Winterizing

[W. Mark Hellinger]

It's that time of the year (snow sort-of forecast for tomorrow).

I have #426... and this is my first winter for this coach (winter temps here can reach -30F).

I'd like to winterize it as best as possible over the next few days.

Beings as the operator's manuals are... well... what they are.

I'm thinking I'd like to drain and blow dry all the fresh water lines... but... what effect will that have on the fresh water heater? What heats the fresh water?... I dunno.

Another side question: Bags up or bags down? Is there a down side to letting the air go to zero and let the coach sit on the uninflated bags?

I figure on leaving the heat on in the coach over the winter... because it's a good place to take a nap... but other than that, I'd like to do what I should to winterize the coach.

[prairieschooner]

I didn't want to be a smart a** but we winterize our coach allot easier than most, we head to Arizona! (so much for not being a smart a**!!)

[Wally Arntzen]

My coach is an 88 and it has never been outside in the winter. I was always in a heated garage or in Arizona for the winter. This is first time it will be out in the cold of Minnesota and two weeks ago I put 30 gallons of RV antifreeze in the water tank and ran it through everything except the drinking water filters. I went back the following morning and ran it through all systems again, filled all of the traps, drained the water, left all of the faucets open and mayed sure that my air operated toilet had a full bowel of anti freeze. I'm taking the coach to my friend who runs a bus repair garage and he will put a quart of alcohol in each of my air tanks, grease it, change my oil and filters and I added 2 gallons of antigel to the fuel tanks and all I can do is hope that God cares enough about Newells that have to with stand -30 below zero that it will be ok in the spring.
Thats my 2 cents worth and I'm sticking with it.
Lets both due a follow up in the spring.

[larryweikart]

Reading these winterizing comments leaves me with a couple of questions. I've been storing our coach in Mi. for 10 of the 12 years we've owned it and have had 0 problems when leaving in the early spring. I have never had alcohol added to any air tank nor have I ever added anything to my fuel. Have I just been lucky or are those items just additional preventive measures to take? Some years ago, my mechanical expert has always told me to never add anything to the fuel and I wonder what the benefits are of adding the alcohol to the air tanks. There are a bunch of people on this forum with a lot more "street smarts" than me and I look forward to your comments.

[Wally Arntzen]

I was in Santa Fe, NM about 6 years ago and after the coach in the early morning I was running and I hooked up the car and got into the coach to leave and it would not go. I had to call a deisel mechanic and he new right away that it was a air line freeze up. One of the manifolds that the air goes through was froze. He took off a line and put some alcohol in the manifold and it was the line that supplied the accelerator. The engine was running all the time but it would not accelerate when pushing down on the pedal. From them on Ive added a quart in each tank and the mechanic I use in minneapolis says they put in all of the buses the maintain during the winter monthes. This is the first time my coach will be siting through the winter but I did often leave Minnesota during very cold weather and I don't have any discomfort about freezing lines. The anti gel is also used by most truckers and deisel vehicles to prevent the fuel from gelling up during extremely cold weather. If your coach is just going to sit through the winter and not moved you don't need the alcohol in air tanks or the gel in the fuel tanks. Even though I don't plan to take my coach south this winter I do it just in case I need to leave in the middle of winter and I don't have to be concerned.

[larryweikart]

Thank You for the input Wally, I do have to leave Mi. in Jan to go to Sebring for the beginning of race season and I believe I will take your advise and go the alcohol and anti gel route.