When to un-winterize?

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, as some of you already know, this is only the second time that my trailer was winterized. First time was kind of a disaster; Second time went quite smooth. But now, I think it would be OK to flush out all of the pink stuff. Or could a surprise freeze still be coming to Oregon? My trailer has been winterized since December 3rd 2014, after we got home from our last trip.

[rideair]

They way I do mine every year is to wait until my first camping trip. At that time, either in my driveway, or wait until I get to the campground (if I have three point hookups) and let the water flow.

For me, no sense in jumping the gun and doing something if you're not going to use the trailer anyway. We often times can still have a hard freeze here in VA in late March/April. So check your local weather averages and lows over time, you could be in for a big surprise.

Enjoy,

[Skater]

Even if it drops below freezing overnight, that's probably not enough to cause damage. But is it worth the risk? Probably not! We generally unwinterize the weekend before our first trip, at the earliest, depending on the forecast.

If you do unwinterize and it's going to get colder than you expect, if you have shore power, you could set the furnace to run if the temperature gets below, say, 40 degrees. We do that with ours from time to time.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Yep....just before first use.

But then agin this is WNY after all.

Bob

[lsbrodsky]

I have a different approach because I am still feeling my way through my winterizing success, having failed two years in a row. I want to know what is broken so that I have time to fix it. I start about 3 weeks before my first camping excursion. That gives me a chance to refill water systems, check everything out, order replacement parts, and chill out before I am ready to hook up and go. I just finished my Spring commissioning and found that I needed to replace my water pump inlet strainer; I generally cannot buy stuff locally, except for the basics. We are usually done with freezing weather by mid-March so I am running very little risk, I believe. If I had any risk it would probably be the outside shower and I can always drain that.
I do plan to pump some pink into the trailer next winter. I have tried to avoid that but my compressor, clearly, did not blow enough air to dry everything out.
Larry

[Ron A]

I usually wait till a few days before my first camping trip. Flush & check for any leaks & then I feel like I am good to go.


Ron
16' Sport 2015
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[AnnArborBob]

Larry makes a good point. If you have any concerns about your "winterizing skills," de-winterize at home before your next outing giving yourself enough time to fix any damage. It would be a shame to de-winterize on your first trip in a campground in the middle of nowhere only to discover some damage from an improperly winterized trailer.

[Shacksman]

I have a very different approach. I will unwinterize 5 minutes after I winterize. The red stuff does not need to stay in the lines, it is used to push the water out. So I blow the lines clear of antifreeze set the water heater to use position, and now the trailer is ready for spring. First fill up will flush lines. Most times I only blow out the lines, unhook the pump, drain it and hook it back up. My trailer is always ready to use this way, as soon as the weather warms up. Been doing this for 15 years, so I know it works.

[AnnArborBob]

Assuming you followed the typical Airstream winterizing practice with food-grade waterline antifreeze, the de-winterizing process is actually quite simple and painless so long as you have a water supply (this could even be accomplished with the fresh water tank.) It only takes a few gallons to flush out the lines and then you are good to go (we would still wait awhile before drinking the tap water to give the lines more time to clear out, but a shower is no big deal, and flushing the toilet with antifreeze still in the lines is a non-issue.) If you have a sewer hook up or can dump the grey water effluent on the ground, all the better.

The potential "issue" comes up if the winterizing process was not done properly (or was not effective - pick your own characterization) and you have a cracked water line someplace. That's why it's a good idea to de-winterize before your first trip so you can check this out. If you are 100% confident in your (or your dealer's) winterizing skills, then by all means, de-winterize at your first campsite.

[jcanavera]

Typically we don't un-winterize until about 2 weeks before our first campout. This gives me time to check out all systems, water and otherwise, and leaves me enough time to correct any problems with the dealer prior to that first trip out. Nothing worse than to do this right before you leave, and then find a problem that will cancel your trip.

As far as weather goes, that first trip usually comes in April which is known to sometimes have some late freezes. When I used to store my trailer outside in a storage facility, it was not unusual to have to go up to the storage lot and light the water heater, and turn the furnace on to its lowest setting, and then open all the cabinet doors where water lines were present. That always got me through those one night cold snaps that can occur after you have pushed out your anti-freeze. Battery and LP operation was sufficient to get us through the night without any freeze damage. If the trailer is home and we get that snap, I do the same thing only connected to home power.

Jack

[Drathaar]

Bob, since we are just a few miles apart, I'll toss in my two cents worth. I'd wait until a few days prior to a trip, or into April if you don't have a trip scheduled. I have memories of a pretty good dump of snow in the Salem area, in late March.

Better safe than sorry!

[RangerJay]

The week prior to the first use of a new season I like to flush the pink stuff out of the system with at least a couple tanks of fresh water fill-ups then sanitize the tank and lines. If frost is in the forecast, then the pump is turned off, taps opened and heat kept on low.


Jay

[Grosspoluter]

Bought a 345 in December, I live in northern illinois
I've been working on it ever since I bought it. Very often working on it in subzero weather. It was winterized when I bought it, and as it started to warm up outside I was getting more and more anxious to test out the plumbing.
Last week I couldent wait! I hooked up the water and every thing seems to work! BUT I knew it was to get cold again so I rewinterized! Yesterday on Sunday, this morning when I woke up...3" of snow

[Wayne&Sam]

I just pulled the FC out of the barn to get it ready for the season. However, this is the first order of business:



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[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

I just pulled the FC out of the barn to get it ready for the season. However, this is the first order of business:
Attachment 236609


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Well, at least your priorities are right :-)

[Abigail]

Love Switchback! Are you in Vermont?