Inspection and Maintenance
RV Winterization and De-Winterization Service
Typical range
$250 to $750
Shop hours
1 to 4
Labor rate
$210/hr
The short answer
Winterization protects the fresh water system from freeze damage by draining, blowing out, and antifreeze filling every line and trap. De-winterization reverses it and sanitizes the system. Each service runs $250 to $750, or 1 to 4 hours at $210 per hour plus materials.
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What this work actually involves
Owners in Orange County reasonably ask whether winterizing matters here at all, and the honest answer depends entirely on where the unit sleeps and where it travels. A coach stored in Yorba Linda or Newport Beach will likely never see a hard freeze. The same coach stored in Victorville, Hesperia, Palmdale, or Lancaster absolutely will, since the high desert regularly drops well below freezing on winter nights. Add Big Bear Lake or a trip over the Grapevine in January and the exposure is real for a great many Southern California owners.
The damage mechanism is not subtle. Water expands as it freezes, and the failure happens at the weakest point in the system, which is almost never the tank. It is a plastic fitting behind a wall, the water pump head, a low point drain, or the back of the water heater. That is why a proper winterization is not just pouring antifreeze in the fresh tank. Every line, trap, and appliance has to be either fully drained and blown out or filled with non-toxic antifreeze, and the water heater has to be bypassed and drained rather than filled with several gallons of antifreeze you are then paying for.
De-winterization matters as much as winterization and gets far less attention. The antifreeze has to be flushed out completely, the water heater bypass reversed, the tanks and lines sanitized, and the whole system pressure checked for leaks that developed over the storage period. A system that sat all winter frequently reveals a cracked fitting or a failed pump seal the moment it sees pressure again, and finding that on our shop floor is much better than finding it inside a wall on the first weekend out.
Location: All work is performed at our Yorba Linda facility. We do not offer mobile, roadside, or fleet route service.
02
What the job includes
- Fresh, grey, and black tank draining and low point drain clearing
- Water heater bypass and complete draining, including the anode where fitted
- Full line blow-out with regulated air pressure at every fixture
- Non-toxic antifreeze fill through the pump to every line and fixture
- P-trap, toilet, and drain trap protection at every fixture
- Exterior shower, ice maker line, and washer line treatment where fitted
- Water filter and inline cartridge removal before antifreeze introduction
- De-winterization flush of all lines and fixtures
- System sanitizing and full pressure leak check on de-winterization
- Documented note of any fitting, pump, or valve found leaking during service
03
When you need this service
- A unit that will be stored in the high desert or the mountains over winter
- Any trip planned over the Grapevine, to Big Bear Lake, or to Lancaster in winter
- A coach going into storage for more than a few weeks in cold months
- Antifreeze still present in the lines at the start of the travel season
- A water system that has sat unused since the previous season
- Reduced pressure or a pump that cycles after a winter of storage
04
How we do it, step by step
- 01
System review
We identify every water-carrying line and appliance on your specific unit, including exterior showers, ice maker lines, and washer connections that get missed.
- 02
Drain and clear
Tanks drained, low point drains opened and cleared, and the water heater bypassed and fully drained rather than filled with antifreeze you would pay for.
- 03
Blow out under regulated pressure
Lines blown out at regulated pressure at every fixture. Excessive pressure splits fittings, so this is done to specification rather than with a shop compressor wide open.
- 04
Antifreeze introduction
Non-toxic antifreeze pumped through the system until it runs at every fixture, hot and cold, so no pocket of water is left behind a wall.
- 05
Traps and fixtures
Antifreeze poured into every P-trap, the toilet bowl and seal, and any drain that holds standing water, since traps freeze before lines do.
- 06
De-winterization flush and sanitize
On the reverse service, antifreeze flushed completely, the water heater bypass reversed, and the whole system sanitized to potable standard.
- 07
Pressure check and report
System pressurized and held to reveal any fitting or seal that failed over storage, with findings documented and priced before any repair is made.
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Pricing and posted rates
| Item | Rate or range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Typical job range | $250 to $750 | Varies with extent of damage and parts availability |
| Shop hours | 1 to 4 | Quoted after teardown, not before |
| Body and paint labor | $210 per hour | 2026 posted rate |
| Paint supplies | $55 per paint hour | Calculated automatically on every estimate |
| Body supplies | $5 per body hour | Calculated automatically on every estimate |
| Parts | 100% markup under $100, 35% over | Special order parts require a non refundable deposit at order |
| Deposit | 50% at authorization over $2,000 | Additional 25% when parts arrive on jobs over $10,000 |
| Sales tax | 7.75% on parts and materials | Labor is not taxed |
Insurance billed jobs may be billed at carrier negotiated labor rates that differ from the posted retail rates above. See all posted rates.
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Vehicles we do this work on
Vehicle
Class A Gas Motorhomes
A Class A gas motorhome is a flat-front coach built on a Ford F53 or Workhorse front-engine chassis, typically 28 to 38 feet. Rear
Vehicle
Class C Motorhomes
A Class C is a coach body built onto a cutaway van chassis with a sleeping or storage cabover extending above the factory cab. Tha
Vehicle
Standard Fifth Wheels
A fifth wheel couples to a hitch in the truck bed through a kingpin and pin box, with a raised forward bedroom over the truck. The
Vehicle
Travel Trailers
A travel trailer tows from a ball hitch behind the tow vehicle rear axle on an A-frame tongue, which makes it the most sway-prone
Vehicle
Truck Campers, Slide-In
A slide-in truck camper sits in a pickup bed and is clamped down at four points, so it absorbs the truck frame twist directly. Jac
Vehicle
Park Model RVs
A park model is a towable unit up to roughly 400 square feet built with residential windows, roofing, and finishes, designed to si
Vehicle
Camper Van Conversions
Camper van conversions are Sprinter, Transit, or ProMaster chassis with windows cut into the sidewalls, a roof full of penetration
08
Questions about winterization and de-winterization
Frequently asked questions
How much does RV winterization cost?
Each service runs $250 to $750, or 1 to 4 hours at $210 per hour plus materials. A small trailer with a simple water system sits near the low end. A large coach with a washer, an ice maker, an exterior shower, and multiple fixtures sits at the high end. Winterization and de-winterization are separate services, each priced on its own.
Do I really need to winterize in Southern California?
It depends entirely on where the unit sleeps and travels. Stored in Yorba Linda or near the coast, probably not. Stored in Victorville, Hesperia, Palmdale, or Lancaster, yes, because the high desert drops below freezing regularly on winter nights. Any winter trip to Big Bear Lake or over the Grapevine makes it worthwhile regardless of where you store.
Can I just pour antifreeze into the fresh water tank?
No, and it is one of the more expensive shortcuts in this hobby. Filling the tank leaves the pump, the lines behind the walls, the water heater, and the traps unprotected while consuming a lot of antifreeze. Freeze damage happens at a plastic fitting behind a wall, not at the tank. Antifreeze has to be pumped through the system until it runs at every fixture.
What is done during de-winterization?
Antifreeze is flushed completely from every line and fixture, the water heater bypass is reversed and the heater refilled, the system is sanitized to potable standard, and then it is pressurized and held to check for leaks. That last step matters, because storage frequently reveals a cracked fitting or a failed pump seal the first time the system sees pressure again.
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More inspection and maintenance work
Ready to move on winterization and de-winterization? Bring it to Yorba Linda.