Winterise Check List

[MR. FUSION]

Did you see this. Broken Link Removed

I may be permanently banned from that section of the site

 

[Podney]

Use ours year round but useful as a reminder what to do between winter trips out .
If you leave a site and say travel 50 miles with all taps open and valves and tanks open how much residual water would the system retain ? I’ve only ever used this system for draining down and have had no frost damage / problems so far . Have I just been lucky ?

That’s what I do,once I’ve dumped the 99% at the sight facilities,or at home. Not had any problems.

 

[Revolvor]

As long as the van is well ventilated and does not actually leak ............

I think this is very important. I've got a boat, sat in the Thames all winter. There are two solar powered extractor fans on the roof of the cabin, and they do a great job of keeping mould away.

 

[Heebson]

I have questions!

1. On draining the system: “Though if micro-switched, make sure the master battery switch is off, and taps switched off before you switch the power back on.”. Why is this recommended? I open the taps when draining down and leave in that position and switch power off at the control screen (leaving the ‘Master Switch’ on the main Sargent on, as it’s on my drive and I usually have reasons to nip in & out and hence put lights on. What am I risking? There is zero to minimal current drain.

2. Removing batteries from smoke detectors, etc. Is this just to save the batteries? Or is it in case they deteriorate in damp conditions? Either way, seems a risky trade off - I’ve never used a storage facility, but I’ve seen posts about vans going on fire - surely better to have the alarms in place for at least a possible advanced warning? Also risk that folks forget to put them back!

I will use the van on and off during winter, but I’d think the majority of these tips are still needed even for a short lay-up. No, I’m not trying to convince myself I need to wax the whole thing twice…

 

[CAB96]

I have questions!

1. On draining the system: “Though if micro-switched, make sure the master battery switch is off, and taps switched off before you switch the power back on.”. Why is this recommended? I open the taps when draining down and leave in that position and switch power off at the control screen (leaving the ‘Master Switch’ on the main Sargent on, as it’s on my drive and I usually have reasons to nip in & out and hence put lights on. What am I risking? There is zero to minimal current drain.

2. Removing batteries from smoke detectors, etc. Is this just to save the batteries? Or is it in case they deteriorate in damp conditions? Either way, seems a risky trade off - I’ve never used a storage facility, but I’ve seen posts about vans going on fire - surely better to have the alarms in place for at least a possible advanced warning? Also risk that folks forget to put them back!

I will use the van on and off during winter, but I’d think the majority of these tips are still needed even for a short lay-up. No, I’m not trying to convince myself I need to wax the whole thing twice…

On the batteries, I change mine at Christmas for fresh ones, same as I do in the house. I find I remember to do them that way.

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[Otter Spotter]

On the batteries, I change mine at Christmas for fresh ones, same as I do in the house. I find I remember to do them that way.

Cheap Christmas presents for you then, a packet of batteries!

 

[CAB96]

Cheap Christmas presents for you then, a packet of batteries!

Not so cheap, those 9v ones

 

[our poppy llll]

I have a great idea for preparing your motorhome for winter, be it standing in the cold or you driving through deep snow: here it is…. FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURERS INSTRUCTIONS. works a treat.

 

[Otter Spotter]

I have a great idea for preparing your motorhome for winter, be it standing in the cold or you driving through deep snow: here it is…. FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURERS INSTRUCTIONS. works a treat.

If it has come with some, 2nd hand vans, stuff gets lost

 

[our poppy llll]

If it has come with some, 2nd hand vans, stuff gets lost

Hey there is nothing you can’t down load from the internet. And print off. If you don’t have a printer and your family don’t, then go to the library, they will let you use their computer and print just the pages you need. Or download the instructions to your computer and create an app, if unsure, there are lots of computer boffins on this site who will love to help.

Also any five year old sprogg will know what to do.. just go on your high street, offer a bag of sherbet if some sprogg will sort your computer and 6000 kids will be screaming at you in mins..

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[Jim]

I have a great idea for preparing your motorhome for winter, be it standing in the cold or you driving through deep snow: here it is…. FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURERS INSTRUCTIONS. works a treat.

Could you post the winterising instructions from your manufacturer instructions, it will be interesting to see what they say. Cheers,

 

[our poppy llll]

Could you post the winterising instructions from your manufacturer instructions, it will be interesting to see what they say. Cheers,

I’ll do that when poppylll returns from Lowdhams, she is having a few warranty jobs done! I left all the paperwork on operating instructions in the overhead compartments…

 

[our poppy llll]

Section 10.8 of swift handbook page 174. Full instructions to winterise Swift Edge and Kontiki, and recommission before use. I would have thought all motorhome manuals would have this section but I could be mistaken, but it certainly is the best starting point.
If you search “winterisation swift motorhomes”, on your search engine, the manuals are listed. I hope the information is of use.

 

[our poppy llll]

Could you post the winterising instructions from your manufacturer instructions, it will be interesting to see what they say. Cheers,

 

[our poppy llll]

I really don’t know how to download the manual onto this site, but if you log into a search engine and search for swift winterisation, open, then open swift Manual then scroll to the page, maybe you will have better luck down loading and publishing the content.

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[our poppy llll]

Right I tried to download swifts motorhome manual, but it says the file is too large. Sorry Jim. Maybe you can do better..

 

[Aspenshaw]

I love mind mapping. Used it at work and still use at home for storing 'knowledge'. iMindMap (I think this was used for the opening mind map) is no longer supported software although there is Ayoa from the same company which can be free or £7.50 pm or £10pm depending what you want. Nowadays I use a software that links to Apple's Reminders.

We use our Hymer manual's winterisation advice.

My missus dislikes mind maps so has a list when we go away; I have a mind map to remind me to irritate the missus for all the things I need to take when going on a trip.

As I am retired, most of my mind maps are for my 'knowledge' topics.

 

[Revolvor]

I love mind mapping. Used it at work and still use at home for storing 'knowledge'. iMindMap (I think this was used for the opening mind map) is no longer supported software although there is Ayoa from the same company which can be free or £7.50 pm or £10pm depending what you want. Nowadays I use a software that links to Apple's Reminders.

We use our Hymer manual's winterisation advice.

My missus dislikes mind maps so has a list when we go away; I have a mind map to remind me to irritate the missus for all the things I need to take when going on a trip.

As I am retired, most of my mind maps are for my 'knowledge' topics.

I like Mind Maps too. I used them when I was working. The program I used allowed me to create the Mind Map visually, but then turn the result into a list - the best of both worlds!