first winter with a travel trailer in Fargo, what actually needs doing

both, and it is not hard. we did it in Brainerd for years before we started going south. compressor first with a blow out plug on the city water inlet, 40 psi, not more, open every faucet one at a time hot and cold until it spits air, flush the toilet until it spits, low point drains open. that gets 90 percent of the water out. then close the low points, put the water heater on bypass and drain it out the plug on the outside, pull the pump inlet hose off and stick it in the jug, or use the siphon kit if yours has one, and pump pink through every faucet until it runs pink. toilet, shower, outside shower, outdoor kitchen. pour a cup down every drain for the p traps.

a 37 footer with the outdoor kitchen takes us 3 gallons. buy 4, the fourth one is for the thing you forgot. and the ice maker line if you have one, that is the one that gets people.

the list of what i see split open in april, in order. the outdoor kitchen faucet, because it is on an outside wall and people forget it has its own lines. the black tank flush anti siphon valve, it is up behind the toilet or in the wet bay and it holds water. the toilet water valve. the low point drain caps left closed with water behind them. the water pump housing when somebody blew the lines but never ran pink through the pump. and the water heater when somebody put it on bypass and forgot to actually drain the tank.

jayco publishes the winterizing steps for your exact water heater and bypass setup in the owner manual, it is on jayco.com under owner resources, worth reading once because the bypass valve is different across years.

mice. skip the dryer sheets, they nest in them. steel wool or copper mesh in every hole where a pipe or wire goes through the floor, look under the trailer with a flashlight. pull the batteries and bring them inside on a trickle charger. a couple of the mint smelling pouches in the cabinets do seem to help. and pull every bit of food, including the dog treats in the drawer you forgot about.

moisture is the other winter problem. we pull all the cushions and mattress out to the basement, put two DampRid buckets in the trailer, and crack the roof vent an inch with a MaxxAir cover over it so it can breathe without letting snow in. the first winter we did not do that and the ceiling had spots by march.

tires up on boards so they are not sitting on frozen gravel, covers on the sun side. and take the wheel chocks off the ground or they freeze in and you will snap one in april, ask me how i know.

one more that gets people in Nebraska every year and probably up there too. the clear filter bowl on the water pump. it unscrews, it holds a couple ounces of water, and it splits if pink never got through the pump. thirty second check, pull it, dump it, put it back. you are done otherwise, you did more than most first year guys.