RV Troubleshooting: 5 important RV checks to do each spring

By Cheri Sicard
Proactive maintenance and RV troubleshooting are always good ideas any time of year, but especially after your RV has been sitting in storage. Get ready for spring and summer with these five important RV checks you should perform each year. Mark Polk from RV Education 101 is here to help.

The video below is part of Mark’s advice on preparing your RV for another great adventure-packed camping season after it has been sitting in winter storage.

Hopefully, you correctly winterized and stored your RV, but even if you didn’t, there’s not much to be done about that now. But Mark says that even if that was the case, you can fix things going forward.

So what important RV troubleshooting checks should you do before hitting the road this year? Marks says these things are essential:

• Check your batteries: Your batteries’ condition will depend on how well they were stored. A battery can lose up to 10% of its charge for every month it has been stored. If you have checked and recharged during storage, you should be good to go. However, if you neglected this, your first step will be to fully charge your batteries, then check water levels and add distilled water as required. Of course, if you removed your battery entirely during storage, now would be the time to properly reconnect everything.
• Check your RV water system: If your RV was winterized, it’s time to dewinterize it. This entails three important tasks: removing the antifreeze from the RV plumbing system, checking the water system for leaks, and sanitizing the RV water system so it is safe and ready to use. Watch the video as Mark shows you just what to do.
• Check your tires: Tires can lose 2-3 PSI per month while sitting in storage. Be sure to check yours and inflate accordingly. And don’t forget the spare tire too.
• Check the RV roof, seams, and sealants: Any seam or place where the RV manufacturer had to cut a hole in the RV has the potential to leak. The start of the season is a good time to check that everything is sound and to reseal any areas in need of maintenance. Mark recommends doing this check on your RV at least twice a year.
• Check the RV’s safety devices: These include smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, propane detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors. When sitting in storage, batteries can go bad. Furthermore, some devices themselves have expiration dates. Mark shows you what to look for and how to perform these checks in the video.

Get ready to get next season’s RVing off to a strong start and perform these five important RV checks now.

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