Heating or draining down?

I think I know how to drain down the tanks - and there’s lots of help with doing that on this forum! However, the dealer that I bought from suggested that if I was storing the van (it’s a Symbol) on my drive and I had access to EHU then I could leave the heating on, set to come on at 5 degrees, to prevent any chances of freezing. We do use the van throughout the winter and wonder if this would an easier option than draining down after every outing? Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Running the heating inside the van won't protect the tanks underneath. To do that you'd need to turn on the heater blankets. Don't forget your toilet cassette and flush tank as I doubt the 5⁰ heating will reach that far rear corner.

Much depends on where you live but even in the balmy SW we experience ice and frosts at times.

I empty both tanks in the winter. If we go out in the van I fill a 2L empty coke bottle with water for hand washing and another bottle for drinking water. Fortunately our toilet has it's own flush supply which I do not drain down. It is not connected to the fresh water tank. So within these limitation we can still use the van if we go out for the day.

As for heating I use a Dimplex Chico oil filled radiator, with the thermostat set somewhere around 5C, I keep a separate thermometer in there to check. It stops the toilet flush water from freezing (I leave the internal door open), and the heater helps prevent damp. This had been an issue in 2020 after there was water ingress from a poorly sealed upper fridge vent. I think it was Paul who suggested a Chico heater, thanks.

On our previous van I did once have the toilet flush water freeze in winter, after this I would drain the flush water out in winter. Fortunately the internal flush pump wasn't damaged.

It would be cheaper for me to replace the Dimplex heater than have to replace the van's Truma Combi heater, so a Chico seems like a preferable way to keep the van above 5C.
There also the question about fitting a padded external silver screen and closing the roof blinds.
If the winter temperature is heading for sub-zero I might close the blinds to save on the heating bill. Perhaps I should close all the blinds then.

[Sorry for the pedantry, but the Dimplex Eco Chico isn't oil-filled - which means that it's relatively lightweight and it can't leak oil!]

After every trip I drain down, which is not difficult, and shutdown all the electrics.  Gap between trips is generally about 4 weeks and we use the van all year.

Last winter, I didn’t drain don our Symbol at all. I have drained down previously but I seemed to be using it so much (it’s our second vehicle now too) that I just didn’t get around to it. Saying that, we live right on the west coast of Anglesey and have palm trees in the garden and frosts are very rare. Perhaps I should make more of an effort this Winter as I don’t want a big bill….