Winterizing: What about it?!?

Hello faithful readers! (Hey to you slackers that come by now and again… :P)

This series is all about Winterizing; what it is, how to do it, why it matters, how to mess it up, and most importantly, WHEN to do WHAT.

Yeah, I know, most ‘pros’ won’t tell you how to mess it up, but hey, i’m not most pros, i’m Ramblin’ Man Dan! 😀

Anyway, let’s jump in. Winterizing refers to preparing your RV (or boat, summer cabin, or other stuff you don’t usually use during the winter) for the cold that causes liquids to freeze. Here’s the part where I point out the importance of words, specifically this line right here: The cold that causes liquids to freeze. See, the entire point of winterizing is to prevent freezing liquids from causing damage, because when liquids freeze, they EXPAND, and when they EXPAND, they can break whatever is trying to hold them in, like pipes, tanks, hoses, and the fittings between those pieces.

So, winterizing is all about removing the danger of expanding liquids damaging things. Simple, right? Actually, it is. Your RV has 3 (or more) tanks for liquid:
1) Fresh Water – The tank you carry fresh (potable) water in,
2) Gray Water – The tank you hold Gray (dirty) water in from your sink and shower drains, and,
3) Black Water – The tank that holds Black water (sewage) from your toilet.
There’s also pipes in your RV, and those can be categorized as either:
1) Supply pipes – pipes that SUPPLY water to various parts and pieces of your RV, or,
2) Drain pipes – pipes that DRAIN water from various parts of your RV to the appropriate holding tank.
It’s important to understand the difference between SUPPLY and DRAIN pipes, most notably that SUPPLY pipes are under pressure, because it’s this pressure that can cause the most issues.

Read on through the series to see more great posts about winterizing your RV.