Essential Gear: Faucet without cracking

It’s time soon to turn on the water in your rigs.

I did, and in doing so learned what happens when you don’t follow through.

We did not do a good job of winterizing — again.

We used it because it was warm in New Orleans and we were wanting to wash up.

In fact, we used our sink a few weeks ago while camping in Texas before the February ice storms.

We emptied the gray water before the storm but did not put pink stuff in or fully dry out the faucet.  We were deaf to Marty Frentzel’s all-encompassing article in GO New Mexico last fall that gave us step-by-step instructions on how to winterize.

You’d think we would know better since we’ve been here before — letting our faucet freeze, crack and spray water everywhere when used.

Luckily, the faucet replacement cost less than $20, though we might buy a more expensive, fully metal one this time. If we were on the go, we would have tried the old reliable fix-all: duct tape.

Instead, a trip to the local hardware store is on tap. For now, I pulled an old sprayer attachment off the hose of another water carrier, and all is well for the next adventure.

Is it too early to dewinterize? Probably.

New Mexico often has an Easter storm, or if your rig isn’t well insulated or travels are taking you northward like the Canadian geese who just left Albuquerque.

Share your travel woes with go@abqjournal.com.  It could appear in GO New Mexico in The Sunday Journal.