Winterising a static caravan is often viewed as a trivial matter. But not winterising properly can result in cracked pipes, unnecessary water and repair bills and in the case of having to replace your boiler; tears!
So to avoid this heart ache here are our foolproof static caravan winterising tips:
1. Turn off your water by the stopcock under the caravan.
2. Open all taps. Flush toilet. Add anti freeze to the toilet. Disconnect shower from taps. Open all drain valves under caravan. If these are not available disconnect one or two joints at the lowest points. Most importantly drain off your water heater. Usually they have a drain plug fitted. If not disconnect a pipe.
3. It is important to remove all water from the system. If you can disconnect the stopcock as well no water can enter the system, as stopcocks can and do sometimes seep water through even though you might have thought you have turned them off.
4. One thing that you must never do is to close off the air vents in your caravan at any time. They are there for a purpose and it can be dangerous if closed off. It can also cause condensation.
5. Don’t forget your roof. It will take a lot of bad weather and they don’t last forever. If you think there may be a problem, flash your caravan or use Isoflex on the joints. It is a wise precaution.
6. Still worried? Then why not have a professional do it for you? Paying a gas fitter to drain off your caravan and set it up again for the new season not only takes away the anxiety of winterising your caravan properly (because if there are any problems it is the gas fitter’s obligation to put them right) but you also start the new season the right way (as the second part of the gas fitter’s job is to set up your caravan, so instead of you crawling under your caravan and repairing any water leaks, all you have to do is relax!) A good gas fitter would usually charge £45 for this service.