Winterizing adventure - late in the season

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   Okay, okay . . . I put off winterizing as LONG as I possibly could, and so far I haven't needed to, BUT it's going to get down to 20 here in north Georgia tonight, so yesterday I decided I just couldn't put it off any longer.  Luckily I had already drained all the water lines, and the potable water tank after my last camping trip.
The hardest part was getting under the  *!!%#!!*  mattress in the RP 177.  It's definitely a 2-man job - that's why I am replacing the  *!!%#!!*  mattress  -- I like to be able to do things by myself.  My husband opted out and called my eldest son to come help me.  Picture a 6' 5" guy in Mom's R-Pod!  He beat a hasty retreat and went to get the sockets for his wrench so he could drain the hot water tank.  That left me and his girlfriend to access the water valves under the bed.  I held the mattress and she worked the screwdriver on the plywood under the bed.  Who in the world decided on those weird little screw heads with the little square design instead of the regular Philips screw heads?!!  (Merely a rhetorical question, I assure you.)

Well, we were successful in the end, and got the 3 valves turned in the opposite direction.  Now I'm not sure Techntrek or Terry might approve of my next step because this is NOT what Tech recommends in the little manual he's assembling for all of us.  However, my way is the lazy (OOPS, I mean EASY way) to pump in the RV antifreeze.  I got 3 gallons of RV antifreeze and with a funnel poured it into the potable water tank.  I turned on the water pump and all the spigots and flushed the toilet several times and let all the pink stuff run through for a few seconds until it was all running nice and pink.  I also poured a little more pink stuff down all the drains and into the black water tank.   So hopefully, I'm protected, even if it wasn't done quite the traditional way and even though it took a little more antifreeze than the recommended way.  It was still cheaper than letting the dealer do it for me.

And I'm thinking . . . in just 3 or 4 more months . . . I might just be able to go camping again.  I can hardly wait.

Winter dreams of happy podding to all!

Diane

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Hodge-PODge Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Location: Calhoun, GA Online Status: Offline Posts: 539	Topic: Winterizing adventure - late in the season Posted: 02 Jan 2012 at 5:01pm
	Okay, okay . . . I put off winterizing as LONG as I possibly could, and so far I haven't needed to, BUT it's going to get down to 20 here in north Georgia tonight, so yesterday I decided I just couldn't put it off any longer. Luckily I had already drained all the water lines, and the potable water tank after my last camping trip. The hardest part was getting under the !!%#!! mattress in the RP 177. It's definitely a 2-man job - that's why I am replacing the !!%#!! mattress -- I like to be able to do things by myself. My husband opted out and called my eldest son to come help me. Picture a 6' 5" guy in Mom's R-Pod! He beat a hasty retreat and went to get the sockets for his wrench so he could drain the hot water tank. That left me and his girlfriend to access the water valves under the bed. I held the mattress and she worked the screwdriver on the plywood under the bed. Who in the world decided on those weird little screw heads with the little square design instead of the regular Philips screw heads?!! (Merely a rhetorical question, I assure you.) Well, we were successful in the end, and got the 3 valves turned in the opposite direction. Now I'm not sure Techntrek or Terry might approve of my next step because this is NOT what Tech recommends in the little manual he's assembling for all of us. However, my way is the lazy (OOPS, I mean EASY way) to pump in the RV antifreeze. I got 3 gallons of RV antifreeze and with a funnel poured it into the potable water tank. I turned on the water pump and all the spigots and flushed the toilet several times and let all the pink stuff run through for a few seconds until it was all running nice and pink. I also poured a little more pink stuff down all the drains and into the black water tank. So hopefully, I'm protected, even if it wasn't done quite the traditional way and even though it took a little more antifreeze than the recommended way. It was still cheaper than letting the dealer do it for me. And I'm thinking . . . in just 3 or 4 more months . . . I might just be able to go camping again. I can hardly wait. Winter dreams of happy podding to all! Diane
	2011 RP 177, the Hodge-PODge 2011 Mercedes ML350 "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it."

marwayne Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 25 Oct 2011 Location: Edmonton AB Can Online Status: Offline Posts: 1002	Posted: 03 Jan 2012 at 1:46am
	Diane: The answer to your problem is access doors. Access to pump Access to hotwatertank Access to storage Access to storage and build in cooler from above.
	If you want something done right, do it yourself. 2011 RP172, 2016 Tundra 5.7 Litre, Ltd.

Hodge-PODge Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Location: Calhoun, GA Online Status: Offline Posts: 539	Posted: 03 Jan 2012 at 8:07am
	Yeah, you're right - and I could have accessed the pump if I had unscrewed the wall panel. But as for the hot water tank in the 177, the hot water tank is UNDER the bed, unfortunately. There's a panel in the basement storage to the hot water tank, but I'm not sure I could have reached my arms in far enough to turn the valves. I love your built in cooler and your access doors - very clever. Thanks marwayne!
	2011 RP 177, the Hodge-PODge 2011 Mercedes ML350 "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it."

