How to Prepare Your RV for Storage

For many, recreational vehicles are the ideal summer getaway vehicles. But when winter begins, many go back to work from Monday to Friday, and it's no longer ideal to be traveling the busy roads. If you intend to store your RV for a long period of time, it's important to prepare the vehicle in order to ensure that it still works for you during the following summer. The climate where you live and your budget for storage determines how much work that you'll need to do on your RV for preparation.

Clean

The easiest way to prepare your RV is an end of summer cleaning session. The last thing you want when you open up your RV is a cab full of garbage. Not only will this encourage rodents and insects, the smell would be near impossible to get out of the interior. Go through your vehicle piece by piece to ensure you have no lingering food items in cupboards, cup holders and garbage receptacles. Wash everything on the interior from top to bottom: counters, refrigerator, floors and seats. Vacuum any rugs, lift all of the beds, cushions and seats to make sure no clothing or other items are lingering as well. You are also going to want to remove any non-food items as well, like soap or air fresheners that can become faulty over a long period of time. For example, pressurized items like an aerosol can, can go off under temperature changes and the like. You don't want to end up with a mess when you open your RV again next summer. Take out any items that you may want inside your home for the winter, just in case you decide to take a vacation without your RV. You may decide to go fishing, if the gear is stored inside the RV, it's likely you'll forget where you put it if it isn't at home. Lastly, clean the outside of your RV with mild soap, a soft brush and a hose. You want to leave it in a way that will make less work when you reopen the RV again in a few months.

Water

When letting your vehicle remain idle for a long period of time, you want to get rid of anything that may cause unforeseen issues, like leakage. The best way to do this is to head to a dumping station with your RV and flush the black and gray water tanks. When you get home, turn off the water heater and allow it to cool for about 20 minutes before you continue to prepare your water tanks. While your RV is in the driveway, drain all of the water tanks by turning on all of your faucets and your shower at once. This can take a few hours, but will ensure there is no water left in the system. Make sure you don't do this in a garage, it needs to be performed in an open area. The process is complete when water is no longer coming out of the faucets. Make sure to turn off the faucets when you are done. Now if you are planning on storing your RV outside in a region that experiences extreme cold, you also need to add antifreeze to your water system to prevent freezing. There are instructions on the outside of the container that specify water to antifreeze ratios, follow the directions to ensure that you are properly preparing your system. You can avoid all of this by storing your RV inside of a climate-controlled facility like the storage condos at Big Boys Toys Storage. These are essentially like a garage away from home, except that the temperature does not drop below freezing and you won't need to winterize your RV. In addition, you can store your RV supplies or summer gear in the same unit, so that you always know where to find them. Consider your budget and your willingness to winterize your vehicle to help you decide whether a storage condo is right for you.

Mechanical

Whether you are winterizing an RV or simply preparing it for long-term storage, it's important to take care of the mechanical needs of your RV. Make all of the minor or even major repairs on your RV before you store it. You also want to disconnect any mechanical connections that could cause potential threats, like the propane tanks. It's important that the propane tanks aren't stored inside or in the RV, which is incredibly dangerous. If you need to winterize your vehicle, check with a mechanic on how to properly prepare the motor for winter storage. There are a lot of technical steps to winterize your RV, consult a professional to ensure that it is properly done.

About the Author: Toby B. Jackson is a contributing author, who utilizes a large storage condo in Peoria, AZ for his four-wheeler and RV.