We all know it’s coming, the big freeze we call Winter. It’s time to seal up your RV and get ready for next year’s warmer temperatures. We all know that we can’t just park it and forget it, right? No way! There’s too many potential problems to take care of and ensure that we don’t open our RV in the Spring and find a world of problems. Here are a few things to take care of BEFORE you decide to store your house on wheels.
1. Remove all perishable and consumable items.
By taking every single bit of food or consumable items out of your RV you lessen the chances of insects and rodents taking up residence in your RV. Even the slightest bit of crumbs, or trash leftover from your last vacation could turn out to be problematic. Cleaning your RV from top to bottom, and I mean really cleaning it, will help you avoid a stinky, rodent-infested RV when the time comes to hit the road next season.
2. Empty and protect your water lines.
Water freezes and the last thing you want to have happen is to have your water lines freeze and crack, leaving you with leaky hoses and tanks. Empty them out and pour non-toxic RV antifreeze in any water hose to avoid having to replace your water heaters, water filters, water hoses and just about any other appliance that uses water. At any rate, take a look at your owner’s manual and contact the manufacturer of your RV for very specific and detailed instructions on how to properly winterize your RV.
3. Remove the propane tanks.
If you’re like me, then you prefer taking your propane tanks off of the RV and storing them somewhere temperature controlled. That leaves one problem though. You’ll want to seal off the propane lines so no moisture can get inside and freeze, damaging your hose. There are seals that you can buy at your local hardware or camping store that will take care of this for you.
4. Take care of those tires.
The sun can still damage your tires to the point of noticeably reducing the life on them if you don’t cover them up! Yes, it may be winter and it’s cold outside, but that doesn’t prevent dry rot and sun damage. Purchase a good set of tire covers to eliminate that problem altogether. To avoid dry-rot, we recommend giving your RV a pull every month or so. You don’t have to go too far, maybe a 1/3 turn, just to get the weight off of that specific area of the tire and onto another.
For those of you that have motorhomes, it would serve your house on wheels well if you went out and started it on occasion, just to make sure your fluids are properly flowing and your battery remains charged. After all, no-one wants to get ready for the first trip of the year, then have a dead battery spoil their vacation.
These are just a few tips to prepare your RV for the oncoming winter. As always you can give our experienced RV service team a call with any questions or to schedule a winterization appointment with us.
