2003 Rear Bath, I bought it used in 2005. It resided in California for most of its years until this year, where I have brought it to my new home in Montana. Obviously, winterizing is new to me and I’m trying to prepare ahead of time. The Lazy Daze Motorhome Manual quickly references “if the water heater has been bypassed” in the “Wintering with Antifreeze” section, but does not describe how to do it (at least that I can find). Many online videos describe this procedure on water heaters, but I don’t know how to access the water heater valves on this older rear bath. Additionally, there are several videos online that recommend adding the antifreeze to the empty water tank instead of going through the hassle of connecting a plastic hose to the water pump and inserting the antifreeze there. My questions:
1. How does one access the water heater bypass valves on an older rear bath?
2. The water heater in my older rear bath is still in the wall next to the toilet, which is a pain to access. Adding antifreeze (just enough) to the water tank seems to make sense to me, and then working it through ALL the pipes (and adding to the traps, of course). Is this a good idea?
Any ideas or information are greatly appreciated! Thank you all for being here!!!
--Dan
Hello Dan. None of the LDs came standard with water heater bypass valves as far as I know. In fact, it wasn’t even an option from the Factory.
A search of this Forum and other RV forums for winterizing procedures will reflect a lively discussion on RV antifreeze vs compressed air.
We winterize with compressed air which is detailed in several places to include the LD Owners Manual. This procedure includes draining the water heater and leaving it relatively empty. Finally we use RV antifreeze in the p-traps and the toilet bowl. Here is one source of information that might help.
The Lazy Daze Companion: Winterize (https://lazydazearticles.blogspot.com/search/label/Winterize?m=0)
I hope this helps.