Winterizing our Scamp Without Antifreeze? - Fiberglass RV
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Old 10-12-2020, 09:05 AM   #1
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Name: Diane
Trailer: Scamp 13’
Wisconsin
Posts: 142
Winterizing our Scamp Without Antifreeze?

We have one more Wisconsin camping trip planned, a few nights at Wyalusing State Park next week. Then I plan to winterize our 2020 Scamp 13. No shower, no water heater, no water pump, no black water tank. Just a freshwater tank with a hand pump at the sink, a shore connection with a second faucet, and a greywater tank.
Is it possible to get by without putting antifreeze in the freshwater tank, since we have such a basic system? I was hoping I could just put the antifreeze in the drain and greywater tank.
When I drained the new tank after flushing it, some water remained in the tank, and no matter how much I pumped, some water remained in the line from the freshwater tank to the faucet. I guess that would be my biggest problem - how to get all the fresh water out of the system.
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Old 10-12-2020, 10:16 AM   #2
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Name: Deb
Trailer: 1990 Bigfoot B19
British Columbia
Posts: 207
You don't have to worry about the little bit of water in the fresh tank. Drain it and leave the drain valve open for the winter. Freezing is only an issue in the small channels and fixtures where expansion during freezing causes the problems. You could put pink in the fresh water tank, pump it through the hand pump at the sink, and then drain the excess from the tank if you wanted to. The little left could be diluted with some water and drained again. You'll be sanitizing the system in the spring again so it will go through another fill and drain.

There could always be the possibility of putting in a by-pass in the line between the tank and the hand pump if you can easily access the water line (Camco makes them for by-passing the fresh water tanks but you could make one yourself with a 3-way valve and some vinyl tubing) and pump pink stuff directly from the jug via the hand pump.

Don't know your shore water connection situation so can't comment on that. Using a blow-out fitting and low pressure compressed air should work there?
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Old 10-12-2020, 10:24 AM   #3
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Name: terry
Trailer: scamp
New York
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Ethelrobin

I have a fresh water tank only and put antifreeze in the drain only. Very little water stays in the tank. Last year was the first year I did not put antifreeze in the tank and it was fine.
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Old 10-13-2020, 09:53 AM   #4
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Name: Diane
Trailer: Scamp 13’
Wisconsin
Posts: 142
Thanks Deb and ethelrobin. I guess my biggest worry is the water left in the water lines. Could you give me a little more info about the blow out fitting and low pressure compressed air?
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Old 10-13-2020, 10:19 AM   #5
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Name: Justus
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Originally Posted by sunnyone View Post
Thanks Deb and ethelrobin. I guess my biggest worry is the water left in the water lines. Could you give me a little more info about the blow out fitting and low pressure compressed air?
Not a Scamp owner, but I only blew out my lines last year over winter in northern Illinois and had no issue.

I used a 12v air compressor with the pressure set to 25 PSI. I found a variety of recommend pressures and decided on the low end. If you search for "RV blowout adapter" you will find what you need to couple the compressor to the city water hookup. Make sure you get one that fits your compressor.

After letting gravity do its thing, I left all faucets open and hooked up the compressor, then let it run until the faucets were sputtering. Then closed all faucets, ran the compressor, and opened one faucet at a time. This was a pain because the compressor would turn off once pressure in the lines reached the setpoint, so I had to run outside and reset it twice so get through the two sinks and flush toilet.

After this I left both faucets and the drain valve open and put it in storage. When I filled it up this spring, no cracked fittings!

I cut out the water heater for this process as the manual stated not to blow it out or introduce antifreeze; gravity drain only.
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Old 10-13-2020, 10:21 AM   #6
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Name: Deb
Trailer: 1990 Bigfoot B19
British Columbia
Posts: 207
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Originally Posted by sunnyone View Post
Thanks Deb and ethelrobin. I guess my biggest worry is the water left in the water lines. Could you give me a little more info about the blow out fitting and low pressure compressed air?
Diane - since I don't know how your city water set-up works, I'm not sure that compressed air would do you much good there. If you are really worried about the residual water in the plumbing, I would suggest looking into the Camco by-pass system https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/c...B&gclsrc=aw.ds. You just install it near the beginning of your fresh water line, as close to the tank as you can. Then turn the valve, drop the end of the tube into your jug of antifreeze, and use the hand pump. Instead of pulling water from the tank, it pulls directly from the jug.

Can be a bit of a P**A to install or really straight forward, depending on how accessible your water lines are at the tank (mine is at the electric pump, down a little access port with room for only one arm at a time - fiddly, but do-able) Now winterizing is just a matter of moving a couch cushion, flipping the valve, dropping the tube into the jug and turning on my pump. Plumbing is done in 5 minutes.

But my advice would be to get a different tube. The one supplied is very stiff, doesn't like to un-coil . I just picked up a few feet of 1/2" I.D. vinyl tubing. That also allows me to have the jug right in view so i know if it's getting low and getting ready to suck air.
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Old 10-17-2020, 10:33 AM   #7
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Name: Michael
Trailer: Former Scamp 13, Former Airstream 16
Connecticut
Posts: 78
I had a Scamp 13' Deluxe for 16 years. Ours was cold water only (no hot water heater).

Every fall, I used 30 psi of compressed air applied to a Camco fitting threaded into the city water inlet. Open the faucet at the sink and let the air blow out the lines.

Always worked perfectly for me.


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Old 10-18-2020, 07:56 PM   #8
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Name: Diane
Trailer: Scamp 13’
Wisconsin
Posts: 142
Thanks to all who weighed in on this; I appreciate all the suggestions. I have to admit though that as a newbie, I don't totally understand the process. Pedalmike, can I use low pressure air to clear water out of the low spots in the line from the freshwater tank to the hand pump in the sink?
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Old 10-19-2020, 04:33 AM   #9
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Name: Michael
Trailer: Former Scamp 13, Former Airstream 16
Connecticut
Posts: 78
Sunnyone: It depends on the routing of your fresh water line to your faucet. Mine drained back toward the fresh water tank, so with the fresh water tank empty, I wasn't too concerned about water gathering in a low spot.

If you have access enabling you to disconnect the water line at the fresh water tank end, you could apply compressed air there and blow it out towards the faucet.

Mike
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