Snowbirds RV Owners Tips

Hey snowbirds winter is nearing an end and it is time to get ready to head back

north for the summer. Are you leaving your RV where it is parked or storing it in

the south for the summer? If you are leaving your rig behind, here are some tips for preparing your rig for the summer,

Have your holding tanks Hydrojet cleaned before leaving, you don’t want sludge in your tanks causing odors.

When leaving drain your water heater, and use a Tank Saver wand to thoroughly

clean calcium, rust, and sand from the tank. (Be sure the water heater is turned off before doing this.) If you have a Suburban water heater this is a good time to

inspect the anode rod to determine if it is time to replace it. If you have an Attwood / Dometic water heater, do not use anode rods or petcocks, use only hollow plastic plugs. Do not leave the water heater open when you are done, you don’t want it full of bugs next fall.

After all your holding tanks are drained, and valves closed (do not leave them open while you are gone) put approx. ½ gallon of RV antifreeze and about 1 ½ gallons of water in each tank, this will help to keep the seals on your valves from drying out over the summer. (Note: adding to much water to the holding tanks while you are gone will cause the bottom of you tanks to distort from the excess weight in the heat of the summer.)

Instead of wrapping your toilet with plastic wrap and hoping the water in the bowl won’t evaporate while you are gone. Use a 13 gallon kitchen trach bag place it in the toilet and fill the bag with water until just below the rim of the toilet, twist the top of the bag and tie in a knot tuck in on top of bag and close the lid. This will keep moisture next to the seal, next fall puncture the bag let water drain into the toilet, throw bag away, and flush the toilet, it is ready for use.

Use 1 Quart zip lock bags fill approx. ½ full with water, place 1 over each of your

drains, kitchen, bathroom sink, and shower, this will keep the water in the traps

from evaporating, and block odors from the holding tanks entering your RV.