Most outside storage companies will have you sign an agreement that holds them harmless should any theft or damage happen to your rig on their premises. Therefore, try to find the most secure location for storage that you can afford. Something that has good lighting, a strong fence, and onsite security would be best. Cameras are great but most of the time don’t provide enough detail to catch the thief’s. Plus, criminals usually remove their license plates. So do what you can upfront to protect your rig.

Secure Your Travel Trailer

Buy a strong lock for the travel trailer. If you really want to dissuade a criminal from taking your trailer you need to make it really hard to steal.  If it looks like it is too much trouble to deal with, the thief will move on to an easier trailer to steal. Don’t buy a $29.00 lock from the big box store or RV store down the street. Those are easily broken with the tap of a hammer. You need to invest some serious money to protect your trailer. We chose the S5 Coupler Lock.  We chose that lock because we think it is the best lock on the market. 

That is our opinion (we are not sponsored by them) and we use ours religiously when we travel. Proven Industries also makes a very strong lock – so you have choices but be prepared to spend upwards of $200.00. Good locks are not cheap, and cheap locks are not good. Also, find a big padlock and lock your tow chains so they can not be used to drag the trailer away without using the hitch. You might also want to wrap a heavy chain through your wheels as well. The harder you make things for the criminal, the more likely they are to move to an easier target.

For more information on the S5 locks, visit their website at https://s5couplerlocks.square.site/. Proven Industries also makes a great lock. Regardless of whatever lock you decide to purchase, make sure you find a strong one.  You will want to protect your investment. 

Prevent Unwanted Visitors

Clean the inside of the trailer out. Don’t leave anything in the trailer that might be able to be used as bedding or food for rodents. It is amazing the kinds of things mice will find and destroy. If you can find a safe place in the trailer to place D-Con mice bait, that is a smart move. We have always put it somewhere that was not able to be accessed by our dogs, just in-case we forgot about it. Now, since our rig is right outside our shop, we have pet friendly bait stations. Also leave your RV fridge open so it doesn’t sweat and grow mold.

While you may not consider your outside storage areas the “inside” of the trailer, mice certainly will. So clean those out too!

The Exterior

Remove your battery. If your travel trailer is offsite, remove your battery and bring it home and put it on a battery tender. If it is not a no maintenance battery, then check your water level for each cell. Add only distilled water to the battery.

You should also remove batteries from your smoke detector or any other device that is battery operated. Then put a reminder in your calendar to buy new batteries and have them ready in the spring. I have batteries in the tire pressure monitoring system and in my S-Puck water leak detectors. If you have those, you probably don’t want to start with an old set next spring.

Propane Tanks. If offsite, you may wish to remove these and take them home. If not, turn them off. They are good outside to negative 40 degrees. If you bring them home make sure you store them upright, just as they were on the trailer.

Tires. It will not hurt to have your tires over-inflated by a few pounds when you store it. You may also choose to cover the tires to protect them from UV light, and snow etc. I would recommend checking the tires each month at your storage facility.

Doors and Windows: It may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many people will find a window that is not latched. While you check each window you might as well close the mini blinds or shade. This should help to protect the interior of the trailer. If you have a second door make sure that is locked as well.

Don’t Set It and Forget It

Check on it: It may be a pain, but at the very least check on the trailer once or twice in the winter. When I had my trailer in outside storage I would check on it monthly. I would do a visual of the outside, then go in to make sure I didn’t see any leaks or signs of rodents. I would also check the level of RV antifreeze in the toilet – you don’t want that seal to dry out.

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The 1992 Prowler was a really well-built trailer. However, we probably had only half the mileage we have put on the Imagine. The big difference is that we never had to fix a single thing on the Prowler, and we had that trailer for eight years. Quality was much better back then, because there was a lot of competition. Click here if you would like to read my opinion of quality in the RV universe.

As our needs changed so did the trailers. Since the prowler had bunk beds and the kids didn’t travel with us anymore, it just didn’t make sense to keep it. From then on we purchased trailers that would be good for us to travel in with our dog(s). After the Prowler came the 2001 RVision Trail Cruiser, then the 2007 Coachmen. That takes us up to 2015 and our Jayco. That’s when we were shocked to see the drop in quality. In 2017 we saw the floor plan of the Imagine and we went that direction. We probably would be hard presses to find a better floor plan for us. However, the Imagine had quality issues as well.

