How to Winterize & De-Winterize a Coachmen Nova Camper Van

Check your own floor plan first

This walkthrough was filmed at Coachmen with customer service and warranty representative Billy Bontrager, covering the Nova 20RB, 20C and 20D. The principles carry across all three, but the physical location of the winterization inlet, the low-point drains and the Truma bypass valves changes with the floor plan.

Before you start, find those components on your own van with your owner's manual in hand. Follow Coachmen's instructions for your exact model and year; treat our video as a real-world demonstration rather than a universal procedure.

Find these four things before you begin

• The winterization inlet — where the pump draws RV antifreeze from the jug.
• The low-point drains for the hot and cold lines.
• The Truma bypass valves, so antifreeze never fills the water heater.
• Every fixture that holds water: galley sink, bath sink, shower, toilet and the outside shower.

Winterizing, in order

• Drain the fresh tank and open the low-point drains; let the lines empty completely.
• Set the Truma bypass so the Combi is isolated from the plumbing loop.
• Drain the Truma through its own drain/safety valve.
• Close the drains and connect the winterization inlet line to a jug of RV antifreeze.
• Run the pump and open one fixture at a time — hot then cold — until pink antifreeze flows steadily from each.
• Do not skip the shower, the toilet or the outside shower. They are the fixtures people forget.
• Pour antifreeze into each P-trap and into the toilet bowl so the traps and seals are protected.

Why the Truma bypass matters

Skipping the bypass means the pump cheerfully fills the water heater with antifreeze. That wastes several gallons, costs you time flushing it out in spring, and does nothing the bypass would not have done for free.

Photograph the valve handles in both the normal and bypass positions the first time you do this. Next October you will not have to work it out again.

De-winterizing in spring

Reverse the process deliberately. Return the bypass valves to their normal running position, close the low-point drains, reconnect the fresh water supply and fill the tank.

Then flush: run every fixture, hot and cold, until the pink colour and the taste are gone. Sanitize the fresh-water system before the first trip, and confirm the Truma drain valve has fully closed and is not weeping before you rely on hot water.

Watch the full walkthrough

Billy points to each valve on camera, which is far easier to follow than any written description. The video is embedded at the top of this page. This article is a draft pending editorial review.