I Didn't Winterize EKKO During Frigid Temps... MISTAKE OR SMART?

[@MzKayR]

I didn’t get to say hi to Maggie. I enjoy your videos but I mostly look forward to seeing Miss Maggie.

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

That’s so sweet. We both know Maggie is the star.

[@EarthRoamingAdventures]

Glad you sorted it and glad i have a more robust camper.

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

It is comforting to know that the Ekko can handle the cold as well as it did. Thanks for watching.

[@ladikmk]

I’m with you - just point the nose of that EKKO South and keep on Trekking. :) Stay well and warm; safe travels!

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

It it hadn’t been for the Christmas holidays we would have headed south sooner to beat the cold.

[@larryvincent2098]

Interesting!! As always BS & BK & BC !! Head south is the right answers !! Lol

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

We are on our way now. Thanks so much for watching.

[@gerlandkent6377]

this, is the part I need to learn thank, you for you're video. Random vanners east coast virginia 2%

[@sherriweber7105]

Great video and and glad you told of sone tips how you dud winterize and had those monitors that helped and worked. Thank you Owen and Lynn.

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Thanks, we appreciate you watching.

[@gerlandkent6377]

🙏 Amen, everything worked out for you both. thank, you for you're helpful info.

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

You are welcome. Thanks for watching.

[@David-jo4gt]

So glad this had a happy ending. For a minute I thought you were going to be sleeping with Maggie. Happy tails and safe travels.

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

It could have went either way, but we are really glad we made it through without any issue. But it as stressful for a couple of nights.

[@juanitasellshouses]

Really, really good advice and video! We don't have an Ekko, but I love learning systems, tools and tricks. You did a great job of explaining everything in a very understandable way.

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Thank you so much for you comment. Each RV is different and we always are leaning new things and systems.

[@bareknuckle56]

I Hook up to shore power, bought a 1500 watt electric heater and set it for 65 degrees in the coach, turn the Truma fan to ventilate and set it to 5 this will circulate air to the water tanks. BTW if you haven’t done it yet, add some insulation to the bottom of the water compartment it makes a big difference. I drain the Truma whenever there is even a chance of freezing. I like your idea about monitoring the inside, I’ll probably do that as a precaution. Thanks for all your great videos

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Great tips, thanks so much for sharing.

[@greygooseadventures5212]

He should have winterize the van as you said. He should have learned to listen to his wife!!! ❤️ David and Juanita

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

You know he’s not going to listen to me… but it all turned out good. But very stressful for a couple of nights.

[@rogerz8051]

Enjoyed the video. Very informative. You definitely benefited from the much improved insulation in the Ekko over the Travato and Revel as well. No way I would have tried that with my '17 Travato. Great point on emptying the Truma too. Had a good friend a few years ago stuck with a $3K bill to replace her Truma after it froze and cracked the tank.

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

That was my biggest fear. All is good though.

[@alexdiamantopoulos6614]

Great video on the Ekko to survive the cold and to make sure the pipes didn’t freeze. I got the two monitors from Amazon. Thank you Owen. Keep warm amd send more info on how good the Ekko is as a RV.

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Thanks Alex, We appreciate your comment.

[@edl5731]

I understand not fully winterizing but....empty all the tanks, drain the hot water heater, add the pink stuff to sink, shower, and toilet.. Basically do everything but winterize the fresh water tank. Won't prevent 100% of all problems (a fresh water line could freeze)....but greatly reduces the chance of something getting damaged and dewitherizing is just filling the fresh water tank. Also if parked next to your house and you don't trust the propane heater add an electric one.

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Thanks for your input.

[@wendyoxier5897]

Great video!!!

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Thank you we appreciate you watching.

[@mikemanjo2458]

Great content and tips! I love that you share things with us as you learn. Thanks so much, Owen! Glad to hear everything was OK. Much love to all from SC! Jane ❤️ 🙏

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Stay warm sweet friends.

[@norm4907]

Thanks, I would winterize for the simple reason you stated, equipment failure.

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Very good point. You just never know when things are going to fail.

[@norm4907]

Learnt that from you. Really enjoy your Chanel

[@angie4sunsets566]

Hey guys! I have so many things to say! You sold your B and bought a small C as I was trying to sell my small C and buy a B! We could have swapped! I have a Dynamax Rev 24RB so I know how much you're loving the extra space while still fitting in normal parking spaces. Would you have been able to plug into your house power with an adapter? While visiting my Dad in Eastern NC I have my tank warmers on but wanted back-up just in case the temps dipped more than expected. I started leaving my heater on (Truma) and set to 55° with my bathroom door propped open for circulation for those colder nights (with the vents on the floor i thought would add extra protection for the tanks). So when BS Elliott came along she was set and the lowest it got was 35°. I have a general monitor 🫡 to watch the RV Temps from inside the house (old school with remote in rig while viewing on system in house, checking from phone sounds much better!) Thank you for the tip on the sensors, I'll have to check them out to use with whatever is my next rig.

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

We might could have swapped. HAHA! Seriously. We test drove one just like yours last year. But now we love our Ekko and hope you sell yours quickly. About the electric. Ekko doesn't have any electric heat with Truma. We do have a 110v connection at our house and connect with the adapter when we're home. On the 2nd single digit night we put a small space heater in to help with keeping it warm and that worked for a while. But the extra draw blew the breaker in the middle of the night so we removed it. Loving the monitors for sure and think you will too. Good luck with the next RV. -Owen

[@thebossisback10002]

Easier and cheaper to winterize, you only need a water connection to de-winterize.

