Water systems

Starting with the fresh water tank. Make sure the plug is on the drain. Fill the tank, adding 1/2 cup of chlorine bleach mixed with some water in the process.

Check to see that your winterizing valve is set to draw from the tank. When we first got ours, the valve was left in the position to draw from an RV antifreeze bottle. It about drove me nuts until I found the valve and turned it to the correct position.

Since you never used  the water system, the anode rod in your water heater is likely okay. Check to see that the bypass valve(s) are set so that water will also flow though the hot water heater. Make sure the relief valve outside is closed.

Make sure all faucet valves and outside shower valves are closed. While you are at it, make sure both low-point drain caps are on.

Turn on your water pump. If all is set right, the pump will start to draw water from the tank and push it through the water lines. It will run for a while because it is building pressure. Since the water heater tank is empty, it can push quite a bit in there until it fills enough to build pressure to the pump's cut-off pressure. While it is pumping, open one of the faucet valves and you should hear air escaping the system. Eventually, water will start spurting out. Once you have a steady flow, shut that valve off and open the other one. Repeat with all the valves. You can go outside and open the pressure relief valve for the hot water heater and bleed the air out that way. Work your way around to the bathroom and kitchen faucets and don't forget the outside shower faucet. Once you have bled all the air, top off the tank. Turn the pump off. Let the chlorine work overnight to sanitize the tank.

The next day, remove the plug from the fresh water tank. Let that drain. Also remove the low point drain plugs and open the faucets to let the lines drain. You can also remove the anode rod from the hot water tank and drain that, but if you don't plan on drinking the water from the hot water tap, why bother? It will flush out with use. Once the tank and lines are empty, replace the plugs. Fill the fresh water tank with fresh water. I use an inline filter when I do so. If you don't mind the residual chlorine taste, you can use the water. Otherwise, flush the lines with the water you added. Remove the plugs and drain. Replace the plugs and refill the tank again. If you really don't like the taste, you could dissolve some baking soda and add it to the tank when you do the flush above. After you do so, drain that water and refill.

As for the gray and black tanks, to minimize odor, you will want to use some form of treatment. I am currently TankTech's Rx which is a biological treatment. This will help break down waste. You can use other treatments. If you do, please ensure they don't contain formaldehyde. That is bad for septic systems and water treatment plants.

Use the kitchen and bathroom sinks as you normally would. The caveat is that you do have a limited water supply unless you are connected to city water and limited gray storage unless you are connected to a sewage drain system. If you are connected, it is okay to leave the gray tank drain valve open. However, it is good to have some gray water if you know you are going to have to drain the black water tank. The gray water will help flush out the sewage line after you dump the black water tank.

Use of toilet is similar to home use. For #1, a quick flush is all that is needed. For #2, it is best to fill the bowl about 1/2 full and then place a few sheets of TP in, crossing them. This will help keep things cleaner when you do flush. The key to avoid the "pyramid of poo" is to use plenty of water when flushing and to not drain the black water tank unless it is at least 2/3 full. If you need to dump the black tank beforehand, add water to fill it at least 2/3 full before you pull the valve. This will help move things out of the tank. The TankTech's RV additive can be used and if it is left in, it keeps working to liquefy solids.

The hot water heater has two methods of heating water--gas and electric. The valve on the panel with the gauges is for gas. Turn that on (make sure tank is full first) and the gas burner will ignite and heat the water. For electric, you of course have to be connected to shore power or a generator of sufficient size. Go outside and open the cover of the water heater. On the lower-left side, behind some of the burner tubes, is the electric switch. It is small and hard to spot. Make double-sure your hot water tank is full. Turn that switch on and you will heat the water that way. Never have that on when the hot water tank is empty. It will burn out the element. You would still be able to heat with gas until you replace the element. However, making sure the tank is full will avoid that expense.

Showers should be short. Best is get wet, use the pause button to stop the flow, soap up, then resume water flow to rinse. 30 gallons of water can be used very quickly if you try to take a shower like you would at home. Even if you can add more water to the tank, if you don't have a sewer hookup, you can fill the gray tank. If you are in a place with showers, that would be better if you can't get by with short showers.

I hope this covers your questions. A search will help you  find information on winterizing.

That depends on the model of your R-Pod. In our RP179, it is located under the queen bed, in the corner that you can't get to unless you either take the mattress and platform off or add an access hatch that you can open after you lift the mattress out of the way. An outside access panel would be nice, but it would be one more place where there could be a potential leak, so I don't plan on adding one of those. I am thinking of reworking my access hatch though as the hinge does not work as well as I thought it would. If I do, I will make it a lift-out hatch that won't require I move the mattress quite as far out of the way to open it.

Of course, the location on yours may not be the same. I don't remember what model you have. If it is either the 179 or 180, the valve should be where I described.

I appreciate that information. I only wish we'd had it last spring.  I found that "winterization" valve in our 2011 177 this fall, but the mutts at one of our RV places in Albuquerque charged us $140 to turn that valve in the spring.  That's, what, $4,200 an hour?

Originally posted by cr505mr Another question stemming from a newbie mistake.  I had the AC connected while winterizing our 2011 177 a couple of weeks ago.  I drained the hot water heater.  I did not know of the on/off switch located low in the access panel.  I started getting electrical irregularities right away - drained battery principal among them.  I've learned that I probably burned out the heating element.  Can anyone tell what the replacement part number is? Thanks. Carol and Marc in New Mexico

Your battery has nothing to do with the WH other then lighting the burner on gas.