Maintenance (1 Viewer)

[Helen Calow]

Can someone advise me please on what i should do to protect my motorhome from winter months to come. This is my first winter coming up shall i keep it heated , put bowls of salt inside, waste tanks cleaned & what wax is best to protect the outside. Not sure if this is going over the top & will probably still use it some points over the winter period. All advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone.

 

[MC 55 FUN]

This coming winter will be our fourth in Carm's & the third with a Moho, so far it hasn't got really cold but who knows what may happen, we bought our first Moho in Feb '16 & used it regularly during Feb' & March so didn't do anything.

This past winter with little knowledge but with much research, we removed all bedding & clothes, drained down all the onboard water, left all the taps open, left the grey & fresh drain taps open, external silver screens on, on sunnier drier days we always ventilated the vehicle, regularly positioned the window blinds up & down, charged the cab & hab' batteries every two weeks as well as the occasional drive to Burry Port & Swansea Bay to turn the wheels.

Heating it is a waste of time & money in our opinion & is more likely to be a cause of condensation than preventing it.

Colinite is named as a high quality wax on this forum - we use Autoglym products.

No doubt we didn't cover all eventualities but we had no issues.

 

[autorouter]

As I see it, the main problems are frost damage and battery drain.

Water expands with great force as it freezes. If you do nothing, it will split your tank, break your pump, burst your water heater, split your taps and split your hoses or more likely push the joints apart. Americans seem to use a food-grade antifreeze liquid, but the usual answer this side of the pond is to empty the water out of the system.

You need to find the drain taps for the water heater, fresh water tank and the hot and cold pipes. Your water pump works on either pressure drop or a switch in the tap, but either way you need to find out how to switch off the water pump.

Then drain the water heater and fresh water tank, open each tap in turn and wait until no more water comes out. Also operate the loo flush until no more water comes out. When all empty, leave the taps open, in the mid position if it's a mixer tap. Switch off the pump. Don't leave it pumping air for more than a minute or two.

Some people, me included, have a kit so you can blow air through the pipes to clear out the last bits of water, but most seem to get away with simply emptying as above.

For the battery, the easiest is to let your solar panels keep the charge up. Or hook up to a mains supply, which is what I do on the drive at home. There are numerous alternatives. I have a couple of small solar panels stuck inside the windscreen for the hab and cab batteries.

Otherwise you need to check and top up the batteries every month or so. I used to use a spare battery, CTEK 5 amp charger and 150 watt inverter. Charge the spare battery at home, ferry it to the MH and charge using the spare battery, inverter and charger.

Some people run the engine for a few minutes, or better still take the MH out for a short run.

And some drive to Spain or Morocco for the winter (that's next year for me, hopefully).

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[PhilandMena]

If it's a relatively new motorhome you will have little to worry about as they are designed to sit in all weathers for long periods. There are one or two things you should do to prevent frost damage as water expands when it freezes. Drain off all of your water and leave your taps open. It might be worth while blowing into the water filling point after the last water has drained out just to get any left that may be sitting in the pump. after that, remove the water pump filter and empty any water, then replace. As for the habitation area, all you need to do is crack open two vents as far apart as possible to ensure there is some air movement during the winter. If you want to waste money by putting on a heater be my guest ( a complete and utter waste of time IMO). Also, hook up your leisure batteries via the mains and make sure your charger is switched on. Modern motorhome charges can be left on indefinitely. Just check it also looks after your cab battery. Finally, take her for a minimum 20 mile run every 4 weeks and try and park in a slightly different position to prevent flat spots appearing on your tyres. Park with a chock under one or two wheels with your handbrake fully off. That's all you need to do. However, you will now be receiving a shed load of differing recommendations from members and i wish you the very best of luck sorting the wheat from the chaff.

 

[pappajohn]

The antifreeze Autorouter mentioned isn't cheap (probably need at least 3 U.S. gallons) but is harmless and reusable for up to 4 years (from memory) by draining into a clean container with a good fitting lid.
It's put in the drained fresh tank and drawn through the pipes and boiler without diluting so it won't get any weaker by dilution.
Will be available from UK RV dealers...and damondunc at starspangledspanners give a fun discount I think.

 

[Spanda]

This will be our second winter. All we did last year was to drain the water systems each time we parked it up, but went away in it for a weekend every three or four weeks. It wouldn't suit some, but even in the foulest of weather we enjoy the peace and rest we get when we are away in the van. We intend following the same strategy this winter so we will use it every time we can but drain the water between trips.

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[Helen Calow]

Very useful infor, i am a women so will need to get someone to explain the battery bit but the rest i can do i am sure. Thanks for all the tips.

 

[PhilandMena]

Very useful infor, i am a women so will need to get someone to explain the battery bit

Your batteries (Cab and leisure batteries) are likely to go flat over a period of time if left alone without some sort of regular charge. You don't say what type of motorhome you have and if it has solar panels, or stored with or without hook up. The ideal situation would be to store it with a 240 V connection (on hook up) or outside with sufficient solar panels fitted. Not all but many modern motorhomes have intelligent charging systems fitted and they will look after both sets of batteries (cab & Leisure) provided they have power from the mains or the Solar Panels. However, you need to look at your manuals that come with the motorhome (assuming new or nearly new) and make sure you a, the ability to monitor and maintain both sets of batteries and b, what switches settings to set to ensure this is happening. I would make that your first check to make and if you need further help come back on here and members will come to your aid.

 

[Helen Calow]

Oh great. Yes i have a Bailey Approach 765 2015 plate. Got electric hook up so as long as i keep that plugged in as well as use it now & again in the winter i should be ok? Thanks for that.

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[two]

Remove everything that might freeze (include anything in tins, jars or bottles).
Increase ventilation, leaving cupboard doors open. Lift cushions, or remove them. Keep fabrics from touching cold surfaces.
Continue to use it as much as possible.