[@teresasprouse1097]

Any suggestions on parks in Florida that’s reasonable?

[@greygooseadventures5212]

They are all reasonable! Anastasia State Park, Tomoka SP, etc

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

We agree with Grey Goose Adventures, most of Florida’s SP’s are very reasonable. We will be visiting a lot of Florida SP’s this winter.

[@rickbakker6603]

It's a pressure reducing value you rase to let pressure of your your water heater when draining or if there's a problem with your water heater

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Thank you.

[@danieltaylor3396]

I am not convinced that draining the Truma AquaGo water heater gets all of the water out of the AquaGo and draining it shuts down the cold water system as well, so I purchased the 12v electric anti-freeze kit for use when traveling and put the AquaGo in Eco mode when parked. I also put a small 170watt electric heater in the water bay with a thermostat set to 7*C/45*F for when plugged into shore power. Will have it run off the battery when traveling and when boon docking with generator tuned on when battery gets low. I sure wish the EKKO had a system that automatically turns on the generator when the battery gets low.

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Definitely not over-kill! We travel into warmer weather so so far it hasn't been a big concern for us. I wish there was an auto-start feature too. So many great features that are just standard on so many other brands that are not even options for Winnebago. Oh well. 😂

[@hbjtf]

Tell me about the lift kit you are installing, is it Van Compass 2”perhaps? That’s the one I believe we will add eventually. Larger tires can add some height. We are looking at 3.5” total to bring ground clearance to about 9.5” Are you also adding and skid plates or other underbody armor? Peace out, My Brother from another Mother

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

No skid plates at the moment. Van Compass 2.0 and bigger tires. Should add 4" or so. Who wouldn't be happy with 9.5 " 👍

[@PMUP2016]

How are alerts sent with the 4 zone temp unit? Text, email or just an app alert?

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Alerts are through the app. Monitor connects to Wi-Fi and as long as you have a signal for your phone you get notifications as long as you have them turned on. Works well for us.

[@donaldwitkowski8440]

Hello Owen and thanks for the video. How is the Dekala different and better than the Govee system you had? I see on Amazon that the Govee offers units with multiple sensors and you can even add sensors in the future if you need/want them. And the Govee talks to an app on your phone so you dont need the big base station that the Dekala has. Most importantly how are you getting alerts when away from the Ekko? You said you get text and email alerts from the temp system? Do you have wifi in your EKKO? Thanks in advance for your help!!!

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

The alerts are more "dependable"on the Dekala system. We still have and use both.

[@donaldwitkowski8440]

And how are you getting alerts on your phone when away from your Ekko? Do you have wifi in your Ekko? If so, how? @@VANTREKKINGlifestyle

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

@@donaldwitkowski8440 For the longest time we had a T-Mobile Hotspot that was always on. Now we travel with Starlink when we're on the road. When we're at home our van and all the systems inside can connect to our home wifi.

[@toycarcollector]

Is the propane issue because the tanks are removable? As opposed to a permanent tank. Have you ever used compressed air to winterize instead of antifreeze liquids?

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Yes removable and maybe related to the skill of the person refilling them. But that is just my guess. And yes I've used compressed air for winterizing before with other RVs.

[@RoadsofLife]

If I understand the system, the Truma uses propane. So my questions are... 1. how many gallons of propane do you have? 2. how much propane does the Truma use per hour to heat in such cold conditions? 3. how did you get air in the propane system? 4. how did you remove the air from the propane system? Sorry... don't know enough about propane, so if these are stupid questions... let me know! Be seeing you!

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Good morning old friend. Answers: 1) 2 20-lb residential tanks that can be filled or exchanged. 2) Per hour is a guess, but when we had temps below 7-degrees it would take approximately 15% of one tank (3 gals) to keep it at 55 degrees inside. 3) Air gets into the line when you disconnect and reconnect tanks and also if it is not "bled" correctly when it is filled. 4) Remove air by turning on burner inside or outside to let it burn until a little after yellow flames appear. When no air is in the line it should burn blue. Hey, not stupid questions at all. Apparently before this cold stretch I didn't know enough about propane either. I'm pretty sure our next RV will not have propane. It's just too finicky to count on it. We love being able to cook with it but that's not a reason to put up with these worries for sure. See you!

[@RoadsofLife]

@@VANTREKKINGlifestyle Thanks so much young friends! Does the EKKO have a "no propane" option? If not, what are you thinking will be the next upgrade? I know Winnebago has the GL and KL that no propane, but do they make a Class C without propane? I don't think the layouts are going to be what you want, but Embassy builds without propane and a LOT of battery power (ours has 920 amps). They are starting to design a larger Class C (B plus) similar to EKKO, but don't know much about it. Have a wonderful day/week/month/year! Be seeing you!

[@bearlynormalwetshaver1894]

Bottom line, you acquired a good bit of knowledge and now have a better understanding of your RV.

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

So very true. Every RV is different and there are always things to learn.

[@jeremysmith5687]

If you keep having problems with the heater, I saw the same problem on @turnitupworld

[@VANTREKKINGlifestyle]

Thanks, we will check their video out. I do think we are ok now, we are pretty sure it was air in the propane lines.