I probably could list everything we have fixed since 2017, but it would be a long list. Most of the repairs have been small things like rebuilding cabinets, plumbing issues, sink replacement, Propane regulator replacement, toilet seal. resealing the outside of the trailer, bearings, brakes, etc. However, we had our major issues as well, like a new roof and replacing slide motors.

As I have mentioned often, the key to keeping a travel trailer is staying on top of things. That goes for any recreational vehicle. There are some folks that only go up on their roof after they have a problem. That’s just too late. I am up on my roof after every trip. If you don’t want to do this, either have a dealership inspect your roof or get a spray on roof that requires almost no maintenance. Even I realize I am not 20 years old anymore and there will come a time when I just won’t want to climb up there.

Going underneath the trailer isn’t any easier, but stuff just needs to be done. Of course there’s always stuff going on to keep you busy inside the trailer as well.

During this last trip to Dodge City, Kansas, we had a leak at the shower faucet. Of course the folks that construct these RV’s never live in them. As a result there is no access panel behind my shower faucet. This required me to disassemble the faucet at the campground to try and figure out what was happening. In our case the diverter was loose because the nuts that hold the faucet tight to the backsplash were very loose. That allowed enough flex in the line to drip water at the cold faucet connection.

There are few choices available for RV Shower faucets today. I’m not sure a residential faucet would work due to the weight. Fortunately I repaired mine but when and if it fails I will buy a Phoenix Model which is all brass on the inside. The model I have hasn’t been manufactured since 2018.

Cheap parts are often used. That’s because your goals and the RV Manufactures goals are different. You are concerned about the longevity of your trailer and they are worried about making as much money as possible. They could use copper plumbing and pex tubing throughout the trailer but they choose not to…because they are trying to maximize their profits. Here’s the solution: Build it right and just charge more.

The reality is things can, do, and will break in a travel trailer. It is your job to be ever vigilant so that you minimize any impact to the trailer.

I’ve always said I don’t mind fixing things, but I don’t like fixing them under duress. Unfortunately, I’ve had quite a few that happened just that way.

So now with winter rapidly approaching for many of our friends in the northern states, make sure you winterize so you are not under duress in the spring. If your still in the warm weather states just stay on top of things and get out there and camp!

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What things might you find that can go wrong? Flat suspension springs, broken suspension bolts, protective coating gone, broken wires (brake and other), bent frame, torn gas line, just to name a few.

I had been under my trailer for hours before our last trip and thought I had looked at everything. Unfortunately, I missed some bare wires coming out of the axle to the electric brakes. This was cause by a missing grommet. The wires had obviously been rubbing on bare metal for quite some time. Here’s how I resolved that issue.

The end result was a lack of braking power on the way to Daingerfield State Park, and multiple messages to “Check Trailer Brake Wiring” that appeared on my Ram’s dashboard. After pulling into a rest stop and doing a precursory check, I really couldn’t see anything wrong. I decided that I would need to look closely at everything once we got to the park. Fortunately, I still had brakes working on the trailer, but they didn’t feel as strong as they should be.

I discovered the problem within five minutes of being under the trailer after wiping dirt and grime off the wires so I could inspect them.

Once I discovered the root cause of the problem, I needed to source the grommet for the axle, and that was not easy. After many conversations with Dexter, they sent me the part number of the grommet. What they said they used is a hard plastic grommet. Oddly, that is not what was used on my axle. My axle had soft rubber grommets. So perhaps over time they migrated to the hard plastic style. I don’t think it matters much as long as the wires are protected from the metal of the axle.

So, my first step was to remove the existing wire connectors. They were easy to pull apart which gave me extra wire to deal with vs. just cutting them off at the connector. You can see in the picture below the existing groves in the wires from the old push connectors. I trimmed those wires where the connectors had spliced into the wires. That probably saved me a quarter of an inch of wire.

Next, I shrink wrapped the two wires that had rubbed bare on the hole in the axle. After they were shrink wrapped, I slid the new hard plastic grommet into place.

Then it was just a matter of hooking the wires back up to new connectors. The connectors have a gel inside of them that acts as a waterproof membrane.

All in all, I would say this is a thirty-minute job. It took more time setting out my tools than the actual time it took to fix things. So, keep an eye on your brake wires as well as all the other things you check before trips. The true test comes for me in a couple of weeks when we go to Kansas. However, I have a very high confidence level in this repair.

