Maintenance and Inspection
De-Winterization and Spring Prep: Cost, Hours and Process in Hacienda Heights
De-winterization recommissions a coach that has been stored: flushing glycol out of the water system, sanitizing the fresh side, pressure testing for the splits and weeps that appeared over the winter, and bringing appliances, batteries and LP back into service in an order that finds problems in the shop rather than on the road.
What brings this in
- Water that tastes or smells of glycol after the first flush
- A musty or sulphurous smell from the fresh water tap
- A water pump that cycles continuously and will not build pressure
- A drip inside a cabinet that appears only once the system is pressurized
- House batteries that will not accept a charge after months on a trickle
- An absorption refrigerator that will not light or will not hold temperature
- A furnace that runs the blower without igniting
- Rodent evidence in a compartment, a duct or a wiring run
- Tires that have flat spotted and lost pressure over the storage period
This job, by the numbers
$250 to $900
1 to 4 hours
RV systems estimate, $150. Covers slide, awning, water, electrical and generator. Credited to an authorized repair.
Parts and assemblies we work with
Suburban, Dometic, Thetford, Camco, Lippert, Onan
Why the order of operations finds the problems
Recommissioning is not just running the taps until the pink goes away. The value in doing it at a shop is that the coach gets pressurized and held while somebody walks it looking for what leaks, before you take it somewhere and find out on a Friday night.
So the sequence is deliberate. Glycol is flushed out of every circuit, including the ones people forget: the exterior shower, the flush wand, an outdoor kitchen, the ice maker, a washer supply. The water heater bypass is returned to normal and the tank is refilled with the drain plug or anode reinstalled. Only then does the system get pressurized and held, on city water rather than on the pump, because city pressure is higher and finds weeps the pump does not.
Then the fresh side gets sanitized and flushed, filters are replaced, and the system is left charged while the rest of the coach is brought up. Anything that was going to split over the winter announces itself during that hold, in a bay, with a drain in the floor.
- Every circuit flushed clear of glycol, including exterior and appliance supplies
- Water heater bypass reset, tank refilled, anode or drain plug reinstalled
- System pressurized on city water and held while the coach is walked for weeps
- Fresh side sanitized, flushed and filters replaced
- Pump strainer cleaned, valve and diverter operation checked
- Tank level sensors and dump valve operation verified
Sanitizing is not optional and here is why
A fresh water tank and its lines are a warm, dark, wet plastic environment that has been undisturbed for months. Biofilm grows in it, and biofilm is what makes coach water taste musty and sulphurous even after the glycol is gone. Owners frequently blame the glycol for a taste that is actually bacterial.
Sanitizing means charging the whole potable system with a measured chlorine solution, running it to every fixture including the exterior shower and the ice maker so nothing is bypassed, holding it, then flushing thoroughly and replacing the filters afterward rather than before. Replacing filters first just contaminates the new filter.
On a coach that sat with water in the tank rather than drained, expect this to take more than one cycle. On a coach that has never been sanitized, expect the first flush to come out visibly discoloured.
The rest of spring prep, and what storage does to a coach
Batteries come first, because everything else depends on them. A bank that sat discharged is likely sulfated, and the test is a load test rather than a voltage reading. LP is opened, the regulator and lock off checked, and a leak test run before any LP appliance is lit, which is certification gated work performed by a certified technician.
Then appliances in sequence: absorption refrigerator lit on both LP and shore power and checked for cooling, water heater on both energy sources, furnace cycled, air conditioner run and the coil and filters cleaned, generator started and run under load. Slides and awnings are cycled and their seals inspected, because a seal that took a set over winter will not seal on the first rain.
Last is the walk for what got in. Rodents are the single most common storage problem in this region and they go for the wiring, the duct runs and the insulation. Finding a chewed 12 volt run in a bay is a much better outcome than finding it when the slide stops halfway out at a campground.
Scope
What this line item does not include
- We do not recommission a coach at a customer location. Pressure testing and appliance startup stay in the bay.
- Splits, weeps and failed components found during the pressure test are repairs and are quoted separately.
Being explicit about the boundary is faster than discovering it at pickup. If the work you need sits outside this line item we will say so at intake and point you at the right one.
Questions
De-Winterization and Spring Prep questions
What is actually involved in de-winterizing an RV?
Flushing glycol from every circuit including exterior and appliance supplies, resetting the water heater bypass and refilling the tank, then pressurizing the system on city water and holding it while the coach is walked for weeps. After that, sanitizing and flushing the fresh side, replacing filters, and bringing batteries, LP and appliances back up in sequence.
Why does my water still taste bad after flushing the antifreeze out?
Because the taste is usually biofilm rather than glycol. A tank and lines that sat warm, dark and wet for months grow bacteria, and that is what produces the musty or sulphurous taste. Sanitizing with a measured chlorine charge run to every fixture, held, then flushed, with filters replaced afterward rather than before, is what actually fixes it.
Why pressurize on city water instead of using the pump?
Because city pressure is higher than most pumps deliver and it finds weeps the pump will not. A fitting that split slightly over winter can hold under 40 psi of pump pressure and seep under city pressure. Holding the system pressurized in the bay is how a problem shows up over a floor drain instead of over your cabinetry.
What else should be done in spring besides the water system?
Battery load test first, since everything depends on it, then an LP leak test by a certified technician before anything is lit. After that the appliances in sequence on both energy sources, generator run under load, slides and awnings cycled with seals inspected, tires checked for pressure and flat spotting, and a walk for rodent damage in wiring and ducts.
Related work
Often done at the same time
$250 to $750
Winterization
Water system drain, water heater bypass, line blowdown and propylene glycol charge with trap and pump protection.
$250 to $900
Storage Preparation
Water, battery, LP, seal, tire and interior preparation for a coach going into extended storage.
$400 to $2,500
Annual Maintenance Service
Scheduled multi point service and inspection across seals, appliances, power, water, LP, slides and tires.
$285 to $800
Pre-Trip Inspection
Tires, slides, LP, power, lights, water, tow connections and loading checked before a long trip.
Get a firm number on de-winterization and spring prep
The band on this page is honest, and the rv systems estimate at $150 turns it into a firm number. Covers slide, awning, water, electrical and generator. Credited to an authorized repair. We are 18.4 miles from Hacienda Heights.