Four industry videos showcase how to winterize different truck camper makes, models and types. It’s that time of year. Get ready to winterize.
Winterization is the process of preparing a truck camper to be stored through a winter season with below-freezing temperatures. Without winterization, water lines, water pumps, and related fittings and components can burst open as the freezing water expands.
With the exception of 100-percent modular campers with no built-in water tanks or systems, every truck camper should be winterized before seasonal freezing temperatures are present. Winterizing can be completed with RV antifreeze in your camper lines or blowing out your camper water lines with compressed air.
The only option to winterization is to live or snowbird in an area that does not freeze, keep your camper indoors in a heated garage or keep your camper plugged in all winter with a heat source that reaches the entire water tank and system. Even with those special cases, owners should keep RV antifreeze on tap in case a winter storm knocks out power.
The Basic Winterization Steps
The steps for winterization are similar for most truck campers. First, take your camper to a dump station and empty the black and grey tanks (if you have them). Next, switch off the electric heating element in your water heater (if you have one), switch the water heater to bypass, press the water heater pressure relief valve and remove the plug/anode to fully drain the tank. Then open the fresh water low point drains to completely drain the fresh tank.
Inside the camper, locate the area where the antifreeze is added. Then suck in RV antifreeze into the water lines. During that process open the furthest faucet or shower nozzle starting with the hot line.
When you see pink antifreeze come out, switch to the cold line. Then move to the kitchen and bathroom sinks and repeat the process; hot until you see pink, then cold until you see pink. Then, flush the toilet, until you see pink. When that’s completed, go to the outside shower (if you have one) and repeat the process again.
To finish the process, pour a little RV antifreeze down the shower drain to reach the trap under the shower pan. That’s the basics.
Every Camper Winterizes Differently
Although the winterization steps are often the same, every truck camper make and model has a different procedure for winterization. For example, access to the water heater bypass and valves are in different locations. Some are inside a kitchen cabinet. Others are under a dinette seat. And a few have to be reached from an exterior compartment.
Each camper may have a few details that need to be completed specific to that make and model. To showcase the different ways RV makes and models are winterized (and the details), we have pulled together four winterization videos from Northern Lite, Truck Camper Warehouse (Northstar and Arctic Fox), and Four Wheel Campers.
Even if you don’t own one of these brands, we recommend watching all of these videos as they will give you further insight into the winterization process and why it’s important. They also include how to de-winterize.
Northern Lite
Northstar: Video by Truck Camper Warehouse
Arctic Fox: Video by Truck Camper Warehouse
Four Wheel Campers
