Winterizing a Basecamp

[MrKenmore]

I reviewed the same. With all the faucets open as well as the drain down, I don't see a problem with doing this. It's a little contradictory as the Airstream manual says use air to blow it out but the Truma manual says not to do so. I don't think you can isolate the Truma through valves

[OTRA15]

If you can regulate the air pressure down to 30 PSI, what harm could air vs. water cause? Truma is just being cautious IMO. Curious to know what Colonial would say.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Peter

[BkroadTravlr]

The Basecamp manual says to isolate the Truma system before pumping antifreeze into the system. It would seem like that is the most critical piece of the system to winterize. Is there a reason to not pump antifreeze through the Truma? I can't seem to be able to close the line valves to isolate it anyway. Is there a trick to turning those valves without breaking them?
I have done all the draining and jacking the front up and down, but I'm worried there still may be some water in the system. I don't want to take it to the dealer until spring, hoping they will get all of the issues worked out with the fridge.

[ktcosmos]

I'm with you on those valves on either side of the Truma unit! I finally GENTLY loosened them with a wrench and was able to then move them with my fingers.

Have everything drained but having a dickens of a time figuring out where to connect to pump in the antifreeze.

[BkroadTravlr]

I connected a hose to the inboard side of the pump and pumped 3 gallons of antifreeze into the system, including the Truma. Hope I didn’t make a mistake. Needed to get it done. Poured more down traps and into fresh water fill inlet. Should be covered!

[lovetosurf]

Hi there,

I really appreciate all the information on the forum - you guys are great! I have a 2017 BC and am faced with prepping it for lower temperatures. I live in Seattle which is temperate but we do have lower temps including a hard frost this week. I am the kind of person who defaults to inaction when something is not clear. Winterizing the BC is not clear to me. I have an appointment at the dealer next week for the fridge fix and winterizing. But - i want to be able to do this myself. The whole idea of the BC was to get something relatively simple!

What helps me a lot is to have clear steps and pictures (or videos) that go along with it. That way when I am faced with multiple wires and valves I have confidence on which ones to turn. I am going to plunge ahead with winterizing and try to take photos and gopro footage. Please feel free to offer advice on how to do it better or safer!

If any of you wanted to add photos to the super helpful posts you have made I would be forever grateful. Not criticizing any of the great help here already - just letting people know what could be even more helpful for those of us who are challenged

[lovetosurf]

I do not own an air compressor. I would like to spend the least amount possible to purchase one for winterizing. Does anyone have a recommendation? I am not sure if the small ones for inflating car tires will work for the BC. I don't have another need for one so it only needs to work for blowing water out of the pipes of the BC.

Thanks!

Melinda

[TroyH]

The air compressors for tires are not oil-less so you could put oil in your BC plumbing. And I don’t think they have a fitting that you’d need to connect the hose to the city water inlet.

You can get an appropriate compressor for $100 or less. Or you can rent one or borrow one from someone. Know any carpenters? They are sure to have one.

You could probably not blow the water out if you drain most of it out and add food-grade antifreeze down the sink drain and the shower drain to fill those traps. The BC’s plumbing is pretty simple so this may be enough.

[lovetosurf]

Thank you - this is super helpful!

[MrKenmore]

BTW- I found on Amazon today fittings to help you blow out your BC. They have male hose threads on one side and an air hose quick connect or tire valve style on the other.

Camco 36153
Camco 36143

The tire valve style would let you do this at a service station with air.

[MrKenmore]

As an FYI, I did perform the RV antifreeze winterization. I purchased a 2 gallon set of RV antifreeze concentrate. You add water to a gallon jug that is partially filled with RV antifreeze concentrate. I unhooked the suction line of the pump (pointing to the drivers side) and hooked up a piece of clear vinyl tub which I submerged in the gallon jug. Opened up the faucets / toilet and turned on the pump. It sucked up 2 gallons surprisingly quick. If you really want to go the distance maybe you need 3 gallons. I found the manual for the BC and the Truma rather vague. Both said an antifreeze winterization was not required, rather optional.

