Winterizing Bigfoot camper

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Mar 9, 2019
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kamloops british columbia
I have a 2008 bigfoot 9'6" slide in unit with the bathroom on the rear left, just inside the door. I cant locate the damn water pump for the thing. Its somewhere between the bathroom and the dinnete, as I can hear it. I have removed the dinnete seat and cant see it in there though. In past years I have had to pour about 4-5 gallons of RV antifreeze into the freshwater tank and pump it through the system. The problem with that is I cant get the taste/smell out of my fresh water system! The manual tells me there is a hose before my water pump that I can insert into a single jug of antifreeze to pump through the system, avoiding the tank. It doesnt tell me where to find the pump though. Thanks for any help.
 

wapitibob

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It'll be behind a door, under a sink, or in the case of my new trailer, under the refer and behind a drawer that I had to pull out. It was a chore to find. You will never get the antifreeze taste out so many will use air. That works but you still need a bit of antifreeze in the pump itself and the traps.
 
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swampthing
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Thanks bob but I dont think its there in my unit. I did find a thread in a camper forum saying its under a sink but my unit is a slide in camper, not a trailer. Now about the air thing? how do you do it? Pressurize your freshwater tank?
 

wapitibob

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I also have a 1986 10'6 Lance slide in. The water pump is behind a small door next to the stove. Open every door and remove every drawer, you'll find it.

I used air on the Lance several years. I unhooked the outlet hose from the pump and used a hand nozzle (it has a rubber end) to run air from my compressor. I would open one faucet at a time and just shoot air thru it till it ran clean. I never thought about the baffle in the pump till I had to replace it. There's a little rubber manifold in there that has water and it'll freeze. A guy I work with has a slide in about the same year as yours and uses air. He also plugs in a small electric heater and opens the cabinets/drawers during winter just to make sure. He's never had a problem.

I used antifreeze this year on the new trailer, the switch over valves they have on this new stuff made it too easy. I also have always used bottled water for drinking, camper/trailer water for everything else.
 
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Not much help from Kamloops on your Bigfoot. My Northern Lite pump is readily accessible thru the hatch into the "mechanical room" and works like your directions.

I drain out all the fresh water that will come out by gravity, including the water heater, then isolate the water heater and the fresh water tank. After that I remove the cover cap and attach the axillary clear suction line to the pump inlet line, set an open jug of RVAF in the mechanical room, drop the suction line into the jug, turn on my pump, then open up the valve on that line so the pump sucks the AF into the system. I use about 5 liters of AF in all, as I flush the two faucets and showers until they run pink AF. Add AF to the all the P-traps and I've been good to go.

Good luck with it...it would suck not to be able to see the plumbing a bit better to know what you are doing. Just winterized my Northern Lite two weeks ago as I headed to northern BC for a cold moose and caribou hunt. Only stayed in the winterized camper two nights as the rest of the trip was a remote tent hunt.
 

PNWGATOR

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Keep digging, you’ll find it. If not, call the manufacturer and talk to a rep and they’ll help you locate it.

In the rigs I’ve owned, I always winterized by draining and then blowing out the entire system with compressed air. It’s important that you get every line /tank, sink, toilet, shower(s) inside and outside, black, gray, fresh, hot and cold. I then would put RV antifreeze in the P traps and some in the toilet to the black tank. Make certain you get the hot water tank completely blown out.
 

AKDoc

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I have an older Bigfoot that I bought brand new and still enjoy, so mine may be different than yours (likely is..., although my bathroom is on the left after entry as well).

I can access my water-pump under the dinette seat (left side as you are facing the dinette). In the storage area under the dinette seat is a cut hole on the adjoining bathroom wall. My water-pump is wall mounted in that cut area. Just below the pump I have a hose that I can pull-out for insert directly into a jug from which I can use to uptake RV winterizing fluid. It does require me to also shut and open some valves, e.g., shut the valve to the water tank, open the valve to the direct hose uptake which is typically keep closed.

I'm sure you already know this, but be sure to pull your hot water tank plug for winter as well. I know people who haven't...not good.
 
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swampthing
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kamloops british columbia
I have an older Bigfoot that I bought brand new and still enjoy, so mine may be different than yours (likely is..., although my bathroom is on the left after entry as well).

I can access my water-pump under the dinette seat (left side as you are facing the dinette). In the storage area under the dinette seat is a cut hole on the adjoining bathroom wall. My water-pump is wall mounted in that cut area. Just below the pump I have a hose that I can pull-out for insert directly into a jug from which I can use to uptake RV winterizing fluid. It does require me to also shut and open some valves, e.g., shut the valve to the water tank, open the valve to the direct hose uptake which is typically keep closed.

