Preparing Your Camper for Winter Living
When winter comes, many people pack up their RVs to hibernate until the weather becomes easy and pleasant again. While this might be the best strategy if you’re brand-new to the world of RVing, it does shut you out of a whole world of amazing opportunities that come with wintertime camping. By learning a few simple techniques for preparing your RV for the winter, you can gain access to this world.
Below you’ll find the most important tips for winterizing your RV. Make sure you try these out on your next winter camping trip. If you have any questions, or you’re in need of parts and services for your RV, stop by Golden Gait Trailers & RVs. We’re located near Charlotte in Concord, North Carolina, and we proudly serve the areas of Columbia, Raleigh, and Hickory, North Carolina.
Insulation
Most RVs aren’t necessarily built to handle extremely cold temperatures, but a few improvements can make them much better at staying warm. Insulation is one of the ways to improve heat retention.
RV skirting is a great way to insulate your trailer. Skirting is an insulated blanket that clips around the base of your RV. This helps to trap air underneath, and that will help to make the air under your trailer warmer.
You’ll want to insulate inside your trailer as well. The door is one of the most notoriously drafty areas in a trailer. If you have a stairwell, try putting a board with insulation glued to the bottom over the opening of the stairwell. An alternative method you can use is to lay insulation at the bottom of the door to keep cold air from coming through. Your windows can get very drafty, too. Insulated curtains will help to improve the level of insulation. You can also try a window shrink wrap treatment, although results will vary depending on the design of your RV windows.
Water Systems
If you don’t keep your water systems warm, they’ll freeze, and then you’ll really be in trouble. You can insulate your water intake pipe with heat tape and some basic insulation. You can also have it professionally insulated. If your RV has no insulation for the pipes and tanks, you can open the cabinets where there are multiple pipes and use a small electric heater to keep them warm. You can also use an electric holding tank heater to keep your gray and black water tanks warm.
Propane Systems
Propane tanks are susceptible to the cold. For one thing, cold will cause the propane inside to condense, which can cause a serious drop in pressure in your propane lines. When your tanks get really cold, the regulator can freeze, blocking the flow of propane altogether. You’ll want to keep your propane tanks warm. A propane tank heating blanket is a good way to do this.
Managing Humidity
With your RV sealed up and insulated, all the humidity in your trailer will have nowhere to go. That means it will find a cold surface and turn into condensation, which can lead to mold and mildew. The simplest solution to this problem is buying a dehumidifier. If you’re boondocking and have limited access to electricity, some desiccant crystals can help to control the level of moisture in the air.
Tire Chains
In several states, the law requires that travel trailers and fifth wheels use snow chains when there’s snow on the road. Snow chains will aid in braking and also limit the amount of lateral sliding.
Slide Outs
One challenge for RVs with slideouts is that when snow accumulates on top, it can melt from the heat of the trailer. If the temperature drops, that melted snow can refreeze as an ice dam, making it much harder to close the slideouts and potentially even damaging the seal around the slideout. Make sure you clean snow off the slideouts as it accumulates to prevent this problem.
Give some of these tips a shot on your next winter camping trip! If you’re in need of parts and maintenance for your trailer before heading out, make sure you stop by Golden Gait Trailers & RVs. We’re located near Charlotte, North Carolina, in Concord, and we proudly serve the areas of Columbia, Raleigh, Hickory, Asheville, Myrtle Beach, and Greensboro, North Carolina.