How Good is the Scamp "Winterizing" video? - Fiberglass RV
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Old 10-17-2016, 10:50 AM   #1
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Name: Peg
Trailer: 2016 -13' Scamp
Massachusetts
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How Good is the Scamp "Winterizing" video?

I have collected over the past few months all manner of tips and suggestions for winterizing trailers. I also watched the short "winterizing" video on the Scamp website.

Are the Scamp directions sufficient for doing a thorough job of winterizing? I don't want to discover in the spring of 2017 that they ignored an important component or two.

My other thought is to take the Scamp to a local RV dealer and watch them do the job for me this year. It would be a good teaching moment.
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Old 10-17-2016, 11:18 AM   #2
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Its good as long as you do it all as directed.

If you have a shower make sure you remember to turn on those taps as well - they are easy to forget about it. Also dump a little bit down the shower drain and turn on the shower drain pump if you have one.

One thing I do that Scamp does not show is after I have pumped in the anti freeze I drain the hot water tank again. The reason for that due to the design of the hot water tank it never actually drains completely so what ever anti freeze went into it is going to be somewhat diluted. You probable don't need to do that but I would rather play it safe than be sorry.

The other mistake commonly made is people will use one of those hand pump systems to pump anti freeze into the trailer via the city water connection rather than put anti freeze into the fresh water tank as Scamp shows to do. The problem with using the City water connection to pump the anti freeze in is that no anti freeze goes through the water pump. In the spring when you turn on the water pump for the first time you may have a leak at the pump due to the pump having frozen as water was left in it. That is a fairly common occurrence.

Of course you buy an air compressor and blow the whole system out. Lots of instructions on line as to how to do that. You will still need to put a bit of anti freeze down all the drains as well as run some through the shower drain pump though and make sure you blow out the main water pump as well.
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Old 10-17-2016, 12:28 PM   #3
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With the fresh water tank empty, I run the water pump for ten seconds or so to evacuate any water. Been doing that for eight years and haven't had an issue with the water pump.
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Old 10-17-2016, 03:52 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo View Post
With the fresh water tank empty, I run the water pump for ten seconds or so to evacuate any water. Been doing that for eight years and haven't had an issue with the water pump.
Shurflow manual suggest you take a few extra steps if not running anti freeze through the pump:

"remove the plumbing at the pump's inlet/outlet ports. Turn the pump ON, allowing it to operate until the water is expelled. Turn OFF power to the pump once the plumbing is emptied. Do not reconnect pump plumbing. Make a note at tank filler as a reminder: "Plumbing is Disconnected"."

As a friend discovered on our first spring camping trip one year you can do it the way you do it Glenn without discounting the pump lines or using anti freeze in the pump without a problem many years. But whether or not it does the job well enough of clearing all the water completely out of the pump may not be evident until after we have had an unusually long cold winter.
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Old 10-17-2016, 04:34 PM   #5
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Good points, Carol. I would like to add that if you have the shower, make sure that you drain the hand held shower head and its connecting hose. It froze on me once, luckily without damage. Just opening the the taps in the sink does not automatically put the antifreeze in the shower head. You have to pull that knob on top. Maybe the best is to disconnect it anyway. I am not sure if the Scamp video touches on this.
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Old 10-17-2016, 06:54 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by Paul O. View Post
Good points, Carol. I would like to add that if you have the shower, make sure that you drain the hand held shower head and its connecting hose. It froze on me once, luckily without damage. Just opening the the taps in the sink does not automatically put the antifreeze in the shower head. You have to pull that knob on top. Maybe the best is to disconnect it anyway. I am not sure if the Scamp video touches on this.
I take the handle off and bring it in the house and let the hose hang. I learned that when i had a cabin in the mountains and i replaced the sprayer twice. No big deal, but a long ride down the mountain, kinda ruined a short weekend. They all have weak metal parts, or Plastic. Carl
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Old 10-17-2016, 07:46 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Paul O. View Post
Good points, Carol. I would like to add that if you have the shower, make sure that you drain the hand held shower head and its connecting hose. It froze on me once, luckily without damage. .
Had the same thing happen. The shower head & taps being up above the toilet on my Scamp made it easy to over look. Not sure the Scamp video does in fact address the shower head - I believe it simple says to open up all the taps.
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Old 10-18-2016, 01:28 PM   #8
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Little friends

Another winter ready thing to remember is critters that are looking for a pad. I have used dryer sheets in the past, many dryer sheets. I now use a product called botanical rodent repellent made by a company called earthkind. It is a small pouch of this pleasantly smelling pine concoction. Evidently rodents don't find it so pleasant. It doesn't kill them it just sends them to another trailer in the storage building that has none.
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Old 10-18-2016, 06:49 PM   #9
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Wink Winterizing DVD for the Scamp

I was all prepared. I had my 7/8" socket on the wrench ready to go. First time! On the video - it seems he goes straight into the plug with his prescribed 7/8" socket wrench for the hot water heater plug. But now I have to contend with a gas line in the way - definitely an impediment. And my socket doesn't fit! Crap! Husband is away - I'm on my own. Frost is coming tonight. So I start calling for help. Scamp is closed after 1:00 pm on Saturdays (!!!) and Camping World's salesmen are all out helping customers. I ended up randomly calling an RV store in New Jersey - got a great, great guy who advised me to use a 15/16" wrench and don't worry about the gas line. It can flex a little bit. I found the nearest True Value and obtained the proper socket. Winterized, despite the Scamp DVD!
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Old 10-18-2016, 07:00 PM   #10
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It is a small pouch of this pleasantly smelling pine concoction. Evidently rodents don't find it so pleasant.
Which is why you never find them in the forest.
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Old 10-18-2016, 07:27 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by terrinolte View Post
I was all prepared. I had my 7/8" socket on the wrench ready to go. First time! On the video - it seems he goes straight into the plug with his prescribed 7/8" socket wrench for the hot water heater plug. But now I have to contend with a gas line in the way - definitely an impediment. And my socket doesn't fit! Crap! Husband is away - I'm on my own. Frost is coming tonight. So I start calling for help. Scamp is closed after 1:00 pm on Saturdays (!!!) and Camping World's salesmen are all out helping customers. I ended up randomly calling an RV store in New Jersey - got a great, great guy who advised me to use a 15/16" wrench and don't worry about the gas line. It can flex a little bit. I found the nearest True Value and obtained the proper socket. Winterized, despite the Scamp DVD!
Good for YOU! You go girl!!
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Old 10-18-2016, 07:28 PM   #12
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Good for you for getting it done.

And yes the plugs can be 7/8" or 15/16" BTW now you know what size it is be sure to pick up a spare or two next time you are at an RV shop.... they have a bad habit of blowing away and never to be seen again if you forget to take the pressure off the tank before opening it

I solved the issue of getting the plug in and out without the need to carry a socket wrench with an extension on it in the trailer.

I found a tire iron that had 4 different size sockets on it - one fit the nuts on the wheels of the Scamp and the other the hot water tank plug. I may have even gotten it at Harbour Freight.
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