New with lots of questions

[sldflyfish]

Greetings,

My wife and I are new Airstream owners (27' FB Flying Cloud) and are really looking forward to the day we can head off toward the horizon and not look back. However, until then its short trips to there and back again.

We picked up "Josie" in Oregon the first of January and towed it back to Arizona, but didn't stay in it because the systems had been winterized and weren't ready to use (and Josie is new). We're now preparing for our first outing and I'm wondering what needs to be done to prepare the water systems for use. Do I filll up the potable water tank and hot water tank and then run water in the faucets, flush toilets, etc., to clear out the plumbing or is there an easier way to do it? Other things seem a bit more intuitive, but plumbing is just not my thing.

Thanks for your help. Looking forward to participating in the Forum.

Troutbum

[Mexray]

"If all else fails, read the manual" are words well remembered...

Without knowing your meaning of 'winterized'...you may have several things to deal with...

To some, 'winterized' may mean that the fresh water system has had potable type anti-freeze added to avoid the obvious effects of the plumbing being frozen!

If that's the case, the anti-freeze must be flushed completely from the fresh water system - do a SEARCH here on the forum for more details...

If 'winterized' merely means all the fresh water has been drained from the tank and piping, it's just a matter of refilling, turning on the water pump switch, open the faucets (hot & cold) one after the other to bleed the system of air - similar to what you mentioned...

Check your manual to find the location of any drain valves that may still be in the OPEN position, and close them...

The hot water tank will fill itself as you open any faucet in the HOT position - check the water tank outside, to be sure all plugs are in place, etc...

Also, make sure the hot water tank is filled and air bled (see above) before trying to light it off...

Enjoy your new AS - those 27FB's are my favorite floor plan!

[OB Bambi]

Welcome:
I see from your profile that you have plenty to tow your new Airstream with. I don't know if Ford still does this, but the first time I towed, I had to put a relay in the fuse box under the hood so the trailer batteries would charge. (Ford put it in the glove box in a plastic bag with the directions). Maybe they hook that up at the factory now. But if your batteries don't recharge...look there first.

Randy Bowman

[sldflyfish]

Thanks gentlemen. I appreciate the welcome.

I did figure out the plumbing by reading the manual more closely and calling the dealer - Sutton RV in Eugene, OR. Currently getting ready to take our new purchase out for the first time.

The towing package on new Ford trucks has circuitry that charges the trailer batteries while towing.