How to prepare for a winter caravan trip

Planning a winter holiday in your RV involves more than knowing where you want to go, packing your winter woolies and heading off. If you want things to go smoothly, some pre-trip checks and preparation of your RV is necessary.

Who wants a wheel to fall off the van or have cold showers or a leaking roof? Don’t think that because a caravan or camper is just a house on wheels that it doesn’t need any maintenance...

The trip prep basics

While a winter RV trip has some particular requirements, there are other basics of trip preparation you should attend to, whenever you decide to head off on a trip. These basics include checking the bearings, brakes and tyres.

Wheel bearings need to be greased and adjusted every 12-24 months, and that’s also a good time to have the brake linings, magnets and drums checked for adjustment and wear.

Tyres on a RV usually become too old before they wear out their tread, but it’s important to check both. Tyres should have a minimum of 3mm tread depth across the tyre and if there's uneven wear, either alignment or incorrect pressures is likely to be the cause.

If the tyre is much more than five years old, it should be replaced. This is because it will eventually suffer a potentially catastrophic blow-out as the tyre can’t expand when hot as it should due to the rubber going hard with age.

Related: The joys of winter travel

Keep out the rat pack

Recently some Australian regions have had big problems with rodent infestations, and there's always the potential for insect and spider problems in a van that’s been laid up for a period too.

It's worth going over your van carefully, looking for mouse or cockroach droppings, chewed wires or plastics or spider nests.

There are various methods of getting rid of such infestations we won’t get into here, but obviously if there's damage to either 12v or 240volt wiring, that will need to be attended to (the 240volt system only by a licensed electrician of course) before making a winter trip in your van.

Making sure that the van is scrupulously clean of any food remains before its next storage period is also a good idea for obvious reasons.

If you have been careful about laying up your RV last time you used it, hopefully you won't have to drain and flush the water tank(s) and remove mould from inside the fridge. If you didn't do these things, now is the time, not discover them on the morning you plan to head off...

Winter blues

There are some other pre-trip checks that you should do that are more winter-specific (or at least, you’ll notice the problems more if you don’t check before rather than during a winter trip)!

An RV gas/electric hot water service is not a set-and-forget system. The sacrificial anodes need to be checked. If the anodes are more than 50 per cent worn, they should be replaced or your hot water service might fail while you’re on tour.

Heating ready to go

Diesel or gas heating services are not completely maintenance-free either.

Diesel heaters need some periodic maintenance, such as cleaning or replacing the glow pin and removing any carbon deposits from the combustion chamber. The fuel filter should be replaced and fuel and exhaust lines checked every two years.

A gas heater needs little maintenance; just the dust build-up on the heat exchanger and fan wheel should be cleaned with a brush or vacuum cleaner.

If you’re running a reverse-cycle 240-volt air-conditioner, don’t forget to clean the filters, as the dust build-up will reduce efficiency.

For some of us, especially as we get older, it’s hard to get the cold out of your mind and that can make a trip unpleasant. If you think you won’t cope well without heating, make sure you get some form of heater installed or if you have one, that it's functioning properly before you go.

Even up north the nights can be freezing cold. If you don’t have a functioning heater in your van, do not ever use the gas cooktop as one. Not only is the naked flame a fire risk, it also sucks the oxygen out of the van you're trying to breathe.

The same issue is relevant when actually cooking in your van in winter -- don’t shut all windows and doors, crack open a window or vent to keep some fresh air coming in.

Charge up the battery

The on-board 12volt deep-cycle battery has to be in top condition for a winter trip, given it's vital for running equipment such as gas/diesel heater fans and hot water ignitors plus lights and so on.

Cleaning connections and putting the battery on a battery trickle charger for a few days at least before you go is a good idea. In fact while your van is in storage, you should be trickle-charging the battery regularly, or ensuring the solar panels (if fitted) are getting plenty of sunlight to charge the battery.

It also helps to get the battery tested for voltage drop if you don’t know its condition or age before you discover it’s no good on a trip.

The same applies to the battery charging system(s). Ensure that whether charging by 240volt, 12volt or solar, the system is actually working properly.

Resealing to keep out the moisture

For a canvas camper, resealing seams and treating the canvas before a trip will ensure that it's water-tight.

Periodic sealant checks should also be a part of life with a caravan, but if you haven’t gone over the body sealant recently, on the roof and windows in particular, do so in the weeks before you head off on a winter tour.

What you're looking for are signs of seal degradation such as lifting or cracking sealant; have the sealant repaired/replaced ASAP.

Even if you're heading for the drier northern winter climate, you’ll still have overnight dew that’ll seep in where the seal has broken and potentially start the rot in your van.

Winter trip checklist

Many of the above checks you can do yourself, especially if you’re handy on the tools. But if in any doubt (particularly where working on gas or 240-volt is concerned) don’t risk a disaster by engaging the services of an expert.

1. Check tyres for tread depth and age

2. Check bearings, brakes for wear and adjustment

3. Check hot water service anodes

4. Diesel heater - have it serviced

5. Reverse-cycle or gas heating - clean out filters/dust

6. Check condition and charge of onboard 12volt battery and charging system

8. Reseal canvas, check roof/window sealant

Related:

How to fit a diesel heater

Which caravan heater is best?