Stay Safe!

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This actually got me thinking about doing the same thing to the Travel Trailers water heater. My RV water heater is not a tank-less water heater but rather a 6 gallon standard water heater. Even though I filter my water at campgrounds and flush my tank each time when we get home, I am positive there is going to be calcium in there.

Keep in mind that when you perform any maintenance on your trailer, you need to exercise caution. If you are not comfortable doing maintenance on your trailer your should let a qualified professional do the work.

Turn the power to the water heater off completely – no electric or propane switches on. The water should not be hot, it will scald you! Relieve the pressure in the tank. You can relieve the pressure by opening the high-pressure release valve or opening the sink faucets.

Once all that has been done you will need to put your water heater into the by-pass mode. This way the vinegar will stay in the water heater and not run into the water lines. If you miss this step not only will you NOT descale your water heater, but you will have really awful tasting water until the lines are cleared.

You can purchase all the parts needed to perform this maintenance online. More than likely, they are available right down the street at your big box store. Keep in mind I do not have an anode rod, so one of my parts is different than yours if you have an anode rod. However, beyond that, the process is the same.

It is worth noting that you can also do this procedure by removing your high pressure relief valve and using a funnel to fill your water heater with vinegar. In my opinion, the following process is probably easier.

Here are the parts you need if you DO NOT have an Anode rod.

A brass 3/4″ GHT Male Fitting to 1/2″ NPT Male Fitting. This will screw into your hose on the 3/4″ side and into your water heater on the 1/2″ side (where you removed your plastic water plug).

A 3/4″ GHT Shut off valve for the other side of the hose.

A short Water Hose. I bought a 3 foot x 5/8″ hose on amazon, and a small funnel for filling the water heater via the hose.

You will also need to purchase 6 gallons of vinegar at 5% acidity. Alternatively, you can buy one gallon of vinegar with 30% acidity and add five gallons of water. Keep in mind that if you are using 30%, you should wear gloves as it is quite caustic.

Now if you have an anode rod, instead of the 3/4″ GHT to 1/2″ NPT fitting, you will need a 3/4″ GHT Male Fitting to 3/4″ NPT Male Fitting.

Again, you could remove your high pressure valve and pour the vinegar into that opening. However, this seems to be the least intrusive way to clean the tank.

I didn’t attach the shut-off valve to the hose until after I poured all the vinegar into the water heater. That’s because the opening in the hose is larger than the opening in the shut-off valve. Once I finished pouring the vinegar I screwed the shut off valve onto the hose; and then closed it so no vinegar could come out.

DO NOT TURN YOUR WATER HEATER ON WITH THE VINEGAR IN THE TANK

Keep in mind you need to keep your funnel elevated higher than the water tank in order to fill it. Additionally you may want to open all your vinegar bottles before you start this task. That way you can complete the task without having to deal with the shut-off valve after pouring each gallon.

Vinegar is acidic and can kill grass. So, I put a bucket under my hose while I filled the tank in order to capture any spillage. After the vinegar had been in the water heater for 8 hours I drained it into the bucket.

Surprisingly, I didn’t see a lot in the bucket which I attribute to the vinegar doing its job by dissolving the calcium. Next I flushed the water heater out with a wand you can buy at any RV supply house or amazon.

It will take a lot of flushing to remove any calcium and the residual vinegar. I probably flushed water into the tank for about fifteen minutes before I could sample the water and not taste any vinegar. I sampled it by just cupping my hand under the drain as water came out. The first time I sampled the water it was surprisingly awful.

In addition, I did get some calcium to come out (see white specks on the cement in the following picture).

Once you have the water heater flushed out you can reinstall your plastic plug. If you have an anode rod in your water heater, you will want to reinstall or replace it with a new one (depending on it’s condition). Next, you can take the water heater off by-pass mode.

So what did I learn after all of this?

1. It’s an easy job and doesn’t take a very long time to complete.
2. Even though I have a 6 gallon water heater, I couldn’t get six gallons of vinegar into the tank. This must mean that the tank has standing water in the bottom even though my trailer is level.
3. You need to flush the tank out really well or else you will have a vinegar flavored water when you take the water heater off by-pass mode. I would hold my hand under the drain on the water tank and sample the water as it ran out. It took quite a while before it was drinkable.
4. Using 30% acidity vinegar probably would have made the job go quicker since I would have only needed one gallon and then could have used the hose to fill up the balance of the tank to the six gallon capacity.
5. This is probably best done at the end of the year before storage. It was 110 degrees the day I did it, and the first part of the process was done in the full sun. At the very least, pick a cool day!

