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Are you rejoicing at the thought of early morning (or overnight) parking lot hangs at ski resorts to get that first chair? How about some back-country snowboarding? Maybe you're hunkering down for winter, dreaming about warmer weather and summertime sunshine.
Properly preparing your camper for long-term storage is essential for keeping your rig in tip-top shape. Continue reading to learn about winterization and make sure your camper is ready to hit the road on your next adventure.
“Winterization” refers to the steps and procedures needed to prepare your camper for long-term storage in cold temperatures. Even if you enjoy winter camping, winterization may be needed if you’re planning to leave your camper at home for a couple weeks before your next cold weather adventure. The process involves draining your water tank, draining all water lines, and shutting down your electrical system. The electrical system shut-down will be different depending on if you store your camper in a climate-controlled environment and if you have shore power access or not. Keep reading to learn what steps are right for you.
There are a few different ways to winterize different campers, but in this article we will focus on the winterization procedure for the Supertramp Campers Flagship LT. Some of these procedures may be applicable to other camper brands, but always check with your manufacturers recommendations to make sure you have the right steps for your camper. Luckily, winterization on a Flagship LT is a breeze. Let’s learn a little more about winterization, then we’ll jump jump into the steps required for the Flagship. If you’d prefer to watch a video and follow along, you can find our How-To Supertramp Series on winterization and long-term storage on YouTube.
Winterization becomes necessary when the internal temperature of your camper is expected to drop below freezing and stay there for an extended period of time. Winterization will protect water lines and fittings from freezing, and will keep your batteries and electrical system healthy and performing at its best. Flagships are equipped with Battle Born Lithium batteries, and proper maintenance and storage is essential for keeping them in tip-top shape for years to come.
The Flagship LT winterization procedure can be done by yourself and will take about 15-30 minutes. You do not need any special tools for this, and winterization can be performed with the camper either loaded or unloaded. For this procedure, we’ll be draining the fresh and grey water systems and turning off certain breakers to prevent parasitic draws on the batteries.
We’ll start with draining the freshwater system. First, make sure your faucet and shower is turned off so that no water flows out when you turn the water pump on. Next, reach down to the left of your batteries under the electrical box and open the winterization valve. You can tell it’s open when the yellow handle is in-line to the brass body and pointing towards the rear of the camper. Then, simply turn the water pump on. This will begin pumping water from your freshwater tank and out of the winterization drain, emptying into either the bed of your truck or just on the ground if the camper is not loaded.
Let the pump run until no more water is flowing out of the winterization drain. If the camper is on your truck and you can’t see the drain, you can judge by how much water is coming out of your truck bed. When you’re confident that the fresh tank is drained, you can open your faucet and shower and allow any residual water in the lines to gravity drain to the pump and out of the camper. If your camper is equipped with a Guzzle Filtration System, please consult your owners manual for the proper winterization procedure on your filter. If you don’t have your manual, you can find them on Guzzle’s website. After you’ve drained all freshwater, turn the pump off, but leave the sink, shower and winterizing drain open. This will allow any trapped water to drain out over time. Be sure to turn your shower off before you prime the water system again!
Next, we’ll drain the grey water system. For this, simply open your drain hoses and empty all water out of the grey water tanks. Be sure to close the valves on the hoses and reinstall the white cap after you’re done draining.
That’s it! You’ve successfully winterized the water system. Now we’ll move on to the electrical system shutdown procedure—but first, let’s talk batteries.
Have you ever walked outside on a freezing cold morning to pre-heat your ride, only to find that your starter battery is dead? Ah yes, the dreaded wintertime dead-battery situation. Happens to the best of us. Thankfully, battery technology has improved dramatically, and the awesome folks at Battle Born are leading the charge in designing batteries that are more reliable and last longer, even in freezing cold temps.
The Battle Born batteries in the Flagship LT have an onboard BMS (Battery Management System) that will intelligently heat the batteries when temps drop below freezing, and it will regulate/stop current flow when internal temps drop below -4 degrees Fahrenheit. The only downside is that if you don’t have access to shore power or solar charging, the self-heating function will eventually drain the batteries, ultimately disabling the self-heating function. Your access to shore power will determine the steps needed to prepare your electrical system for long-term storage.
