I bought a new to me LQ this spring and need to get it winterized, this will be my first time to do this.  It has an 8ft SW...fresh water tank, gray tank, black tank, sink, shower, toliet, hot water heater.  I got started yesterday but couldn't get much done because I had to leave to get to my daughters bball game.

I have the grey, black, and fresh water tanks empty and the valves on the shower and sink open....nothing else.

How important is the antifreeze?  The guy I bought it from told me he just blew it out with air.

How do I drain the hot water heater?  I opened the side vent and it looks like there is a plug in the bottom...do I just unscrew this?

Mike

I'm sure there are several threads that you can search on winterizing a trailer.

But basically  you want to remove any water that can freeze and burst a pipe. Both in the pressureized system and in the drain system.

On the pressure side.  Drain as much water from the system as possible. Get the tank as empty as possible.  Depending on the make of trailer, there most likely will be a valve that will allow you to suck RV Anitfreeze from a bottle, vs dumping it into your tank. This usually involves a valve that shuts off the tank and opens a seperate tube that you insert into the Antifreeze bottle.  Most Hot Water heaters have valves to isoloate them so you don't get the antifreeze in the heater and they usually have own drain. Pressurize the system and push the RV antifreeze until it comes out at each fixture. ( toilet, sink, shower)

On the drain side,  I just pour a couple of cups of the RV Antifreeze fluid directly into each drain. This will protect the P-Traps.  Make sure you have drained the holding tanks. And I usualy leave their valves open so water doesn't collect and freeze by the valve.

Go through you cabinets and storage and remove anything that might freeze, Canned goods, fly spray etc. I remove all food fromt he trailer just so it doesn't attrack mice.

If you are not going to use the trailer at all during the winter , I would remove the battery and put it on a tender for the winter. I still haul horses with my  trailer all winter, So I leave the batteries in mine.

It takes me maybe an hour to winterize mine.  It's not a big job, it's just some times awkward to get to all the valves.

I had a C&C trailer that did not have the valve to switch over to pump the antifreeze.  I had to remove the line from the water tank to the pump and install another line to pump in the antifreeze. The LQ conversion company supplied the line needed for this part.  One other thing is making sure you drain the hot water heater.  This is the plug that is located in the bottom of the tank.  It is accessible from the outside.  If your tank has an anode type plug, you will want to inspect this part as well.  It will have a long piece of metal attached to the plug.  If it is extremely corroded, you will need to replace this entire unit.  I personally use my trailer on and off all year and leave a space heater running in it all winter.  I have blown out the lines with air and trained the tanks and never had any problem.  In the event I wanted to head out on a nice weekend, I did not have to worry with getting out the antifreeze. 

I was unable to remove the drain plug from my hot water heater and wonder if I should give it another try.  What I did was to remove one of the lines from the inside of the trailer and drain about 6 gallons of water this way.  Even though we took the trailer to about 25 shows last year I honestly can't tell you if the hotwater heater even works as we have never had a need to use it.  Room temp water from the sink is good enough for us but I am spending some time improving the trailer so I would like to keep it maintained and next year I guess I will turn it on to make sure it works.

Attached is a picture of my heater, so back to my question...should I work at getting the plug out or call it good since I got it drained.  How would I know if I have anode type plug?  If I don't there is probably no reason to take out the plug.  If I do maybe I should.

Mike 

I never took that plug out of mine. I had a valve on both side of the heater and I just open the valve and pressured the system untill no water would come out.  It sat through several winters and we get down to 0* for a few days at a time.  Never had any problem.

If you think you got the water out, move on. If looking at your system, you think there is a possibility that water could be traped. the remove the plug.

Your hot water heater holds aprox 6 gallons of water. By not draining it, if it were to freeze, it would be destroyed.

The bottom plug is the drain plug. It can be removed by using a 1/2" socket set. You will need a ratchet, a 6" extention and a 1 1/16" socket. Do not attempt to use slip joint pliers (water pumps) as they can damage the hex head and make removal with a socket impossible. When it is removed you will see an aluminum anode rod attached. If the rod is corroded to less than a pencil's diameter, it will have to be replaced. The rods typically cost ~ $10. I leave the plug out over the winter.

Warning. Be sure to depressurise the water system before the plug is removed. Failure to do so results in a foot diameter gush of water that resembles a fire hose and travels almost 30'. It is best not to be looking "up close and personal" when removing the plug. These are facts gleaned from the experience of yours truly.

When the tank is drained, the by pass valves will have to be set to isolate the tank, so it can then be purged by air or anti freeze.

BOL

This is what I did:

Drain out all the water in all tanks. And yes, unscrew the plug in the water heater and drain. But second to the poster that said depressure the tank first. Been there, done that.

When you have all the water drained, add 2-3 gallons of the pink RV antifreeze into your fresh tank. I always put 5 in for good measure. I closed the pipes to the water heater, as I wasn't sure how the antifreeze would affect it. I don't think you have to, but I did.

Once you have the antifreeze in, start your water pump and run the sink, shower, toilet, etc. until you see the pink antifreeze come through.

Shut off your pump and your done.

Those were the instructions that I received from my LQ maker.

I made a mistake. I made the following statement:

When the tank is drained, the by pass valves will have to be set to isolate the tank, so it can then be purged by air or anti freeze. This is wrong

It should have said "the by pass valves will have to be set to isolate the tank, so the system can then be purged by air or anti freeze.

Sorry  BOL