Research-based educational guidance. Model-specific procedures and professional review are not claimed. How these guides are prepared · Report a correction
Before you begin: Use your RV and component manuals for model-specific procedures. Stop and use a qualified professional for electrical, propane, structural, or other work beyond your training.
Plan winterization around five checkpoints
Match the manuals
Find instructions for the RV, water heater, and every water-connected appliance.
List every water point
Include outside showers, filters, low-point drains, and fitted accessories.
Confirm the method
Use only the winterization method and compatible products the manuals specify.
Record the setup
Note drains, bypass settings, products used, and components left disconnected.
Plan storage checks
Keep a record of moisture, pests, batteries, and changes in weather.
Read your RV manual before draining
Winterization procedures vary with plumbing layout, water heater type, washer hookups, ice makers, outdoor showers, and hydronic systems. Find every low-point drain and appliance bypass in your manual.
Do the work before temperatures can freeze trapped water. If you are unsure about a component, a qualified RV technician can walk you through the first season.
Gather the right supplies
Typical supplies include potable-water-safe RV antifreeze when your chosen method requires it, a water-heater bypass, a pump converter or hand pump if specified, basic hand tools, drain hoses, and labels for valves. Never use automotive antifreeze in an RV drinking-water system.
Some RVs are winterized with compressed air, some with RV antifreeze, and some with a combination. Follow the manufacturer’s pressure limits and appliance instructions.
Drain and protect the water system
Turn off heating elements and allow the water heater to cool. Drain the fresh tank and low-point lines as directed, bypass and drain the water heater if applicable, and protect each hot and cold fixture, toilet, shower, and exterior connection.
The exact order depends on the RV. Do not pump antifreeze into a water heater that should be bypassed. Remember fixtures that are easy to miss, such as an outdoor shower or washer hookup.
Finish the rest of the RV
Empty and clean holding tanks according to your manual, manage batteries for the storage temperature and chemistry, remove food, clean the interior, inspect the roof, and protect tires as the manufacturer recommends.
Make a written record of what was drained, bypassed, or disconnected. In spring, use it to reverse the process and sanitize the fresh-water system.
A credited owner experience: winter travel and a frozen drain valve
Peter and Kathy Holcombe describe winter travel in their Winnebago View and Revel in a WinnebagoLife article. They report that their black-tank drain valve froze on one particularly cold morning even while the RV interior stayed warm. Their experience illustrates why checking exposed plumbing and dump hardware matters; it is their account, not a test performed by RV Method.
Their setup and choices do not establish a safe temperature or winterization method for another RV. Before freezing weather, use the exact RV and appliance manuals to locate vulnerable plumbing, drains, valves, and optional equipment. If a valve is frozen, do not force it; follow the manufacturer’s recovery instructions or ask a qualified technician. The Holcombes’ credited WinnebagoLife article is linked below alongside manual-finding resources.
Documented example: map a 2024 Winnebago towable water system
This is a documentation-based scenario, not a record of work performed on a particular RV.
Manual or source: 2024 Winnebago Towables Owner Manual, Winterization Process
- Start with the actual RV model and installed equipment. The 2024 Winnebago towable manual shows a water-heater bypass, pump siphon path, low-point drains, hot and cold fixtures, toilet, exterior shower or kitchen, spray ports, and P-traps. Make a row for each branch present on this RV; do not assume another towable has the same layout.
- The manual directs the owner to set the water-heater valves to bypass before introducing antifreeze, then use the pump path and verify the specified low-point and fixture outlets. Record each valve position and outlet as it is completed rather than marking the entire RV “winterized” after one pink faucet.
- Include both hot and cold sides of interior and exterior fixtures and the toilet and P-traps identified in that manual. The installed water heater, filter, ice maker, washer, or tankless unit may have separate instructions. Stop and resolve any undocumented branch or different appliance before a freeze.
- Keep the dated worksheet and product label for spring. The completion test is a branch-by-branch record matched to the exact RV manuals, not a guessed gallon count or a universal valve diagram.
Manufacturer manuals & further reading
Use these official resources to find details for your equipment. Match the brand, model, and revision; another RV’s procedure may not apply to yours.
- Winnebago operator manuals
Find Winnebago manuals by model year. Match the model and serial-number range before using a schedule, plumbing layout, or storage procedure.
- Jayco owner support and manuals
A starting point for Jayco owner manuals and product support. Use the manual for your RV and the separate instructions for its installed appliances.
- Dometic manuals and documentation
Look up operating instructions by product identification. Filters, cleaning methods, and service requirements vary across Dometic appliance models.
- Peter and Kathy Holcombe: winter RV experience
Credited owner account, including a frozen black-tank drain valve. Experience is model-specific and does not replace your manual.
Keep a record: Print the winterization checklist →