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KJRitchie · 12-13-2016, 04:36 PM

I'm traveling to Texas on Friday from Missouri to pick up my Airstream from A&P Vintage Trailer works. I plan to winterize the trailer on Saturday morning at Paul's shop except for the holding tanks. We will tow as far as Checotah, OK and stay at the KOA Saturday night at a full hookup campsite using bottled water to flush and cook with. On Sunday morning I will then dump the black and gray tanks at the campsite and then use the black water flush to clean out the black water tank. Then I will put some antifreeze down the traps and toilet and head off home to Nixa where we will arrive before dark and I can park the Airstream in our covered storage. I don't want to tow at night or try to back the Airstream into our storage at night.

We thought about just staying at a motel but we have our dog and some of these pet friendly motels still have a steep fee.

Here's the snag. Between Saturday and Sunday morning the temperatures are going to drop from the 40s to 11F on Sunday morning. My question, is there a chance the black and gray tanks will freeze in the closed position overnight? Temperatures in Springfield for Saturday will be a high of 20F so nothing is going to thaw naturally.

Would putting some RV antifreeze down the toilet and sink on Saturday night help prevent the valves from freezing shut?

Thanks for any advise.

Kelvin

TG Twinkie · 12-13-2016, 04:47 PM

I would flush everything as best one can. Then place the cap on the end of the sewer dump. Open both the grey water and black water dump valves then put a couple of gallons of RV anti freeze in both the grey and black water tanks via the toilet and a sink. This will fill the sewer pipes enough to flood the dump valves. Leave the AF in the pipes and close the valves. You should have AF on both sides of the seals in the valves preventing freezing. It will be a bit messy when you take off the end cap but by leaving the valves closed you can capture the contents in a 5 gallon bucket. Then empty the bucket and open one valve at a time to finish. This process could wait until spring.

HowieE · 12-13-2016, 04:52 PM

For the cost of 2 gallons of RV antifreeze I would put a gallon in each before anything else.

Put a gallon in the black tank, save enough to put in the toilet when you get home. Split half of the other gallon between the traps before you start using the other half to top off any trap you use while on the road.

OTRA15 · 12-13-2016, 04:56 PM

Recommend a full winterization and staying in a motel, as the most cost effective path. Could you get away with fooling Mother Nature? Yes. Is it worth the risk of being wrong? Not in our book.

KJRitchie · 12-13-2016, 05:16 PM

The temperatures when we arrive at the KOA on Saturday will be above freezing. I could dump and flush then put in some antifreeze like described then close the valves. We would be able to use the toilet normally as we plan to run the furnace for the holding tanks. On Sunday morning I could then drain the contents of the pipes into a bucket, connect the hose and open the valves to dump the tanks. I should be able to open and close the valves even if the temperature is 11F I'm assuming. I could then flush the black tank clean, close the outside cap and dump a couple of gallons into the toilet then close the valves leaving the antifreeze on both sides of the value as described until next Spring for the trip home.

We still considering a motel. I looked at Muskogee, OK and from Google satellites the parking lots of the pet friendly motels look tight if there are a lot of guests. Not truck/rv parking friendly.

Kelvin

Wingeezer · 12-13-2016, 05:16 PM

We generally only use our RV toilet for peeing!

When we head back to Canada for 01 April to put the trailer back in storage, I generally put antifreeze back in the RV before we store at as we could still get a freeze here in April and I don't want to take chances for the price of two gallons of antifreeze.

Depending on the temperatures we anticipate on the trip home, sometimes I wait until we get home to put antifreeze, other times I will winterise it at the last Southern US campground where we have full hookups - or sometimes at a Flying J.

That often means we may sleep in it one or maybe even two more nights after winterising before getting home.

In that event, we generally just eat out and use paper plates for any snacks in the trailer, and maybe tale a few dirty dishes or pots home to clean - no gray water. We avoid using the RV toilet even for peeing as much as we can.

Invariably we (usually me!) use it for peeing at least once during the night rather that going out in the cold to the Flying J toilets!

In that case I just flush the toilet wth antifreeze and whatever is in the black tank just stays in there until the next time we travel with the trailer during the summer at home, so no use of the slide valves at all - never seems to cause any problems of any kind.

Brian.

Adventure.AS · 12-13-2016, 05:47 PM

We have found that disposable camping toilet bags (with gel powder) are good to use when wanting to avoid using the black tank. They can be found on line (wag bags etc.) or Reliance Double Toilet Waste Bags at Gander Mountain and can be disposed of in any garbage can.

HowieE · 12-13-2016, 07:12 PM

Kelvin

You will Never get all the water out of the waste tanks. The gunk on the side walls would take hours to drain I don't care what you have done to clean the tanks.

Ice will only cause a problem when it is completely confined. Your hot water heater will have about 2 in. of water in it after draining. The waste tanks will have water in them. Not a problem.

SSquared · 12-13-2016, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

I'm traveling to Texas on Friday .... and then use the black water flush to clean out the black water tank......

