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10-05-2016, 04:06 PM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 71
SUN #3127
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Winter Storage Advice
When storing your camper for the winter months in New England would it be necessary to jack the camper wheels completely off the ground . I do jack up the camper and rest on supports then I deflate tire to about 15 lbs , the tires are usually still on the ground but with most of the camper weight removed . Like to know what others do when these units are in long term storage . Should I be concerned about flat spots on the tires if camper is stored with full weight on them . Are the location of jack supports on the frame important ,
Thanks Rich
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10-06-2016, 07:17 AM
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#2
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Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: New York
Posts: 1,920
SUN #98
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During winter storage here in WNY, I put the trailer tires on boards (so they're not setting directly on the ground), cover them and place jacks at the 4 corners of the trailer only for stabilization.
I don't adjust the tire pressure at all.
I've followed this procedures on 3 TT and 1 FW for the last 20 years and have had not issues, no issues, and tire pressure has stayed stable over the winter.
I believe with radial tires, flat spots are no longer an issue or concern.
Hope this is of some help.
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Mary & Tom (aka Hutch)
2015 Jayco Eagle Premier 361REQS
2014 GMC Sierra 3500HD 4x4 CC D/A
Sunlines: 2005 Solaris T-280SR; 1999 Solaris T-2670; 1998 Saturn T-24A
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10-06-2016, 07:43 PM
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#3
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 71
SUN #3127
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Thanks PTHutch for your advise and sharing your knowledge in winter storage . After reading your comments I doubted many others would jack a TT totally off the ground and deflate tires . Actually my idea possibly without merit, never read any literature on my method of winter storage. I suspect my only concern would be snow load . Thanks again , Rich
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10-06-2016, 10:10 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: New York
Posts: 1,846
SUN #264
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RichieRich
Thanks PTHutch for your advise and sharing your knowledge in winter storage . After reading your comments I doubted many others would jack a TT totally off the ground and deflate tires . Actually my idea possibly without merit, never read any literature on my method of winter storage. I suspect my only concern would be snow load . Thanks again , Rich
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I do the same as PTHutch, and have been for several decades. Never a problem with tires.
I lived in Rochester, the Finger Lakes, and now the southern Adirondacks. Much the same weather including snow belts. If we get a wet heavy snow, I have Snow Rake that I use to pull much of the snow off the roof of the trailer. Otherwise, it's fine as is.
I have Maxx Air vent covers on all the roof vents so I leave the vents open. Keeps the interior nice and dry across the winter.
Other than that, pink stuff in the water system, bypass the water heater first and drain it. Drain all the holding tanks, and get some pink stuff in the waste tanks, just a bit to rest up against the valves. Blow out the sink and shower traps and pour in pink stuff. Remaining water laying in the bottom of the fresh water tank and the water heater has plenty of expansion space so I don't worry about draining them dry; just empty is fine. Prop the fridge doors open to prevent mold. Bounce dryer sheets or mouse baits, your choice. I actually have better luck with the baits.
There are a number of detailed discussions of winterizing here in older threads. They're worth finding and reading. There should also be some write-ups in the FILES area. I know the generic Keystone manual I put there has winterizing info, too. It's all here for the reading.
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'12 F250 4x4 Super Duty PowerStroke 6.7 diesel
2011 to present: '11 Cougar 326MKS
1999 to 2011: '99 Sunline T-2453
SUN264 * Amateur Radio kd2iat monitoring 146.52
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10-11-2016, 04:52 PM
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#5
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 71
SUN #3127
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Winter Storage Advice
Hi Steve , thanks for taking the time to respond to my posting inquiry. Lots of great advice to follow this fall as the cold weather approaches . I drain out my water lines but never thought to blow out my sink traps . The refrig door is left open to prevent mold , will crack open my air vents as you suggest . Will search this site to find other threads on this subject . Rich
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10-13-2016, 07:41 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Maine
Posts: 3,357
SUN #2097
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I cheat. I drain the tanks blow out the water lines suck up a little antifreeze with the pump a spot in the shower and sink drains and back it into the barn and plug it in.
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11-29-2016, 06:08 AM
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#7
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Michigan
Posts: 35
SUN #8731
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mainah
I cheat. I drain the tanks blow out the water lines suck up a little antifreeze with the pump a spot in the shower and sink drains and back it into the barn and plug it in.
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I do just about the same. When properly pumping the pink stuff it is already filling the traps as you run the faucets. Of course, having holding tanks flushed and emptied will help the process as the pink is running down the drains and toilet into the tanks. Tarping the roof in a sheltered area will keep any leaks at bay and keeping an extension cord near an outlet so you can plug the camper into power for battery charge really helps.
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11-29-2016, 08:25 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Maine
Posts: 3,357
SUN #2097
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I can not stand the taste of the anti freeze and a little bit goes a long way. The only part that gets antifreeze is the pump (and the drains) I close all the taps start the pump suck up a couple of pints and turn the pump off the rest of the system is all ready empty a gallon of the stuff lasts me for a couple of years. I have a modern converter/charger the battery charger stays on all winter.
