Hi, after a few very chilly days away this week and at the end of our first season caravanning, we are putting our caravan away for the winter.
Can anyone provide any tips and hints in preparing the caravan for winter other than the obvious.....
I plan to grease the corner legs and other moveables, the tanks are drained and everythign removed for cleaning and storage, but I hope than there may be some less obvious tips from seasoned veterans which will help make the start of next season run smoothly.
Open all the cupboard doors, disconect the battery even better remove it, dont leave the blinds down you will weaken the spring, place moisture traps around the inside, remove any food and all crumbs etc from the cooker/grill. leave taps open, put the sink plugs in. If posible dont leave the brake on as the brakes can bind to the hubs. i always polish the outside of the caravan, makes cleaning easier in the spring.
What I do, remove any/all food, open taps, drain down, cushions off the walls. never disconnected the battery yet, if its charged, it will be fine, its only discharged battery's that will suffer in our climate, I never store with the brake on anyway, just incase.
I use my van in october, and get it back out in Feb anyway, so its not a long layup for me, its only that long because I work as a sound engineer, and nov-feb is busy with shows, xmas stuff, pantos etc so dont get chance to get away in it.
I read that its a bad idea to leave open cupboard doors and internal doors as they might warp due to the van not sitting perfectly level.For years with all my vans i have left them shut with no problems.
Put a little antifreeze in the waste traps on sinks and shower, these are not drained when van is drained down, Use plates of salt as a dessicant, it is much cheaper than the branded products or silica gel.
Check with insurance company if you fit winter wheels as fitting them may invalidate insurance in the event of van being stolen as you will have no wheel clamp on only the hitchlock.
can not see it,you need to remove the shower head as they are expensive and liable to crack.also pull out the shower pipe and leave it hanging down into the shower.place a blob of grease or vaseline on all the lock tops outside where the key goes in this keeps out water.
cover open taps with an old walking sock,stops them splitting.remove all rags and papers of any kind that can be made into a nest for a mouse.remove all toilet fluids as i had a blue one freeze last year.i caught it before it defrosted.remove any bottles with any fluids from inside too as these can freeze if it gets minus 5/10,includes cans of coke or drinks cans.
Post last edited on 18/10/2012 22:34:58
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Topic: Winter Preparation?
