By Cheri Sicard
In the video below, join Chris from Why Wait for a look at five important annual RV maintenance projects that you SHOULD do every year.
I say “should” because these things are easy to put off and procrastinate on. We all do it. But we shouldn’t. Ignoring these essential annual RV maintenance tasks can end up costing you far more than had you just paid attention to them before they became problems.
Chris says it doesn’t matter whether your RV has been sitting in storage or whether you use it full-time (or anything in between), these are just good, common-sense, routine maintenance tasks you should ideally perform annually.
So what are Chris’s top 5 annual RV maintenance projects?
#1 Wheel bearings
Chris says a lot of issues can arise from not repacking your RV’s wheel bearings with grease. Yes, some RVs include a feature where you can simply add grease, but Chris is not a fan. For maximum safety, it pays to visually inspect your RV’s wheel bearings and repack them by hand. If you want to do it yourself, Chris has a separate video that shows you how.
Repacking the wheel bearings by hand offers a few advantages:
- When repacking wheel bearings by hand, you will get the old grease out before putting the new grease in and you can thoroughly clean everything.
- You can visually inspect the bearing for pitting and signs of wear.
- You can easily inspect your brakes while working on the wheel bearings.
#2 Breakaway cable
If you tow, you have a breakaway cable that will engage your trailer brakes should the trailer and vehicle ever separate.
This doesn’t take much work, but Chris says you should at least clean and inspect it once a year. In the video, he shows you what to do. This is good to do at the same time as repacking the wheel bearings, as you can visually see that everything is working. Again, the video explains and shows how.
#3 Water system
Some people say you should do this more often, but Chris likes to sanitize his RV’s water system once a year.
In the video, Chris explains how it is a good idea to sanitize your RV’s fresh water tank, your RV’s pipes, and even your fresh water hose at the same time. He has another detailed video demonstrating how to do it.
Keep in mind that the water heater is not part of this process. However, in the video, Chris discusses some basic RV water heater maintenance you should do instead.
#4 The roof
While he does inspect his RV’s roof more frequently, once a year, Chris likes to reseal it. If you have a new RV, you might not have to do this every year… yet. But a visual inspection should tell you if it is time.
#5 The A/C unit
Before you head out for a new RV season, Chris recommends inspecting and cleaning your A/C unit. He has another in-depth video that demonstrates just what to do.
RELATED
- How to repack RV wheel bearings and install grease seals
- RV roof sealants: The best product for every type of roof
- How to perform an exterior RV body reseal to protect RV from water damage
- Where do you hitch your breakaway cable?
RVT1260
#6- inspect and condition all rubber seals. These are around the entry door(s), each storage bay hatch, and if you have slide rooms, on all four sides either on the main body or the outer edge of the slide.
#7- inspect and if needed, replace any vinyl insert trim. Check screws and sealant at the edges of the metal trim that joins walls/roof before replacing the insert.
Excellent tip and instructions for the breakaway cable maintenance, added that to my annual wheel bearing checklist. Thank you!!
#4 should be 4a: WASH the roof!; 4b: Inspect the roof; 4c: touch up reseal as needed.
4a has a number of advantages. One is reducing black streaks down the side of your RV from rain washing roof crud off. Two is ensuring you have a clean surface to visually inspect. Lastly, if you have to do some touchup resealing the new sealant has a clean surface to adhere to. Regular washings make it easy to keep clean!
I wash my roof end-to-end by hand at least 2X annually.