Winterizing

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To winterize:

• 1. open the gray water tank drain valve. This is the handle in front of the left rear tire. Unscrew the cap of the valve cover, then pull the slide handle forward, towards the driver's seat.

• 2. open the white drain valve near the rear bumper on the right (passenger) side. You twist it from left to right. Can't find it? Go to the right rear of the van and look through the crack between bumper and vehicle body. You'll see a white valve/petcock (the drain valve) quite close to the bumper.

• 3. if you do not have a propane water heater, proceed to step 4.

• 3a. open the kitchen faucet, with the handle set to the left (hot) Do not turn on the water pump, just relieve the water pressure that has built up in the system. Close faucet when water stops running.

• 3b. open the outside cover of the water heater. You'll see what looks like a hexagonal drain plug at the bottom of the tank (don't confuse it with the pressure relief valve at the top of the tank)

• 3c. you'll need a socket wrench to get at the drain plug and unscrew it. When it comes out, you'll see the anode rod that is attached to the plug. It's a good idea to replace the plug/anode rod once a year - you can get a replacement from Camping World for about $9. I take the old plug out when I winterize, and put the new plug in once it gets warm again.

• 3d. let the warm water tank drain. Don't be upset if some crud comes out as well. Stick a hose into the tank and flush it a couple of times.

• 3e. on the inside of the van, right next to the left rear door, is what looks like a small carpet-covered cabinet. You have to open or remove it so that you can see the back side of the heater tank.

• 3f. the tank will show two outlets, marked HOT and COLD respectively. You'll note pipes connected to the outlets, and also that there is a pipe that connects the outlets to each other. This is called the tank bypass. At each end of the bypass is a small brass valve - the handles look a bit like 1/2 of a wing nut. Rotate each handle 1/4 turn so that it is aligned with the bypass line. This prevents water from the main water tank from entering the hot water tank.

• 3g. turn on the water pump. If the pump stops clicking/running right away, then you have successfully shut off the water flow to the warm water tank and you can proceed to step 4. If fresh water enters the hot water tank and flows out of the drain hole, go back to 3f above.

• 4. open the kitchen faucet, turn on the water pump, and let the pump run. After a while it will have pumped out all the water in the water tank and will spit air.

• 5. If your van has an outdoor shower, open the faucets to let water out/let air in.

• 6. On the newest Westies you'll be able to see that the water tank is now empty. If you cannot see the water level, just wait for the pump to start spitting air. This will not hurt the water pump. Shut the pump off when it stops pumping a water/air mixture.

• 7. Close the kitchen faucet, the shower faucets, the drain valve, and the gray water valve.

• 8. Buy a couple of gallons of the pink (non-poisonous) anti-freeze. Costs less than $4 per gallon at Camping World. Pour into the water tank. Open kitchen faucet and turn on the water pump. Pretty soon pink stuff will come pouring out of the faucet. Close faucet after enough pink stuff has come out to fill the P trap (about 2 cups)

• 9. I the kitchen plumbing includes a spray attachment, pump some pink stuff through it.

• 10. Turn on the outdoor shower and let liquid come out until it is pink. Shut off the outdoor shower. Turn off the pump. Close the gray water tank valve.

That's it.

It's sort of fun reviewing my winterizing notes while sunshine and 82F surround me. Went for a 14 miles bike ride this morning. Will miss the cold and snow Up North NOT.

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