While it may be best to store in an indoor facility, most of RV owners don’t have the ability to do that. I park at my house, but can’t build a garage for it because of city ordinances. And the couple of facilities around here have long wait lists and are a long ways from my home.

In other words, most RV owners are parking their RVs either in their driveways or in open parking lots. So we look for solutions that works for them.

Connie,

Usually, when I am getting the RV ready for winter storage, I add a little anti-freeze to the black tank too. (Usually whatever is leftover from the sink p-traps) This will help protect the seal and gaskets at the bottom from drying out and also from freezing. This is of course, after doing a really good and thorough black tank wash. I find that when I do all this, the toilet bomb isn’t needed during the offseason storage.

Different story if you are using it during winter, in which case, I still use the toilet bombs.

Kimberly

With the extra stuff in the black tank plus the um… bacteria processes digesting the stuff… it’s unlikely that a black tank is going to freeze unless it gets really cold for extra long. I’m most worried about the seals and gaskets though – so a little antifreeze after you first dump the tank is probably not a bad idea if you are camping in an extended freeze (plus how you crazy people do severe winter camping, I don’t know!)

It’s pretty much the nature of the beast when you put heavy things on wood or plastic. I mean, our jacks even damage the asphalt pavement in some cases. So I do expect that any jack pads will eventually break over time. The good thing about the DIY versions is that it is pretty cheap and easy to replace with new ones. Just a few cuts and some sanding (if you are detail oriented, it’s not even required) and you are ready to go again.