As an RV owner, you have probably read articles about winterizing your RV. These articles probably covered the technical details of how to empty your water lines and hot water heater. This is only one important phase of winterizing. This is a subject that is on the minds of RV owners right now, especially those who live in the colder climates.
A cracked water line or a battery exploding all over your battery compartment are expensive and unnecessary. I will explain some things you can do to protect your investment.
I am an RV owner in one of the toughest climates in the United States (Alaska). In this article, I'll provide you with a more comprehensive winterizing checklist than you've probably ever seen before. If you live in a place like the far north, you already know it could mean the difference between an RV that retains its value and one that doesn't. It could also mean the difference between camping or not camping in the spring.
The Exterior
As the temperatures drop to about the 40 degree range Fahrenheit at night, you'll want to start doing the following things:
1. Wash your RV thoroughly with a wash and wax formula. The best kind of tool to use is the soft, mop-like one with a long handle. This keeps you from scratching the fiberglass and allows you to reach to the top of a larger RV. Wash your RV two or three times. This is important so you'll build up several coats of wax to protect it against the winter weather.
2. I don't recommend an RV cover in really cold and windy areas of the country. I have discussed this at length with experienced RV technicians and other RV owners who tried to use an RV cover. I have been told they are a bad idea, so we have never used one. When the temperatures drop to below zero and you get strong winds, the covers tend to stick to your paint and tear it right off. In places where the winters are brutal like they are here, it is recommended you just put covers on your air conditioning units (on the roof) and park the RV away from tree branches and anything else that could scratch it.
This has worked well for us for 5 winters. After a good wash and wax in the spring, our RV still looks like we just drove it off the lot for the first time. When breakup comes comes and the spring melt is close, we brush the snow off the roof with a large broom. This keeps the melting snow from running inside the air conditioners.
3. You can choose to put those canvas wheel covers on your RV tires, you can choose not to. They are not totally necessary. They are supposed to protect your tires against UV rays of the sun. We just use a rubber protective product such as Armor-All and put it all over the tires after we wash it.
4. Have your Propane tank tested by a certified propane dealer. It is not recommended that you fill up your propane tank before winter storage because cold air tends to make propane dissipate. You could start out with a full tank in September and end up with a 3/4 full tank by April without using it. Have a certified propane dealer (not a gas station) check your tank and hoses and do what is called a leak check. Have this done again in the spring when you have the tank filled up.
5. Protect against little critters. Put Bounce (has to be this brand for some reason) dryer sheets all around your RV. Place them inside the cargo bay doors, on top of your tires, and around the perimeter. Don't leave any food inside your RV to attract them. Put dryer sheets in all your cabinets inside the RV. If you're fortunate enough to keep your RV plugged in during the winter, plug in some of those ultrasonic deterrents to keep bugs and rodents away. Be sure to choose one that is guaranteed. If you can't plug in, put some rodent traps and bait around your RV. One mouse can do thousands of dollars of damage to your electrical system.
6. If you live in an especially cold area, take the following critical steps to protect your batteries and inverter system:
A. Turn off any main switches that supply power to the cabin batteries. Pull circuit breakers and turn off your battery bypass switch. You must keep any systems from draining your batteries during really cold months. If you don't, your batteries will be drained of power. This can cause them to freeze and explode. This is a mess you don't want to have to clean up. We had our RV stay over the winter at a repair facility. They didn't take the precautions needed, and our batteries exploded all over the battery compartment. What a mess.
B. If you can, label all your battery cables and make a diagram so you'll know how they are supposed to be hooked up. Disconnect the batteries and carry them into a garage or warm storage area. (not inside your house) If it doesn't get down to 0 degrees where you live, you can leave the batteries in your RV but make sure nothing is drawing power from them.
C. Purchase some kind of battery tending product. About once a week, we connect the leads to our batteries and let it charge them. This makes sure they are charged to 80% and extends the life of an RV battery.
D. Start your engine once every couple of weeks to make sure the engine battery or batteries don't drain and explode. Run the engine for ten or fifteen minutes. If you have a diesel engine, make sure you follow the instructions in your owner's manual for a diesel cold start. There are air intake issues, glow plugs, and block heater considerations with a diesel.
7. Take care of your septic system, before you have the water lines and hot water heater winterized.
Important Note: Make sure your septic connection is open, and that your hose is all the way down into the septic dump hole before performing this step.
If you have a flush connection at the septic flush controls on your RV, connect a water hose and run a lot of water through the system. If you don't have a flush connection, run a hose through the bathroom window and have someone run water down into the toilet to rinse the tank really well. If you do it this way, you'll want to have one person at the controls for turning on the water and one running water into the toilet. That way, if something goes wrong, you can tell that person to turn it off.
If you're not sure how to flush your septic system, ask a certified RV mechanic to show you how.
We usually put just one or two drops of mild, liquid dish soap in the tank, fill it almost completely full with water, and drive it around for about 15 minutes to make sure the tank is sloshed around good. This removes anything like toilet paper that could be stuck to the sides. (Don't put a lot of dish soap in or it. It could ruin the seals in your septic tank or cause a bubbly mess)
8. Before it gets below 40 degrees, take your RV to a certified repair facility to have the water system winterized. If you have an older RV, you can learn to winterize it yourself. We've always had a repair technician do it in order to protect our extended warranty. While your RV is in the shop, discuss any cold weather storage recommendations your technician may have. They are a wealth of information. If you don't have all the water blown out of your water lines or have antifreeze injected into them, the water lines could crack. We have temperatures as low as -30 here, so this is critical for us.
9. Inspect the whole inside of your RV. Look for aerosol cans and move them into your garage or house. Remove all food. Look for anything that would not tolerate the cold weather well. This could be things like flashlight batteries, wax candles, cleaning supplies, and medicine in the bathroom. Oil your wood cabinets to protect them from the cold. Use a product like Armor-All to protect the upholstery and the dashboard.
10. Do one more walk-around outside. Make sure your propane tank's valve is closed. Fill your tires to the proper pounds per square inch. Lock all cargo bay doors and move all tools into your garage. Pull your windshield wipers away from the windshield and cover them with a plastic bag taped up. You don't have to invest in fancy covers for these, either. These precautions make sure the arm mechanism does not rust. It also makes sure they don't freeze to the windshield and tear the rubber.
Important Note for Spring: When Spring comes, install your cabin batteries back into your battery compartment and make sure the electrical system works before you take it in the shop for de-winterization. The technician may need cabin power to perform his job.
Keep a maintenance journal. Just a simple notebook with pockets so you can save receipts will do. Write down everything you do to your RV. This will also improve the resale value.
These precautions should give you many things to consider before it gets cold where you live. Have a great winter!
About the Author
Lynne Schlumpf is a published author and writes a blog about Alaska called Leaving Alaska at: http://www.alaskainmydreams.com. Her blog covers many Alaska topics as well as RVing for the traveler. Her family is getting ready to go on a full-time RVing trip for several years, so she also writes about things you'll want to consider before taking off on your trip.