In conclusion, this is a job that should be done yearly or if you are a full timer – every six months. It will probably extend the life of your water heater, and allow the water heater to reach temperature faster with less effort.

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Winterizing your travel trailer doesn’t need to be intimidating. In fact it is a relatively straight forward process for anyone with basic mechanical skills.   Knowing how to winterize a travel trailer will not only save you a lot of time, but money too.  The cost, depending on which process you follow will probably be under $10.00.  If you decide you would rather have a dealership perform this service it will probably cost you at least $125.00.

I have been winterizing my own travel trailers since 1990, and have never had an issue.  Dealerships will tell you that they offer a warranty on their work. So if they perform the routine and you have a problem in the spring, they will cover any damage that results from not having winterized it correctly.  I have no idea if they really would cover any damage, or if they would try to somehow blame the owner. Regardless, there is no shame in having a dealership winterize your unit; you need to do what allows you to sleep at night.

Today we will step through the process of how to winterize a travel trailer.  Please remember that every travel trailer is different due to different features and setups.  This article is not meant to be the Bible on your travel trailer.  You need to be familiar with your specific travel trailer model and consult your owner’s manual when in doubt. Think of the following list as a generic version of what you will need to complete to avoid the off-season temperatures.  ALWAYS consult your own travel trailer owners manual for detailed information on winterization.  Each manual should cover the procedure.

Once you learn how to winterize a travel trailer, you can easily apply the same process to any new RV, with only minor adjustments. So make notes and create your own check list as you winterize, then you will have a great document you can use each year.

There are two different processes for winterizing a travel trailer. One process is to fill all the water lines, and P-traps (drains) on the travel trailer with RV Antifreeze.  The second process is to blow out all the water lines with compressed air and then add RV Antifreeze to the P-traps.  You should decide on which process to use based on your climate.  If we were still living in Wisconsin, I would fill all my lines with antifreeze.  Here in Texas, I blow my lines out.  I’m sure there are people in the northern states that feel perfectly comfortable blowing their lines out.  I don’t think I could feel comfortable doing that.

So what are you going to need? It depends on the process.  If you are blowing out your air lines you will need the following:

1. Air Compressor that can deliver 40 PSI.
2. Blow out plug (see picture below).
3. Wrench for removing the water heater drain plug and any low point drain plugs.
4. Screw Driver (probably an RV square head #2 screw driver) for removing any panels to access the water heater by-pass
5. 1 Gallon of RV Antifreeze (to pour down each drain and in toilet bowl).

If you are running antifreeze through the water lines instead of blowing them out; you will need:

1. Wrench for removing the water heater drain plug and any low point drain plugs.
2. Screw Driver (probably an RV square head screw driver) for removing any panels to access the water heater by-pass.
3. 3 Gallons of RV Antifreeze (to run through the water lines and pour down each drain and in toilet bowl).

How to Winterize a travel trailer:  The Process:

Step-1)  Make sure the Black Tank and the Grey Tank(s) have been emptied and rinsed out.  Pour your preferred tank treatment into the black and grey holding tanks.

Step-2)  Verify before you start,  that the propane and electric is turned off to the hot water heater.

Step-3)  Drain the water heater and leave the drain plug out.  Never drain the hot water heater when it is full of hot water or under pressure.  Make sure you open the pressure relief valve when you drain the water heater so that it drains completely.

Step 4)  Next rinse the hot water tank and allow it to drain.  You can buy a wand for rinsing your water tank on-line for a few dollars.  Insert the wand into the tank where you removed the drain plug.   Rinsing the water tank is not only a good idea before you store your RV but during the camping season. Stale water left in the heater can release foul odors that are tough to get rid of.

Step 5)  Open the low point drains on your trailer.  The purpose of opening these drains is to empty the water lines.  Keep in mind, this will not completely empty the lines.

Step 6)  Open the drain valve on your fresh water tank and allow the tank to drain completely.

Step-7)  Open all your faucets in the trailer to aid in draining the water lines in step 2.  This would include any outdoor shower that you may have.  If you don’t open your faucets there will be a certain amount of vacuum holding water in the lines.

