Spring is finally here and we’re ready to de-winterize the fresh water system on our 2018 Lexor TS.
As with any of the information on this blog, we’re not professionals so, take what we say with a grain of salt and consult the manuals for your specific RV before proceeding.
The procedure is pretty-much the opposite of the winterizing process we wrote about in this post: Winterizing – 2018 Lexor TS
Supplies we used were a drinking water safe hose, glass measuring cup, bleach, phillips head #2 screwdriver, and an RV Water Filter.
We broke out a new Camco RV water filter for this process. We use these for a season and replace them annually.
There’s great debate over whether to put the filter close to the faucet, or at the tank end of the hose. We fall into the faucet camp thinking that it will keep the hose as clean as possible.
To freshen the water system, we add 1/3 cup of bleach into a gallon of fresh water.
That’s all the bleach* we use.
It is NOT 1/3 cup of bleach per gallon of tank capacity.
Before proceeding, check the valves under the van to insure they are all closed.
Here are the three low point drains in the closed position…
…and the fresh water tank drain valve in the closed position.
Now we are ready to add fresh water.
Open the fresh water door and put a little filtered water in.
Next, pause to add the gallon of diluted bleach.
Finally, continue filling until the tank is about 2/3 full then replace the cap and close and lock the door.
Moving inside the van, take a look at the plumbing under the galley sink. Check to make sure all the fittings are connected.
We unscrewed the hose just before the water strainer last fall and it hasn’t yet been reattached in this photo. It would be easy to miss without looking closely.
After snugging the hose on by hand, the fit now looks good.
Next, turn the pump on and watch for leaks.
With the pump turned on, run the cold water until the pink anti-freeze is out of the line.
Again, check for leaks under the sink around the pump.
Now move the handle to run the hot water line until it runs clear.
Note that it won’t get hot yet. We will work on the hot water system later in the process.
Moving to the bathroom, depress the pedal to flush the pink anti-freeze out of the toilet bowl and lines.
The valve should work freely and the water run clear.
The bathroom sink should be run on cold and again on hot until the pink is gone.
By this time, the smell of bleach should start to replace the smell of anti-freeze.
Don’t forget to also run the shower attachment until the anti-freeze is gone from that line.
Ours shower head is an after-market replacement with a metal hose. You may have a plastic hose and shower head.
For those of you that made it this far, here’s a bonus. Fellow Pleasure-Way owners Trish and Duane told us about this suction cup soap dispenser. It has held on for over 10,000 miles so far, but can be easily released to clean the counter.
Search Amazon for “Cuisipro 13.2-Ounce Foam Pump, Chrome” if you would like one. They were $12 last time I looked.
Back to de-winterizing, it is time to move outside and run the exterior shower until both the cold and hot water run clear.
With that pink stuff out of the pipes, now we take care of the hot water system. Our unit has a Truma AquaGo Comfort Plus.
Twist the top knob a quarter turn counter-clockwise to open the water heater compartment.
Find the water filter. We tucked ours in the lower right corner last fall when we winterized.
Pull the yellow lever out and down after releasing the black tab right above the word “Caution.”
With the yellow lever down, insert the screen end of the filter into this round opening.
Orient the filter so the word “TOP” is on top and the pins drop into the slot on the yellow handle.
Gently return the handle to a closed position. The black tab should click over the top when it is locked in.
Back inside the van, remove the four phillips head #2 screws holding the panel that hides the water valves.
Here you can see the valves in the winter position. This bypasses the hot water heater.
Now that the anti-freeze is out of the system, all four valves can be returned to their summer positions as shown here.
Red is hot, blue is cold, and white is the hot water recirculation line. The valve between the red and blue lines is the water heater bypass.
Now, to test the hot water, turn the “LP GAS” switch on.
And turn the Truma Power to On. It doesn’t matter if the switch is up or down, as long as it isn’t in the center “off” position.
Back inside, run some hot water to release any air bubbles from the system.
Now the AquaGo control can be turned on. Here it is shown in the off position. The detent on the knob is tiny and the same black color that makes it difficult to see.
One click up turns it on.
Run the water in the galley sink and listen for the burner to ignite. Keep running the hot water and it shouldn’t be long before you feel hot water coming out of the faucet.
A solid green light means all is well. If the light is flashing, consult your Truma manual for troubleshooting advice.
Next, check the water heater exterior and see if there are any leaks.
If everything looks good, close up the cover.
Turn the latch clockwise to lock the cover back in place.
You should now have a working water system.
