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Winterizing
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uphillracer View Drop Down
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Joined: 24 Sep 2010
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    Posted: 31 Aug 2011 at 5:47pm
We have an RPOD 171 and live in Mobile AL.  Although we winterized last year, we plan on camping through the winter and doing the "coldest" months in FL. What do y'all in the SE do regarding winterizing? Is it really necessary? We will be in NE GA in September and Oconee SP SC In October with a plan to get to Guntersville Lake in November. CAn we avoid winterizing under these circumstances?
Thanks for your help and advice.
Uphill, Di, Tracer & Jorja
2011 RPOD 171
2008 LR3
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Kenn View Drop Down
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Points: 612 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kenn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Aug 2011 at 6:03pm
Winterizing in the south? Not necessary! I did a winter trip from WA to FL. and we were just fine, especially if you're going to use it in the winter.

2010 RPOD 176 (Silly-POD), 2011 Forest River Stealth 2612, and 2014 Forest River XLR 380AMP
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Points: 8 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ratzpod2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Aug 2011 at 9:29pm
We live in Texas and the only thing we did was drain the water out of the holding tank and everything was fine.  However, the heat in Texas has not been a good thing for our 173.  We just had the A/C go out this past weekend and also the drawer slide brackets on the kitchen drawers are ALL breaking due to the heat.  Cheap plastic is not the greatest way to attach the slides to the walls......
Ratzpod - Tim & Laurie
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uphillracer View Drop Down
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Points: 21 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote uphillracer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Sep 2011 at 4:11pm
Thanks for the response. We will try to camp throughout the winter - mostly in FL. I hope the furnace creates enough heat to avoid lines freezing.
We're going to NE GA this month and Oconee SC in October. November We're thinking Little River State Park.
Uphill, Di, Tracer & Jorja
2011 RPOD 171
2008 LR3
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tpierce220 View Drop Down
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Points: 249 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tpierce220 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Sep 2011 at 8:56am
We found the heater to be very warm and toasty.  If temperatures got really low, you could put some antifreeze in your tanks to keep them from freezing.  The pipes could be a different story, but I would think that if you're in Florida it would probably be cold for a few hours, which should keep things from freezing.
Adventures with ¡Podtástic!--Life in a Forest River RPod 182G with Tim and Louis and our two cats, Desi and Lucy. Check our website at http://podtastic.info for information on our journeys.
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Ratdog View Drop Down
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Points: 1175 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ratdog Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Sep 2011 at 9:39am
Originally posted by tpierce220 tpierce220 wrote:

We found the heater to be very warm and toasty.  If temperatures got really low, you could put some antifreeze in your tanks to keep them from freezing.  The pipes could be a different story, but I would think that if you're in Florida it would probably be cold for a few hours, which should keep things from freezing.
 
Antifreeze in the tanks is a good idea.
 
It can, and has, gotten below freezing and remained there for much longer than a few hours in Florida. Check out these 2 links for the past 2 winters in Florida:
 
 
 
We lost nearly half of our landscaping in the Winter 2009 freeze at our Florida house which is about 30 minutes north of Orlando.
 
I lived further north in Florida (Gainesville) for 30 years. I have seen it drop below freezing and stay there for 3 days. I also experienced an ice storm there that ended up freezing and breaking water pipes all over town. Large parts of town also lost electricity. We were able to stay warm because we had a wood stove. However, our neighbors had to move out to a motel because the temperature dropped to the low 30's in their living room.
 
The point is that anything can happen in the winter down there so be prepared. Obviously, the further south you go, the better off you are. If you're living in your pod and running your heater, I think you'd be fine. If you have it stored outdoors, that could be a different story. We never winterized our RV down there but we parked it in our yard with a 30 amp power source so we were able to run the heater during cold snaps. We didn't own an RV when we had the ice storm that knocked out electricity. If we had owned one at that time, it's pipes would have frozen for sure because the PVC pipe at the well that supplies water to our house froze and split open like a ripe melon.
 
-- Steve

Steve, Anne, and Paige the Rat Terrier
2013 Lexus RX 450h Hybrid AWD
2011 RP-177 (aka: The Circus Wagon)
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tsunami View Drop Down
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Points: 426 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tsunami Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Sep 2011 at 10:11am
I think that camping out anywhere north of Orlando during January and February dictates 'winterizing' your Pod.  Keep RV antifreeze handy and dump some into the holding tanks if temps are expected to drop below freezing.  Last winter in St Augustine, there was frost on roof tops about every third day and all short plants froze to a height of about three feet.  Keep all of the cabinet doors open on cold nights to help prevent water pipes from freezing.  There really isn't any way to keep the holding tanks from getting cold.  You may have to wait until a warmer day to drain the holding tanks...I found that drain valves would freeze up and wouldn't open until later in the morning.
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Kenn View Drop Down
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Points: 612 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kenn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Sep 2011 at 11:00am
I agree with the antifreeze. Those are handy to have. I have about 4 ofthem on board during the winter.

2010 RPOD 176 (Silly-POD), 2011 Forest River Stealth 2612, and 2014 Forest River XLR 380AMP
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What about mice?  I worry that they will get in the pod over winter, eat the wiring or other things.
In the end there's just a song comes cryin up the night

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rocktub View Drop Down
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In the summer heat here in the Phoenix area I keep a five gallon plastic bucket full of water in our 171. I hope that it will help with the low humidity.  
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Bill and Jan
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