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Old 10-16-2008, 08:52 AM   #1
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Location: Northern Colorado, US
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Default winterizing

Hello everyone,

We just purchased a 2007 189fbs and we're still learning how everything works.

Does anyone have a step-by-step process for winterizing a 189fbs? I've seen some general instructions online, but I'm wondering if there's anything specific I need to do for the funfinder. Is it worth having the dealer do it?

Also, once winterized, can we still use the trailer and just not use the water? We're headed to Moab in November, but the ff will be here in Colorado til then.


thanks for any info
David
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Old 10-16-2008, 05:28 PM   #2
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Moab? wheeling?
well i just winterized my 160 for the first time, i dont know if its exactly the same for you but ill tell you what i did, and i dont know if its right but it worked.
get 3 gallons of RV antifreeze (the pink stuff) i got it at wally world.
i made sure my fresh water tank is empty(turned pump on and ran the outside hose till no water came out)
next i drained the hot water tank, from the outside panel there is a drain plug(looks like the head of a bolt) at the bottom middle of the tank take that out(its connected to a long rod(called a anode) now you should also opne the vent on the top of the panel to make the water come out faster(watch out as it hold a lot and comes out fast.
now inside the camper under the bunk where you can access the hot water heater form inside you will need to bypass the hot water heater.
you prob have a 3 valve syetem (this page expalins it good http://www.rverscorner.com/bypass.html )
you will want to turn the top valve off and the bottom vlave off and turn the middle valve on, this will allow water to go to the rest of the RV from the pump but not allow it to go into the water heater. now the water heater is done, dont put the drain plug back in untill spring (not sure why but its what i was told). now at the water pump there will be a valve at the end of the pump one end goes into the valve and the other is just a open hose on the other end, that opne end goes into your jug of antifreeze. what this valve does is close off the fresh water tank and allows the pump to drawn the antifreeze into the system.
now its time to drain the rest of the lines, im not sure how your RV is laid out so it will prob be easier to look underneath it and look for 2 hoses coming out of the floor, mine were right by the tire, now after you find the hoses go inside the camper and find where the hoses go inside and there will be 2 pull valves on the hoses, pull thoseand it will open those lines and drain the rest of the system (these are called the low level drain or something like that, they are the lowest point in the system) i also forgot if you turn on a faucet it will help the system drain better)
so now its time to get the antifreeze in the system
youy should have the hose on e the pump goin to your jug of antifreeze
turn on your pump and you should see the pump drawing the pink stuff into the system
now go start turning on your faucets starting at the furthest first (make sure you do both hot and cold) now this includes the shower and the toilet
and the outside hookups
now i ran about 2 gal thru to make sure i got all the waterout and the lines were filled with the antifreeze.
your holding tanks should have been clean to start
now open your holding tanks drains and water and pink stuff should come out .close the drain and dump some anitfreeze down the drains so that there is some in the tanks.
now i wasent exactly sure about leavong the dump valves open so i looked around abit and found most people leave them open a tiny tiny bit . i left mine closed, put the cap back on and opend them a tiny bit.
now you have to do the city water hookup.
i read on line that all you need to do is take out the screen and push the little white button in and the pressure will push the antifreeze out , this did not work on my 160 so what i found was that the city water line goes into the camper and into a check valve, i took the hose off at the check valve and there was another white button, i pressed that and pink stuff went everywhere. i left the hoses off goin to the city water hookup just to be on the safe side that there was no water in there.
now make sure you take EVERYTHING out of the camper, soap,food everything that a mouse or other little animal will want to eat or make a house out of.
i also picked up a tub of damp-rid at wally world to keep in the camper. and some bounce dryer sheets, i guess animals dont like the smell. i put them in all the cupboards and under the bunks (smells nice).

i found most of this info by googleing "how to winterize a camper" execpt for where my low point drains were and how to do the city water hookup, i figured that out on my own.

now if theres any info missing PLEASE post up, this was my first time so i could have missed some stuff.

if you need pics please ask, i can take some. also i found on youtube there was a few videos of how to do some of this stuff that was helpfull to me.
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Old 11-10-2018, 11:56 AM   #3
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Smile Winterizing 2004 Fun Finder T160

Greetings! I have read the winterizing posts and I even downloaded a how to booklet on winterizing. I'm trying to piece together all of this info to no avail. I wish I had this "3 valve" system to shut off my water lines but I don't see these valves anywhere. I do however, have one valve running from my fresh water tank and I know which way is open and which way is closed. Over the years, I can see where former owners made various notes on the Styrofoam encased hot water heater which seems to have been revised over the years by various owners... omg.... what a mess. I'm not sure which way is a closed valve on my hot water tank to by pass it so it doesn't get filled with antifreeze. My water lines are all clear so I don't have the luxury of blue for cold or red for hot. I'm trying to smile and move forward in this winterizing process. My camper is in my yard and I have no way of moving it right now so just bringing it to a place to have it done is not an option. YES!!!! I'm NEW.... can't you tell??? LOL!!! Any help is deeply appreciated.... Thanks....
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Old 11-11-2018, 02:32 PM   #4
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If it is warm enough pull the drain plug on your Hot water tank. Once it is drained use your pump and water in your tank and test it. Turn on the pump and turn your valve until water comes out the drain. That is the normal position. Then switch the other way and that should be the bypass orientation. The bypass valve will only have two positions. You now should be able to push antifreeze through the system without filling your hot water tank.
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Old 11-11-2018, 04:38 PM   #5
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WOW!!! Thanks for the speedy reply! It's still warm enough here to try this! THANK YOU!
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