To complete the freshening of the water tank and lines, close everything up and take a short drive around your neighborhood. That mixes the water bleach combination and sloshes it around the inside of the tank.
We let the bleach solution sit overnight to help sanitize all the lines, then dump and refill the tank and lines with fresh water the next day. Some folks have suggested driving around to slosh the water around in side the fresh water tank. It also wouldn’t hurt to flush the tanks and system a second time to help remove the anti-freeze taste.
That’s it for the water system. Now take out your maps, find a friend (furry or otherwise) and plan your next adventure. We hope to meet you down the road.
I hope this was helpful. Please leave constructive suggestions in the comments. We’re always looking for better ways to do things.
21 responses to “De-winterizing – 2018 Lexor TS”
Oh my goodness! Bless you!!!!
I read the whole thing and feel empowered to do this myself and save the $120 the dealer is set to charge me.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Desiree Fey
2018 Axcent
Thank you for the kind words. We care more about how our van is maintained than any dealer employee would, so anything we can do ourselves we are willing to try.
Nice write up! Do you also sanitize your water tank fill hose? I do so by pouring the undiluted, concentrated bleach into the hose before adding water into the tank when sanitizing the system at the start of the season.
I understand your reasoning for putting the blue Camco filter at the faucet end of the hose, but we prefer to put it at the opposite end closest to the tank to filter out whatever may be lurking in the hose so it doesn't enter the water tank.
Happy and safe travels!
Ken
11VJ (formerly 06 Plateau TS)
WA
Hi Ken, Thanks for the hose sanitation tip. Ours was new, so didn't sanitize, but that's a great idea for the future and we should probably do it more than once a season.
I can see your point on the filter location, but we're thinking that by keeping the yuck out of the hose in the first place it will stay cleaner. Either way, the filter does seem to help. We used them on sailboats for years and now on our second van.
Hope you continue to enjoy your Vue.
Excellent tutorial. Should be contributor to PW owners manual��
Could you post where you source the bathroom shower head?
Thanks
Thank you for the kind words. I'd be happy to visit Saskatoon and work on an occasional manual. We did get a couple of photos published in the last few sales brochures.
The shower head is by Jooe. It comes with a metal hose, but the head is plastic chrome. We learned about it watching this entertaining "Ultramobility" video on YouTube. He has links to Amazon. It was $20
https://youtu.be/QZcTIh9dDKU
Tank you, Merci!
This will be my first time this week! I look forward
Excellent description of the process. Thank you and happy seasons.
Thought I ought to figure out how to reverse that whole step-by-step winterizing process I just followed, and of course here it is, you provided an equally illuminating one on de-winterizing …thank you so much! I'm learning a lot while building confidence on this baby. I've bookmarked for next (early) spring.
Thank you very much for this posting. We have purchased a used 2018 Lexor TS and are just waiting to pick it up. So I thought I would start doing my homework. Thanks again for the "How to do" article for Winterizing also.
Congratulations on getting your Lexor! As you might be able to tell, we are enjoying ours. We wish you many miles of fun adventures.
Embarrassed to say, I read this AFTER screwing up the process! I allowed antifreeze into the Truma water heater. I did this when I winterized too! Argh! I hope I didn't ruin the darn thing.
Rinse it well with fresh water and hopefully it will be good to go.
Once again another season is near, so thankful for this wonderful guide, my wife keeps saying, why would people pay $130 for this? You make it easy, now we can start packing or Lexor.
Glad you are ready for spring travels. We're looking forward to traveling again as soon as we can get our vaccines.
Thank-you so much! We just picked up our PW 2021.5 Plateau FL and it came winterized. I've watched a video how to winterize it and it seems like an easy process so when I was told just 'do the opposite' of winterizing, I needed some guidance. This is perfect! I'll be doing it this week! Do you recommend using the bleach even on a brand new vehicle?
Congratulations on your new Plateau. I would bleach a new system since it may have had water in it while testing at the factory.
Don't forget that you have a personal representative at the factory for the first 90 days should you have any questions at all. Also, since you are in Saskatchewan, you might enjoy a factory tour once they open up to the public again.
Very timely, Thank You! Well done. Pictures Always help.
This is a valuable resource for many. Would you mind if we posted it in tha PW Canada Facebook group?
Yes, feel free to share.
Mark
I used your steps to winterize and de-winterize and am so happy to be able to do it on my own. This is our first camper van (2020 Ontour 2.0) and your resources are invaluable. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you just followed for our Lexor and everything went easily this year. Thanks!