Battle Born says that their batteries will self-discharge 2%-3% from month to month when stored, assuming that there’s no other parasitic draw. This number could increase slightly if temps get super cold, but it’s a safe estimate. As for cold weather battery storage, Battle Born says that their batteries can be stored down to -15 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re expecting temps inside the camper to reach -15 or less, and you cannot use the batteries’ self-heating function, it is recommended to remove the batteries and store them in a warmer area. Even though you’re storing the batteries and not charging/discharging, temps this cold can cause the battery housing to weaken, opening up the possibility of cracks or breaches in the sealed system. Additionally, the internal cells are unable to store as much energy when temps reach this level. It’s generally accepted that batteries do not like to be charged or discharged when they’re cold, and I mean REALLY cold.
Let’s learn about a few different electrical system shutdown procedures depending on your access to shore power or consistent solar power.
First, lower your camper’s roof completely before beginning. You will be shutting down actuator power and will be unable to move the roof afterwards. With the roof lowered, locate the five actuator breakers on the top left side of the electrical box faceplate. You will see (4) 30A breakers and (1) 5A breaker. Turn off all five breakers. Then, turn off the 100A Fuse Block Breaker under the 12 blade fuse block on the outside of the box. Be sure to leave the Main 150/200A Breaker on so that power can flow from the box to the battery system. The Flagship’s chargers are wired directly to bus bars inside the box, and you will be unable to maintain the batteries if you turn off the Main Breaker.
Next, turn on the battery heater switch and plug in shore power. At this point, the only draw on the batteries will be from the self-heating function. The Flagship’s shore power charging system will maintain the batteries, and it will allow them to cycle down to around 60% and back up to around 90%. This cycling is totally normal and is needed to preserve the health of the batteries. Lithium doesn’t like to be charged to 100% and kept there; this can damage the cells inside the batteries and impact their lifespan and how well they hold a charge.
No shore power? No problem. This section will be divided into two subsections - With Solar Power and Without Solar Power.
**If not plugged into shore power, we recommend checking battery voltage once a week with a multimeter. Permanent damage can occur if your batteries drop below 11v for extended periods of time.**
If your camper will be receiving regular sunlight exposure, it’s likely that the solar charging system can keep up with the battery heater’s draw. Battle Born’s self heating function draws 3A per hour at at max heat, but can fluctuate depending on the temperature differential inside vs. outside the batteries.
For long-term storage, perform exactly the same steps as shutting down with shore power. Lower the roof, turn off all actuator breakers, and turn off the 100A Fuse Block Breaker. Turn on the battery heater and leave the Main Breaker on to allow solar energy to maintain the batteries.
If your camper is unable to rely on solar power, the electrical system shutdown will be slightly different. Before starting the winterization process, fully charge your batteries to at least 14.0v using shore power. After topping off the batteries, you can lower the roof, turn off all actuator breakers, and turn off the 100A Fuse Block Breaker. Then, turn off the Main Breaker and battery heater. Since you will not have any power coming into the camper, the goal is to eliminate any parasitic loads on the batteries so they can hold their charge for as long as possible.
If your camper is equipped with the Truma Eco Plus, you can use it as a space heater to keep internal camper temps above freezing. Simply plug an extension cord into the 20A NEMA style plug next to your shore power plug, set the Combi to EL1 or EL2 mode, and set the temperature at 40 degrees. EL1 and EL2 simply describes if the heater is using one heating element or two. One element draws about 850w, and two elements will draw about 1800w. EL1 will be sufficient for most cases, but if temps are frigid, EL2 will keep up with the coldest of nights. If your camper does not have the Truma Eco Plus and you want to heat the interior during storage, you can use a radiator-style space heater inside the camper with an extension cord.
If you’ve made it this far, kudos to you. We’ve covered a lot of information, so here are some highlights:
Well folks, that’s all we got. Thanks for checking out the winterization article! Be sure to check out our Winterization and Long-Term Storage video on YouTube, and feel free to reach out to us if you need assistance winterizing your Flagship. Catch ya next time!
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