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Old 10-16-2018, 03:29 PM   #1
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Winterizing 2002 Ford EB250 SMB

HI Gang.

I have a new, to me, 2002 EB250 SportsMobile. I need to winterize and searched the Forum and found this thread: http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...nted-7146.html

Informative, but still want to make sure I do this right.

I live in Alaska and winter is on the way. Further, I just had neck surgery and would like to only crawl under the van once, if possible.

I have a single water tank under rear seat, and have a single faucet at a sink on left side of van. Must flip a switch to have pump come on to provide water at sink. I see there is a drain under sink on outside and presume that is the where the grey water tank is and should to opened to drain.

So, clearly open drain to grey water tank, and drain out fresh water with pump on to sink.

Here is where I get confused. Should I drain the above, then add RV antifreeze and allow go through entire system with pump on so there is RV antifreeze throughout the system and leave some in clean water tank, and line to sink and grey water tank. Or just try to empty as best I can and call it good?

Anything else I need to do? No shower or toilet in rig.

Thanks in advance.

Bob

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Old 10-16-2018, 06:52 PM   #2
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WB, lots of varied opinions on this. Drain all the fresh water from the tanks (fresh/grey). You can briefly run the pump without water in the system. If you choose to add RV antifreeze, you'll want to run it through the entire system and let it sit.

There should be a separate drain for the fresh water tank and grey water tank. There may also be a drain at the low point in the system. Depending on who did your build (North, West, Texas), you could be looking for petcock valves underneath your rig or near the fresh water tank.
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Old 10-16-2018, 07:06 PM   #3
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Yep, well said Lee, but in my opinion SMB plumbing is so simple compared to a regular RV there's really no need to muck it up with antifreeze. My practice is to drain everything and rig up a blower hose from your air compressor to the inlet of your water hookup. This is easily done from beside the van, no crawling. Turn taps on wherever you have them (sink, shower, etc.) and just blow the trapped water out of the system. 5 minutes and done.


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Old 10-16-2018, 08:19 PM   #4
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This is easily done from beside the van, no crawling. Turn taps on wherever you have them (sink, shower, etc.) and just blow the trapped water out of the system. 5 minutes and done.
86Scotty,

Even with the pump off at sink? Will the air pass through?

Thanks!
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Old 10-16-2018, 08:29 PM   #5
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WB, lots of varied opinions on this. Drain all the fresh water from the tanks (fresh/grey). You can briefly run the pump without water in the system. If you choose to add RV antifreeze, you'll want to run it through the entire system and let it sit.

There should be a separate drain for the fresh water tank and grey water tank. There may also be a drain at the low point in the system. Depending on who did your build (North, West, Texas), you could be looking for petcock valves underneath your rig or near the fresh water tank.
Thanks Tig,

So, briefly looked under there before turning on water at sink to drain fresh water tank. I was thinking, that's a huge grey water tank! There is some plumbing in front of the fresh water tank in garage, but i'm unable to see it. Felt no drain plugs, so just ran the water out with pump. Was thinking there'd be a cap on top I could just siphon out fresh water.

Anyway, I ran it mostly out, then thought the water was overflowing at grey water tank, re: trickle under van.

NO, there is no Grey Water tank! Is that even legal? The water comes through the sink drain straight out onto the ground through a 2" pipe.

What I was thinking was the grey water tank, is the gas tank and it is big! 46 gals. Also, think it's odd that there is no skid plate at all to protect the gas tank.

Is that normal for a SMB?

Thanks again,

Bob
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Old 10-16-2018, 10:32 PM   #6
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As tlg said - Fresh Water tank should have a small valve (inside) near the bottom of the tank that will allow the water to drain out through a tube that goes through the floor. I have seen these part way along the water line that feeds the water pump. The big IF's are - the valve still works/not frozen, and the tube is clear/not filled with muck.

The way you did it using the pump works too, but there is still some water in the tank and lines. The small amount of water in the tank is fine since there is room for it to expand. The water in the lines and the water pump are another story. Those will crack when the water freezes.

86scotty's recommendation of blowing low pressure air through the lines is a good one. I also leave the tap open. If your water pump is easily disconnected from the system, that may be worth considering. There typically is water in the pump housing which is difficult to purge.

No comment on the straight through drain. Do you also have a porta potti that needs to be removed??
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Old 10-16-2018, 11:04 PM   #7
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No comment on the straight through drain. Do you also have a porta potti that needs to be removed??
Thanks 1der,

No porta potti. Only the sink.

I'll try to get a mechanic under there to get a better look. With this neck brace on, it's hard to stand on my head and look around corners!

Not freezing here yet ... late fall is nice!
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Old 10-17-2018, 09:36 AM   #8
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I used a blow out plug this year. Worked much better than gravity. Nice little $5 to $10 tool



https://www.amazon.com/Camco-36153-B...Y9A9YYJWV&th=1

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Old 10-17-2018, 03:28 PM   #9
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I used a blow out plug this year. Worked much better than gravity. Nice little $5 to $10 tool
Thanks simplesez,

Where does this attach? Outside where "city water" connection is located?

AH!!!! There's a video on Amazon site! Perfect, but not sure about what to do with water pump, perhaps run that empty for a few seconds?

Thanks again,

Bob
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Old 10-25-2018, 03:55 PM   #10
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I've had a SMB every winter since 1997 and, while not living in an area with real long cold spells, the water in my dog's bowl has frozen several times each winter. To winterize, I open the fill part at the top of the clean water tank, the small valve that allows water into that tank, the small valve at the bottom of that tank, opened the drain from the grey tank, opened the faucet and opened the small valve about a foot down and below the external fill place where you attach your hose. Then I drive around some before the first freeze to shake all water out. Never have had a frozen/broken water pipe for these past 20 years.
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