People across the United States love to own and use a recreational vehicle (RV). In fact, more than nine million households have one type of RV or another, according to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. If you are thinking about putting yours into RV storage, there are some things you can do to keep it in good shape. Storing a vehicle is not really the same as putting furniture or clothing in a storage facility, there are more things you need to do:
- Take care of your seals. Before you place your vehicle in RV storage, you should take some time to look over your seals and clean them. One way to protect them from wear and tear is to thoroughly wash them and then finish them off with a good wax job. When you include a wax job on your seals, you also make the job of cleaning up a lot easier. When you look over the seals, you should repair any that show signs of cracking or wear. You may not realize it but a lot of damage can be done to an RV while it is being stored. If you take care of your seals before you put your vehicle into a personal storage space, you will cut down on the problems you can have.
- Make sure your RV has the proper ventilation. One issue that all RV owners need to take into account is moisture. Moisture can cause problems in a lot of spaces and your RV is no is no different. One way to keep your vehicle is safe from mold and mildew while in RV storage is to keep air circulating within the vehicle. One way to do this is to leave the vents in the roof open. Before you leave your RV in storage, open the cabinets and the refrigerator. That can help keep everything dry.
- Leave your blinds open. Another way to cut down on the moisture that can accumulate while your vehicle is in RV storage is to get some sunlight in. By leaving the curtains open, you let the sunshine in, which makes any moisture evaporate and depart via your open vents. It does not take a lot of moisture to leave you with a big mold problem to clean up. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than two thousand kind of mold and none of them are good for you.
- Keep pests out of your RV. While your vehicle is in RV storage, pests will want to find a way in. Your RV can be an inviting home for them in the winter months. Before going into RV storage, you need to make sure there are no easy ways for rodents or insects to get in. That means you should close all openings. You may wonder “what about the roof vents?” You need to get screens if you do not have them, you need to get some. No matter what kinds of pest get in, they can all do damage that is costly to repair. Make sure you check and seal off your exhaust pipes and vents.
- Switch off your battery. When left not in use, appliances may still work on draining your battery. For this reason, many RV owners have shut off switches for their batteries to make sure that does not happen. One of the last things you want to have to worry about is getting your vehicle from the RV storage place to find the battery has been drained and is dead. Another thing you should do is make sure your battery has a full charge. That will help it get through the cold months of winter,
When you are looking at your options for RV storage, you have different things to think about than when you are storing items while moving. You may want to go over from time to time and check on your RV. If you do this, you can catch any small problems such as moisture or pests, early and before they grow into larger and more expensive problems. Follow these tips and your RV will be in great shape all year.