Discussions

So this will be the first year we are responsible for winterizing our 5th wheel camper. I'm wondering if you get someone to do it for you or DIY? Also, I don't want mice getting in and have heard bounce sheets work. Any other tips?

We just bought our camper from 4 seasons and received and email! Winter storage is $399, you drop it off and they take care of it! Storage, antifreeze, rodent protection and they'll pull it out and get it ready to go for spring! Sounds perfect to me.

put bounce sheets everywhere!  
drawers, under and on top of cushion. etc....  
leave the fridge open!  
do not leave even one package of ketchup anywhere!  
make sure your water supplies are all empty of course.  
lots of people cover their wheels and tarp their roof.  
make sure all windows and vents are fully closed.  
 

Irish spring bars of soap ,I put them everywhere in my Motorhome.

We just bought our camper from 4 seasons and received and email! Winter storage is $399, you drop it off and they take care of it! Storage, antifreeze, rodent protection and they'll pull it out and get it ready to go for spring! Sounds perfect to me.

We have a friend of my husbands who is going to winterize it for us at an amazing price and than we will be storing it at my family's farm. I was just curious as to how others do it. Have you ever had issues DIY? If it's easy, it might make more sense for my husband to DIY himself. However, he is the type that has no issues paying others when it comes to things he doesn't know how to do lol. (Or care to learn about! Haha) I just want it done right and don't care who does it  
 
Will be doing the bounce and Irish bar suggestions!!! Hate mice! I'm planning on leaving our bedding and towels in there in either Rubbermaid totes or those vacuum sealed bags

of3 said "We just bought our camper from 4 seasons and received and email! Winter storage is $399, you drop it off and they take care of it! Storage, antifreeze, rodent protection and they'll pull it out and get it ready to go for spring! Sounds perfect to me. "

I guess you are paying for the storage too but you can winterize yourself for less than $20. Bypass and drain your hot water tank by removing the drain plug. Take your pump suction line off the water tank (or better yet, install a tee and valves). Stick the suction hose into a jug of anti-freeze and pump it through to each sink, tub, toilet, outside shower until it turns pink. When the jug goes empty, replace it with a full jug. Should only take 2-3 jugs. Paying somebody hundreds of dollars to winterize is crazy!

If the water system has bypass valves installed, it is easy to do it yourself.  
 
There's an adapter you get from and RV dealer that looks like a tire valve with bottle cap on the base of the stem. It goes on your city water hookup. Open all the taps in your trailer, then put the air to the stem. It pushes all the water out of your lines. (Do not exceed 50 psi line pressure.)  
 
Then get 2-3 jugs of RV antifreeze. With the bypass valves engaged, run the RV antifreeze thru all the water lines. Don't forget the toilet.  
 
Save part of a jug to pour down all the drains, kitchen, bathroom and tub.

thing we've come across over the years - if u have those plastic fenders over your wheels - loosen the screws that hold them on just a bit so they can flex over the winter - ours cracked the first winter we had it due to them being screwed on too tight.  
Bounce sheets every year all over the inside - never had a mouse problem (we keep them around all year round actually).  
It's actually easy aside from the plumbing aspect of winterizing it.  
 
Also sammy - I leave our bedding and towels inside as well - even dishes and cutlery (anything but food products)  
Also a good cleaning as to not attract any little critters that would want to make a nest inside.  
 
Edited by mink42, 2015-08-23 22:10:06

We have taken our camper to Four Seasons the last two years as we bought new and got a good deal on the Winterization. Our last camper was 20 years old and I was able to do the Winterization myself and never had any issues with busted lines or mice. Four Seasons winterize includes running antifreeze through your lines and setting mouse traps. They will then store it for the winter. Cost is $399. First year we had only the traps and no problems. Second year we also put bounce sheets throughout the entire camper along with Four Seasons' traps. We had a dead mouse in the trap when we picked it up in the Spring, found a few mouse droppings but no damage. It makes me wonder whether the bounce sheets were even needed. If you only need it winterized and not stored then purchasing RV antifreeze and mouse traps should cost a lot less than $399. Pretty sure there is a tutorial online that can walk you through the Winterization process. If I can do it then anyone can.

If you bought your RV from Four Seasons there has most likely been a winterizing hose added to your water line near your pump.  
 
First open the 2 low water points (hot and cold) under the trailer to let most of the water drain out of the lines. Also there will be another valve to open and let the water drain out of your fresh water holding tank.  
 
Now close the valves under the trailer once most water has drained. Next remove the drain plug from the hot water tank and let water drain from hot water tank, lift relief valve to speed up the water draining from the tank. Reinsert the drain plug. Next turn the valve to off on the water line that allows water to flow into the hot water tank.  
 
Next insert the winterizing hose into the jug of antifreeze, turn on the pump and firstly open the taps furthest from the antifreeze jug until pink antifreeze flows freely, do the same for the bathroom sink, shower and toilet and outside shower. I also go back under the trailer and re-open the low points once again and suck some more antifreeze through lines so that antifreeze also drains from these points just to make sure there is no water in these lines that may cause the line to crack near the drain points.  
 
It’s pretty easy and you can usually get a 3.78 litre jug of antifreeze from Home Depot for $9.99.  
 
In the spring hook up city water connection and run water through lines to force antifreeze out then open hot water tank shut-off to allow water to flow into tank after antifreeze is out of lines.  
 
New trailers are pretty much sealed to keep mice out at least I have neverhad a problem.  

I have always removed all LED televisions from the camper as I was told the cold weather is not good for them. Makes sense as most new campers you look at on the lots typically have no TVs in them.

Best City in the World said "I have always removed all LED televisions from the camper as I was told the cold weather is not good for them. Makes sense as most new campers you look at on the lots typically have no TVs in them. "

Reggie bascially nailed it, pretty much exactly how I do it. I also pour a cupful of antifreeze down each drain. Pour a couple of cups in the toilet and flush into the holding tank.  
 
And yes definitely remove your TV, electronics and anything else that might not freeze well.

My husband does ours. We buy 8 jugs but we have 2 bathrooms. We just use mouse traps. We leave the fridge and freezer open. We leave TV and electronics in the camper, just take the battery off the camper and store indoors.