More winterizing woes

dmerzbac

Photomom said:

We JUST got down below freezing last night. We'll probably go to check on the T@B after a few sustained days of sub freezing weather. We did leave all the faucets and drains open to give any remaining water room to expand.

Wow! That is amazing that y'all are just now experiencing sub-freezing temps. We were down to about 25 degrees last night here in Central Alabama! Getting a little chilly for these "older" bones.

ScottG

DebM11 said:

Jumping into this conversation with a similar concern.... only picked up my Tab a month ago and since then I have been recovering from surgery so no time to winterize yet.  Only thing we did was open the grey and black and drained off the little water that came out. I opted to plug her in and leave the heat running at minimum.  Barring a heavy long freeze (unlikely for Maryland so early in the season) I thought this would protect me for a few weeks. Thoughts?

At the very least, I would suggest opening the drains for the cold water, hot water, and Alde. That would relieve the pressure in the lines and get some of the water out. With a little room for expansion, you might reduce the likelihood of damage in case of an unexpected freeze.

To address your specific question, I can't speak for the effectiveness of leaving the Alde running. In theory it should work, as long as it can keep up and get enough heat to all the hidden pipes and other gizmos. To that end, I suggest leaving lower cabinets and bathroom door open, and propping open the hatch behind the toilet.

TabberJohn

ScottG said:

To that end, I suggest leaving lower cabinets and bathroom door open, and propping open the hatch behind the toilet.

Best hatch prop is a magnet mounted on the wall.
Since you only need to balance the hatch cover on its hinge a stick-on magnet from office supply or craft store should work fine.
I used a 1/4" rare earth magnet mounted with super glue gel as a permanent fix.

With the hatch open you now have a nice little storage area. However, the first mod required is netting (or similar) to fill the gap below the opening 'cause that is a serious black hole where stuff drops down, never to been seen again.

ChanW

Twojgrams, Be sure you opened the toilet flush valve when you winterize, allowing some antifreeze to run into the toilet, or you'll have the problem that I had, a "busted" and "burst" toilet module (Verna had this problem too, if I remember correctly  )

Also be sure the black and gray tanks' drain valves have a bit of antifreeze in them, or they'll possibly become "busted", "burst", and "frozen". Open and close the gate valve a few times while the antifreeze is running out the gate valve, to work it into the blade area.

There you go TabberJohn, now a search for froze up and exploded pipes and fittings might get a result for ye. Heh! 

TabberJohn

ChanW said:

Twojgrams, Be sure you opened the toilet flush valve when you winterize, allowing some antifreeze to run into the toilet, or you'll have the problem that I had, a "busted" and "burst" toilet module (Verna had this problem too, if I remember correctly  )

Also be sure the black and gray tanks' drain valves have a bit of antifreeze in them, or they'll possibly become "busted", "burst", and "frozen". Open and close the gate valve a few times while the antifreeze is running out the gate valve, to work it into the blade area.

There you go TabberJohn, now a search for froze up and exploded pipes and fittings might get a result for ye. Heh! 

Perfect!

Verna

ChanW said:

Twojgrams, Be sure you opened the toilet flush valve when you winterize, allowing some antifreeze to run into the toilet, or you'll have the problem that I had, a "busted" and "burst" toilet module (Verna had this problem too, if I remember correctly  )

Also be sure the black and gray tanks' drain valves have a bit of antifreeze in them, or they'll possibly become "busted", "burst", and "frozen". Open and close the gate valve a few times while the antifreeze is running out the gate valve, to work it into the blade area.

There you go TabberJohn, now a search for froze up and exploded pipes and fittings might get a result for ye. Heh! 

@ChanW , my water module wasn't "busted" due to lack of winterizing. The water module broke in early October this year before it got cold.

I camped with no problems in AZ  ftom Jan 1 to Apr 3, plus camping during the summer. I honestly can't attribute the water module problem on winterizing.  

jgram2

ChanW-thanks-will do.

DebM11

Thanks you all! This is our Sunday project and thrilled that my new cover arrived yesterday to beat the snow too.

ChanW

Verna, I guess I assumed your bad module was caused by freezing, as mine was. It shows some of us are smarter at winterizing than others, eh? argh 

Verna said:

@ChanW , my water module wasn't "busted" due to lack of winterizing. The water module broke in early October this year before it got cold. 

I camped with no problems in AZ  ftom Jan 1 to Apr 3, plus camping during the summer. I honestly can't attribute the water module problem on winterizing.  

geekmama

What do people do with the bed/seat cushions during the winter? I figured I would take them out, but I wouldn't mind putting them in plastic bags or something and leaving them in the t@b. I'm in New England so it'll get below freezing for a few months.

Has anyone found plastic bags big enough to fit the CS-S cushions or should I just bring them inside?

Michigan_Mike

geekmama said:

What do people do with the bed/seat cushions during the winter? I figured I would take them out, but I wouldn't mind putting them in plastic bags or something and leaving them in the t@b. I'm in New England so it'll get below freezing for a few months.

Has anyone found plastic bags big enough to fit the CS-S cushions or should I just bring them inside?

All of my stuff stays inside the trailer during the winter months.  Yes, I do travel to Arizona (did it last year) but my cushions have spent the winter inside the trailer in below zero temperatures, etc. and without issues.  I do keep my roof vent cracked some ( I have an Aeroflo vent cover too) for ventilation and with cold winter air coming in, it does tend to get dry.  If you feel you need to place your cushions in a plastic bag that's your call, but I never had any issues.  I'm guessing the large, black plastic contractor style bags would work for that well.  

Ratkity

I've always left everything in the camper. No issues at all. I have a small dehumidifier I use in the summer. Don't have a problem in the winter. I think bags would trap any residual moisture and cause issues. 

geekmama

Thanks @Michigan_Mike and @Ratkity. I didn't know how they'd fare in the cold of New England. I have the Fantastic Vent cover and will put a cover over the whole camper once I get it winterized.

Photomom

I leave the seat cushions in place. I have some extra large space bags I put bedding, towels, pillows, etc. in and leave them in the T@b. Did this last winter when my trailer was stored in a friend's barn. I did put dryer sheets and pieces of Irish spring soap in all the compartments to deter mice and put a couple containers of Damp Rid in the trailer. It seems to have worked, but it took a couple of weeks for the smell of all that stuff to dissipate in the spring.

ericnliz

@geekmama, I live in Eastern Washington where our winters are cold (minus zero at times), and snowy with the occasional ice storm to boot. Our trailer is outside beside our garage. I just put the cover on, leaving the top vent open just above the vent frame to let air circulate inside. I've done it this way with two different trailers, and NEVER had any issues. 

irvingj

Ditto, geekmama. Every winter while we had it, we stored our T@B in an unheated barn in NH and I left everything in. Never had any problems, not even mice (NOT like my boat!!).

ChanW

Same here, in western NY. We leave everything in the Tab.
Cold, snowy. Our winter is drier air than other seasons, so I'd think bagging them would trap the moisture.

Michigan_Mike

I've taken the stainless scrub mesh style scrub pads and stuffed them in to the voids beneath the rear area of my trailer too in an effort to both deter and keep any rodents out of the trailer. It has been inside Linda's barn and so far we have not had anything penetrate and invade the trailer.  

geekmama

Great, I feel much better about leaving the cushions in the camper. I'm just cleaning it up and will blow out the water and put the cover on with the vent open and wait "patiently" for next camping season.