How to Winterize your RV

Winterizing your RV is a task that should only take you half a day at the most. The level of winterizing you undertake will depend entirely on your local climate, if you get winters regularly below freezing then you will need to take additional steps to ensure that come spring time your RV will be ready to go.

The first steps to winterizing your RV is to check all lockers, boxes, cupboards and the fridge and remove any thing that is perishable or likely to suffer in the cold. Next you should clean and defrost your fridge and ensure it is switched off. Next ensure all electrical appliances are off and the plugs removed. You will then need to empty all your water tanks and ensure that the pipes are empty of water. This is by far the most important job because any water left in the pipes will freeze and burst the pipes.

To ensure that the water is drained from whole system turn on all taps and drain the tanks ensuring that the drain plug on the water tanks are removed. Don’t forget to flush the toilet and ensure that the cistern is completely empty. You should then either blow through the pipes with a high pressure air hose or if your winters are particular cold fill the system with non toxic anti freeze. That is the hardest job done and your RV is nearly winterized.

Next you should remove the batteries and store them somewhere mild, if possible you should try to place them on a trickle charger so that they stay fully charged also ensure that they aren’t left to stand on a cold concrete floor. Once you have removed the batteries take the hand brake off (if you are on flat level ground!!) and lock the RV. Spray oil into all the locks the cover them and seal all doors with tape. Try to cover all access areas around the engine so that animals can’t spend the winter hibernating in your engine or snacking on your wiring loom.

The final task is to ensure that the tires are in contact with the floor. Use pallets or axel stands to lift the wheels off the floor, this ensures that the tires stay in the best possible shape during winter. It’s a great idea to make a list of what you have done as you are Winterizing your RV then come spring you can work through the list and make sure you put everything back to normal. Taking a few hours to winterize you RV properly will prolong its life and ensure that come spring it is ready to go.