One other thought. The black tank flush line is a winterizing candidate. In some Airstreams, I believe the line is short and direct enough that it self-drains, so it is not a problem. The first year I winterized my 25FB, I didn't think about it and it was not damaged. The next year I blew it out, with my wife looking down the open toilet to see if any water sprayed out. She couldn't see the spray fitting, but she did see water spray. So I have added the black tank flusher to my winterizing list. I hit it with compressed air, I do not use antifreeze in it.

dkottum · 12-13-2016, 10:35 PM

You're just trying to get the Airstream home. I would winterize it completely before leaving and boondock at Walmarts on the way home, and use their bathrooms. Eat at a truck stop or cafe, and bring some sandwiches or snacks. If you must stay at the KOA, use their bathroom and only hook up their electric.

TG Twinkie · 12-14-2016, 06:34 AM

Last time I bought RV anti freeze it was $2.50 a gallon. $2.50 x 4= $10.00. Pretty cheap insurance. IMHO

mayco · 12-14-2016, 06:41 AM

We've done some long term camping in cold weather (0-degrees at night) and are about to head out for six weeks in Colorado. Our first cold weather trip was a real learning experience and we did have freezing in the exposed waste tank pipes. It took quite a while with a blow dryer to break loose. Since then, I always start off with two gallons of RV antifreeze in each tank after dumping. Havent had a problem since we've been doing that. We have a 310 motorhome not a trailer and Im not sure about all the differences n the waste piping. But, like I said, no more freezing problems since we started using the antifreeze first.

KJRitchie · 12-14-2016, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSquared

One other thought. The black tank flush line is a winterizing candidate. In some Airstreams, I believe the line is short and direct enough that it self-drains, so it is not a problem. The first year I winterized my 25FB, I didn't think about it and it was not damaged. The next year I blew it out, with my wife looking down the open toilet to see if any water sprayed out. She couldn't see the spray fitting, but she did see water spray. So I have added the black tank flusher to my winterizing list. I hit it with compressed air, I do not use antifreeze in it.

When we purchased our 2008 Classic 25fb in 2013 (2nd owner) the first time I used the black tank flush water came out of the bottom of the trailer. I discovered the black tank flush anti-siphon valve was broken. I replaced it with an elbow fitting. The line goes up vertical from the connection point about 1 1/2' to the elbow fitting then
vertically down to the black tank. Water should drain naturally from both ends. I'll be bringing my air compressor with me on the trip although I could just blow in the hose. The RV antifreeze in the tank will get sloshed around on the trip back helping the sprayer from freezing.

Going to pick up a few extra bottles of antifreeze. I will try to get a campsite close to the campground's toilets. Maybe we can get away without dumping.

My brother-in-law has a porta potty. Maybe I should borrow that.

Kelvin

pappy19 · 12-14-2016, 11:11 AM

Yes as cheap as the antifreeze is, I would dump a gallon into both black and grey water. Your fresh water should be pumped dry and the lines blown out.

IAMGLG · 12-14-2016, 02:28 PM

I, being on the cheap side and curious, am putting a solution of 50/50 water to antifreeze in the freezer at 0 degrees to see what happens. Tomorrow I'll post the findings.

Devananda-E9 · 12-14-2016, 02:30 PM

I winterize before moving out. Use bottled water and catch any waste in used plastic one gallon paint buckets with lids for both grey and black collection. At least in my LYX 355 one fits perfectly in the toilet with the seat lid down. In the morning or whenever convenient I simply empty them down a land drain, rinse and store them for another use. Never had a problem.

Gneiss Guy · 12-14-2016, 03:52 PM

You might consider staying south another day or two, to let the front pass. It isn't usually 11 degrees in OK for very long, is it? That wouldn't solve your whole problem, but it could remove some stress from your trip home.

KJRitchie · 12-14-2016, 04:51 PM

We'd love to but I still work and I need to get back for Monday. I've camped in the Airstream when the temperatures got to 18F without winterization and had no issues and we kept warm with a ceramic heater and furnace.

We plan to take a ceramic heater and use the furnace so we should be comfy. Got some movies to watch and have easy meals planned.

We will take 5 1/2 gallons of antifreeze and purchased a bottle of deicer incase stabilizer jacks, truck windows etc need some extra help.

Kelvin

wvstreamer · 12-14-2016, 06:42 PM

Sounds like good plan. Have a safe and enjoyable ride.
Dave
Wvstreamer

Linda71air · 12-14-2016, 06:56 PM

I dry camped in my 71 in Texas 2 weekends ago (because the water lines need replacing) and I lined my toilet with small trash can bag, then I stretch out a diaper in it. It worked great! When the diaper got full of liquid I folded the diaper closed, pulled up the edges of the trash liner, tied it off and put it in the outdoor trash. All #2's were disposed off ASAP. I keep disinfectant wipes by the toilet.

I had bottled water for coffee and I washed up in a wash pan using the coffee pot for heating water, Dumped the dish pan water outside.

I used paper plates for Microwave food and or sandwiches.

It didn't get below freezing that night as promised, but it was close.

I also have a 5 gal bucket with a toilet led that fits it. You can get these from camping section of Walmart. Walmart has the bucket/toilet liners too that another person mentioned, with the gel powder. You zip lock that dude and toss it in the trash too.

Easy Peasy.

Have a great trip! Let me know how you like the Texas airstream repair company. I sure need some help with mine!