Why winterizing matters
Any water left in an RV’s plumbing when the temperature drops below freezing can do real damage.
- Water expands when it freezes. Water that freezes inside a pipe, fitting, pump or water heater pushes outward hard enough to crack it.
- The damage hides until spring. Cracked lines and fittings often don’t show until you fill up for the first trip and find water inside the walls or under the floor.
- Utah freezes early, and harder up high. Nights drop below freezing along the Wasatch Front through the fall and winter, and earlier and colder in Park City, Heber and Ogden Valley.
- Freeze damage is expensive and avoidable. Replacing a water heater, pump or hidden lines costs far more than winterizing, and many warranties don’t cover freeze damage.
The 12-step winterizing checklist
Every step Mike does on every rig. Doing it yourself? Use this as your list, and call Mike if you get stuck.
- Drain the fresh water tank, so there’s no standing water to freeze and split the tank.
- Dump and flush the holding tanks, and rinse the black tank so waste doesn’t freeze into the valves.
- Drain the water heater with it off, cool and depressurized. Mike checks the anode rod while it’s out.
- Open the low-point drains and every faucet, hot and cold, inside and out.
- Bypass the water heater so antifreeze goes through the lines instead of filling the tank.
- Blow out the lines with compressed air so the antifreeze isn’t diluted.
- Pump non-toxic RV antifreeze through every line until it runs pink at each faucet, the shower, the toilet and the outside shower.
- Protect the drains and traps with antifreeze in every sink, shower drain and the toilet.
- Take care of the extras: ice makers, washing machines, dishwashers and water filters get drained, bypassed or removed.
- Close everything up: faucets closed, drain plugs back in, water pump off.
- Batteries charged and disconnected, and propane shut off at the tank.
- A quick look over the roof, seals and tires, with a note on anything that could cause trouble before spring.
What $499 covers
- All 12 checklist steps, done by Mike at your rig
- Non-toxic RV antifreeze
- Travel to you anywhere in the service area
- A walk-around of the roof, seals and tires
- A short written list of anything he notices
Repairs found during the visit are quoted separately, and only done if you say yes.
When should I winterize?
Before the first night below freezing, which usually comes in October on the Wasatch Front and earlier in the mountain valleys. If the forecast is close, don’t wait.
Do I need to be there?
Not if Mike can get into the rig and reach it with his truck. Just arrange access when you book.
Can Mike de-winterize in the spring?
Yes. Call or text to set up a spring visit to flush the antifreeze and check for leaks before your first trip.