RV Storage and Winterizing Tips

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Before winter, you will have to go through many different activities to prepare for the coldest season of the year. Among those activities, you should also think about storing your RV. Then you will be able to provide protection needed by your RV to survive the winter season. Otherwise, you will not be able to take it out and go on all your adventures during the next spring.

Before you store the RV, you need to make sure that you winterize the water system. That’s where you need to put a pink colored anti-freeze chemical into the water system. This non-toxic chemical has the ability to keep water system away from freezing, even if the environmental temperature has dropped to the freezing range.

After you winterize the water system, you can focus on how to store the RV. In here, you need to pay your attention towards few other aspects, such as ventilation, batteries, mice, condition of sealants and the protection of fuel system. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how to winterize your RV before the winter.

Part 1 – Couch Storage

You need to go ahead and store the RV in an under covered area. If it is not possible for you to find an under covered area, you need to make sure that you are not parking the RV on top of grass or under trees.

You can also purchase a cover for the RV. You need to make sure that the cover is made out of a breathable material.

You should then chock the front and rear wheels of the RV. Parking brake should be off.

All the tires of your RV should be inflated up to the maximum cold pressure as recommended by the manufacturer. It is also recommended for you to cover the tires, so that you can keep them away from being exposed to UV rays. If you don’t remove the tires, you need to make sure that you are moving the vehicle on a regular basis. Then you can stay away from getting flat spots.

All the window blinds should be closed, so that you are not exposing upholstery, drapes and carpet to sun.

The interior of the RV should be cleaned properly before you store it. In addition to that, you need to make sure that all the fabrics that you can see in the RV are clean and dry.

The roof seams and body seams should be inspected carefully before the storage. The window sealant should also be inspected to see if there are any cracks.

All the locks of the RV should be service with a graphite spray lubricant.

You will find a large number of LP gas powered appliances inside the RV. You must make sure that you turn off all of them before the storage.

The underside of your RV should also be inspected carefully. You can look for places where rodents and mice can get in.

Any item that can freeze in your RV should be removed.

The drawers, cabinets and doors inside the RV should be left open.

Al the consumables inside the RV can attract rodents and mice. Therefore, you need to make sure that you get rid of all of them.

The freezer compartment should be defrosted. The refrigerator should also be cleaned.

You need to clean the filters of the air conditioner. The air conditioner should be covered as well.

The main breaker of the RV should be turned off and you should unplug all appliances.

You need to remove the dry cell batteries that you can see within the appliances.

Part 2 – Storing your RV

Before you store the RV, you need to remove the batteries. The batteries should also be kept in the same storage area as of your RV. You can easily do it on your own.

After removing the batteries, you need to take a look at the water levels of the batteries. You should add distilled water to the batteries if needed.

If you believe that the batteries need to be recharged, you need to do it as well.

All the battery terminals and posts must be removed. You should clean them as well. You can spray a terminal dressing to the battery posts to keep them away from corroding.

In case if you have any plans to start your RV while it is stored, you need to plug it to the shore power. Then you will be able to start your RV without any hassle.

If you are planning to store the RV for several months, you need to make sure that your batteries are removed in a place that doesn’t freeze.

With short term usage, you need to think about starting the RV unit at least once per month.

People who don’t wish to start the RV are encouraged to purchase fogging oil. It can easily be purchased from a marine supply store. Then you can spray fogging oil to the engine down steam from the RV’s air filter. The engine should run in idle mode when you are doing this. If the RV engine has a diesel engine, you should not do it.

You need to make sure that you fill the fuel tank of the RV completely before the storage. You should also add a fuel stabilizer.

The engine radiator should be inspected properly before the storage. Then you can make sure that proper anti-freeze concentration is there.

The windshield water reservoir should be fully drained. Or else, you can think about adding an anti-freeze solution to it as well.

Before the storage, it is extremely important to go ahead with a complete chassis lubrication.

When you follow these steps, you will be able to winterize your RV. You can do all these steps on your own. As a result, you can go ahead and store your RV in an appropriate location.

This will help you to enjoy camping again in spring or summer.

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