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Winterize in warm climates?


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Living in Florida. I still do a limited winterization on my Ollie, if stored for several months. I’ll do the same for the summer months. I bypass the water heater  and drain the tank, then sanitize the water system lines and tanks as best as possible. Completely drain the entire system. I do use air to blow out the lines to get out as much water as possible and leave the lines and tanks empty. My preference.  I will use a small amount of Rv antifreeze in the sink traps to keep them from drying  out and a small amount in the toilet bowl to keep the rubber seal lubed.      Before the first trip, I’ll again  fill sanitize and empty the system. Then fill the system to get all the air out of the lines and hot water tank. Ready to go. This has worked for me for many years. Any further thoughts? Thanks

Grant  2022 GMC Denali 2500 HD 2019  Elite 11😎

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29 minutes ago, Landrover said:

Living in Florida. I still do a limited winterization on my Ollie, if stored for several months. I’ll do the same for the summer months. I bypass the water heater  and drain the tank, then sanitize the water system lines and tanks as best as possible. Completely drain the entire system. I do use air to blow out the lines to get out as much water as possible and leave the lines and tanks empty. My preference.  I will use a small amount of Rv antifreeze in the sink traps to keep them from drying  out and a small amount in the toilet bowl to keep the rubber seal lubed.      Before the first trip, I’ll again  fill sanitize and empty the system. Then fill the system to get all the air out of the lines and hot water tank. Ready to go. This has worked for me for many years. Any further thoughts? Thanks

We condition the toilet seal with a lubricant, designed for that purpose, to keep the seal in good condition.

https://www.amazon.com/Thetford-Toilet-Lubricant-Conditioner-24-36663/dp/B002NSU0ZW

Ray and Susan Huff

Elite II Twin "Pearl" - Hull#699; delivered December 7, 2020

2013 F350 6.7l diesel Super Duty 4x4 long bed crew cab

1UP-USA Heavy-duty bike rack

2017 Leisure Travel Van Unity Twin Bed (sold)

AZARCAIDNVNMOKORTNTXUTWAsm.jpg

 

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I know of at least one Oliver owner that will once a month lift the tires off the concrete and spin them leaving them 90 degrees from where they had been. 
 

I leave the propane lid latches undone to keep from permanently stretching the rubber pieces.  This also allows the foam bumpers to expand so that when the lid is latched the bumpers are not already flattened out. 
 

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Edited by Townesw
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Bill and Martha

2018 LEII Hull 313

2019 Chevrolet 2500HD Duramax

 

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  • 1 year later...

I was actually coming here for advice. We rarely freeze in Louisiana. We will be getting into 28 degrees this Monday though for half a day. 
 

Do you think this is something I should worry about? I left a tank of fresh water in the Ollie on our last trip. 

2021 Oliver Legacy Elite II - Twin Bed - Hull 762 | 2018 F150 3.5L Ecoboost V6 w/ Max Tow package

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Jordanv, IMHO it boils down to how quickly you can access your trailer in the event the weather report is wrong (factoring in inclement travel conditions). And perhaps your personal risk tolerance. If the trailer is three hours away, then you should never ever leave it non-winterized, even if it is plugged into shore power with a heater going. Power grids go down, big time... Roads can become impassible. If it is in your driveway, or ten minutes away, you can take small risks, as long as you know that somebody will always be around to check on it. Even if that is a trusted neighbor with a key. But if your gamble proves wrong, then it may be too late to get the water out, if you have no way to heat the trailer because the power is gone…. Or if your little box heater tripped a breaker, or the GFCI.

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6400-february-2021-arctic-blast-crippled-the-south/

So yes, it is something you should worry about. But not panic over, if you take any necessary precautions.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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11 minutes ago, jordanv said:

Do you think this is something I should worry about?

Unfortunately, as with many things, the answer is - "it depends".  The usual questions - is the Oliver protected in any way - i.e. is it sheltered near a building or covered.  Will there be much wind.  Is the interior of the Ollie heated - or - can it be heated.  Do you have (or can you easily get) the necessary materials for at least a partial winterization.

