With the summer sun shining down, the last place you want your RV is in the driveway or worse, the repair shop, when it could be in the mountains, at the shore, or anywhere fun! Here are three tips to helps keep your RV on the road this summer.
Check the Tires
Pretty much any vehicle you drive should have the tires checked regularly but whether it’s a Class A or Class C RV, a lot more is depending on those tires than the tires on the family sedan. Not only does having properly inflated help keep you safe, it can improve your gas mileage!
Even if your RV tires started out inflated properly last spring, the recent heat waves and all those miles you’ve put on them driving down to the shore could have changed that. And, let’s face it, no one wants to have tire issues on the Turnpike!
Check your owner’s manual to find out what the proper PSI is for your tires and check them regularly. After all, with a blown tire, waiting for the tow truck might be the least of your worries. Stay safe and on the road with preventative maintenance.
Keep It Clean
After a weekend camping and fighting traffic to get home, the last thing you may want to do is wash your RV. Unfortunately, the sooner you can wash off the campfire smoke residue, bug guts and anything else you might have picked up along the way, the better it is for your RV. And while the same is true for your tow vehicle, it’s slightly less important for the truck.
Why? Because the fiberglass that makes your RV is vulnerable to scratches. Dirt accumulation on the roof, for example, can lead to fine scratches which become an entry point for ice this winter. Then the ice swells, making a bigger scratch and eventually you end up with a leaky roof and an RV stuck in the repair shop for months.
Cleaning your RV immediately after you bring it home also makes it more appealing to take it out again next weekend. After all, if you are waiting for the change to hope in and drive away, do you want your RV smelling like smoke and your windshield covered in bugs?
An extendable brush, a bucket and some sudsy water should take care of most of the issues.
Give it a Drink
Sometimes, RVers seem to forget that though your motorhome is home, it still has a motor. In fact, depending on the design on your RV, it might have a motor that runs even when you aren’t on the road, keeping you cool at night or just running the refrigerator.
So check your fluids. Check the oil and the coolant levels at the same time you check the water tank to make sure you have a usable bathroom! And if you keep the window washer fluid full, you might spend less time cleaning up when you get home!