Questions - seelevel, battery, and winterizing

Torzanne
Torzanne Member Posts: 31
edited December 2016 in Tips & Tricks
We took our new 2016 Max S on its maiden voyage this week with one night in Santa Ynez (with hookups) and 2 nights in Joshua Tree (boondocking). We absolutely love our tab - towing was easy, the Alde worked great, not having to bundle up and find a restroom in the dark was fantastic and overall we were very comfortable  (including our dog on her first camping trip). We do have several questions however.

  1. The gray water tank showed 0 the entire trip, but the black water, fresh water and battery levels all seemed accurate. When we dumped quite a bit came out so the graywater level should have showed something more than 0. Is there a sensor that's possibly broken?
  2. When we pulled into our site at JTree after having driven for several hours, we turned off the TV, then immediately realized we could back up further but when we went to start the TV again, it wouldn't start, just clicking like the battery had died. We quickly unplugged the 7-pin system on the trailer from the TV and let the TV sit for about 20 min, at which point it started right up again and we didn't have any problems for the rest of the trip. Any guesses? Alternator problem? Our TV is a Ford Escape. 
  3. Finally, we are now in Payson AZ for a week staying with family while the Tab sits in a parking lot unused. Temperatures are supposed to drop to 20f overnight for 2 nights, 35f during the day. We bought antifreeze to winterize but we'll be using the tab again after those 2 days. We're wondering if it's worth it to winterize with antifreeze (we dont have access to an air compressor) for only 2 days, seems like a lot of work. We did drain everything and wondering if we can get away with just doing that.

Any input is appreciated! Sorry for such a long post with several questions.

Moderator's note:  I edited it to make it easier to read.
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Comments

  • pthomas745
    pthomas745 Administrator, Moderator Posts: 4,530
    How old is your TV battery?  I would check the status of the battery before investigating anything else.
    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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  • JohnDanielsCPA
    JohnDanielsCPA Member Posts: 238
    With temperatures dropping to 20F, I would "winterize," meaning either blowing the water out of your lines or running antifreeze through them, drain all tanks and pour antifreeze down all drains, or you will risk damage.  I'll leave it up to you what to do with the Alde, but I would drain that as well just to be safe.  You can get by with an overnight low of 30; I wouldn't chance 20.
    2022 T@B 400 BD
    2019 Ford F-150 3.5L Ecoboost with Long Bed
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  • Verna
    Verna Member Posts: 6,876
    edited December 2016
    By "compressor" we mean a small tire pump for a bicycle or a tire inflator in your emergency kit. We 're really not speaking of the big tool compressor used with cars or with building of houses. 
    Verna, Columbus, IN
    2021 T@B 320S  Boondock “The T@B”
    Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
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  • Torzanne
    Torzanne Member Posts: 31
    edited December 2016
    Update:

    1. Took the TV into the shop and they said the alternator and battery are fine, so not sure what happened at the campsite.
    2. We poured 3 gallons antifreeze into the fresh water tank per instructions from Winterizing 2016 Tab pdf and turned on pump for several minutes but nothing came out of taps. Did we not wait long enough with pump on? The only thing we did different on the pdf was closing the hot and cold water drain valves because we didn't want the antifreeze to come out the drains underneath tab.  Could that be the issue? 
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  • ScottG
    ScottG Administrator Posts: 5,655
    Were you running the fridge on 12V while en route? My guess--and that's all it is--is that your alternator was struggling to keep up with the fridge, the T@B battery (particularly if it was discharged to begin with), and the TV battery, possibly leaving the TV battery a little weak on arrival.

    Also, if the 12V supply from your 7-pin doesn't disconnect when you turn off the TV (apparently some do and some don't), that would put further strain on the TV battery when you first parked--probably just enough to keep it from cranking the starter, which demands a lot of juice.

    After unplugging, a short rest let the TV battery recover enough so that all worked again. If everything checked out, I'd keep an eye on it, but not lose any sleep over it. You might need to rethink use of the fridge on 12V, though, depending on the capabilities of your TV. Lot's of discussion here about this.

    Can't help you with the SeeLevel issue--don't have 'em on my 2015, and I'm done making guesses for today!
    2015 T@B Max S (320)
    2015 Nissan Frontier SV V6 4x4
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  • Photomom
    Photomom Member Posts: 2,217
    I think you have a faulty see level sensor or else it its connection to the display may be broken. In either case it should be a warranty issue. 
    John and Henrietta, Late 2016 T@B S Max in Western New York
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