Storing an RV in the Panhandle and Waking It Up
Rigs that sit develop a predictable list of problems. Here is what to do before storage and what to check on the first trip out.
Most RV breakdowns happen on the first trip after the rig has been sitting. The failures are consistent enough to be a checklist, and nearly all of them are preventable at storage rather than discoverable at a campsite.
Here is both halves.
Tires are the big one
RV tires age out before they wear out. A rig used a few weeks a year can have full tread and tires that are years past when they should have been replaced.
Check the DOT date code, not the tread. Gulf Coast sun accelerates rubber degradation, and a tire stored outside here ages faster than one in a barn up north.
Flat spots from sitting in one position, and sidewall cracking from UV, are both common.
Batteries
A battery left to sit discharges and sulfates, and one that has been run flat repeatedly loses capacity permanently. Both house and chassis batteries.
A maintainer during storage prevents most of it and costs very little. Disconnecting the batteries prevents parasitic draws from flattening them, though it does not stop self-discharge.
Before storage
- Fill or stabilize the fuel depending on how long it will sit
- Put the batteries on a maintainer or disconnect them
- Retract the jacks and the slides fully
- Cover or shade it if you can, because sun does most of the damage here
- Deal with the water system — drain it or winterize it depending on the season and location
- Cover tires if the rig sits outside
- Close everything up but leave provision for ventilation, because humidity here breeds mold
- Clean out anything that attracts pests, and address entry points
That last one matters in this climate. Mud daubers build nests in furnace and water heater exhausts, and rodents get into places that cost real money.
Waking it up
- Check tire pressure and inspect for cracking and date codes before moving it
- Check battery condition and charge
- Look in every exhaust and burner tube for nests and webs
- Inspect the roof and every seal before the first rain
- Test the propane system before relying on it, and check the water heater bypass valve position
- Run the water system and look for leaks from anything that froze or dried out
- Test the leveling jacks and slides while you are still at home
- Check brakes and bearings on a trailer, because they seize sitting
- Run the generator under load rather than just starting it
Do the shakedown in the driveway, not at a campsite three hours away. Everything on that list is a minor task at home and a ruined weekend somewhere else.
Trailer bearings specifically
Bearings on a trailer that sits develop flat spots and the grease separates. A bearing that has not been serviced in years on a rig that sits is a genuine roadside failure risk, and a bearing failure on the highway takes the spindle with it.
Repacking bearings is standard maintenance on a travel trailer or fifth-wheel and it gets skipped for years on rigs that only come out occasionally.
Brakes
Electric trailer brakes seize from disuse and corrosion. A trailer that stops poorly on the first trip usually has brakes that are not all working, and that is worth finding in the driveway.
The seals
UV degrades roof sealant and window seals whether the rig moves or not. A rig stored outside through Gulf Coast summers needs the roof inspected on a real schedule, because water intrusion is the thing that actually destroys these.
Humidity is the panhandle problem
A closed rig in Gulf Coast humidity grows mold. Ventilation, moisture absorbers, or leaving it climate controlled if you have the power all address it, and none of them work if the roof is leaking.
A musty rig at wake-up is telling you either about ventilation or about water getting in, and the second one is the expensive answer.
Pests
Rodents in a stored rig chew wiring and insulation, and the damage shows up as electrical faults that make no sense months later. Mud daubers block furnace and water heater exhausts, which is both a no-heat problem and a combustion safety problem.
Sealing entry points and checking exhausts before firing anything up handles both.
If you are getting a rig ready to come out of storage and you would rather have it looked at before the first trip, call (850) 495-0366. Dispatch is answered 24 hours a day and James comes to wherever the rig is parked.