Now we're talking.
We've been down in Florida for a week now and over the weekend, the temperature hit 83 degrees Fahrenheit. It is definitely time to dewinterize.
On Saturday, we did just that – flushing out the pink RV antifreeze that protected out 2017 Roadtrek CS Adventurous XL 4X4 from the frigid weather in the north.
There's something symbolic about that process, kind of like Memorial Day means the start of summer.
Dewinterizing marks the start of another RVing season.
We were near Gainesville on Saturday and stopped by Sunshine State RVs, one of our sponsors. Matt, Sunshine's extraordinary tech who knows more abut Class B RVs than anyone I know, did the job for us, taking about an hour, start to finish.
I've tried numerous ways to winterize my RV but for the past two years, have followed the procedure recommended by Roadtrek. That means putting about two and a half gallons of antifreeze in the fresh water tank and then running it through the plumbing system.
Last year I was worried about having trouble getting rid of the antifreeze smell and taste but was surprised to find that it was all but unnoticeable.
Nick said the way I have been winterizing is the best, most efficient and simple way to do the chore. To dewinterize, all he did was drain the fresh water, run water through the fresh tanks with the valve open so it drained out for about five minutes. Then he closed the fresh water valve, filled the tank, opend all the fawcetts and flushed the toilet until the pink antifreeze color was gone.
After that, we ran fresh water through the city water intake, filled the Alde hot water heater, ran clean water through the outside shower and we were done. I put an ounce of vinegar in the fresh water tank, emptied it and then filled it one more time. I also installed a new filter cartridge on the instant hot/fresh water spigot that is next to the galley sink.
There is not even the slightest taste of antifreeze. We've been drinking, washing dishes and making my morning coffee from our fresh water tank ever since.
So I am dewinterized. And since we plan on staying in warm weather until spring soundly arrives up north, I have no plans on seeing those gallon jugs of antifreeze until next winter.
Oops. I'm sorry. For those of you up north, it still is winter.
Eat your hearts out. We're with the dewinterized snowbirds.
Come on down!
Meantime, here's a live video we did over the weekend at the Jacksonville RV show where we talk about all sorts of things, including life in the land of the Snowbirds.
2 Responses to “Dewinterized in the Land of the Snowbirds”
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February 18, 2019at5:10 pm, Gene Bjerke said:
In the fall you fill your pipes with antifreeze to get your RV ready for winter. It is called “winterizing.” So I guess when you get rid of all that pink stuff, it must be “summerizing.”
February 15, 2019at7:37 pm, Mary Magilsen said:
In January you had several road trekkers talk about their favorite places to go. You and your wife talked about a place in Northern Texas where you could camp among these beautiful rounded boulders. You said it was one of your favorite places to go. I wonder if you could send me the name of the park. It looked amazing and my husband and I are avid photographers. We’d love to go there. We are new to travelling in the RV but are excited and looking forward to it. Thanks for help.