Let’s face it – owning a recreational vehicle, RV is pretty amazing and liberating. However, once the camping season draws to a close, it can get very gloomy. Of course, knowing that you won’t start or travel in the rig for months isn’t fun. But whether you like it or not, storing your RV is a real thing in winter.
And if you want the vehicle to be fully functional for new adventures in spring, then you must do everything to prepare it for storage. First, start by selecting the best RV storage in chandler to store your vehicle. Then follow these steps to prepare your vehicle for both short-term and long-term parking.
1. Empty Everything
Once you start preparing your RV for storage, ensure you’ve emptied everything. You don’t want to get something spoiled inside the vehicle while it’s in winter storage.
Remember, if you’re using a reliable storage unit, you’re less likely to open the rig until it is time to open it again. Therefore, don’t leave any toothpaste, soap, or shaving cream inside the vehicle.
If it gets very cold, these bathroom products are likely to freeze and crack in winter temperatures. Once spring rolls in, they’ll melt and leave an ugly mess in your vehicle.
2. Wash the Exterior
Take time to wash the exterior of your vehicle to get any bug, dirt, dirt, etc., off before storage. If you skip this step, the vehicle’s exterior, including wheels, paint, and underneath the RV, could show major signs of deterioration in a short period.
Also, be careful about the type of cleaning material you use on the vehicle.
3. Clean the Interior
Deep clean your cabinets, flooring, furniture, and cooking area to remove all trash and crumbs that could attract bugs and rodents. If you are storing your RV outdoor, ensure you cover the seating areas to protect the upholstered items from fading and sunlight exposure.
4. Safeguard the Vehicle’s Plumbing
In cold months, water is your worst enemy. Therefore, before you say goodbye to the rig for some time, ensure all tanks are empty. Then pour an anti-freeze in them. If you’re unsure how the process goes, consult a local RV repair service to help you out.
5. Disconnect Electrical Connections
When leaving your RV in storage, turn off all the electrical connections using a battery disconnect switch right beside the batteries. Doing so ensures there’s no power drain on the battery bank, and thus you don’t have to worry about a dead battery when you go to pick your vehicle.
However, for this to happen, ensure the battery is fully charged. This way, the battery doesn’t discharge or freeze in winter. If you have solar power on the rig, leave it hooked up to maintain the batteries at full charge.
Conclusion
In a perfect world, we would go camping daily on our RVs. But this is not a perfect world, and the winter season makes it impossible to go camping. With this, we need to prepare our RVs for storage through the cold season using the above tips.