Tidalwave4455 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 25 Aug 2011 Location: minnesota Online Status: Offline Posts: 57	Posted: 03 Jan 2012 at 10:16am
	If you are not going to replace the plywood panels with doors and hinges...at least replace the square-type screws with regular philips-head screws. Then you won't have to mess with square head drivers. The fresh water tank has a 'lowest point' drain so it doesn't need antifreeze. If even a small amount of antifreeze is left in the tank...I have found that it takes quite a bit of flushing to get rid of the antifreeze taste the next spring. Use a baking soda mixture in the tank in the spring to help get rid of the taste. There should have been an open ended flexible pipe near the water pump. You could have inserted this tube into the antifreeze bottle, and turned the connected T-valve to point at the open-ended pipe. Turn on the pump and antifreeze will be pumped through the pump and all of the piping. This way you use a lot less antifreeze...no need to partially fill the tank to get the pump to work. Turn the valve back parallel to the main pipes when finished. It is also recommended that the low-point drains be opened...one is on the bottom of the water tank and several are located at various points on the bottom of the Pod...they are white plastic pipes with end caps. The caps should be removed and allow any water in the pipes to drain. Don't forget to put the caps back on.

techntrek Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059	Posted: 03 Jan 2012 at 11:15am
	Congrats on tackling the fun job of winterization. Believe it or not the square head screws are used a lot - easier to work with under high-torque situations (Philips' head tends to strip itself easily), plus the screw stays on the driver easier until the screw is seated in the wood. I found an easy solution on my 171, after removing those screws the first time I left them off. There was very little play side-to-side in the plywood even when it was loose so I let gravity and the mattress keep it in place. There is nothing really wrong with dumping the antifreeze in the fresh water tank, but you can run into problems. One, any water left in the tank will dilute the antifreeze so you'll have to be sure you get as much out using the drain first. Even then with the rounded bottom it is just about impossible to get it all out. Second, you'll use more as you found. Even with my new exterior shower I only used 1 1/4 gallons of antifreeze this fall by using the hose next to the water pump. Yeah, it is cheap, no argument there, but when you add on the dilution problem you may actually need more than the 3 gallons you used to do it safely. Finally you may have the taste problem that Tidalwave mentioned. My popup didn't have the antifreeze hose and after doing it both ways I prefer to use the hose, but again there is nothing wrong with using the tank as long as you understand the potential problems. Since my screws are all missing (hey, no jokes about having a few screws loose), I get my antifreeze bottles ready before hand (caps off and the seals punctured), lift the mattress, move the cover out of the way, change the valves (all 4) and put the first gallon in place in about 30 seconds. When the first gallon is out I'll go in again to swap with a new gallon. Once those screws are gone it is a lot easier!
	Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

this_is_nascar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 24 Jan 2010 Location: NJ Online Status: Offline Posts: 466	Posted: 03 Jan 2012 at 11:25am
	I know they say you can, but I'd never run antifreeze through my fresh water tank or hot water heater. It's wasteful as it relates to the amount of antifreeze you wind up using and it's a major pain in the butt to rince it all out of the fresh water tank.
	"Ray & Connie" - 2017 R-Pod RP-180 - 2007 Toyota Tacoma TRD-Off Road

Hodge-PODge Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Location: Calhoun, GA Online Status: Offline Posts: 539	Posted: 03 Jan 2012 at 11:32am
	Well, I guess I will find out this spring just how much of a pain the antifreeze is to get out of the fresh water tank. Since I trust you all know what you are talking about, I may not be taking the "easy" way out again. Sounds like it may be a real pain afterwards. Thanks! Diane
	2011 RP 177, the Hodge-PODge 2011 Mercedes ML350 "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it."

MTB Pod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Aug 2011 Location: Sacramento, CA Online Status: Offline Posts: 9	Posted: 03 Jan 2012 at 12:36pm
	Before winterizing, I watched the very helpful walk-thru video posted by Pawpod. It showed opening the compartment under the sink to expose the pump and pull out the open-ended hose, but when I went to winterize our 2012 R-177, I found that the pump was not under the sink. In our 177, it's located next to the water heater under the mattress. I searched every attached hose, and could not find one that was open-ended. I couldn't seem to locate a port on the pump where I could attach an open-ended hose for pumping antifreeze through either. Has anyone else encountered this? Is it something new with the 2012 model, or am I missing something? Thanks! Marila
	Pete & Marila Sacramento, CA 2012 RPod 177 2001 Ford F-150 Crew Cab

techntrek Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059	Posted: 03 Jan 2012 at 5:50pm
	Welcome, MTB Pod. I sure hope this wasn't deleted on the 2012 model! I know the pump was moved in the more recent years as you describe but I've never heard of the antifreeze pickup missing.
	Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Posted: 04 Jan 2012 at 1:09pm
	Also, Welcome to the group!