Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Winterizing

Winterizing the fifth wheel is pretty easy. I open all the water valves and let the water drain. I did however have a problem with finding the right socket to fit the water heater drain plug. It took a while but I finally did find one and was able to drain the water heater too. I am embarrassed to mention that this is the first time I have drained the water heater. We keep the fifth wheel in an insulated building and have not had a problem with freezing. KNOCK on WOOD! Now I need a gallon of RV antifreeze to pour in the traps and we’ll be set.

Our winters don’t get very cold here in north Texas. I realize I need to drain the water heater on a regular basis anyway but have just failed to do so. The water was a little dirty but it was better than I expected. We have owned the fifth wheel two years and I really thought the water was going to be real nasty. I have now placed the socket that fits the water heater plug into a Ziploc baggie and labeled it water heater plug. It will be easy to find in the tool box next time.

A very good friend bought us a spark plug socket and extension that fits on the drill that allows us to raise and lower the rear stabilizers without the cranking with that metal rod. That socket is also in its own labeled Ziploc baggie. We are all for easy to find when you need it. We’re not planning on taking a lot of tools with us when we hit the road. Matter a fact; we have plans to go thru all our hand tools in the near future. We have some good Craftsman tools and we also have some cheap no-name stuff. We have at least five hammers and a ton of screwdrivers. We have a nice tool box that we’re going to take with us and it will hold only the tools we need.