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Topic ClosedAny Damage Reports of Incorrect Winterizing?
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Joined: 07 Apr 2016
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Any Damage Reports of Incorrect Winterizing?
    Posted: 13 Dec 2018 at 3:18pm
Pex pipes and connections are extremely resilient. Areas where expansion can't occur are an issue, like valves, outside shower heads, maybe the pump.
Mike Carter
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Happy Tripping View Drop Down
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Posts: 473 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Dec 2018 at 10:06am
I did an internet search, this subject is surprisingly complicated. 

We lived in a rented house once and the pipes froze and burst at the connection of two pipes. Therefore I always thought that the many connections of the small-diameter water hoses in an r-pod would be the source of any burst. Apparently high water pressure BETWEEN the freeze and a nearby faucet is the primary culprit, altho that expansion CAN'T be good for connections over multiple repetitions. 

https://disastersafety.org/wp-content/uploads/Freezing-Bursting-Pipes_IBHS-White.pdf


?Has anyone experienced a burst water pipe??
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Dec 2018 at 4:47pm
I used my cube heater. Was odd because I had black tank open to sewer and gray had the heated water from hose draining into it, when the water pipe froze, the gray tank was sealed and the drain froze. I also used the cube heater to thaw water pipe from campground. Just a camping day.
Mike Carter
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lostagain View Drop Down
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Posts: 2595 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Dec 2018 at 4:34pm
For the gray/black water valves, if you have access to electricity, a heat lamp will do nicely to melt the ice in the black pipe.  It doesn't take very long.  Just keep the lamp far enough away that things don't get too hot.
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Dec 2018 at 1:55pm
The two failures I have had in an occupied trailer in freezing temps was the campground water spicket froze, I have a heated hose so the trailer was fine. The other was the gray water drain froze and I couldn't dump it.

Common problems in an unoccupied trailer are the toilet flush valve and the water pump if not winterized properly. Some folks forget their outside shower units.
Mike Carter
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onesojourner View Drop Down
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Posts: 29 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Dec 2018 at 9:58am
Originally posted by mcarter

Not sure where you are headed.


Where is the weakest link in this trailer when it comes to freezing temperatures, when occupied and when not.
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Dec 2018 at 5:01pm
Not sure where you are headed. A trailer not winterized is subject to many varied failures. A trailer in use can have failures depending on conditions. I have never had a after winterization failure. But a lot of that has to do with the degree I winterize. I have never had a trailer related in use failure, mainly due to being prepared. Maybe a better subject is what did you do wrong, what didn't you do to be prepared and what did you learn from not taking the right precautions and not following some well documented processes. Travel trailers are not a market surprise this year, the extent of info on winterization could keep a person occupied for days. If there is an issue learn from it. I believe in being over prepared and not reactive. Not one instance I have seen was not preventable, just bad planning. OR a bad procedure. If you freeze a toilet valve or a water pump for instance, that's just bad winterization.
Mike Carter
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Ben Herman View Drop Down
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Posts: 355 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Dec 2018 at 4:46pm
Originally posted by onesojourner

I am going to chime in just to reinforce what the OP said. He is not asking what you do to winterize he is asking about specific examples of failures. I was actually just doing a google search on the site for just that. I had the pleasure of experiencing a trailer that had not been winterized. Every faucet in the thing exploded spectacularly. 

I am going to piggy back on to this thread with a couple more specific questions.

Does any one have specific examples of empty trailer failures? What was the temperature? (I understand this one may be tough because often this will be because the trailer was forgotten so the day and temperature that the damage occurred on may not be known.)

Does anyone have specific examples of failures in occupied trailers? What was the outside temperature? Where was the failure?

I have one - empty trailer, the example that I mentioned above. The problem is that the damage that occurs from winterizing freezes (as you discovered) does not occur until you de-winterize it in the spring, so who knows when the damage occurs or at what temperature. In my case, it was a week before a planned trip; I went through the process of sanitizing the water tank, letting a bleach solution soak overnight, only to discover that the next morning the water tank was empty. To add insult to injury, I then discovered that the grey water tank was showing 1/2 full. Yet there were no traces of water anywhere in the trailer. I could not for the life of me figure out how the water got from fresh water tank to gray water tank. Filled it again, and when I turned on the pump I noticed water flowing from behind the toilet into the shower pan drain. The flush valve had cracked. Thankfully the leak occurred where there was a drain to catch it, otherwise it would have been all over the floor. The trailer was new to me so who knows how and when it was winterized. Lesson learned - at the beginning of the season, test the system and look everywhere there is a fitting to see if there are any leaks and/or damage. Do this as soon as you fill the tank or hook up city supply - if it had been a sink fitting that was damaged and I left the pump on all night, without checking the trailer first, I would have opened the door the next morning to 15 gallons of water on the floor. 
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onesojourner View Drop Down
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Posts: 29 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Dec 2018 at 4:34pm
I am going to chime in just to reinforce what the OP said. He is not asking what you do to winterize he is asking about specific examples of failures. I was actually just doing a google search on the site for just that. I had the pleasure of experiencing a trailer that had not been winterized. Every faucet in the thing exploded spectacularly. 

I am going to piggy back on to this thread with a couple more specific questions.

Does any one have specific examples of empty trailer failures? What was the temperature? (I understand this one may be tough because often this will be because the trailer was forgotten so the day and temperature that the damage occurred on may not be known.)

Does anyone have specific examples of failures in occupied trailers? What was the outside temperature? Where was the failure?
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Shane View Drop Down
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Posts: 98 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Dec 2018 at 12:34pm
I do not blow out my lines, instead I drain everything including the low point drains, turn on the pump to make sure its not pumping anymore water, add antifreeze to my freshwater tank and turn on the water pump, then open each water valve on each hot/cold sink valves, shower valves, and run toilet a few times until I see pink antifreeze coming out, I add a little antifreeze into the toilet bowl also. Don't forget the shower on the outside of the pod. I do close the bypass valves and drain WH. Never had a problem doing it this way but takes a bit more antifreeze since you need a bit more for the pump to start pumping it though the system.
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