is appears that it would lift upwards) the tank should drain bellow the trailer. It appears that the white disk, may be a check valve that will allow air into the tank as the water drains. The two lines that are larger in diameter and "Black" in colour, will be the heating systems lines and are insulated. These are the ones carrying the heating system fluid which is a type on anit-freeze. I am guessing that the filmy water may simply have been minerals that have accumulated in the hot water over the season.

I hope that this helps. As I stated, I don't have experience with the Alde system, but am going from a logical approach and the the 4 steps noted are applicable to all RV hot water systems, although some will drain the tank by using the pressure relief valve, which is not apparent in the photo provided.

mawebb

Breakaway, your photo is interesting as I cannot see the line connecting the hot and cold system ("Blue" and "Red). I assume that it is not quite in frame. I do see a drain on both the cold and hot distribution systems. The cold drain is on the "Blue" pipe and has a yellow handle. The drain on the hot side of the system is white and is on the "Red" pipe. I also see another couple of drains heading through the floor of the trailer. I am guessing that the black tube, connected to the gold coloured valve, is a pressure relief valve for the heating system. I would expect that at least one of the clear tubes is a pressure relief for the hot water. I am not sure of the second clear hose, but it appears to contain anti-freeze as the liquid is yellow-green in colour.

Some additional photos may help in better identifying you specific configuartion.

mawebb

PaulaK, in looking at the photo provided by breakaway I now believe that in your photo, what I identified as a white disk, is actually gold in colour and is not a check valve, but rather a pressure relief valve, which is in line with the heating lines (thick black). It is a bit difficult to see all the necessary detail from a single dimension photo, as the pipes and tubing are above and underneath others.