A few winter prep questions... (1 Viewer)

[Andy Bramhall]

Just draining down fluids etc for our first moho winter and have a few questions...

1. The manual says that you should drain the sink waste pipes which sounds to me like they mean the u-bends. Does anybody really do that?

2. Also the whole thing of de-liming the boiler - do people really bother to do that? What do you use and how often do you do it?

3. Do you put the front wheels on slight ramps so that rainwater runs off? Wouldn't that do tyre damage if you leave it like that for a good while?

4. When you are winter camping - how safe do you feel leaving the heating on all day while you are out? We've got a Truma boiler (C6002?)

Thanks so much for any wisdom!

Andy

 

[two]

Hi Andy
1. Remove all liquids where practical. I don't bother with U-traps but do take anything in a glass bottle out. I also open cupboards and turn cushions up to enable a good air flow all around. If there's change of vermin, remove all food and anything that smells (like soap).
2. I've never de-scaled the boiler, but do drain it and turn the pump off.
3. The van probably drains OK as it is. If not, try parking the other way around.
4. Leave the heating on (low).
5. Chill and enjoy. Worry is not for the likes of us.

 

[Andy Bramhall]

Leave the heating on (low).

Do you store your van at home? Ours is on a storage site - so that would mean using a lot of gas...

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[Spanda]

We don't store ours over winter, we tend to ignore the weather and use the 'van so it isn't an issue as it never stands for more than two weeks. We do drain the water tanks and the boiler though if there is any chance of frost.

 

[two]

Do you store your van at home? Ours is on a storage site - so that would mean using a lot of gas...

Sorry if I misinterpreted Q4. I thought you were away in it.
You could leave gas on a frost setting, whilst in storage, but you are in danger of flattening the battery (due to circulation pump/fan) as much as running out of gas and there's little need. Just attend to Q1.

 

[rosalan]

If parked at home, some people leave a simple oil rad on a low setting. I used a greenhouse electric fan in the past on a frost setting without problems living in Bedfordshire.
I now use an airline to blow out all residual water that I can.
Heating on all day (and night) when camping, no problem, even in snow blown France mid-winter when all outside taps are frozen. Set heating on 3 for the night. I would not leave a naked flame heater on as I still think I am too young to die.
Not sure why I would want to put ramps under wheels. Some peoples driveways are steeper than a ramp. In those circumstance I would put chocks or a ramp behind the wheels so that I do not need to leave the handbrake full on and risk it rusting on.

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[snailtrailer]

Just been on to google for an answer - perhaps Funsters know. Should gas struts be open - as in propping the MH bed up - or closed - or does it even matter?

 

[Lenny HB]

After each winter trip we drain down if there is a risk of freezing.
Do make sure you leave mixer taps open in the CENTRAL position. lots of people leave them with them open in the cold position an expensive mistake with taps costing 60 to over a 100 quid.
Descaling the boiler depends how much you use the van, I descale ours about once every 18 months but we only use the van for 100-120 nights a year. Cheapest option is white wine vinagr 30p a litre in France, we always stock up on it and use it for descaling in the house as well.

 

[TheBig1]

Just draining down fluids etc for our first moho winter and have a few questions...

1. The manual says that you should drain the sink waste pipes which sounds to me like they mean the u-bends. Does anybody really do that?

2. Also the whole thing of de-liming the boiler - do people really bother to do that? What do you use and how often do you do it?

3. Do you put the front wheels on slight ramps so that rainwater runs off? Wouldn't that do tyre damage if you leave it like that for a good while?

4. When you are winter camping - how safe do you feel leaving the heating on all day while you are out? We've got a Truma boiler (C6002?)

Thanks so much for any wisdom!

Andy

1- use a pump up air plunger
2- yes if you live in a hard water area. i use white vinegar as approved by truma
3- not unless the ramps are wider than the tyres or the sidewall is under excess pressure long term
4- very safe so long as you are sensible

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[DL42846]

When we are using the MH during the winter we leave the heating/boiler on all the time, day and night.
When the MH is parked up on our drive during the winter I leave a oil filled Rad type electric heater on the frost setting.
Never descaled the boiler.
I drain all water tanks and leave the boiler with the dump switch open so there is no water in the system.

 

[DavidG58]

double agree with Lenny on the taps, they are the only thing we have ever had damaged by frost, all those in caravan days though I would add, MH much better insulated, plus we leave the heater on 24/7 on hook up heater on stat with low temp setting 8C

no fears at all leaving heating on while not in it either, why are you concerned about that? we also leave it on at night when asleep

 

[two]

Just been on to google for an answer - perhaps Funsters know. Should gas struts be open - as in propping the MH bed up - or closed - or does it even matter?

If it's convenient to leave them in an unstressed position, that's what i'd do. When i had a drop-down bed, i used to leave that down because it also aided air flow around the deepest corners.
Draw curtains but not blinds if they are stretching springs.

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[DBK]

I didn't think about descaling our boiler for the first couple of years - we live in a soft water area so it wasn't a subject which normally concerns us.

Then I looked in the van kettle one day and saw it had quite a bit of limescale in it. We may live in a soft water area but of course we take on water all over the place.

I used citric acid bought from a home brew shop. It leaves no after taste, is cheap and works very effectively. I experimented putting a teaspoon of the acid in the kettle then boiling it up - the limescale dissolved almost in front of my eyes leaving a very shiny kettle.

I can't remember the proportions for treating the boiler but you should be able to find it by Googling. Don't overdose and drain and flush out afterwards. Works a treat.

 

[PhilandMena]

No need to put on any heating. Just make sure a couple of vents are cracked open as far apart as possible to enable air flow and that will do.