Winterizing Travel Trailer for Beginners
Hello RV'ers - We just finished our last camping trip for the year. :( That being said, this is our first year having to winterize a travel trailer. We have a 32' Passport 2920bh. Does anyone ...
Forum Discussion
If you are storing your camper for the winter, and not running any heat inside, you won't have condensation. Condensation occurs only when the inside of the camper is very warm compared to the outside cold temperature. (Like a can of soda sweating).
If you do not heat the inside, you won't have condensation. The inside will be cold too, and heat up as the outside heats up slowly through the course of the winter months.
Make sure you leave your refrigerator doors propped open. You don't want it shut tight. It needs air to breathe over the winter, otherwise when you open the doors in the spring, the refrigerator will stink ... REAL BAD. Keep them open. Use the little spacers that came with your refrigerator to prop them open.
Remove batteries from anything inside the camper that takes batteries so they won't leak over the winter by getting too cold and busting or just simply leaking and ruining whatever they are use for, including the smoke alarm.
Make sure ALL liquids are removed from the camper. Even if they say they can withstand freezing ... take them out anyway. Nothing worse than finding broken cans of greenbean juice all over the cabinet bottoms, or a forgotten bottle of dishwashing liquid and the plastic bottle split and now you have a goo of a mess to clean up. Leave nothing ... food wise or "wet" wise in the camper.
Remove any clothing and store it in the house, same with bedding, so it won't pick up musty smells and then you'll just have to wash everything in the spring anyway.
Remove all your electronics you can, including your television, if it is removable. Why? Well, they can probably withstand sub zero weather, but they can't withstand theft. Just be extra cautious and bring it ALL inside with you, if it's possible.
Remove all money and valuables. And even it has no true monitory value, if it has value to you, bring it in also. A thief might over look it, but that won't stop him from destroying it in the process of looking for something he can take. (Even if parked at home, this is still good advise).
Make sure your holding tanks are dumped and rinsed out as good as humanly possible. If anything is left in there, believe me, it will have all winter to "ripen" and next time you push the peddle on the toilet, you'll wish you'd done a better job of rinsing those tanks!
No, if you are parking your camper and home, and plan on using it throughout the winter, just be we wise with what you leave out there. We use ours through the winter, but when returning home, we always remove all the liquids again and ALL food items.
Hope this helps.
If you do not heat the inside, you won't have condensation. The inside will be cold too, and heat up as the outside heats up slowly through the course of the winter months.
Make sure you leave your refrigerator doors propped open. You don't want it shut tight. It needs air to breathe over the winter, otherwise when you open the doors in the spring, the refrigerator will stink ... REAL BAD. Keep them open. Use the little spacers that came with your refrigerator to prop them open.
Remove batteries from anything inside the camper that takes batteries so they won't leak over the winter by getting too cold and busting or just simply leaking and ruining whatever they are use for, including the smoke alarm.
Make sure ALL liquids are removed from the camper. Even if they say they can withstand freezing ... take them out anyway. Nothing worse than finding broken cans of greenbean juice all over the cabinet bottoms, or a forgotten bottle of dishwashing liquid and the plastic bottle split and now you have a goo of a mess to clean up. Leave nothing ... food wise or "wet" wise in the camper.
Remove any clothing and store it in the house, same with bedding, so it won't pick up musty smells and then you'll just have to wash everything in the spring anyway.
Remove all your electronics you can, including your television, if it is removable. Why? Well, they can probably withstand sub zero weather, but they can't withstand theft. Just be extra cautious and bring it ALL inside with you, if it's possible.
Remove all money and valuables. And even it has no true monitory value, if it has value to you, bring it in also. A thief might over look it, but that won't stop him from destroying it in the process of looking for something he can take. (Even if parked at home, this is still good advise).
Make sure your holding tanks are dumped and rinsed out as good as humanly possible. If anything is left in there, believe me, it will have all winter to "ripen" and next time you push the peddle on the toilet, you'll wish you'd done a better job of rinsing those tanks!
No, if you are parking your camper and home, and plan on using it throughout the winter, just be we wise with what you leave out there. We use ours through the winter, but when returning home, we always remove all the liquids again and ALL food items.
Hope this helps.