Step-8)  Next, turn your water pump on for a few seconds in order to push any water out of the pump into the water lines.

Step-9)  Once you feel all the water has drained out of the water lines you can close all of your faucets, water heater relief valve, and the low point drains.

Step-10)  Now turn the valves on your hot water heater so that it is in the winter mode (also known as by-passing the water heater).  You are going to do this so that RV antifreeze does not enter the hot water heater.  In the picture below I could only capture two of the valves in the picture.  The bottom right of the picture shows the cold water line into the heater in the closed (winter) position.  The Valve in the middle of the picture is open to allow water to bypass the heater.  Likewise there is a valve on the top on the hot water line coming out of the heater that is also closed.   If you are blowing out your lines with compressed air you will need to do this so that air is pushed through the water lines.

Keep  in mind every water heater is plumbed differently.  In almost all of our travel trailers, due to different floor plans,  the water heater has been located in a different place.  Also,  the by-pass handles have not always been set up exactly the same.  The concept of bypassing is always the same; prevent water from coming into the hot water tank. If you are unsure of how to by-pass your water heater consult your owner’s manual.  Here is an illustration of by-passing the water heater; the oblong black circles represent the water valves.  The illustration may better illustrate the process than the picture above.

Step-11)   Connect your blow plug and set your compressor so that it does not exceed 40 PSI.  If you are using RV antifreeze; this is the step where you will insert the draw tube located by your water pump into the jug of RV antifreeze, and turn on your water pump.  If you are blowing your lines out with compressed air, you may want to turn the water pump on for just a few seconds (check your owner’s manual).   Also, if you use a compressor you will probably want to use an air filter on your line.

Step-12)  Now go to the faucet furthest away from the water pump;  open the hot water faucet until antifreeze comes out; then close it and repeat with the cold water faucet.   Note: If using antifreeze you may need to switch over to a new gallon at some point during this process.  If you are using compressed air you will do the same thing and just close the faucet when only air comes out of the line.  Now progress through the trailer and follow the same process for any water fixture:

• Toilet
• Bathroom Shower
• Bathroom Sink
• Kitchen Sink
• Outside Shower
• Black Tank Rinse Port (if you have one)

Step-13)  If you are using compressed air and have finished the above steps, you can turn off your compressor and open the low point drains again.  Now turn the compressor back on to push any remaining water out of the lines.  This step is not necessary if you have winterized with RV Antifreeze as it will result in antifreeze draining out of the water lines.

Step-14)  Next, regardless of which process you are using to winterize your travel trailer (compressed air or antifreeze); everyone must pour antifreeze in every sink and shower drain.  This will protect the P-Traps from cracking, so don’t be stingy with the antifreeze.  Finally put antifreeze in the toilet bowl.

Step=15)  Decide at this point if you will place any D-Con, or other pest repellant in the travel trailer.  When we were living in Wisconsin our trailer was stored outside so we placed de-con in two areas in the trailer.   Make sure that if you have pets, the poison is located in areas that they cannot access (like the under bed storage area).

Step-16)  Remove everything from your trailer; this includes all food, cleaners, paper products, etc.

Step-17)  Fully inflate, or slightly over inflated (say 5 PSI over inflated) the travel trailer tires; because you will lose air over the winter months.

Step-18)  Level your trailer.

Step-19)  Finally, remove your battery and place it on a trickle charger or at the very least disconnect it.  As a result of not putting the battery on a trickle charger you are taking a risk;  as it will probably be dead when you return.

In Conclusion

These steps should provide a basis for you to create your own checklist.  As I mentioned, knowing how to winterize a travel trailer will save you a lot of time and money.  Some RV owners have no desire to learn how to winterize a travel trailer, opting instead to have a dealership perform this task.  Ordinarily this is because they want the warranty that the dealership provides against pipes bursting.   As with everything, if you are uncomfortable winterizing your travel trailer, seek out an RV service to perform the procedure.  Every Travel Trailer must be winterized; unless you keep it in a heated storage facility.

For more of our blog topics related to Maintenance click here.

