Hendrik van Wyk: We’ve got a chemical plant at the back of an RV store, what’s going on here?
JC McLeod: Once a year it always looks like this. This is our antifreeze for the year, this is what our shop is gonna go through over this winter getting everybody winterized. What we use is actually Camco Winter Ban antifreeze, because in the world of antifreeze there is alcohol based and sugar based. Alcohol based is the cost-effective stuff that’s the four gallon jug you see at Home Depot. The problem with the alcohol base is it actually eats into your plastic lines. If you’ve got PEX lines in there and it dies aligns and that’s where people complain about not being able to get the paste out in the spring that’s an alcohol based antifreeze. A sugar based antifreeze doesn’t stain rinses straight out, you can drink it straight I’ve had to do it twice for customers already this year to prove it. It’s just much cleaner in the spring and I always like to think you know what we’re spending extra $10 for better antifreeze once a year for our you know $10,000 to $110,000 motorhome.
Hendrik van Wyk: Is it really necessary if I’m using my RV year-round that I have to winterize here in Alberta?
JC McLeod: You know what they’re a bunch of old boys sitting out there that’ll shoot me for saying this. No you can’t just blow out the water from your water lines we need to actually run antifreeze. A lot of that comes down to a lot of the threads that we have in our fittings today you get moisture in there that moisture cracks out and -30 and all of a sudden I’m selling you know 60-80 toilet valves a year, I’m selling 120 cap sets a year to guys that just blow out their water lines.
Hendrik van Wyk: Now help me, when do I need to start doing this JC? That’s the big question.
JC McLeod: That’s a million-dollar question, everyone wants me to say Bucars says you have to do it September 22nd. A little bit of surface frost and the lines isn’t gonna hurt nothing we’re worried about the water freezing solid and expanding. I play the 5-10 game there are some guys that winterize heck we’re winterizing like mad right now already and there are some guys that’ll push to that minus 15 but I don’t mind them they keep me employed.
Hendrik van Wyk: So other than my water lines just give me just quick checklist here. What are the kind of things that I need to think of in the winter?
JC McLeod: Battery maintenance, battery maintenance. Pull those batteries out we need to get those batteries into your garage charged. Your roof we need to check your roof, check your seals make sure you aren’t gonna get water melting and coming down into the RV. I care about your tires we need to get the Sun off the tires, there’s just so many things that you need to get ready for winter that most people don’t think about. This isn’t a car that you use in everyday this is a baby you’re putting to bed for six months. We want you to come to Bucars so we can do it right the first time and get you winterize safely and properly.
