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    Fireside Member Band1t's Avatar
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    Winterization when under an RV cover

    I’m interested in more info from all the experts on the forum. Wife and I will be buying a GD 5’er for full timing in a few years.

    In the mean time we have purchased a property on the Oregon coast that is zoned for RV living. This will be home base in retirement. We have built a pole barn RV cover, with our camping trailer there for now. We are there at least monthly during the winter, but am slightly worried about winterization. It rarely gets to freezing, but could happen.

    Currently, I just disconnect the water. I’ve debated on draining the lines and antifreeze. I have a few damp-rid out as well. I have not found a small dehumidifier that has a drain and can run 24/7 yet.

    Thoughts? Thank you

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    Site Team Ynot4me2's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by [email protected] View Post
    I’m interested in more info from all the experts on the forum. Wife and I will be buying a GD 5’er for full timing in a few years.

    In the mean time we have purchased a property on the Oregon coast that is zoned for RV living. This will be home base in retirement. We have built a pole barn RV cover, with our camping trailer there for now. We are there at least monthly during the winter, but am slightly worried about winterization. It rarely gets to freezing, but could happen.

    Currently, I just disconnect the water. I’ve debated on draining the lines and antifreeze. I have a few damp-rid out as well. I have not found a small dehumidifier that has a drain and can run 24/7 yet.

    Thoughts? Thank you
    If it rarely freezes, I would simply drain and blow the lines and skip the antifreeze. Especially since you plan on using it monthly. As for the dehumidifier, do you have shore power at this site? Where would you drain it? If you have shore power and a way to drain then any residential unit will do.

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  3. #3
    Fireside Member Band1t's Avatar
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    I am connected to shore power. I was hoping to find a small dehumidifier that I can set on the kitchen counter when not there and drain into the sink(grey tank valve open). Everyone small enough, says it cannot run 24/7?
    Thanks, Jim
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    Site Team Second Chance's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by [email protected] View Post
    I am connected to shore power. I was hoping to find a small dehumidifier that I can set on the kitchen counter when not there and drain into the sink(grey tank valve open). Everyone small enough, says it cannot run 24/7?
    Thanks, Jim
    How do I post pictures?
    Anything small enough to sit on the kitchen counter won't be enough dehumidifier. We run a 30 pint GE unit that sometimes takes 1 - 2 gallons of water a day out of the interior of our 35 ft. fifth wheel. Most of the residential units have provisions for running a drain tube outside so they don't have to be emptied.

    Unless something has changed recently, you have to be a site sponsor to post photos (and do several other things).

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  5. #5
    Site Sponsor NB Canada's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by [email protected] View Post
    I’m interested in more info from all the experts on the forum. Wife and I will be buying a GD 5’er for full timing in a few years.

    In the mean time we have purchased a property on the Oregon coast that is zoned for RV living. This will be home base in retirement. We have built a pole barn RV cover, with our camping trailer there for now. We are there at least monthly during the winter, but am slightly worried about winterization. It rarely gets to freezing, but could happen.

    Currently, I just disconnect the water. I’ve debated on draining the lines and antifreeze. I have a few damp-rid out as well. I have not found a small dehumidifier that has a drain and can run 24/7 yet.

    Thoughts? Thank you
    Winterization literally takes me 15 minutes

    Rarely gets to freezing means it can and your lines freeze
    Why would you risk that?


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    Long Hauler D2Reid's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by [email protected] View Post
    It rarely gets to freezing, but could happen.
    LOL, this reminds me of my Dad and his little RV. He was down visiting us in Florida and had to fly home to Nebraska, so he asked me if it ever freezes in Florida, I told him I don't think so, but could happen I guess. Sure enough, one of the very few years in Florida that it froze in the Tamps area, ruined a lot of oranges. And it broke one of his water pipes. I am now in the better safe than sorry category.

    And, if you feel like responded, getting a bit off topic, where on the Oregon coast did you find property zoned for RV living? With Covid and the changes in the RV industry we are considering purchasing a "home base" so we have someplace to go if they start shutting things down again.
    Dallas
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  7. #7
    Fireside Member Band1t's Avatar
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    R2Reid, in Rockaway Beach, west of Portland. Stumbled on this last summer and found a lot undeveloped. Zoned RMD for manufactured homes and RV’s. I cleared the 50’x 90’ lot, brought in utilities. Built a 18’x40’ RV cover with a 10’x30’ overhang for extra cover in the rain. As I get closer to retirement, I’ll build a garage as well. This will be home base, as it will not have a “dwelling” on it, property taxes super low. Have extra rv hookups for a guest as well. Reply with a phone number, and I can pm you photos.
    Jim

  8. #8
    Big Traveler boyscout's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by [email protected] View Post
    It rarely gets to freezing, but could happen. Currently, I just disconnect the water. I’ve debated on draining the lines and antifreeze. I have a few damp-rid out as well. I have not found a small dehumidifier that has a drain and can run 24/7 yet. Thoughts? Thank you
    Draining the lines through the "low-point drains" on many GD trailers leaves a whole lot of water in the lines. Blowing them out with about 20psi of air pressure connected to the city water inlet is better; do it one fixture at a time.

    Some people do only that, others of us both blow out the lines and run antifreeze into them. We know from doing that that even after blowing out we rarely get pure antifreeze through the faucets right away; there is water remaining in the lines. Antifreeze is cheap - I'm overly generous with it and use four gallons costing about $15, some use half that much. It doesn't take a lot of time to run it in. If I was in your situation I'd do it, even though you may have to do it several times.

    More caveats:

    - whatever you do with the rest of the trailer you should put antifreeze into the drain traps in the shower and bathroom and kitchen sinks.

    - depending on the model your trailer may have one or two outside sprayer connections, and connections for a washer, and that plumbing needs to be evacuated when blowing and/or running antifreeze.

    The time and hassle required to fix nearly any freeze-broken part and whatever water damage is caused by it is most likely greater than the time it takes to winterize the trailer through the winter.
    Mark - 2018 Solitude 310GK - 2017 F-350 diesel SRW short box - Pullrite Superglide hitch

  9. #9
    Fireside Member Band1t's Avatar
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    Boy Scout, thank you so much for the tips.
    Jim

  10. #10
    Fireside Member Band1t's Avatar
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    Also thinking of just turning the heat on at its lowest setting and have it run as needed. We are hooked up to a 120 gallon propane tank, so it would last quite awhile???

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