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My 1966 VW Beetle

In early  November I had a number of issues that took place on my 66 beetle.  In one instance the left front wheel actually came off of the car and passed me on the road.  Very little damage resulted from this mishap.  However, it seemed strange that this would happen since all of my other wheel lugs were torqued to the correct spec.  Unfortunately, I had become “one of those people”

You know who “those people” are.  They are the people you see on the side of the road missing a wheel,  and you wonder if they have a clue about their vehicle.  Anyone who knows me, is aware of how meticulous I am about my vehicles.  None of this made sense to me.

Thanks to AAA (Triple A) I was back on the road in an hour.  At first the AAA tow truck driver wanted to just tow me to a shop, but I told him to just take one lug from each of the remaining tires and put the front tire on with those.  This way I could drive home and deal with the issue there.   The Leader of our VW meeting, Jay, had already told me he would send me some new lug nuts for the front wheel.

Jay had also looked into this issue in the past.  There was some speculation that the lugs could not stay tight due to the powder coated rims.  The theory is that the powder coating is like a plastic, and the lug nut cannot seat against it.  Over time the lugs just come loose.

How could that be, when all the other wheels were fine?  This didn’t  make sense to me as I’ve had these wheels on since 2005 without issue.

Jay’s lug nits arrived within two days.  I replaced the missing lug nuts and torqued them to spec.   Hopefully on my next drive this issue would be just a bad memory.  You might think the story would end here…but it doesn’t.

Fast Forward a month.  Now I am heading to the same VW meeting that I had attended the month prior when the wheel passed me on the highway.   As I drove the beetle it just didn’t feel right; it wasn’t rolling as easy as it had previously.  I had actually noticed this to a lessor degree the month before, which I thought must have been caused by the loose lug nuts.

When I got to the meeting I went around and touched each wheel with my hand to see if I had a potential bearing issue.   When I touched the problem wheel it was extremely hot.  My brake shoes were frozen to the hub.

Thankfully this club has a lot of knowledgeable VW owners and they quickly backed off the brake shoes.  After we pushed on the brake pedal however, the problem returned.   The consensus of the group is that there were two potential problems:

1.   A bad brake line that was not letting fluid flow out of the cylinder
2.   A bad brake cylinder

Once I returned home I decided I would try to trouble shoot the issue.  I got on the phone with Scott, one of my VW buddies and together we replicated the frozen brake issue.  Then Scott told me where the bleeder valve was located and I tried letting fluid out of the cylinder to see if the shoes would release; they did not.  I decided to let the car sit for the rest of the day and see if the brake shoes would retract (to confirm a hose issue vs. a wheel cylinder).  The next morning, the wheel was still frozen.

Next I tore the wheel apart to look at the cylinder.  Surprisingly, a few lug nuts were loose.  This makes me think that when the wheel became hot, it allowed the nuts to loosen.  Scott seemed to think the same thing was a possibility stating “it seems just too coincidental”.  I’m going to do some further testing on this issue once the brakes are fixed.

Next, on to inspecting the brake cylinder; it was frozen.  So, after talking to my old VW Mechanic in Wisconsin, I decided to buy all new bearings, seals and a new cylinder.  Unfortunately I had to buy some tools as well to help with the job.  The good news is that these tools were pretty inexpensive, and will be useful when I work on the travel trailer.

Next, I replaced the wheel races and packed the wheel bearings.  Then I put the inner bearing seal on the hub and placed the wheel back on the spindle; set the bearings and locked the hub in place. 

Now it was time to bleed the brakes.  This became the most frustrating part of the job.  It seemed like we weren’t getting anywhere.  Then while talking to Scott about our dilemma on the phone I noticed that even though I had previously adjusted the brakes, after bleeding them, they were once again out of adjustment.  Scott told me that every time we pump the brake pedal and bleed a brake, we then need to go back and adjust those brake shoes tight again.  Once we knew the correct process,  bleeding the brakes was easy.  A very special thanks to my buddy Scott, who enlightened me on this process.

Once that was done, I took the bug out for a drive – it was perfect.  To be quite honest, I think the brakes are the best they have ever been.  In addition, the car used to pull slightly to the right during breaking, and that is no longer happening. 

As a result of how well this turned out, I took the passenger side front wheel apart and performed the same procedure.  On the passenger side though, I didn’t need to replace the bearings, just clean them and repack with grease; and they needed it badly.

I have learned a lot since I started this job.

