Handling a cold snap?
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Printed Date: 28 Jun 2025 at 6:46pm
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Topic: Handling a cold snap?
Posted By: TylerK9
Subject: Handling a cold snap?
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2017 at 8:02am
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After a long spell of warm weather and a camping trip that inspired me to dewinterize, it looks like we're in for a couple nights below freezing this weekend. Do I need to do the "Full Monty" winterizing routine with antifreeze into all lines, or can I just drain the low points and fresh tank, run the faucets dry, and pour a bit of the pink stuff into traps and toilet?  |
Replies:
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2017 at 8:27am
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Tough call, and likely many opinions. The two cold nights probably will pass without doing a full winterization. Wind chill could add a factor. I have a set up at the house for keeping the Pod on power with a heater 24/7 and I do have a heated water hose. I do winterize but I use compressed air. WInterization doesn't take me long. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: Happy Tripping
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2017 at 8:55am
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Interesting problem. 30-31 deg for a couple of nights I probably wouldn't do anything, but I'd be concerned. 27 or 28?? I think 10 minutes work would be in order, and I bet the consensus will go this way, too.
Oh well, at the least, it's good practice. |
Posted By: TylerK9
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2017 at 12:50pm
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Sigh... you guys are right. I should just take the 15m to do it the right way. (And I should eat more vegetables, drink less beer, and exercise more...) It's less about the time it will take than the hassle of getting to the valves under the bed in an RP-180. Maybe it's time to add a longer hose to the winterizing pigtail so at least I can get the antifreeze bottle in there more easily. Just because I'm curious: What's the actual potential damage from freezing if I've drained all the tanks and run the fixtures until only air comes out? I understand there may be some residual water in the system, but can that really expand enough to split a line? (Not that I'm planning to test it!)
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Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2017 at 1:30pm
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Here in northern NV we can get freezing temp's at night up into late May. It'll go below freezing for 2 or 3 hours, sometimes into the high 20's. Depending on the heat of the day, there may be enough residual heat in the trailer to keep things from freezing. For me, just to be on the safe side, if I see temps dropping below freezing for more than an hour or 2, I turn on a little electric space heater and leave it at it's lowest setting. Then I open all the cabinets and such so that all of the water fixtures and plumbing have air circulation. The heater keeps the inside of the trailer at about 50ยบ and is not too expensive to run. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2017 at 2:21pm
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I think you'll be fine. You could leave the heat on or plug in a heater and open up the covers in front of the pump & WH and leave the bathroom door open. Just bouncing off those temps shouldn't be a problem though.
TT ------------- 2010 176 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: TylerK9
Date Posted: 28 Apr 2017 at 1:23pm
Glad I decided to suck it up (as in the pink antifreeze) and re-winterize. Our "cold snap" has turned into a spring snowstorm! Wintry weather is sticking around through Monday morning. Anyone headed to "sunny" New Mexico for a camping getaway this weekend--be careful out there! |