Detailed Guide to Prepping Your RV Water System for Spring
Before you head out for spring and summer travel, you need to get your RV ready. This means undoing all of the important steps you did to winterize your rig, including de-winterizing your motorhome’s water system. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to show how you can do just that.
1. Refill and Re-pressurize the System
If you did not use antifreeze when you winterized your rig in the fall, then the first step you need to take when preparing your RV for the warmer temperatures is filling and re-pressurizing your water system. If you used low pressure air to remove the water in the system, close the drain and fill it again. Next, turn on the water pumpto allow the system to pressurize. Once the water heater has filled and pressure has built up, the pump will shut off.
2. Flush the Antifreeze
If you did use antifreezewhen you winterized your rig in the fall, then you will need to thoroughly flush it out of the water system. To accomplish this, fill the unit with fresh water and run it through until all traces of the coolant are gone. If you bypassed the hot water heater when winterizing the system, leave the bypass on while flushing the antifreeze. Only allow water back into the water heaterwhen you are confident that you’ve removed all of the coolant. If you allowed antifreeze into the hot water heater, it will need to be drained as well.
3. Sanitize the System
Sanitizing the water system is a good idea, especially if it had antifreeze and sat untouched for the entire winter season. Luckily, this isn’t a tough task to perform. Simply add a cup of bleach to a gallon of water pour it into the water tank. Fill the tank and turn on the faucetsuntil you can smell the bleach. Turn off the faucets, and let the bleach soak in the system for a full 24 hours. Once enough time has passed, drain the tank and re-fill it with fresh water. Run the water through, flushing the tank again, until you cannot detect any scent of bleach at all. You may have to repeat draining and refilling the water system to remove all signs of bleach.
4. Check for Leaks
After you’ve sanitized and filled the system, it’s time to check for leaks. Leaks can leave you with water damage after you hit the road, and water damage can be extremely costly to repair. However, there’s no need to worry – checking for leaks in the water system and plumbingis pretty easy to do.
Once the fresh water holding tank is full, turn on the water pumpto pressurize the system. The pump should shut off once the system has reached maximum pressure. If it cycles back on even though you haven’t run any water that indicates that you probably have a leak somewhere. If this is the case, locate the leak and make sure you repair it before you drive off to your next adventure.
5. Make Necessary Repairs
Finally, check the faucets, pumps, connectors, and pipes for any signs of wear and tear. You will want to repair these items before you begin your travels, rather than waiting until you have a problem and are at a campsite away from easy repair options. Hitting the road in a functional RV that has a working water system will mean a much more pleasant camping season for you.
Prepping the water system can be one of the more time consuming tasks when it comes to getting your rig ready for spring and summer travel, but these are chores worth doing. With a working RV water system, you will have peace of mind as you head out for a season of camping knowing that you’ll always be able to come home from a day of exploration to a hot shower and a cold glass of water.
