Do you leave anything in the RV over the Winter?

[TurnThePage]

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?

[tekman741]

1st camper we took only liquids and anything effected by the cold. Mice left us a tip in the form of mouse turds and pee. Anything that was soft camping chairs bedding in even stuff left in plastic bins(ate right through)they used. They loved the bar of soap and my grill. a weekend of cleaning and smelling like bleach it was clean. Following winter we pulled everything, the camper is naked like the day we brought it home. Bleached all food surfaces or where food was stored. Nothing, no mice no turd no pee. One thing though that throws this off is my co2 alarm chirped all winter too, unsure if that did it too.

[PAThwacker]

I take our led TV out. Is that overkill?

[super_camper]

skipnchar wrote:
I have always left MOST of that other stuff in the RV. Contents of the medicine cabinet stay, (other than liquids) but all soaps and cleaning supplies are brought into the home. Of course bedding, cook ware, dishes etc. stay in their only home (the RV). I once overlooked ONE little potato in our pantry and paid the price of a really bad odor the next spring so I'm now pretty careful about perishable foods.

Ha, I did the exact same thing - one potato. Will never do that again.

[colliehauler]

I leave everything but food, don't want mice. I put the liquid soap shampoo ect in a bucket in the shed. I have never had a problem with temps as cold as -40. I do take the batteries out of everything, they will be dead by next year.

[FunnyCamper]

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

X2
I am southeast so milder winters definitely.

OP, also one of the reasons I got a nice rv was to not have to pack all the time like we used to when we tent camped 🙂 it was meant to be ready at the drop of a hat literally and hit the road.

[BurbMan]

Usually bring in all the food, toiletries, batteries, etc, anything with an expiration date. Just integrate them into the household kitchen and bath inventory and they get used. Stuff like linens, dishware, band-aids, etc, that don't expire and don't freeze get left in the RV. Come spring we have a restock list for pantry staples like Pam, cooking oil, etc, and also for the bathroom like Advil, toothpaste, etc.

[rhagfo]

ktmrfs wrote:

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?

Liquids come out, including canned food. virtually everything else stays in. Stuff that comes out goes into a couple of rubbermaid totes so we don't forget what goes back in.

Well same area, different attitude, everything stays! We use it year round, I only needed to blow the lines three times last year. I don't blow the lines on return from a trip, just watch the news and Weather.com for low temps, we might go out again before it freezes again. Our storage yard is only about three miles from the house.
If we get a string of below freezing days, like 25 or lower, then may think about some canned foods coming out.

[sowego]

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.

[noe-place]

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

Yeah what he said. :B

[DutchmenSport]

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.

[eabc5454]

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.

[lfcjasp]

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!

[Ozarkan]

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.

[antiquedrose]

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...

[Paul1944]

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

x2