[flgman]

Hello all. Picking up on this fairly old thread. Hope I'm doing it right. Completely new to forums and just picked up a used 2017 Basecamp last week and hauled it up to to the high country of Arizona where I live. This forum has been very helpful in figuring out exactly how to winterize this thing. The BC manual is quite brief on the subject and leaves much left unanswered, including the purpose of all the valves. I think I have figured out using a combination of the manual, parts book, the comments here, and just eyeballing all the lines and where they lead. But one thing still has me nervous and that is whether I can be sure I've fully drained the Truma unit. The Truma manual has me fearful that it will easily be destroyed with any leftover water in it, and tells you to be sure it fully drains, but doesn't tell you how to ensure it is fully drained. To make matters worse, it specifically advises against blowing it out (which I presume to mean even at sub-60 psi pressure). That leaves me thinking the only safe option is to fill it with antifreeze, which Airstream implies is not necessary. I'd rather not fill it with antifreeze as I regularly haul it back down to warmer locations and return it to the cold where it must be re-winterized. I'm concerned enough that right now I'm keeping the BC plugged in and keeping the temp at 50 as I try to figure this out. Sorry for the novel and revisiting some well worn ground on this topic. Is there any definitive information on whether just draining the Truma is sufficient, and how does one know if it is fully drained?

[JuniperRoad]

We love our Basecamp and use it as much as possible. In early January, we did a five day trip when the temps were in the teens overnight (sometimes lower, near 10 degrees). We were dry camping, and were perfectly comfortable inside using the furnace. On the coldest night, we had the tank heaters on for a few hours in the middle of the night, but those drain the battery quickly so aren't something we could keep on constantly.

On the fourth day we discovered our shower was not functioning properly, and was leaking large amounts of fresh water (both hot and cold) from underneath near the wheel well where the bathroom plumbing is. This was the first time we had used the shower in a long time. Our dealership is fixing this now (I don't have details yet but they are calling it freeze damage). I wonder if we can really use the Basecamp for winter camping? I wonder if our shower pipes froze in the cold weather during that trip? The wheel well is not insulated and is right next to the shower plumbing, we can see daylight where the pipes come in from the underbelly (in the mechanicals under-seat compartment), and the shower pass-through "door" is plastic and makes the bathroom colder than necessary and may affect the plumbing too (?) (we've since added insulation). We can fix some of those issues ourselves, but I don't want to worry every time we're out in the winter, as there will certainly be water in the lines.

This adds to my general unhappiness with the poorly defined winterizing process, and the contradictory information regarding blowing air through the lines. All of which is pointless if we'll get freeze issues while we're actually using the unit.

Anyone else been winter camping in low temps? What was your experience?

[JuniperRoad]

Flgman I completely agree with you here and hope for insight from others. We have the same dilemma re winterizing and then taking the unit out, and winterizing again. We've turned on the heater on cold nights too when it's parked at our house. I'll share anything we learn from our dealer, although they have already contradicted the manual regarding blowing air through the lines, which makes me uncomfortable.

[wrightrobert]

Originally Posted by JDKnight

Was just reviewing the manual and came across this.

"The water heaters manufacturer does not recommend blowing air through the water heater system when draining. This method could cause damage to lines and components. Refer to the manufacturers user’s manual provided for complete winterization instructions."

The old version of the BC user manual recommended 60 PSI of air through the city water inlet. Newer versions of the BC have removed this recommendation; and in fact warn against using compressed air at all.

[MrKenmore]

Interesting experience with the frozen shower lines. I certainly feel the bathroom is too isolated from the rest of the BC. It really needs a means of air transfer as you see on other AS models. With no heat in the space, it appears to simply take on the cold temps from the exterior. I'm going to poke around the wheel well area like you suggested once things warm up a bit.

