RV Detailing Tips: Prep Your RV for Summer Vacation

The first time you pull your RV out in preparation for the summer, it’s going to require some maintenance and a good detailing! Some detailers refer to this process as “dewinterization,” but, for simplicity’s sake, we’ll just refer to it as prepping your RV for summer. We’ve put together a checklist so you can rest assured that your RV is ready and safe for whatever vacation your summer has in store.

Check Tires

First things first, you need to check your tires. While in storage, your RV tires can lose a little air pressure every month (about 2-3 PSI per month), and more if it’s kept somewhere without temperature control or outside. Check the pressure with a tire pressure gauge (yes, even the spare) and reinflate as necessary to match the manual’s recommendation for the load you plan to carry.

Next, you want to inspect the tires for signs of wear or damage. You may need to invest in new tires if yours are excessively worn down, or, worse, have cracks or tears in them. This is especially important if you have a long distance trip ahead. You don’t want to blow a tire with your RV completely loaded up thousands of miles from home.

Inspect the Entirety of Your RV’s Exterior

Before we get into the tricky stuff, we’ll start easy with a visual inspection of your RV’s exterior. Start by looking for any signs of damages, leaks, or cracks. Make sure the weather-stripping around the windows and doors. If you notice any sealant that’s starting to crack or peel, replace it.

If you have to store your RV outside during the winter, then there’s a couple more steps you need to complete. Check for water damage anywhere, any signs that water leaked inside, and pay special attention to the roof; the snow piled on top of it for long periods of time make it higher risk for water damage could even weaken the structure, leading to cracks.

If your camper is towable, you’ll need to thoroughly check the hitch to make sure there’s no sign of damage or rust forming. If you find any, replace these parts before you take the RV out to prevent any accidents from occurring while you’re on the road.

Charge Your RV’s Battery

If you don’t charge your battery regularly while in storage, as many don’t, your battery loses a percentage of juice every month it’s in storage. Before you take your RV out for the summer, take your battery out, check the charge, charge it if necessary, and reinstall it. You can save yourself this trouble in the future and prolong the life of your battery by setting a calendar event on your phone to repeat with an alarm every three weeks to remind you to charge the battery while it’s in storage. You also want to make sure you change your battery at the recommended times.

Flush Out Your Water System

Before you put your RV away for the winter, you likely put antifreeze in your water system to keep it from freezing. It’s crucial that you flush all the antifreeze out of your water system before you use your RV. Follow the steps below to safely dump the antifreeze out of your fresh water holding tank.

1. Turn on your pump
2. Open absolutely all faucets, sinks, and showers both outside and in.
3. Run the water for several minutes
4. Flush your toilet a few times while the water and pump are running
5. Once the water runs clear, turn off your faucets and pump
6. Take your water heater out of bypass mode
7. Replace any water filter cartridges you may have removed for the winter
8. Dump holding tanks in an acceptable dumping site.

If after all of this, your water still tastes slightly off, pour some baking soda down the drains after mixing it with water and flush your water system again.

Check for Leaky Pipes

Examine your pipes carefully to ensure none are leaking. To do this, first make sure that there is fresh water in the tank, then turn on your pump and let it pressurize your system. This pump is designed to shut off when the system hits maximum pressure, so if it doesn’t shut off or kicks back on quickly, you have a leak somewhere that you will need to address.

To find this leak, you’ll need to check your pipe system, under the sinks, and around the edge of the toilet. Leaks can also lead to water damage if not found quick enough. If you can’t find it yourself, take the RV into the shop.

Take it in for a Check-Up

Before you take your RV out on the road, you want to make sure everything is operating properly. Take your RV for a full check-up and inspection before hitting the road. Let them know about anything you have found on the previous steps as well, so they can check and fix them properly.

Schedule RV Detailing

Before you put your RV through a summer road trip and all the hardships that come along with that, you’re going to want to have it detailed by the experts. Call Mobile Detailing Pros or visit our website to schedule an appointment. The expert detailers at Mobile Detailing Pros will come to your desired location and detail your RV completely, both interior and exterior, at an affordable rate. If they can detail more than one vehicle in the neighborhood, you could even get a discount.

Before you take your RV out for your fun summer plans, you have to make sure that you’ve fully prepped it and dewinterized it. If you follow these steps, your RV should be ready for all the travel and camping you have in store.