johndeeresalesman
northeast
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We're leaving in a couple of weeks from lower NY State to spend Christmas in Florida. I've already had to winterize my travel trailer because of the risk of freezing can happen in Nov in South Eastern NY, and now I need to get it ready to go south. Should I leave the antifreeze in and remove it when I get to the campground in Fla? How do I dispose of it? I plan to bring some along to put back in for the trip back. What do most people do in these circumstances when leaving a freezing climate to a warm one and vice-versa to protect against freezing damage? First timer doing this. I would appreciate any advice.
* This post was
edited 12/03/09 10:10pm by johndeeresalesman *
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Eycom
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Having a 4 season camper, I de-winterize the night before departure, set the thermostat on the furnace to 55° and dry-camp on the route down. I have however, waited and de-winterized in the Carolinas where you'll find plenty of open campgrounds. From there, the temps during the day are usually above freezing and it's only a day's drive to Florida. Have a safe trip.
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johndeeresalesman
northeast
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Thanks Eycom. Can the anti-freeze be flushed out in the dump station of the campground?
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JJBIRISH
Butler, PA, USA
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Since you are already winterized, I would just take some jugs of water for flushing the toilet and some bottled drinking water and flush the antifreeze out along the way…
When I leave I am not winterized because I full time and just don’t worry about it unless it is going to be very cold all day then I just run the furnace at 50*… if your not stopping in a CG along the way you can do the same thing on the way home winterize before you leave and use bottled water for drinking and rest areas so your tanks don’t need dumped…
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tippytoe
central washington
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Yes, the RV antifreeze (not auto antifreeze) is perfectly safe to be flushed out in the dump station of the campground.
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SteveRankin
Sequim, WA
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While many trailers with heated basements can survive sub-freezing temps while camped, the wind chill of going down the highway can be too much to keep some of the plumbing in the basement from freezing even with the furnace running. As a result, many folks don't de-winterize and take on FW till they get far enough south.
OTOH, if you've got a true 4-season coach, and keep the furnace running 24/7, then you should be able to de-winterize before leaving home.
We simply run the taps in the galley and bathroom sinks for about 5 minutes to flush out the antifreeze since we drink from those. The shower gets run till it looks clear which is about a minute.
We normally use about 1.5 gallons of antifreeze to winterize AFTER we've drained everything and blown all the lines with compressed air. But, if I was going to do it on the road, I'd carry 3 gallons to make sure I had enough. Then, drive north until the temps said "Now is the time."
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LarryJM
NoVa
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johndeeresalesman wrote:We're leaving in a couple of weeks from lower NY State to spend Christmas in Florida. I've already had to winterize my travel trailer because of the risk of freezing can happen in Nov in South Eastern NY, and now I need to get it ready to go south. Should I leave the antifreeze in and remove it when I get to the campground in Fla? How do I dispose of it? I plan to bring some along to put back in for the trip back. What do most people do in these circumstances when leaving a freezing climate to a warm one and vice-versa to protect against freezing damage? First timer doing this. I would appreciate any advice.
I'm right outside of D.C. and will be leaving for Fl. next Tue. Due to the expected low temps Sat I have winterized and will dewinterize our first night in N.C. when the temps are predicted to be above freezing. When we come back in early Feb I will have a couple of gal of antifreeze and winterize the morning before we get back as long as the temps one our last night out are above freezing.
Larry
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skipnchar
Google Kansas USA
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I just turn on the tank heaters. Running 12 volt powered heaters on your tanks (if your belly is enclosed and insulated) prevents the problem completely. If you don't have those conditions then leave the water system empty until you reach warmer temperatures. Should be about one days travel south of you. We used to carry a gallon jug of rv antifreeze and used it to flush the toilet while traveling in cold weather without heated tanks.
Good luck / skip
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MARKW8
Akron OH
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I think you'll find WIND CHILL only effects people and animals.
Mark.
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Doug63
Liberty Lake, Washington, United States
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MARKW8 wrote:I think you'll find WIND CHILL only effects people and animals.
Correct. Wind chill is a function of how quickly something will be cooled to ambient temperature.
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