How to Prepare your RV for Storage

The Transwest Team

Oct 28, 2019

Let’s face it – having an RV is pretty amazing and liberating. But as any RV aficionado will tell you, once the camping season draws to a close, it can get pretty gloomy. After all, knowing that you won’t be able to start your rig up and go traveling for a couple of months isn’t fun; especially if you’re someone who’s used to being out on the road. But whether you like it or not – winterization is a real thing.

And if you want your RV to be fully functional and ready for new awesome adventures come springtime, you’ll need to do everything you can to prepare your RV for storage. Don’t worry, though – that’s why we’ve prepared a couple of suggestions on how to do this properly. You’ll need to take some precautions and we’ll explain everything in a couple of easy steps!

Emptying Everything

Once you start to prepare your RV for storage, and we cannot stress this enough – make sure you’ve emptied out everything! The last thing you want is something getting spoiled inside the RV while it’s in winter storage.

Remember – if you find a safe and reliable storage unit, you’re likely not to open it up until it’s time to drive the RV again. Meaning that you don’t want to leave any shaving cream, soap, or even toothpaste inside.

If it gets particularly cold, such bathroom products are likely to crack and freeze in winter temperatures. And once spring rolls around, they’ll melt and leave an ugly mess. If you’re not careful, you could easily ruin a medicine cabinet with shaving cream; there’s no telling of the mess you’ll find in a couple of months time, if you don’t empty everything out.

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Prepare your RV for Storage – 5 Ways to Get Ready!

Empty Everything
Vacuuming the Interior
Cleaning the Fridge
Safeguarding the RV Plumbing
Covering the Tires
The Wrap Up

Vacuuming The Interior

If you spend a lot of time in the RV over the spring and summer months, chances are you’ll also eat a lot of food in there as well. And as careful as you are, some crumbs are bound to fall around. Certainly, that might not seem like too much of an issue – after all, no home is completely devoid of crumbs here and there. But as you prepare your RV for storage during the winter, you definitely want to get rid of even the smallest trace amounts of food. Otherwise, you risk pesky critters being drawn to your RV. Believe us, this could happen even with the best storage possible.

So, what’s the solution? If you ask us – the most thorough vacuuming you can imagine. Make sure you leave no part of the RV unturned and unvacuumed. And once you’re done, go over everything with a wet mop and a dry towel. Sure, it’ll take hours – but your RV won’t be a beacon for pests during the colder months.

Cleaning The Fridge

Speaking of food residue around the RV – think about where you can find most of it. That’s right, obviously, we’re talking about the fridge inside the RV. If you don’t clean the refrigerator thoroughly, you’ll find that it can get pretty nasty over a couple of months of no usage. Should you leave even the tiniest bit of food inside your fridge, it will become a breeding ground for mold. That’s why you want to perform a deep scrub of the fridge as you prepare your RV for storage. It needs to be as shiny and clean as the first time you opened it up. And also, before you put the whole vehicle in storage, make sure the freezer and fridge do

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Safeguarding The RV Plumbing

If you’re going to prepare your RV for storage during the winter, there’s one thing you need to remember – water is your mobile home’s worst enemy in the colder months. Before you say goodbye to the RV for some time, make sure that all of the tanks are completely empty, and pour antifreeze in them. And if you’re not that mechanically-savvy, don’t do it on your own! For those unsure of how the process goes, consulting a local RV repair service or a dealer would be a good idea.

After all, it won’t cost you more than a hundred bucks on average – and you’ll be sure that everything was done properly. On the other hand, if you decide to do it on your own take a look at some detailed instructions online, or from an RV mechanic. Every RV model is specific in this regard, so be careful.

Covering The Tires

If you opt for outside storage options, there are a couple of things that you need to think about as well. For one – preserving the health of your tires. You can do this in an inexpensive and simple procedure, but it’ll save you a lot of money down the line. Make sure to cover your RV’s tires if you plan on storing it outside. Even though the tires may seem fine to the naked eye, a lot of sun exposure will degrade the quality of the rubber. In time, weather cracking will be a major issue, making the tires more susceptible to failure. And that’s something you may not even notice before you’re back out on the road!

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Conclusion

Now that you’ve done everything that you can to prepare your RV for storage, there’s only one thing left to do – say goodbye to your precious adventure vehicle until spring. But don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of good memories from this year to comb you over until the next chance for adventure arrives!

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