All of the routine maintenance a car, truck, or SUV needs, plus a lot more, is required for recreational vehicles (RVs), too. An RV, after all, is not just a vehicle. For a significant number of people, it’s also a safe refuge-a home, office, kitchen, hostel, safe room, reading nook, and holiday cottage.
Given the many benefits an RV provides in your life, you want to extend its lifespan for the longest time possible. Hence, you need to ensure it’s properly maintained. Creating a checklist of recommended RV maintenance methods would be a good idea. When you have a list of everything that needs to be checked, there’s a slim chance you’d overlook something important. In the long term, this would save you money on repairs and provide you peace of mind when driving.
1. Maintain The Condition Of Your RV’s Roof
Hail, sunlight, wind, and rain may damage the roof of RVs. Roofs should be evaluated for symptoms of deterioration regularly, especially if you know you’ve been driving in questionable conditions. Have you driven through a hail storm? Then it’s probably best to check your roof to see if you need Paintless Dent Repair in Denver. Did you encounter a particularly low tree branch on your last journey? Your roof might have taken a beating then. The top of an RV is usually walkable if it came with a ladder. If you don’t have access to a stable ladder, you might be able to maintain your roof from the side.
A few easy cleanings per year are all that’s required to care for your RV roof properly. Wash your roof with a gentle solvent and water solution to keep it clean. Every six months, inspect the RV’s roof seals and seams for any potential leaks. The roof should be coated with a sealant to prevent long-term water damage, which can cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to fix if not addressed quickly. To better protect your RV roof, you can also get metal RV covers.
2. Make The Most Of Your Generator
Allowing your generator to stay idle for an extended amount of time may necessitate its replacement sooner than necessary. Gasoline generally has a 30-day shelf life. After that, it may decay and damage the generator’s interior components. Thus, it’s important to ‘keep it flowing.’ Try to operate your generator at about 50% load for two hours once a month. This would ensure it’s primed and ready to use. If you fail to do this, it may cause carburetor varnishing, reducing the gasoline’s ability to operate the generator properly. You may be forced to replace it then because of lack of proper cleaning, which is an unavoidably expensive choice.
3. Maintain A Well-Functioning Sewage System
Chemicals compatible with both gray and black water systems are required to keep your RV’s wastewater system running smoothly. Following flushing, the system must be restarted with a suitable fluid volume, and you must maintain a consistent flushing schedule. Without regular maintenance, a large amount of debris would build up in your RV’s water system, causing a blockage, malfunction, and valve seizing.
4. Check The Life Of The Battery
The battery is an essential part of the RV and must be maintained regularly. If properly cared for, batteries could last up to five years. However, in terms of maintenance, the battery’s water level and whether or not it’s maintenance free are significant factors to consider.
In any case, it’s in your best interest to keep your battery fully charged at all times. Without battery, your RV would be subjected to power outages, which would put you in a very unpleasant situation.
5. Replace Fluids
To minimize overheating in your RV, particularly when it’s summertime, make sure to refill the fluids. Remove the radiator cap and fill the radiator fluid with fresh fluid at least an hour after driving. Get your radiator and hoses inspected for cracks and leaks before your first summer vacation to avoid unpleasant surprises caused by summer heat.
Because of the higher levels of dust in the air throughout the summer, you need to check your air filter. If this is clogged, it could cause the mass airflow sensor to fail.
6. Check And Repair The Brakes
Brake repair is needed not just for your safety but also for the protection of other motorists. Especially during summer, the brakes could dry to the point of failure, putting their integrity into jeopardy, which is why they should always be adequately oiled.
Ensure to inspect the brake lights on your RV always. Especially before embarking on the road, check to see if your brakes have lost their sensitivity.
7. Open The Vents
Not every RV maintenance suggestion necessitates an expenditure of your hard-earned cash. It could simply be keeping the vents open.
Depending on your location, temperatures inside an RV could approach 130 degrees during the summer. At these temperatures, even the most resistant materials would deteriorate and finally fail. Wallcoverings, seals, seams, and flooring, for example, degrade over time, necessitating repairs sooner than expected. But by improving airflow throughout the RV, it could help maintain a suitable interior temperature.
Takeaway
Taking care of your RV is not really that difficult a task. It’s relatively easy, requiring only a few minutes of your focused attention a few times a year to ensure everything is in working order.Keeping your RV in good shape always will save you money and keep you out of trouble.