1. Removal of the Wheel bearings
2. Removing the races (more difficult than I thought)
3. How to disassemble and inspect the brakes.
4. Inspection of the wheel cylinder an how to remove it.
5. Removal of the adjusting stars ( which adjust the brake shoes) and the cleaning of them.
6. How to pack the wheel bearings with grease.
7. How to adjust the brake shoes.
8. The procedure for bleeding the brakes
9. How to save a bunch of money.
10. It’s great to have knowledgeable and helpful friends, like Jay,  Scott,  AL, and my VW mechanic in Wisconsin Terry.

So, what in the world does all of this have to do with my Grand Design Travel Trailer?Well surprisingly, the brake system is old school, just like the 66 Beetle.   Working on the 66 has taught me that I can easily do my own wheel bearings and any brake work that may be required on my travel trailer.    So, as I mentioned above, sometimes you gain crossover knowledge when you work in a project.  That’s what my 1966 Beetle taught me about my travel trailer.

For more information on my 1966 VW Beetle, click here

For more posts revolving around maintenance click here.

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I have been winterizing my own travel trailers since 1990, and have never had an issue.  Dealerships will tell you that they offer a warranty on their work.  So if they perform the routine and you have a problem in the spring, they will cover any damage that results from not having winterized it correctly.  I have no idea if they really would cover any damage, or if they would try to somehow blame the owner. Regardless, there is no shame in having a dealership winterize your unit; you need to do what allows you to sleep at night.

Today we will step through the process of how to winterize a travel trailer.  Please remember that every travel trailer is different due to different features and setups.  This article is not meant to be the Bible on your travel trailer.  You need to be familiar with your specific travel trailer model and consult your owner’s manual when in doubt.   Think of the following list as a generic version of what you will need to complete to avoid the off-season temperatures.  ALWAYS consult your own travel trailer owners manual for detailed information on winterization.  Each manual should cover the procedure.

Most importantly, once you know how to winterize a travel trailer;  the process is easily transferred to any new RV you purchase with minor changes to the process.  So make notes and create your own check list as you winterize, then you will have a great document you can use each year.

There are two different processes for winterizing a travel trailer.  One process is to fill all the water lines, and P-traps (drains) on the travel trailer with RV Antifreeze.  The second process is to blow out all the water lines with compressed air and then add RV Antifreeze to the P-traps.  You should decide on which process to use based on your climate.  If we were still living in Wisconsin, I would fill all my lines with antifreeze.  Here in Texas, I blow my lines out.  I’m sure there are people in the northern states that feel perfectly comfortable blowing their lines out.  I don’t think I could feel comfortable doing that.

So what are you going to need?  It depends on the process.  If you are blowing out your air lines you will need the following:

1. Air Compressor that can deliver 40 PSI.
2. Blow out plug (see picture below).
3. Wrench for removing the water heater drain plug and any low point drain plugs.
4. Screw Driver (probably an RV square head screw driver) for removing any panels to access the water heater by-pass
5. 1 Gallon of RV Antifreeze (to pour down each drain and in toilet bowl).

If you are running antifreeze through the water lines instead of blowing them out; you will need:

1. Wrench for removing the water heater drain plug and any low point drain plugs.
2. Screw Driver (probably an RV square head screw driver) for removing any panels to access the water heater by-pass.
3. 3 Gallons of RV Antifreeze (to run through the water lines and pour down each drain and in toilet bowl).

How to Winterize a travel trailer:  The Process:

Step 1)  Make sure the Black Tank and the Grey Tank(s) have been emptied and rinsed out.  Pour your preferred tank treatment into the black and grey holding tanks.

Step 2)  Verify before you start,  that the propane and electric is turned off to the hot water heater.

Step 3)  Drain the water heater and leave the drain plug out.  Never drain the hot water heater when it is full of hot water or under pressure.  Make sure you open the pressure relief valve when you drain the water heater so that it drains completely.

Water Heater Drain Plug

Step 4)  Next rinse the hot water tank and allow it to drain.  You can buy a wand for rinsing your water tank on-line for a few dollars.  Insert the wand into the tank where you removed the drain plug.   Rinsing the water tank is not only a good idea before you store your RV but during the camping season.  Old water that is left in the water heater can produce nasty odors which are sometimes hard to eliminate.

Step 5)  Open the low point drains on your trailer.  The purpose of opening these drains is to empty the water lines.  Keep in mind, this will not completely empty the lines.

Low Point Drains

Step 6)  Open the drain valve on your fresh water tank and allow the tank to drain completely.

