Many people shut down their recreational vehicles when winter arrives. They stay home and wait to take them out again until spring or summer comes. RV winterization prevents plumbing system parts from freezing, batteries from losing their charges, and ensures that tires don’t become flat while they remain parked in a single spot for months and months. A person can take certain measures to protect their vehicle’s motor, exterior, interior, and everything else in between.
Still, de-winterizing can be quite a hassle. People are ready to travel and take in sights, not do chores. Canadian RV owners that have such feelings should give J & W Mechanical Fleet Services a call. We offer RV de-winterization services that could be perfect for them. Our team can take care of those types of duties for them while they tend to more pressing matters.
The remaining sections will discuss some practices commonly associated with RV de-winterization. So if you are thinking about trying to de-winterize on your own or hiring professionals to do it, these are some of the steps that might be taken during the process. Hence, interested parties should stay put and read on to learn more.
Charge And Connect Batteries
Batteries can become depleted when an RV is in storage for months and even though they are often disconnected during winterization. Therefore, they need to be charged to full power. People typically use one of two methods to accomplish the feat. They either reconnect the batteries and let shore power charge them, or connect the cells themselves to trickle chargers. RV owners will find it in their best interests to follow this de-winterization step. After all, not enough power could lead to no TV, lights, radio, or much of anything else.
Perform A Visual Inspection Of The Tires
It is not uncommon for flat spots to develop on tires parked on concrete, which are under the weight of recreational vehicles. When people don’t use wheel chocks when they shut their RVs down for the season, the issue tends to occur. Rubber can also become dry-rotted after it is exposed to the elements for a while. Thus, owners need to make sure the tires of their RVs are not cracked and falling apart.
This is another RV de-winterization step that people should follow. Dealing with flat tires is never any fun, and blowouts can be dangerous. So before taking off and hitting the open road, be sure to conduct a visual inspection of your recreational vehicle’s tires. With any luck, doing so will help you keep incidents at bay.
Flush And Sanitize The Plumbing System
People who filled the plumbing systems of their RVs with antifreeze need to flush the chemical out and sanitize. It is a good idea to take this step even in cases where pet-safe antifreeze was used. Fill the freshwater tank, turn the hot and cold handles on to faucets, open water heater valves, and let the H2O run to wash the antifreeze away. After the water turns clear, then a solution of one-gallon water and 1/4 cup liquid household chlorine needs to be added to the tank. It is usually left to sit in the system, sometimes for 24 hours, and then the plumbing system gets flushed again.
Those are just some of the steps a person might take when de-winterizing an RV. However, there are many more out there you can try. If the tasks you do didn’t make the cut this time, check back soon to see if we discuss any of them in our future articles.