Winter temperatures are hitting us, as are the difficult choices as to what to do with our outdoor toys. And while many folks take the track of a snowbird and migrate south, you may find yourself toughing out the winter at home. However, that may leave you with the obstacle of what to do with your RV at home.
Thankfully, with self storage and a few relatively simple steps, you can winterize your RV.
1. Remove and drain the water
Winterizing your RV focuses primarily on removing all fluids from its various systems and replacing them with antifreeze. A solid first step is to remove and bypass any water filters you currently have in the unit, as the chemicals you’ll use later on will damage the filters.
Start by by draining your black and gray water tanks, which is waste you definitely do not want sitting in your RV tank for a full season. Start with the black water tank, then moved to the gray. Once drained, clean the black tank with a tank cleaner or cleaning wand.
After the tanks, focus on your water heater and water lines. You’ll need to turn the water heater off and let it cool down, then simply remove the drain plug and open the pressure relief valve. It’s important that you let the heater cool down, so wait until the temperature and pressure drop. From here, just open all the faucets and drain lines to get the rest of the water out of the system.
2. Add antifreeze
At the start of this step, make sure you are equipped to bypass the water heater to avoid any antifreeze getting into it. Many RVs will already have a bypass valve installed, but you may have to have one installed if not.
Once you’re prepared to bypass the water heater, either install a water pump converter kit or place the inlet side of the water pump and put inside the jug of antifreeze. Once you’ve closed all the faucets and drain lines, pump the antifreeze through the system.
Once the system gets pressure, go around to each hot-water faucet and turn it on until you see antifreeze, repeating with the cold faucets afterward. Afterward turn off the pump, and open all the faucets.
Lastly, pour some additional antifreeze down the drain of each sink, double-check the water heater is turned off, and all the faucets are closed.
3. Store your RV for winter
Once you’ve winterized your RV, then it comes time to store it. Now, you may just be able to park the RV or camper in your driveway, but this does come at the cost of valuable space. Self storage can be a great solution for storing your RV.
Typically speaking, RV storage comes in the form of outdoor parking in a secured lot, but you can find awning covered parking spots and even fully enclosed units that can accommodate your RV. We recommend you also find strong security for your camper, such as electronic gate access and video surveillance.
Storing your RV for the winter shouldn’t be overwhelming, especially when you follow the two simple steps to winterize your camper. Then, it’s a simple matter of storing your RV and waiting for warmer days.