I did camp overnight in the low teens without interior freeze up issues. The exterior dump valve did freeze which did not surprise me.

[Presscheck]

Hello all,

I purchased a 2019 Basecamp X in September and a recent cold snap here in the Seattle area caused me to have to figure out winterizing. Like most above I opened the owners manual, water pump manual, and Furnace/hot water heater manual. The instructions were vague and although they explained the steps about disconnecting lines and opening and closing valves, there was no Basecamp specific diagrams or pictures to depict where they were located. Having run propane and shore power for two nights in a row and needing to get this accomplished ASAP, I traveled to the Airstream dealer to have the service guys show me where everything was located.

First off even the service guys were not sure where everything was. Together we made a best guess on what needed to be done. I was also able to pick up an air intake adapter for the city water intake and a winterization kit with an in-line valve assembly and a section of 3/4in hose with threaded piece. Due to the PVC piping, I am not going to be able to just add the in-line valve because the additional length will put too much pressure on the angled joints. I'm going to pay to have someone cut 2-3 inches of PVC and rethread it to allow the brass winterization valve to fit. For the purpose of this winterization, I removed the water intake line to the pump and threaded the hose that came with the kit, straight into the water pump intake.

Anyway, I don't have an air compressor so instead of blowing out the system and only adding anti-freeze in the drains and toilet basin, I chose to fill the system from the waterpump to the faucets with antifreeze, but by passing the hot water system.

Once I knew which valves to turn, it was a piece of cake. My only mistake was that I had left the low point hot and cold valves open and when I fired up the pump it sucked out my first gallon of anti-freeze and dumped it out outside. I quickly realized my mistake, turned off the pump, ran outside and closed the two low point valves, placed another jug of antifreeze down and turned the pump back on. starting at the sink I ran cold until pink, hot until pink. Then Shower cold until pink, hot until pink, and finally toilet. It took about 2/3 of a gallon to get it done.

I left the water heater valve open like the manual said, the by pass valve open, and the intakes to the water heater closed.

Since I searched high and low for videos on winterizing the basecamp and could not find any, I decided to make a video showing the locations of the various components.

I'm going to leave the link here so others that a visual learners will have something to get started with. PLEASE let me know if anything I was pointing out is incorrect. I was taking my best swag at this.
Hope this helps someone! Happy to be here on the forums!

https://youtu.be/S_YE2yDvsks

[Eeziter]

So, I winterized my Basecamp using just and air compressor., I was very careful and did a fairly thorough job. I also made sure to drain the truma Combi water heater, and I did put anti-freeze in the P traps, and shower drain, and the toilet bowl. Now I am second-guessing myself. I live in Salt Lake City which can get down in the single digits or below zero in the winter. One reason I did it this way is because I am heading on a camping trip to a warmer climate the end of this month and I didn’t want to de-winterize it when I left to camp . I’m just wondering if I will be OK blowing out the lines and not pulling antifreeze through the lines? Anyone else winterize this way in a cold climate?

[Presscheck]

I kinda think that you should be because why are we doing this at all? Damage from expansion from liquid to solid. If you blow a whole line out and there is just a little bit left, shouldn't the little remaining water have PLENTY of room to expand to as it goes to ice? I have trouble envisioning how damage would happen. I could see standing water in the P-traps because the part touching air might freeze first sealing off the pipe and then the water below it wouldn't have anywhere to expand to. but all the horizontal piping in the rig? That's a LOT of volume to take up before you start cracking PVC.

Of course I'm neither a science teacher or a plumber so take my opinion as uneducated speculation.


Switching gears,
I sent my You Tube video to Airstream Customer service today and they forwarded it to the technical department who confirmed that my guesses about which valves did what were in fact accurate. They thanked me for bringing the need for a Basecamp winterization video to their attention and are going to talk to management for filming one next year.

[TroyH]

I agree, either blow out the water or add antifreeze. Both are not necessary. The nice thing about not using antifreeze is that you don’t have to worry about flushing it out in the Spring.