One of many solely downsides to dwelling in an RV full time? RV upkeep. That mentioned, staying on prime of RV upkeep is the important thing to making sure your rig lives a protracted and wholesome life, and all of that is particularly vital in case your RV occurs to be your property. No, it isn’t notably enjoyable or thrilling, however for those who do your entire upkeep your self, it may be an ideal studying expertise and it’s the one actual strategy to shield your funding.
Undecided the place to start? The RV upkeep duties under are probably the most essential ones that you just positively don’t need to ignore.
Roof Inspections and Sealing
First, let’s discuss your roof and seals. These are the issues that maintain water out of your rig, and contemplating how a lot injury water can do to an RV, it would be best to take excellent care of them.
Each three months (and after excessive climate), examine your roof for cracks and different points, and have a look at all components of the RV for worn-out seals and injury. Restore damages to the roof instantly and apply sealant as wanted to forestall water injury.
Tire Care and Stress Checks
Blowouts are a critical hazard for RVers. They’ll trigger a rig to go uncontrolled, and even when a blowout doesn’t trigger damage, it may trigger critical injury to the RV itself.
Due to this, it’s best to be certain that to test tire strain earlier than each journey. You’ll additionally need to examine tires for put on every time you drive and rotate tires as advisable by the producer. By no means drive on broken or bald tires, and all the time exchange tires earlier than they’re 6 years outdated.
You can too set up a tire strain monitoring system, which can show you how to monitor the tires as you drive.
Creativepart on iRV2 says, “RV tires age out earlier than they put on out because of mileage. There’s a DOT date code on the sidewall of your tires. It exhibits the 12 months and week of manufacture. Most suggest changing tires between 5 – 7 years after manufacture. Some lengthen this so far as 10 years, however for security I believe the consensus is 5 – 7.”
Brake System Inspections
Clearly, your RV’s braking system is fairly darn vital as properly. Sadly, it additionally sees quite a lot of stress. In spite of everything, it takes quite a lot of work to cease all of that weight, particularly at freeway speeds.
Because of this, it’s crucial that you just usually examine and repair brake pads, rotors, and fluid ranges. You’ll additionally need to have an expert test the brakes yearly or for those who discover decreased braking efficiency.
Battery Upkeep
Do you know RV batteries require upkeep? I didn’t after we first acquired on the street, and we went by means of a few batteries fairly rapidly earlier than I discovered that out. Not solely must you maintain them clear, absolutely charged, and examine for corrosion usually, however when you have flooded batteries, you’ll additionally must test the fluid ranges and prime them up after they get low.
For long-term parking, use a battery maintainer to forestall discharge and ensure to check the voltage earlier than every journey to make sure the batteries are nonetheless good and prepared for tenting.
Waste System Repairs
No one needs a camper that smells like poop. That is why it’s so vital that you just keep on prime of holding tank upkeep. Happily, this isn’t as gross because it counts. Simply be certain that to maintain the tanks closed till they’re no less than half full and dump on the finish of each journey. After dumping, rinse with a backflush software and add a few gallon of recent water to the black tank to make sure solids don’t dry up and keep on with the tank.
Many RVers additionally like so as to add an enzyme-based therapy to the tanks to assist break issues down.
Water System Upkeep
The waste tanks aren’t the one a part of an RV water system that requires upkeep. You’ll additionally must take excellent care of your water traces and freshwater tank. Preserve an eye fixed out for leaks, test beneath sinks and behind the bathroom usually whereas the RV is in use, and handle leaks instantly when they’re discovered. Flush out the water heater no less than annually and exchange the anode rod (if relevant) as wanted.
Ensure to winterize your complete water system earlier than the primary freeze of the 12 months, and make sanitizing the recent tank and features part of your dewinterization routine.
Propane System Security Checks
Whereas propane home equipment are tremendous helpful for boondocking and an RV must-have in my guide, leaks within the propane system might be harmful. For those who odor propane, depart the rig and open it up so it may air out. Examine hoses, regulators, and connections for leaks utilizing a soapy water answer till you discover the leak and may restore it.
For those who can’t discover the leak, name in an expert. It’s additionally a good suggestion to have your complete system checked by an expert annually.
HVAC System Cleansing and Filter Substitute
For me, among the finest components about RV tenting is the power to manage the air temperature within the rig. I simply can’t stand to be chilly or sizzling whereas I sleep.
Happily, a well-maintained HVAC system ensures comfy tenting all year-round. That’s why it’s vital to scrub air filters usually when in use and clear A/C coils yearly. Do that and your HVAC system ought to maintain operating for a superb lengthy whereas.
Slideout and Awning Care
Our first RV didn’t have a slide-out. I didn’t need one. I had heard horror tales of the problems they might trigger and needed nothing to do with it. We additionally selected to not use our awning for a number of months after we began touring as a result of we have been afraid of the problems. The factor is although, slide-outs and awnings are massively helpful to have, and we ultimately caved.
The trick to creating positive you don’t run into points utilizing this stuff is, after all, upkeep. Lubricate shifting components, examine seals and reseal as wanted, and take away particles earlier than pulling in an awning or a slide. It’s additionally essential that you just carry the awning in earlier than large storms or sturdy winds blow by means of.
Electrical System Checks
Ugh, I despise electrical points, and we all the time be certain that to make use of a surge protector to forestall as many points as we will. Sadly, we’ve nonetheless had our fair proportion {of electrical} issues whereas RVing.
The issues we’ve realized to do when {an electrical} subject presents itself embody inspecting shore energy connections, flipping breakers, checking fuses, and searching for tripped GFCI shops. It’s additionally a good suggestion to search for unhealthy grounds and unfastened wires, which might be extraordinarily harmful.
On a few events, we’ve needed to exchange plugs, switches, and lighting. For those who resolve to tackle such a activity, be sure to unplug from shore energy and disconnect the battery first.
Engine Upkeep
Final however not least, I’ve to say engine upkeep. Clearly, this solely applies in case your RV truly has an engine of some kind. That mentioned, it does apply to each car engines and small engines (corresponding to mills).
In each instances, it’s essential that you just train the engine no less than as soon as a month. A generator needs to be run beneath load for 30–60 minutes and a motorhome needs to be pushed a couple of miles if in any respect attainable. You’ll additionally need to be certain that to maintain up with oil modifications, air filter modifications, spark plug upkeep, and within the case of the car engine, fluid top-ups.
As you’ll be able to see, there are quite a lot of totally different RV upkeep duties that you need to be maintaining with as a full-timer. Holding all of it straight might be troublesome. That is why I like to recommend RV Life Upkeep. This program will maintain monitor of your entire RV upkeep for you, even going as far as to ship you reminders when it’s time to deal with a activity. It is perhaps simply what you must guarantee your RV lives a protracted life and you’ve got a superb variety of superb adventures out on the open street!