How to Prepare Your Motorhome for Storage

For many of us, we’re at the tail end of our camping excursions for the year now that school has started up again and the holidays are around the corner. Things are about to get pretty busy, so clear your schedule for a day or two to prepare your motorhome for storage. You can’t just park it somewhere and walk away. There are steps you’ll need to take to ensure it’ll be ready to go again come spring. 

To get you started, The RV Guys have provided some of the most important steps for getting your motorhome ready for long-term storage. Check them out and let us know if you’ll need a professional technician to take a look at your RV before you walk away from it. We’ll set you up with an appointment with one of our experienced mechanics at our location in Valley View, serving all of north Texas.

Locate Your Owner’s Manual

First things first: locate your owner’s manual and read through the manufacturer’s tips for preparing your motorhome for storage. Most of our tips will apply to all motorhomes in a general sense, but the best place to find particular details related to you is the manual. If you don’t have yours, check the manufacturer’s website for a copy. 

Interior

Let’s start inside the RV. You’ll want to empty the motorhome of all items you don’t want sitting in it over the long months. This should include any food or items that aren’t specifically for the camper. If there are linens and tableware you like to use exclusively for camping, then it might be worth it to leave them in there.

Take one final look through of the entire interior before assuming you’re done. Thoroughly clean the living quarters so you come back to a sparkly RV. 

Pest Control

As you’re inspecting your motorhome, look for cracks or holes that pests could crawl through and plug them up using expandable foam or silicone sealant. 

Pro tip: leave the cabinets open to avoid moisture buildup and allow for ventilation.

Appliances

Appliances are generally specific to the model and this is one area where your manual will come in handy. Likely, you’ll need to defrost your fridge by allowing it to thaw out and collecting the water with a towel. You may also need to take special steps to prepare your dishwasher, ice maker (if you have one), and washing machine (if you have one).

Exterior

When it’s time to move to the outside, wash the exterior of your motorhome to get all the dirt and grime of the season off. Use this opportunity to inspect for any signs of damage and apply lubricant to the slide-outs.

Tires

The weather likely won’t get cold enough to worry about excessive fluctuation in tire pressure, but your tires can develop a flat spot if you leave the entire weight of the motorhome on one spot for too long. To prevent this, you’ll need to move the camper half a tire rotation at least once a month, or, if you can do it safely, you can elevate the entire motorhome so there’s no pressure on the tires. 

Engine

Engines are unique to motorhomes, and they’ll require special steps to prepare them for winter. This will include topping off or even changing any engine fluids that need it, like oil and radiator fluid, and adding fuel stabilizer to the fuel tank. 

Some motorhome engines can be complex, so we highly recommend contacting a professional for assistance if you’ve never done this before.

We also recommend stuffing the tailpipe with steel wool to prevent pests from forming nests.

Battery

The battery will likely need to be removed so it isn’t drained when you come back to the RV. Store it in a temperature-controlled environment, hooked up to a trickle charge. 

Winterizing the Water System

This process will also require you reference your owner’s manual to ensure you do it properly. You’ll be adding antifreeze to your water system so any freezing that occurs doesn’t damage the pipes. 

Feed the antifreeze into the intake valves and work it through the entire system, including sinks, toilets, and showers. Make sure you bypass the water heater so you don’t waste gallons of product.

This should cover most of your basics, but as we mentioned, the best resource is your owner’s manual. You can also contact The RV Guys if you need a professional technician to address any issues that you run into. Our location in Valley View is happy to help all those across north Texas, so let us know how we can assist you!