Our 2025 Full Guide to RV Dewinterization

Winter may seem like it’s never going to end, but the truth is, spring will be here sooner than you think, and that means it’s time to think about dewinterizing your RV. If you’ve never dewinterized an RV before, you may not know what exactly this means.

Lucky for you, you’ve come to the right place! Here’s everything you need to know about RV dewinterization. 

RV Dewinterization: What and When?

First let’s talk about what dewinterization is and when you should go through the RV dewinterization process. 

RV Winterization

As an RV owner, you should winterize your rig before the cold season hits. This involves adding antifreeze to the water system to ensure nothing freezes. It also includes tasks such as unhooking batteries, turning off the propane supply, and clearing out food items that could attract pests. 

What to Know About Winter RV Trips

Once you’ve winterized your RV, it should stay that way for the entire winter season unless you remove the RV from storage for a trip. In this case, you can choose to dewinterize everything for your trip. 

That said, if you do dewinterize in winter, you will want to take measures to ensure the water lines don’t freeze. My advice? Just head south and get out of the freezing cold. If you can’t go far enough south, invest in a heated fresh hose, a heated sewer hose, some tank heaters, some sort of RV skirting, and a heat lamp to put under the RV. 

You’ll also need to re-winterize everything after your wintertime getaway, so be sure to make time for that at the end of your trip!

When to Dewinterize

Of course, when camping season rolls around again, you will want to dewinterize your RV for the whole season. When exactly should you do this though? The answer is that it depends. 

If you live far north, you will need to leave your camper winterized for much longer than somebody who lives in the south will. 

A good rule to remember is that your RV should be winterized anytime the temperature will be below 30 degrees Fahrenheit for more than half an hour. If your area is still seeing overnight temperatures in the 20s or is likely to get another cold snap, it’s best to hold off on the dewinterization process until you know for sure that above-freezing temperatures are going to stick around. 

Dewinterizing Your RV Water System

The biggest part of the dewinterization process is removing the antifreeze from your water system, and really, even this is pretty straightforward:

1. First, make sure all faucets are closed.
2. Connect your RV to a water source.
3. Starting at the tap closest to the city water inlet and working your way through the RV, open each faucet individually, running water until the water comes out clear before closing the tap and moving to the next. (Make sure to get the shower, toilet, and outdoor shower as well.)
4. Fill your fresh water tank.
5. Use the water pump to run water from each tap until it runs clear. 
6. If needed, sanitize the fresh water tank and system. 
7. Ensure the water heater plug is firmly in place and open the water heater bypass valve to allow the tank to fill. 
8. Turn the water heater on, if desired. (Make sure the tank is full before doing so.)
9. That’s it! Once these steps have been taken, your water system is safe to use.

Note: It’s likely that your water system will have a lot of air in it, causing the water to sputter for a while after it’s been hooked up. This is normal. 

Dewinterizing the Rest of Your RV

Of course, the water system isn’t the only thing that will need to be prepped for the camping season. Here are some other steps you’ll need to take to complete the dewinterization process. 

Inspect Everything

First things first, carefully inspect everything:

• Carefully scan for cracks in the seals and patch them up. 
• Check the roof for damage, making sure to fix problems immediately. 
• Clean areas that have accumulated mud, mildew, debris, etc. 
• Inspect the walls and ceilings for dark spots, mushy spots, or wet spots. These indicate a leak, which will need to be found and repaired right away. 
• Repair any damage caused by leaks. (Water damage can be difficult and costly to resolve.)
• Watch for signs of pests such as mice and bugs and set traps to get rid of them. 
• If you find signs of critters, check for signs of damage to wiring, upholstery, etc. 
• Test all appliances and alarms. Replace batteries, parts, alarms, and appliances as needed before your first trip. 
• Look for anything else that seems out of place or wrong. 

Charge and Install Batteries

Hopefully you removed your batteries at the beginning of winter. If you did, now is the time to reinstall them. This is as simple as hooking up the battery cables again, making sure to connect each cable to the correct terminal. It’s also good to make sure the batteries are secure in their box. 

Ideally, your batteries will have been maintained by a trickle charger over the winter, but if not, be sure to plug the RV in and give the batteries time to recharge before hitting the road. 

Fill and Reconnect Propane Tanks

Top off the propane tanks and hook them back up to the RV. You might need to bleed the lines a bit by holding a stove burner knob in the “light” position for several seconds before actually lighting it. You may also need to clear bug nests from the propane line on your water heater. 

Check the Tires

It may seem off, but tires can actually be damaged by sitting for long periods of time. This is especially true if the tires were sitting in the sun or snow and ice. 

• Look at your tires carefully, keeping an eye out for cracks, uneven wear, bubbles, etc. 
• Check the expiration date on the tires. 
• Also check the tire pressure and add air as needed. 
• Replace damaged or expired tires before you hit the road. 

Do Generator Maintenance

Really, you should run your generator at least once a month throughout the winter months to keep it in tip/top shape. That said, running the generator throughout the dewinterization process to give it a chance to exercise isn’t a bad idea. You’ll also want to use this opportunity to change the oil, spark plug, and air filter on your generator before camping season kicks off. 

There you have it, everything you need to know about dewinterization. Now all you have to do is wait for the warm weather to show up so you can dewinterize your rig and get back out on the open road to enjoy some camping!