I'm sure you already know this, but be sure to pull your hot water tank plug for winter as well. I know people who haven't...not good.

Yes I believe mine is there too. Damned if I can get to it though! Looks like I might have to to remove the outside shower assembly to get to it?
 

elkduds

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When I winterize RV/campers I 1st take the drain plug out of the water heater and drain the fresh water tank. If it has bypass valves around the water heater, I leave the plug out and set valves to bypass. Then I screw a $3 blowout valve on the fresh water intake hose connection, the one you would use from a campground hydrant to camper. Compressor @ 20-30#, connected to blowout valve. Run the pump w air pressure and a faucet open for half a min, then pump off. Open each faucet separately w compressed air until it blows air instead of water.

On my camper that spends all year outdoors in the South Park mountains of CO I just use antifreeze. Drain water tank, open water heater drain, bypass water heater w valves. There is a valve and antifreeze "straw" @ elec water pump inlet. Switch valve to draw from straw hose, put it in antifreeze container. Open each valve, demand pump runs until antifreeze comes from faucet. Ditto for toilet, toilet sprayer, tub, shower, outside shower, etc. It takes 3.5 gal of antifreeze do treat my 34' camp trailer.

Broke a P trap under a sink last winter that did not get antifreeze into the drain, so remember that.
 
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Some wilderness area, somewhere
If you can locate the fresh water tank just follow the line to the pump. You should not have to remove the outside shower just for access to the pump, but we have found them in pretty weird locations. You may have to remove a false panel to get access.
Our method of winterizing involves draining all tanks of water (fresh, gray, black, W/H, etc.), blowing all of the lines out with air, setting the bypass on the W/H, and pumping the system with non toxic RV antifreeze, the excess of course gets into the drains. It is important to remember to winterize everything whether you have specifically used that appliance or not as the water gets into those lines/appliances to pressurize the system.
 

AKDoc

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Yes I believe mine is there too. Damned if I can get to it though! Looks like I might have to to remove the outside shower assembly to get to it?

Hmmm...you shouldn't have to remove anything, but yours might be way different than mine.

With mine the water lines are small diameter PVC tubing, and they are visible through that cut-out, as well as along the side of that under seat storage, i.e., the hot and cold water lines to the water heater. However, the winterizing uptake line that comes off the water pump in the six o'clock position is clear plastic tubing...probably 2ft long, which is tucked down inside the cut out hole and you have to pull the hose out to find the end.

BTW...once you find the uptake line (if you have one...and I'm betting you do), it takes about a gallon and a half to effectively wash and fill all the water lines with winterizing fluid...don't forget the outside shower. Also, I have never blown the lines with a compressor as part of winterizing, and my camper has been in -30F.
 
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swampthing
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kamloops british columbia
I crawled around that damn camper for another hour today! There is a water line behind every drawer and cubbard in that thing! I hear the pump but just cant see it. Stuck my phone into all the holes taking pics and looking best I could!
 

87TT

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I bypass the water heater after draining all the lines and tanks. Most all RVs have drains at the low point for gravity draining, after shutting the valve between the fresh water tank and the pump, I open the draw tube and pump out of the antifreeze jug. Takes a gallon to do my 32' class A motorhome. I have never removed the plug on the water heater after draining and bypassing.
Also I've had a Lance camper and two motorhomes and the water pumps were always right next to the side of the freshwater tanks.
 

sidog

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Other than the water pump issue what do you think of bigfoot? They look well built to me.
 
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The original poster should call the contact # at Bigfoot down in Armstrong, BC and ask them the question about the water pump access location. Their online info indicates that much of their crew has 30 yrs experience with them. The owner..Grant Bilodeaux personally worked on the line and says he will take questions on Bigfoot Campers in an interview from 2017 in Truck Camper Magazine you can read online. Certainly they can assist you in finding the water pump. Good luck.
 
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swampthing
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kamloops british columbia
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I found my pump. There is a very well concealed trap door under the leg of the dinette table! Move the leg, lift up trap door and there it is with the pickup hose and all! The manufacturers do a great job of hiding stuff with the limited space in these units. I sold an arctic fox I used to have. When a guy was looking at it, he opened a trap door along the side of the floor in the dinette that i didnt know existed! In that was the rods for deploying the awnings! I fought with those things trying to deploy them and pretty much quit using them! Only took a minute with the proper tool!
 

AKDoc

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Glad you found it...so much easier from now on!

I've had my bigfoot for twenty years, and we love it. It has been all over up here and the Yukon.
 
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