Is it too late to winterize?

[J kent]

Hello. I come humbly before this forum in hopes for advice!

My Apache '76 Mesa hard-sided pop-up (new to me this summer ) is still popped up, sitting on a ridge, and NC is expecting very frigid winds and temps.

I am three hours away and have not been able to get back to winterize and it is plaguing me! not to mention my brand new generator, which now has not been run since the first of November.

Have i ruined my pop-up and generator? i keep watching the weather, but has been storming or freezing whenever i get a window. my next window is daily high 43F, but sunny ( pupper is at 2k elevation) or a week after that with 55F, but rainstorms.

What should or should i not do? Colder but sooner? or warmer but rainy? How to get rid of gas and oils from generator? just bring it home to my garage and then deal with it? or run it out although it's been sitting a good two months?

And do i pop the camper down? or let it stand tall through Jan and February? there's no water system in it.

Oh, i feel I have let my PUP down. Even worried about the criticisms I may get...but I am here to learn, even if this is going to be a costly lesson. I'm not even sure what details to include to ask for help. Any advice most humbly appreciated!

generator is under a play tent (waterproofed!) and also has a propergenerator cover on it (hard to see)


Apache at 2k elevation in blue ridge mtns, up a dirt/gravel rd, somewhat protected by trees, and will always live there (plans for proper pad if she survives the winter ) next year.


Jane K.,
North Carolina

 

[Dave2514g]

It needs to be folded up. However, you will only make things worse if the canvas is wet.
As Far as winterizing; not sure what normal temps are in your area. Here we get at least a month of -20C or so average, so it's important to have it done. Probably a different story there. If it wont stay well below freezing for a stretch of at least a few days you wont risk anything freezing. It takes some time for the lines to freeze.

Sorry I feel like I'm rambling on here. Do the following:

-Bring the generator home to your garage, drain the fuel from the tank and the float bowl of the carb.

-drain all the water in the trailer and add antifreeze if it will be below freezing for some time

-fold the trailer up as long as its dry

 

[ThroughLiner]

Hey Jane,

Welcome!

If your pop up has no water system… everything should be fine. If it were me, I’d get up there as soon as practical and pop it down for the season. This should help keep critters out, and give it a little more stability in windy or heavy snow conditions.

The generator is likely just fine after only two months of sitting… but you should either drain the fuel and run it fully out of gas or bring it home and run it once a month until you are using it more regularly again.

Hope that helps!

P.S. that’s a really cool pop up! I haven’t seen one that has pull out beds and hard sides… best of both worlds!

 

[xxxapache]

Your Apache will be fine. The best thing to do with a ABS trailer is leave it alone in extremely cold temps. The plastic panels could crack in extreme cold when you move them.

 

[jmkay1]

For that old of camper so long as your water system hasn't been updated you should be fine. It's the 12v pumps, hot water heaters, and other plumbing in campers that are the main concern. I second to leave the panels as is if it's really cold. They can be very fragile if it gets cold enough.

 

[tfischer]

Use sta-bil in your generator fuel every time you fuel it and you don't need to worry about winterizing it. I do this with all my small engines and I never drain them or run them dry. Next season they start up on the first pull or three.