Fresh Water Tank Low Point Drain

Step 7)  Open all your faucets in the trailer to aid in draining the water lines in step 2.  This would include any outdoor shower that you may have.  If you don’t open your faucets there will be a certain amount of vacuum holding water in the lines.

Step 8)  Turn your water pump on for a few seconds in order to push any water out of the pump into the water lines.

Step 9)  Once you feel all the water has drained out of the water lines you can close all of your faucets, water heater relief valve, and the low point drains.

Step 10)  Turn the valves on your hot water heater so that it is in the winter mode (also known as by-passing the water heater).  You are going to do this so that RV antifreeze does not enter the hot water heater.  In the picture below I could only capture two of the valves in the picture.  The bottom right of the picture shows the cold water line into the heater in the closed (winter) position.  The Valve in the middle of the picture is open to allow water to bypass the heater.  Likewise there is a valve on the top on the hot water line coming out of the heater that is also closed.   If you are blowing out your lines with compressed air you will need to do this so that air is pushed through the water lines.

Water Heater By-Pass

Keep  in mind every water heater is plumbed differently.  In almost all of our travel trailers, due to different floor plans,  the water heater has been located in a different place.  Also,  the by-pass handles have not always been set up exactly the same.  The concept of bypassing is always the same; prevent water from coming into the hot water tank.   If you are unsure of how to by-pass your water heater consult your owner’s manual.  Here is an illustration of by-passing the water heater; the oblong black circles represent the water valves.  The illustration may better illustrate the process than the picture above.

water heater by-pass

Step 11)   Connect your blow plug and set your compressor so that it does not exceed 40 PSI.  If you are using RV antifreeze; this is the step where you will insert the draw tube located by your water pump into the jug of RV antifreeze, and turn on your water pump.  If you are blowing your lines out with compressed air, you may want to turn the water pump on for just a few seconds (check your owner’s manual).   Also, if you use a compressor you will probably want to use an air filter on your line.

Blow Out Plug Connected To Water Line

Blow Out Plug

Step 12)  Now go to the faucet furthest away from the water pump;  open the hot water faucet until antifreeze comes out; then close it and repeat with the cold water faucet.   Note: If using antifreeze you may need to switch over to a new gallon at some point during this process.  If you are using compressed air you will do the same thing and just close the faucet when only air comes out of the line.  Now progress through the trailer and follow the same process for any water fixture:

• Toilet
• Bathroom Shower
• Bathroom Sink
• Kitchen Sink
• Outside Shower
• Black Tank Rinse Port (if you have one)

Step 13)  If you are using compressed air and have finished the above steps, you can turn off your compressor and open the low point drains again.  Now turn the compressor back on to push any remaining water out of the lines.  This step is not necessary if you have winterized with RV Antifreeze as it will result in antifreeze draining out of the water lines.

Step 14)  Next, regardless of which process you are using to winterize your travel trailer (compressed air or antifreeze); everyone must pour antifreeze in every sink and shower drain.  This will protect the P-Traps from cracking, so don’t be stingy with the antifreeze.  Finally put antifreeze in the toilet bowl.

RV Antifreeze

Step 15)  Decide at this point if you will place any D-Con, or other pest repellant in the travel trailer.  When we were living in Wisconsin our trailer was stored outside so we placed de-con in two areas in the trailer.   Make sure that if you have pets, the poison is located in areas that they cannot access (like the under bed storage area).

Step 16)  Remove everything from your trailer; this includes all food, cleaners, paper products, etc.

Step 17)  Fully inflate, or slightly over inflated (say 5 PSI over inflated) the travel trailer tires; because you will lose air over the winter months.

Step 18)  Level your trailer.

Step 19)  Finally, remove your battery and place it on a trickle charger or at the very least disconnect it.  As a result of not putting the battery on a trickle charger you are taking a risk;  as it will probably be dead when you return.

In Conclusion

These steps should provide a basis for you to create your own checklist.  As I mentioned, knowing how to winterize a travel trailer will save you a lot of time and money.  Some RV owners have no desire to learn how to winterize a travel trailer, opting instead to have a dealership perform this task.  Ordinarily this is because they want the warranty that the dealership provides against pipes bursting.   As with everything, if you are uncomfortable winterizing your travel trailer, seek out an RV service to perform the procedure.  Every Travel Trailer must be winterized; unless you keep it in a heated storage facility.

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