Winterizing Your RV At Hanner RV Supercenter | Abilene, TX
Winterizing your vehicle is crucial to surviving the coldest time of the year in the US without any damage to your car, truck, or SUV. Luckily, in Baird, Texas, we only see a couple hard freezes each year and don’t have to worry about things like winter tires and antifreeze like our friends to the north. However, even those minor freezes can do damage to RVs. That makes it important that you properly winterize your RV before temperatures start dropping. Doing this and other maintenance tips will save you money in the long run. Here is what we at Hanner RV can help you with:
Draining & Flushing The Water
You don’t want to leave water in your RV if it will be exposed to freezing temperatures. Even if you don’t intend to travel with your RV this winter, you never know how unexpectedly cold it might get overnight in Texas, so it is better to be safe and have this done. To prevent water from freezing in any of your lines, we will drain all water, including from the water tank, water heater, faucets, toilet, and more.
Adding In Antifreeze
We will not use automobile antifreeze, however. RVs have their own non-toxic antifreeze so that we can run it through your RV’s water system and make sure it comes out all of the faucets.
Protecting Your Tires
If you store your RV over the winter, its tires may get flat spots. You can get around this problem in two ways. The first is to simply adjust the RV by roughly one-half tire revolution twice during winter. The second and best solution is to use leveling jacks to raise the RV off the ground until you begin using it again.
Disconnecting The Power
While your RV goes unused, you should turn off its main circuit breaker so that you can keep the 120-volt AC systems protected. Also, disconnect the RV from shore power, take out batteries from all devices that use them, such as clocks, alarms and radios, and check the manufacturer instructions for storing portable or onboard generators.
Cleaning The Interior
A clean interior will last through winter better than a dirty one. Make sure to clean the cabinets, refrigerator, stovetop and oven. Vacuum the floors, remove toiletries, and ensure that the freezer has thawed out and is completely dry. You should also take out all your valuables if you keep your RV at a storage lot.
Removing All Food & Drinks
Leave no food or drinks behind when storing your RV, even if it is canned, bottled or packaged. Drinks can burst in cold weather, and packaged foods can attract insects and wildlife. It’s best to entirely remove these risks from the equation.
Controlling The Moisture
Before storing the RV for the winter, be sure to place a container filled with moisture absorbent on a flat surface. This will help get rid of any dampness in the air, thus preventing the formation of mold, mildew and corrosion.
Warding Off Animals
Animals will be seeking warm shelter during the freezes, so you must secure against animal infestations during the winters. There’s not much we can do on our end for you, but we recommend a few things you can do, like bringing all leftover food inside your house, spraying for bugs, turning off the propane (which can sometimes attract insects), and turn off the icemaker.
You should be aware of the kinds of weather your RV will have to withstand while it’s stored and take the appropriate measures to protect it. For the best results, store your RV under a shelter or use a fabric cover that’s meant specially for RVs.
