Stupid Winterization Question

OK, here’s one I haven’t seen discussed. I have a 2019 Unity TB. The fresh water tank and water pump are under the passenger side bed. The service center and winterization valve are over on the driver’s side. If I understand the plumbing correctly, the draw from the water tank goes over to the service center, through the winterization valve, and then back across to the intake/suction side of the water pump. When you switch to winterization mode, the suction is switched to the open tube in the service center.

So what happens to the water line between the tank and the winterization valve? There is no specific procedure to clear water out of it or fill it with pink stuff. How does it get winterized to avoid freeze damage?

the process includes several steps to address this issue.

first you drain, then add antifreeze.

park level

empty water tank

run pump (with the water tank empty and city water not connected) this will remove almost all the water from the line you are worried about.

then you clean the pump screen, and use compressed air to get more water out of the system.






after this draining, it then is time to get the antifreeze into the system.


as you have figured out, if you jump to the antifreeze, without draining first, you can have issues.




(and there is no such thing as a stupid question. )

Thanks for your response. That makes perfect sense. Unfortunately the Unity owners manual doesn’t describe that procedure. It just states to drain the water tank and then proceed to the antifreeze phase. No drawing the water out of the system as much as possible. Now I’ll have to go mess with it some more...

They "improved" the manual. YOu can download manuals for earlier years. some have more details, some are clearer than others.

this is always a somewhat tricky process. I have come to like blowing out with air, (regulated down to 20 psi) and then filling with rv antifreeze.

it is all fun and games until something freezes and breaks.

You have the right idea to think it though.

If you properly drain your tanks and clear your lines with compressed air, there is no need to add RV antifreeze. Doing so just adds an unnecessary drain and flush step in the Spring. I do add a small amount of antifreeze to the sink and shower traps. Eight seasons, never an issue, Winter temps down to 0F.

I also use the compressed air (40psi max pressure) blow out method. Leave all faucets (bathroom + kitchen sink, shower, outside shower, fresh water tank) open, hot and cold, so if any water is left it will have room to expand during cold storage. Remove water pump strainer glass bowl and empty, dry, then reinstall. Remove the water filter canister and empty any remaining water, dry, and reinstall. Then I take a ½ Gallon container of RV antifreeze and pour it liberally (I use the entire 1/2 gallon up) into the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, shower drain. I add some to toilet bowl and flush and then add more to leave inside toilet bowl. Note: Never put Non-toxic Plumbing Antifreeze into Fresh Water Tank or Hot Water Heater. Then I go crack the black and grey tank waste valves open until a little pink stuff comes through and close again. It's best to have RV antifreeze on both sides of the waste valves. I used this YouTube video to learn from. I don't have a macerator or Truma so you'll need to address their winterization requirements as well. Leisure has winterization videos as well under the Owner Manual section, https://leisurevans.com/owners/manuals/. They have one for 2019 Truma winterization but the last Winterization video I found was for a 2015 Unity so you'll have to enter different years and see what they have.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3KclDkjfnak

Thanks all for the input. I tidied up the winterization today per y’all’s input. Used pink stuff this year, but perhaps will go the blow out route in the future. It’s generally mild here in the Texas hill country, but once and again it we do get a cold snap.

I’ve watched a few Wendland videos on and off. I originally hail from Michigan and one of my high school friends that ended being a writer know Mike. I’ll have to ask about that next time I am up there.