Winterizing DRV Mobile Suites - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Winterizing DRV Mobile Suites

Stevie · RV-Dreams Community Member

I can not find the Fresh water tank release valve ! We filled the fresh water tank with RV antifreeze and it didn't flow out anywhere so we assumed it was closed at that time. in the spring we will need to open it to flush it, thought I should get help now! These DRV's are so worth the time and financial investment, just so much different than our pop-up tent camper...Thank very much ,Doubletree Newbie

Stevie · RV-Dreams Community Member

I am sooo impressed with your timely response and a picture to boot! Thank you very much. We have an '06 and the service area is a little different but at least we know where to start looking.It has been such a worry for us,taking the right steps,next year it'll be much easier and I will once again,praise your name.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

No need to praise me. I'm simply a lowly messenger trying to help others because I regularly need help myself.

Oh, and you are welcome. Fortunately, I'm one of the moderators, so I probably get on the forums more than others and I was thus first to see your question. There are others here that own Suites that probably could have answered your question as well.

Terry

bacardiron · RV-Dreams Community Member

Hello, My name is Ron and we have just recently traded our class A motorhome in for a 32tk3 Mobile suites with a 2008 F450 to pull it with. I am totally new to the 5th wheel world and have only actually pulled it once. I live just souyh of Whistler BC so it gets cold here in the winter months. We are not quite retired yet so we need to winterize. I know the basics for the procedure but when I opened the door and saw the " water manifold" I almost had a heart attack! The pic of the fresh water tank drain was a great help but where is the hot water heater by-pass valve? Also, the unit has a washer dryer combo in it, what does that need for winterizing? The manual is very vague. If I put 10 or so gallons of pink stuff in the fresh water tank and run it thru all the lines, faucets, outside shower, toilet etc, will that go thru all the manifold lines etc? Does the under sink water flter cartridge need to be taken off or just run pink stuff thru it? It doesn't seem to have a by pass on it. Sorry for all the questions but I am really in the dark here and my dealer is 100 miles away. Guess I should have got them to winterize when I picked it up Sept. Oh well, live and learn.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ron,

First of all, welcome to the RV Dreams forums. There is a lot of knowledgable folks here with answers for a lot of questions that you may have. I would also suggest some other forums for you, but let me first get to the "bypass valve." It is a valve that allows one to bypass using the hot water heater. In the same picture above, you can see a "T-valve" (to the right of the filter housing) that has a handle pointing down with a red "cover." That is the bypass valve for the hot water tank.

I am not an expert on winterizing, so I'll just give a few tips here. First of all, there are some that don't like the anti-freeze in their fresh water lines. In fact, I'm not really crazy about the idea and have only put the anti-freeze in the drains. I'm concerned that if the anti-freeze permeates into the water lines that one could taste that for some time. Then again, I may just be paranoid.

I think that to winterize the coach, one would begin by closing the bypass valve and draining the hot water heater. Then, open the low-point valves to allow the hot and cold water lines to drain. Once the draining is complete, close those low-point valves and get an adapter that would allow one to use air pressure to clear the water lines to all the sink and shower faucets. (See below.) Then, using about 25 to 30 psi of air pressure, open each valve in turn to allow the air to expel all the water from that line. The same will be done for both hot and cold valves on all the various valves.

If the coach has a refrigerator with an ice maker, that water line should probably be taken off near the bottom and allowed to drain in some way. As for the washer and dryer, I've not had to winterize that but once, and I don't remember exactly what I did. I do remember pouring about a cup of anti-freeze into the washer tub and running the drain cycle just a little bit to fill the pump and then shutting it off. If it is where you can reach them, I'd probably remove the water feed lines or blow them out as well into a bucket or something.

I'm sure that a number of folks can come in here and correct me if I've stated anything wrong or of there is a better way to do something.

Now, there are two other forums on which I participate that are related to the DRV products. One of those has been recently "spammed" with hundreds of "new user requests," so the forum itself is down for a time until that issue is resolved. That site is called Suites Owners International Travel Club (SOITC) and the other one is called 5th Wheel Forums. 5th Wheel Forums is also for other brands, but overall, there are a lot more activity on the DRV Suites (DoubleTree RV) portion of the forums.

You can go to those sites and get answers specific to DRV products. Some of the participants on those forums also participate here as well. So, when you have a question, ask away. I'd almost wager that you will get some very good answers.

Terry

RickandJanice · RV-Dreams Family Member

I follow the same procedure as described by Terri and Jo but also add antifreeze after blowing out the lines. To add to what Terry said, there is also a direct siphon kit on these rigs that will draw the antifreeze directly out of the bottle. By using this, you do not have to put antifreeze in the fresh water tank and it should only take approximately 2 gallons of antifreeze to winterize (not including washer). If you look between the manifold and the water pump, you should find a clear plastic line that is attached to a valve at one end and open on the other. If you look close at Terri's picture, you can see this clear line coming off the pump and looping to the bottom of the picture. You may also find a valve between the water pump and the fresh water tank if you do not have the single through valve as Terri's rig appears to have. f you have the single throw valve, just place the hose in the antifreeze and throw the valve in the opposite direction. If you have the older system like ours with two standard valves, close the valve to the fresh water tank, open the valve connected to the hose and place the end of the hose directly into a bottle of antifreeze. In either case, after turning the valve(s) and placing the hose in the bottle of antifreeze, turn on the pump and open one faucet at a time and the antifreeze will flow down the line to that faucet direct from the bottle. Don't forget to do hot and cold lines separately to each faucet.

As far as antifreeze leaving a deposit in the water lines, we have never had this problem. When de-winterizing, we sanitize the lines with a bleach and water mix and then use water and baking soda to take the bleach smell and taste out of the lines. Have done this for over twenty years of owning and RV and never had a problem. RV antifreeze is not toxic and tasteless.

cherylbrv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Is it necessary to winterize if you don't plan to be in cold places for an extended period of time? When we're ready to hit the road (please God before the end of the year), we may stay for a few weeks in a place that may go down to 30 or 40 degrees at night, but that'll be the coldest. If we have a 4 season package on the RV and good insulation, do we need to go through the steps above?

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

Freezing is 32 deg............your coach would have to be in this Temp range inside for 10 hours for it to cause possible damage. if you are staying in the unit and have your heat on you should not have to many problems.I would suggest opening a door under the sinks so heat will circulate in those areas.....your outside hose also will freeze below 32 deg. so disconect and drain it back at nite......if temp range is low during the day, buy some pool noodles and slide them over your water line it will help insulate alot and they are reusable at the pool during summer months!!!!