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11-29-2016, 12:11 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: New York
Posts: 1,846
SUN #264
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Since my fresh water tank sits empty but moist for about 6 months each year, I do the bleach treatment every year and pump it all through the kitchen sink via both hot and cold lines. I do this before un-bypassing the water heater. That effective removes all the taste that might be left over from the antifreeze. We never drink out of the bathroom or shower taps but I do run a bit of the bleach water through them just to clean out the pipes.
The spring bleach treatment is included in the winterizing/dewinterizing info in the FILES area.
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'12 F250 4x4 Super Duty PowerStroke 6.7 diesel
2011 to present: '11 Cougar 326MKS
1999 to 2011: '99 Sunline T-2453
SUN264 * Amateur Radio kd2iat monitoring 146.52
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11-29-2016, 01:52 PM
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#10
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Michigan
Posts: 35
SUN #8731
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Collins
Since my fresh water tank sits empty but moist for about 6 months each year, I do the bleach treatment every year and pump it all through the kitchen sink via both hot and cold lines. I do this before un-bypassing the water heater. That effective removes all the taste that might be left over from the antifreeze. We never drink out of the bathroom or shower taps but I do run a bit of the bleach water through them just to clean out the pipes.
The spring bleach treatment is included in the winterizing/dewinterizing info in the FILES area.
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The bleach treatment works great. I do this in the spring after running all the pink out with a fresh flush and fresh water tank fill. Sanitizing is the important part but it also makes the water taste good all summer.
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11-29-2016, 04:00 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Maryland
Posts: 490
SUN #8237
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Forgive me for my ignorance. This is my first time winterizing.......
Is it necessary to cover my roof top refrigerator vent? I've sealed up the wall vent but don't see an easy way to seal the roof vent.
Also, should the roof mounted holding tank vents have screening on them? Mine don't.
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John
2000 T2370
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11-29-2016, 05:11 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: New York
Posts: 1,846
SUN #264
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnybgood
Forgive me for my ignorance. This is my first time winterizing.......
Is it necessary to cover my roof top refrigerator vent? I've sealed up the wall vent but don't see an easy way to seal the roof vent.
Also, should the roof mounted holding tank vents have screening on them? Mine don't.
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There's really no reason to do that. I've never covered the wall vent on the fridge and my Cougar has a pair of them. They're designed to prevent most water intrusion anyway.
I've had up to a foot of snow on the roof and nothing got inside via any of the roof vents. They are also designed to prevent water from entering. The tanks vents are connected direct to the holding tanks so even if a small amount of water were to penetrate, it would just lay in the bottom of your holding tanks.
I'd concentrate more on preventing rodent intrusion. There's plenty of info here on that already. I've had good results with a mix of mouse poison baits and the Bounce dryer sheets. YMMV.
Download the winterizing instructions from the FILES area. That should give you great guidance.
__________________

'12 F250 4x4 Super Duty PowerStroke 6.7 diesel
2011 to present: '11 Cougar 326MKS
1999 to 2011: '99 Sunline T-2453
SUN264 * Amateur Radio kd2iat monitoring 146.52
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11-29-2016, 06:47 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Maine
Posts: 3,357
SUN #2097
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I full my water tank to about a 1/4 with bleach in the spring go for a drive run the water through every thing drain the tank fill the water tank run it through the taps/shower that gets rid of most of the bleach. All though I don't use the water for coffee etc. I do use it for cooking and the shower. I do not have town water so any thing in my water I instantly notice any thing other than water.
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11-30-2016, 09:58 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,279
SUN #1830
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Since we do not get much cold here getting ready for Winter is easy. I do empty the water system and put some anti-freeze in and after freeze warnings are gone I clean the entire system to make for fresh water again. I probably could get by without doing anything but why risk it? Year-round I take the TT for a few mile ride once a month and run all appliances. Takes a day to complete. When I park I have made runners from treated lumber to keep tires off of ground. Two long boards 2x10 and shorter 2x10 across them to hold them in place and wheel stops to keep from falling off the back end. The lumber is soaked with bug spray and being off the ground seems to keep rodents out since they "maybe" seek easier places to nest. Where some people have snow loads to deal with we have high winds, hurricanes. We do hook up and run hundreds of miles to keep the roof safe.
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Beverly & Jim
Sebring, Florida
1991 T-2363 Solaris
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12-04-2016, 08:37 AM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,126
SUN #4040
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i have an RV storage place near me. In side concrete floors and rodent control. $300 forr 6 months. I dont think thats to bad
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Jim and DW Darlene
2001 T-2553 Sunline Solaris
2006 GMC Sierra Duramax 2500HD 4X4
Firestone Transforce AT tires
Reese Dual Cam Sway Control
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12-04-2016, 09:20 AM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Maryland
Posts: 490
SUN #8237
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jim44646
i have an RV storage place near me. In side concrete floors and rodent control. $300 forr 6 months. I dont think thats to bad
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That's a great deal. Cheapest I could find locally was $100 per month with no heat or rodent control.
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John
2000 T2370
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