How to Winterize Your JayFlight 178DBSW RV | Easy RV Winterization Walkthrough, by RVFix on YouTube. 4 min 9 s.
- Video length
- 4 min 9 s
- Time to do it
- 45 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Drain the fresh water tank and open the low point drain valves with a bucket underneath. Open every faucet, hot and cold, so the lines empty out.
Bypass the water heater. If you have a tankless unit, close its isolation valves or fit the bypass kit and drain it exactly as the maker's manual says, since many tankless heaters should not have antifreeze pushed through them.
Remove or bypass the water filter cartridge so antifreeze does not ruin it, and leave the filter housing empty.
Connect the winterizing kit or siphon hose to the inlet side of the water pump and drop the other end into the jug of RV antifreeze.
Turn the pump on and open one faucet at a time, hot then cold, until solid pink antifreeze runs out. Do the kitchen, bathroom sink, shower and outside shower.
Flush the toilet until antifreeze reaches the bowl, then pour about a cup down each drain trap and leave some in the toilet bowl to keep the seal wet.
Switch the pump off, pull the siphon hose out of the jug and cap the low point drains. Wipe up any spills.
Check every fixture once more. If anything runs clear, reconnect the antifreeze and repeat that line before the first freeze.
Tips and common mistakes
Use propylene glycol RV antifreeze only, never automotive antifreeze, which is toxic and damages seals.
Empty the black and gray tanks at a dump station before you start so nothing sits in the tanks over winter.
Do not forget the outside shower, toilet sprayer and any washer hookup, since these lines are easy to miss.
Keep the empty antifreeze jugs labelled so you know how much the system took and can buy the same amount next year.
Questions
How much RV antifreeze does a small trailer need?
Most small trailers take 2 to 3 gallons once the water heater is bypassed. Buy an extra gallon so you never run the pump dry mid-job.
Can I skip the water heater bypass?
No. Without a bypass the heater tank fills with antifreeze, wasting gallons and leaving the tank without proper freeze protection. Tankless units often need draining instead.
Do I need to blow the lines out with air first?
It is not required, but blowing the lines with low pressure air first pushes out most of the water so you use less antifreeze and get pink flow faster.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
