Do you leave anything in the RV over the Winter?

All food, drinks, medicines and cosmetics come out and get used up in the house. All other liquids except RV antifreeze go in a tub in the house for easy loading next spring (Windex, dish soap, car wash, etc). Linens and rugs get washed and stored in plastic zipper bags in the RV. I don't remove paper goods, but I'm villainous about keeping mice out.

This is a good time to assess what you regularly keep in your RV. Medicines and over the counter meds have expiration dates (usually 12 months). Spices should be brought in and used up to be replaced with fresh ones in the spring. I always replaced the batteries in the various detectors that used them. Ditto on anything that can freeze and explode.

Mice are pretty insidious. I also opened all the drawers and cupboards and even stood the mattress on end to make it less attractive to the nasty little buggers.

allen8106 wrote:
If it won't freeze and break open it stays.

x2

I've varied what I leave in the B. I started out leaving in anything we might need at any time except perishables, 'cos I liked the idea of grabbing keys and going at a moments notice.

Worrying about cargo weight help me modify what we carry as did getting cramped by stuff and the creation of the dreaded junk drawer. The interior of the RT is pristine and while fairly neutral, it does have it's own odor which the bedding absorbs, so that's not returned until we're ready to go.

Bottom line? It's now bare except an extra device charger, few dishes & lawn chairs, an outdoor rug, a fan, lightweight dog crates. Oh, and spare collars and leashes and bowls. I've squirrel away a book in case I find myself (in the virtually non-existent ) chance of nothing to read...let me think, what else...

All liquids come out everything else stays. Last year I forgot to remove my computer printer. Yes ink is a liquid and what a mess in the spring. Destroyed the printer and thank goodness the ink stains are hidden inside the desk. This year we are going to solve the problem by spending the winter in South Florida.

Hampton Roads winters are usually pretty mild, so we're able to leave linens, pots and pans, dishes towels, whatever in the camper. Meds are not left...we're using them! I keep my shampoo, body washes, etc. in a bag I bought for carrying to the shower...it comes in handy for overnight trips with or without camper. It's in the s&b house. We have the camper hooked up to electricity, so we could keep some stuff in the fridge, like mayo, catsup,...anything that isn't going out of date soon. We may do some camping over the winter...never know!

We also have storms that we try to be prepared for - we have lost power for days due to ice storms, snow storms and hurricanes/derechos. Our TT and now our MH stays stocked to serve as shelter in place or bug out vehicle, whichever is safer. We keep everything stocked, including clothing and foul weather gear, except for perishibles, year round. We keep 30 gallons of fresh water in jugs, and about 200 bottles of water. Grains and bagged items go in sealed bins to keep beasties out. Top off propane in the fall (next weekend while camping), and full tank of gas on the way home from all trips. I hope that we don't need it this winter, but we feel better to be prepared.

All liquids, all food items regardless of how it's packaged, all medicines - prescription or over-the-counter. Actually, anything that is consumable. All clothing as we'll use them over the winter months. Everything else stays.

Items which stay are all the household hardware kitchen, cooking, cleaning items, including towels, bed sheets, blankets.

In the Spring, we resupply all our food and medicine items, usually get started a couple weeks before our first trip out, so we don't spend so much at one time. Clothing is fresh laundered also.

allen8106 wrote:
If it won't freeze and break open it stays.

Yeah what he said. :B

BillyW wrote:
Where does one draw the line on what can spend the cold Winter in the unheated RV, versus what needs to come into the house? I try to remember all liquids, but how about pills; aspirin, ibuprofen, etc. Band aids? AA batteries? Other stuff?

Since winter weather can mean warmer days, then cold, then wet, then dry. We remove anything that can be affected by moisture & cold. We take out all cleaning supplies, all bathroom supplies, all health and beauty items, and most clothing. That means we only leave in dishes, utensils and pans that are in cabinets mice can't get into. We do not leave in paper items since mice love paper for nesting & those items can be affected my humidity changes. Our towels are in a cabinet mice can't get to.

We tend to travel less so we pack for each trip because we don't know what season we'll be traveling in.