Winterising an Autotrail Dakota

[Chris63]

Good Morning,
The weather is getting colder and my van is being put on SORN. Does the water pump have a filter which should drained? I'm new to this van so advice is welcome.
Regards and stay safe.
Chris

 

[tonka]

There will / may be a screw on bowl and filter, I always took mine off plus enscrewed one end of the pipes going into the pump.

Sometimes its not just the low temperature but often the wind chill as it blows under the van. Autotrails used some lagged pipes but on my Apache 700 2012 I found a few areas where they had missed an inch or two of lagging or not used insulated pipework.

 

[RustyRuss]

I have never drained the filter, but I do make sure that I open the pressure release valve on the hot water, in our Apache it’s a yellow lift up toggle switch affair on the out going hot water supply pipe. I also open the taps and run the pump to empty the pipework. I put takeaway trays full of moisture absorbent silica gel cat litter in the shower cubicle/toilet, 3 in the general living area and two in the garage. I number the lids “1 of 6” etc and leave the lids on the driver’s seat so I dont forget about them in the spring. We shut the blinds to prevent the upholstery from fading and put a screen protector on the windscreen. Turn off the gas, leave the fridge door ajar on it’s little lock, chock all the wheels, leave it in reverse, it faces up hill in storage, and leave the handbrake off. Put all the security measures in place and leave the solar panels to keep the batteries charging. Job jobbed.

Cheers!

Russ

 

[L' Hobo]

Good Morning,
The weather is getting colder and my van is being put on SORN. Does the water pump have a filter which should drained? I'm new to this van so advice is welcome.
Regards and stay safe.
Chris

I have no experience of the Dakota but MOST water systems have a small filter just before the pump AND sometimes, a more sophisticated filter that requires a filter change on a regular basis. (you should be aware of the latter)

 

[Chris63]

Thank you for all of your suggestions, much appreciated.
Regards
Chris