RV Winter Maintainance Guide
RV Winter Maintainance Guide
Posted on December 12, 2022
Camping remains a fun pastime, and camping in the wilds of Canada with your RV is always exciting. However, winter is coming, and it’s time to store your motorhome until spring. Below, we look at the critical RV winter maintenance you should do to ensure your RV stays in good shape and lasts for years to come.
Ensuring Your RV Is Winterized
Winterizing an RV is crucial if you want it to stay in mint condition. Keeping up with your motorhome winter maintenance better protects your motorhome during the cold winter months and means you don’t have to do it when spring comes around.
Checking the Seals
Your first action should be a visual inspection of the motorhome’s seals. This includes windows, corners, walls, and roof seals. Any seams in the RV are sealed, but these seals can degrade over time and with extreme weather conditions. Look for cracks or bubbles in the seals to see where it’s starting to degrade. It would help if you also pressed on the seals to find any weak spots where water leaks and starts to soften the seals. To properly check your roof seals, climb to the top of the motorhome and thoroughly inspect all sealed seams.
Repairing the Seals
You can quickly repair any damaged seals yourself using sealants. Non-sag sealant is best for repairing window, wall, and corner seals, while self-levelling sealant is best for roof seals. You can clean the degraded area of the seal with denatured alcohol before spreading the sealant over on top. If a patch job isn’t enough, generally only the case with window seals, then you might need to remove the seals altogether. In this case, remove the residue of the previous seal with a putty knife after removing the window. Clean the frame using denatured alcohol, tape it with butyl tape and replace the window to screw it back on.
Empty the Motorhome
It might seem obvious, but ensure you emptied the RV of any food located in the cupboards or fridges. Clean the RV to prevent pests from settling in and food from going bad. Also, ensure you empty the holding tanks, water heating tanks, and water lines. It’s essential that once you emptied these tanks and lines, you add antifreeze to protect them during the cold weather.
Other Steps to Take
The last steps are disconnecting the battery, checking your tires and RV cover for wear and tear, and winterizing your generator. This is done by filling up your fuel tank, adding a stabilizer, and running the engine for 30 minutes to ensure the stabilizer reaches all engine parts. Ensure you change your oil and filter, use a fogger for gas engines and check the connections are protected.
Enjoy a Better RV in Spring
Your trailer winter maintenance is vital to ensuring your motorhome’s health. Following the above steps will ensure your RV safely survives the winter in excellent condition. Ensure your motorhome is ready for the first camping trip of spring by completing the maintenance now.