Last year when I retired, rented out my house and decided to Full-time-it not having camped since I was a teenager, I did a lot of research. I researched everything but winterizing. I live in the South and planned on traveling so that I never encountered cold climes. Well, the best laid plans....My mother, who lives in Canada, took ill and I have spent the past five months - November through March - up there shivering and paying 13% sales tax while she recuperated. (Shingles)My TT was stored in the Atlanta area, and in my rush to head north, was more abandoned than winterized. I returned this past weekend and am in a nearby RV Park. More by virtue of blind luck than skill, my only 'winterizing' issue is that I did not leave the fridge/freezer doors open and have some mildew.My problem though - and my question - is that I am having a terrible time getting organized/acclimatized/comfortable. I've gone from a place for everything and everything in its place, to a surprise behind every door. I'm tripping over the anti-sway bar because it's been raining and I haven't folded the trailer cover which is stuffed into the truck bed. Who was the dunce who replaced only two of the light fixtures with LED bulbs last year?Is it just my skill set - or lack thereof - or do others (who don't use their campers all winter) have the same issues with Opening Day?

No issue on opening day for us. We take the time to close everything up, clean everything up, put everything up so the camper is in pristine condition. Now we do use the camper through the winter, sleeping in it, heating it up about every other week-end just for the fun, so it's not like it's completely "shut down". But in the past, we have shut down completely. Sometimes you just don't have the luxury of time to do it right.So ... before another day passes, why not take the time right NOW and get everything right! Put that cover away correctly, store those bars where the really belong. Get it all cleaned up, put up, stowed away, and ready for use. A couple good hours of "cleaning up" will do you wonders!

I have done both! I do winterize, but I don't always close it up like I should, it's just according to what our last trip was like and when we came home. I usually try to put everything up and in it's place before we leave our last campground. I will put all of our clothes in a storage bag to be brought into the house (we have camping clothes that stay in the RV during the season). All the food stuffs are put into bags to be carried back into the house and used during the winter, to be replaced in the spring. Our shampoo, soaps, toothpaste are also brought in to be used and replaced in spring. All the food/condiments in the fridge are brought in for use.That being said, there have been a couple of years that we have left the last campground in the rain and lots of that stuff has just gone out the window. After about a month, I did get the condiments out of the fridge, but that was about it. When we did the first trip in the spring, it took me a couple of days to get everything clean and back into the correct position and ready to camp. (There are 4 of us, so it makes it a bit more stuff than a couple of people or, just one.)Just start at one end and work your way to the other. It WILL take you more than one day or two. Throw out what you have no use for or that you didn't use last year. (That's my hardest part).

DutchmenSport wrote:So ... before another day passes, why not take the time right NOW and get everything right! Put that cover away correctly, store those bars where the really belong. Get it all cleaned up, put up, stowed away, and ready for use. A couple good hours of "cleaning up" will do you wonders!x2!After every trip DW and myself put the camp back just the way it's suppose to be for the next trip. We do this before we even leave the park. I never understand those that just "throw" everything into the rig, close the door then drive home???I all fairness though we do camp during the winter(yes up here in the cold!) so we never really have an "opening day" because the camper has been in storage for the past 6 months.Spend some time and put everything back where it belongs.........you'll thank yourself when you go looking for something and it's where it's suppose to be ;)

Last week we pull the TT into the yard and reloaded the stuff we did not want the mice to get over the winter. It took a couple of days to repack everything for the coming season. We are planning a couple of short local trips as shakedown cruses.We I have yet to have any two trips come out the same. Weather, distance, campgrounds are just some of the variable we run into. But, since we basically have our house with us, most of what we forget are convenience items that we can pick up at Wally World.

For me the most important thing at the start of the season is to get "safety" stuff correct.I go through our printed hook-up checklist very thoroughly. And we tested everything propane-powered before leaving home on our first trip.We did learn that our toaster was still brand new - set off our smoke detector on Sunday morning. So I now recommend 2-3 cycles outdoors before bringing it inside.

Opening Day Jitters | Good Sam Community

rbpru
Explorer II
Mar 23, 2015
Last week we pull the TT into the yard and reloaded the stuff we did not want the mice to get over the winter. It took a couple of days to repack everything for the coming season. We are planning a couple of short local trips as shakedown cruses.

We I have yet to have any two trips come out the same. Weather, distance, campgrounds are just some of the variable we run into. But, since we basically have our house with us, most of what we forget are convenience items that we can pick up at Wally World.
shum02
Explorer
Mar 23, 2015
DutchmenSport wrote:

So ... before another day passes, why not take the time right NOW and get everything right! Put that cover away correctly, store those bars where the really belong. Get it all cleaned up, put up, stowed away, and ready for use. A couple good hours of "cleaning up" will do you wonders!

x2!

After every trip DW and myself put the camp back just the way it's suppose to be for the next trip. We do this before we even leave the park. I never understand those that just "throw" everything into the rig, close the door then drive home???

I all fairness though we do camp during the winter(yes up here in the cold!) so we never really have an "opening day" because the camper has been in storage for the past 6 months.

Spend some time and put everything back where it belongs.........you'll thank yourself when you go looking for something and it's where it's suppose to be ;)
Merrykalia
Explorer
Mar 23, 2015
I have done both! I do winterize, but I don't always close it up like I should, it's just according to what our last trip was like and when we came home.

I usually try to put everything up and in it's place before we leave our last campground. I will put all of our clothes in a storage bag to be brought into the house (we have camping clothes that stay in the RV during the season). All the food stuffs are put into bags to be carried back into the house and used during the winter, to be replaced in the spring. Our shampoo, soaps, toothpaste are also brought in to be used and replaced in spring. All the food/condiments in the fridge are brought in for use.

That being said, there have been a couple of years that we have left the last campground in the rain and lots of that stuff has just gone out the window. After about a month, I did get the condiments out of the fridge, but that was about it. When we did the first trip in the spring, it took me a couple of days to get everything clean and back into the correct position and ready to camp. (There are 4 of us, so it makes it a bit more stuff than a couple of people or, just one.)

Just start at one end and work your way to the other. It WILL take you more than one day or two. Throw out what you have no use for or that you didn't use last year. (That's my hardest part).
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Mar 23, 2015
No issue on opening day for us. We take the time to close everything up, clean everything up, put everything up so the camper is in pristine condition. Now we do use the camper through the winter, sleeping in it, heating it up about every other week-end just for the fun, so it's not like it's completely "shut down". But in the past, we have shut down completely. Sometimes you just don't have the luxury of time to do it right.

So ... before another day passes, why not take the time right NOW and get everything right! Put that cover away correctly, store those bars where the really belong. Get it all cleaned up, put up, stowed away, and ready for use. A couple good hours of "cleaning up" will do you wonders!

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