Parking motorhome for an extended time

[berginaperzina]

In my question about changing the oil every 5,000 miles, Seajay mentioned that there might be other tips to do before you park your coach for an extended time. I think these would be useful for many of us. If anyone would care to share I feel this would be a good informational topic. We have a 2 acre property at our home so we store the motor home there, it is not covered but we do have a solar charger so the batteries won't go bad and we have the tires covered and parked on wood.

Thanks,

Jose and Karen

[tbutler]

There are two possible scenarios here, parking and living in your motor home and parking it in storage, not living in it. They do require different considerations in some cases. Also, where you park/store your motor home may bring additional differences in what you need to do before parking.

Under Type A Motor Homes there is a posting titled, "Do you park your motor home with a full fuel tank?" This is definitely worth a read before you park or store your motor home for an extended time. This discussion has moved on to discussing fuel treatments for long term parking or storage.

Tires are another concern and there is a forum topic on tires. I thought I had seen a posting about storage and tires but it isn't there, probably in some other forum topic. Anyway, tires should be inflated to maximum cold pressure for the tire/rim. Be sure to check both maximums and don't exceed the smaller of the two. Tires should be stored on a level smooth, dry surface if possible and should have wood, concrete or synthetic parking pads under them during storage. Do not store tires directly on an asphalt surface. Some people will extend jacks or place jacks under the axles to take some of the weight off the tires as well. Tires should be covered with a opaque cover to protect them from UV radiation.

Other than those three main topics, I think that a close inspection of the roof with careful examination of all joints and the condition of the sealant on each one would be important. This would be especially true if it is a storage condition where a leak might not be noticed for months.

Batteries should also be checked and filled as needed before storage or long term parking. Some provision should be made for keeping them charged or preventing battery drain. Shutting off the battery switch may not turn off all applications and even short term storage may result in drained batteries.

An RV in storage should be checked periodically to ensure that squirrels haven't made a home in the air conditioners! In some parts of the country there are other varmints that may cause damage such as mice, ants, termites, etc. There are even some animals which like to chew on insulation on wires. That could be a nightmare.

Storing or parking an RV in cold climates requires winterizing the water system and even storing in warmer climates the water system should be drained to prevent algae growth within the system. Using an antifreeze solution should prevent any algae growth. Don't forget to treat drains with antifreeze to prevent drying out or freezing. Empty and flush all waste tanks.

If you have a generator, it should be exercised periodically. At least once a month it should be run for an hour or two with a moderate load on it.

Some kind of solar protection for the interior should be considered. Reflective or protective material in the windshield and curtains to keep the sun from fading fabrics and carpets would be advisable. In some cases, moisture in the motor home might have to be removed mechanically. Some people use dehumidifiers to remove moisture from RV's in storage. This only works if you have an electrical supply available where you store your rig.

If storing the motor home, the refrigerator should be emptied, defrosted, and cleaned thoroughly. To prevent fungus growth, prop the doors open so air can circulate and evaporate any remaining moisture. Showers should be cleaned and thoroughly dried, drain water out of the shower head and water line to prevent dripping.

I'm sure others will think of other considerations. Good topic for us all to consider.