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Old 11-28-2018, 07:53 AM   #1
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winterize?

This will be my first winter with my SMB. I live in the pacific northwest. Plans include a trip to Texas in January. Should I drain all the water before heading south? Looking for suggestions, thanks.

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Old 11-28-2018, 09:48 AM   #2
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Congrats on your SMB and welcome😊

Some additional info will help to get answers -
What type SMB do you have? E350, Sprinter? Layout ? Year?
Do you have a cabin heater? Eg Espar or Suburban?
Where is your water tank located?
Hot water system? Type?
How much time will you be in the van during your trip? Will it be unattended for some periods?
Insulation?
Exterior shower?
Battery bank size?
Solar panels?

For our winter trips - if the van is going to be unattended for a couple of days, I will usually drain the tanks to be safe. If only a day or so, and solar available, I will run the Espar heater which is on a thermostat. In all cases the exterior shower hoses are drained and the valves to the shower are shut off.
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Old 11-28-2018, 11:57 AM   #3
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1der is correct, lot depends on your set-up & Van use.

When in doubt Winterize - Its easy, inexpensive, and a considerably cheaper than the alternative.
We do not to use the in-house water tank for drinking, use it for everything else. So winterizing early isnt an issue. For Drinking we always carry bottled water and have 3 Scepter containers on the back box. In the event we run out, I also have a Katadyn Hiker Pro Microfilter, but have never been in a position to make use of it.

Since you're located in the pacific Northwest, I would think you would be winterizing anyway? Unless you have heated storage?
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Old 11-28-2018, 12:22 PM   #4
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thanks

I will winterize. I have a Sprinter, 4x4. Solar panels and Espar.
Better safe than .....!
I appreciate your responses.
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Old 11-28-2018, 08:09 PM   #5
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Do you have on board air? If not it's very good for things like this. Rig up a hose to your city water fill and blow out the lines after you drain everything. That way you can just put water in anytime and anywhere along your trip where you want to camp and have full use of your rig. It takes about 5 minutes to crack all the valves, drain and blow them out. I've done this to every RV I've ever had. Much better and simpler than using that supposedly non-toxic TOXIC RV antifreeze in your water system.
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