'71 31' How to water drain and prevent freeze

[chasrahm]

I worked very hard at my patched water system to remove all leaks this past summer. My A/S is my hunting lodge in west Texas but I now have city water. On Saturday, I realized a copper cold line under the sink had kept some water, froze, and split.
Before I leave camp each time, I have been opening the two drain valves at the back of the unit. My a/s is level and has the rear bath.

Are one of the valves under the sink for draining the lines too?
Can a level-mounted a/s properly drain?
Are there tricks to properly draining a a/s that I'm overlooking?

Many thanks,
Charles Rahm
Dallas, Texas

[Aage]

Originally Posted by chasrahm

Are one of the valves under the sink for draining the lines too?
Can a level-mounted a/s properly drain?
Are there tricks to properly draining a a/s that I'm overlooking?

Chas: yes (two or three, actually), yes, and yes.

MANY threads on winterizing. Suggest you learn to use the airforums.com "Search" funtion. I find that the Google selection within search is the best one.

Look up at the top dark blue line, click on Search.

[chasrahm]

"Okily Dokily, Nieghbor" Aage (Ned Flanders),
I always run searches first so that my first reply isn't "go run a search."
But when you search for my questions, you get a lot of repair discussions, use of anti-freeze and not necessarily discussing my particular unit.
I own the orignal owner's manual and the repair manual for this unit. I have studied the water line diagrams. But they don't discuss how to properly drain the a/s, for example, are you supposed to tilt the trailer to the rear?
I also don't know how my '71 '31 sovereign with a rear bath differs from draining a '71 with a center bath.
So I started a new thread seeking a little help.

[Aage]

Chas,

We are neighbours, in the sense that we both have SOTRs from the '70s.

I, too, have an owner's manual, and a service manual, and they both have a detailed section on how to winterize, detailing that the three taps on mine that are below the sink need to be opened.

Two of them drain the lines from the sink taps (H&C), while the third one empties the fresh water tank directly onto the ground below the TT.

It's also worthwhile getting one of the adapters from a "garden hose" fitting to a Schraeder valve (tire valve fitting). That will allow you to blow water of of the lines, assuming you have an air compressor.

Theoretically, you shouldn't need to blow out the lines, but there is apparently always some water that get trapped.

It's also important to care for the water pump. Easiest way to do that is to disconnect the input side of it, connect a piece of hose several feet long and dunk that into a jug of RV antifreeze. Open all the taps and run the pump until you are getting anti-freeze coming out.

Pour some RV antifreeze into the drains so that the P-traps won't freeze. Empty the waste tanks.

Pour some antifreeze into the toilet. Make certain the toilet's fresh water feed hose is empty.

I am working from memory here, so I'm certain I missed some things. Look again in your manuals, you will find the section that goes into complete detail on this important job.

[chasrahm]

Thank you for your help.
Good ideas and practices.
I always thought the owner's manual from 1970 read like a supplement for a new owner as if the new owner had been through a new purchase hour-long check out operational review meeting.

[Aage]

Of course I'm a 6-hour drive from my manuals, but I did this recently, so small but important things keep popping into my decrepit memory.

Under the sink, to the left, there are two filters in my TT: a large chrome one up underneath the counter, and a rather small one near the cabinet floor made of clear plastic. They both need to be drained, too, unless you filled your system with RV antifreeze.

The chrome one is easy to open, it has a large T-shaped key on it that allows the main body to come off. I think that the small one only needs a screwdriver or nutdriver, but it should be fairly obvious.

I would also disconnect the battery too. Once a month, if your TT is nearby, it's a good idea to charge it up again.

Have fun!

[Finch]

they sell a compressed air fitting at walmart, so you can blow the water out of the lines, just make sure to turn the regulator on you compressor way down (30 psi max) or you'll blow out a line. like aage said, use some antifreez and you'll save the head ache later

[chasrahm]

Why I couldn't find it before is beyond me but the manual for my a/s does discuss in instructional format the proper preparation for storage or winterizing:

1. Level the trailer form side to side and front to rear.
2. Open all faucets.
3. Turn the water pump switch to "off".
4. Open all drain valves: there are five:
2 valves in the One-Stop-Service Center.
3 valves under the galley sink (water tank drain valve is under the floor)
5. While the water is draining from the system, open and flush the toilet flushing valve. Depress hand spray thumb button and hold the spray head below rim of toilet to drain the hand spray line.
6. Drain all water from telephone shower head flexible hose.
7. Lower the front of the trailer as far as the jack will allow while the water continues to drain. Then crank the jack up as high as it will go and let remaining water out.
8. After the water has stopped, apply air pressure to the drain lines with all drain valves and faucets still open. This will force all remaining water from the water heater, also water that may be trapped in low areas.
9. Pour a cup of antifreeze into the lavatory and sink and tub drains to prevent freezing in the taps.
10. Open the waste holding tank drain valve and drain and flush the tank thoroughly.
11. If you have a water purifier, remove the lower portion and drain it.
12. Disconnect the inlet and outlet connections of the water pump and turn by hand till all water is expelled.
13. A normal battery will discharge itself in 30-45 days, and faster if it is freezing. Therefore, it is most important to check every 2 weeks at least in freezing weather and charge it as necessary. A safe specific gravity reading is 1.225.

[Aage]

Looks like I caught all the points, I'm pinning a little gold star on my forehead.