While I believe that your main tanks and interior will be OK at this temperature for this amount of time, I'd be a bit concerned about those areas that are a bit more exposed - the check valves for the water inlets and the exterior shower.  A simple hand pump and way less than a gallon of RV anti-freeze would take care of the inlets and (probably) leaving the exterior shower valves (hot and cold) open along with the showerhead left open would be enough to protect these areas for the conditions you predict.

But, I think that you are near the edge of what I'd be comfortable with.

Bill 

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2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

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We live in Jacksonville, FL, area and it seems winters are things old-timers recall with fondness.  Our winters are not much different than our other seasons - hot, muggy, buggy.  Our 2019 Oliver is parked at our home in our pole barn which doubles as our outdoor cooking and gathering place, so the Oliver is being watched every day.  A wonderful way to keep a check on the temp, humidity, barometric pressure, and dew point is to place sensors in strategic places in your Oliver.  The SensorPush monitoring system is a great method for tracking climate data in your Oliver (SensorPush).  I have 4 sensor placements (dinette, refrigerator, Truma water heater compartment, and one in the Barn itself).  Also purchased the Gateway to monitor data from anywhere using my iPhone and our Oliver Cradlepoint WiFi system.  Useful to monitor climate data while camping but away from the Camper. Highly recommended, and a cool technology.  Maybe a bit pricey for some ($89 per sensor and $100 for the Gateway). We are comforted monitoring temp remotely while away from campsite so our valued camping partner (Magnum, our lab dog) does not overheat (or freeze) should Oliver climate control system fail.  

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KWR


2019 Oliver Legacy Elite II, Hull#444


2019 GMC Sierra 2500HD Crew Cab, 4WD, Denali, Duramax 6.6L Turbo Diesel V8 Engine with Allison 6-speed transmission

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  • 6 months later...

Using compressed air, you can winterize your RV on your own. By far, the easiest approach to make sure there is no remaining water in your RV is to do this. Of course, you would want an air compressor and a blowout plug before beginning.
A blowout stopper is a tiny gadget connected to a water line that entirely drains it. You may buy this online or from any retailer that sells RV accessories. On the other side, you may blow water out of your RV's tanks and pipes by using an air compressor to pressurize air. You can choose between an air compressor with a tank and one without.

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3 hours ago, michaelclark said:


A blowout stopper is a tiny gadget connected to a water line that entirely drains it. You may buy this online or from any retailer that sells RV accessories. On the other side, you may blow water out of your RV's tanks and pipes by using an air compressor to pressurize air. 

Blowout stopper? Same as blowout plug or blowout adapter? I haven’t heard the term before.

You can’t drain water tanks, any of the three in an Ollie, with compressed air. They are all vented to the atmosphere so they won’t expand and cause damage. They don’t need to be completely empty regardless, because a small amount on the bottom can freeze and it won’t hurt anything. Maybe, maybe not - the three dump valves might possibly get damaged….. thus the need for a small amount of RV antifreeze in the two nasty tanks, after they have been drained.

FYI the over the counter plugs you buy do not work especially well, the Schrader valve type is really restrictive 

5CDAFA16-1AB3-42C1-952B-8C0D7CA5E506.thumb.jpeg.f33dfe0c680a00ab3b70ba7a977f07f1.jpeg
And the quick disconnect type is even worse:

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Both are designed to maybe not explode your water system if you accidentally connect it to a big 150 psi high volume compressed air source. But at 60 psi you just don’t get much flow. You should remove the core on the first one and throw it away, or drill out the hole as large as possible for the second type, and always make sure your air source is adjusted correctly. The goal is a large volume at low pressure, not a small volume at high pressure!

Remember to carry one and an appropriate compressor all the time, don’t leave them at home, you might get caught by an unexpected arctic blast even in Summer.

John Davies

Spokane WA

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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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