5 Basic RV Maintenance Tips
So you got a new travel trailer and think you’re ready to hit the road. Hopefully the dealer or party you purchased from went over all the maintenance with you. Most of the maintenance you can do is free or inexpensive and only requires a little work. No matter what, maintenance is important and can save you lots of money down the road. Here’s a few maintenance tips that may help you . . .
1. Grease the Stabilizer Jacks
They usually come with grease but stabilizer jacks quickly dry out. Then the motor has to work harder with every use. When mine get squeaky, I grease them using a small grease gun. Keep them greased and they will work for a long time. Run them dry and they may quickly break.
2. Sanitize Your Fresh Water Tank Regularly
When you buy a trailer, someone should have told you to sanitize the fresh water tank before using it. What they didn’t tell me was that it needs sanitized a couple times a year depending on usage. There are several ways to sanitize your tanks. RV stores sell chemical treatments you can use and some people make their own using bleach. We had someone mention using baking soda to us so we mixed some in a six gallon water container and poured it into the fresh water tank. It worked just fine.
3. Sweep the Slides
Every single time you move the RV, you should get on the roof and do an inspection. I take our broom with me and sweep off the slides. Not only does it help to save my slides from damage, but also keeps all the leaves and plant material outside so it doesn’t end up in our trailer.
4. Keep the Tires Inflated
Tires need to be filled regularly just like on a car. It’s a safety issue you need to pay attention to, plus it helps with gas mileage. As the tires pressure get lower you will realized how more difficult it is to tow. We bought a small electric pump and now filling tires is an easy task. Always keep the tires pressure at least 80% of max rating as written on the tires sidewall.
5. Clean Your Vents
Any RV has a lot of vents and they all need to be cleaned regularly. Probably the most important one to maintain is the A/C intake vents. They fill up with dust fast and then the A/C has to work harder. In our travel trailer they get dirty even when we’re not using our air conditioning so we just clean them at least once a month.
Maintenance is Important
None of these maintenance chores are particularly difficult or expensive. The time taken to maintain your RV is worth it because replacing a major system can be very costly. The maintenance schedule we have seems to work for us and after two years of living in our RV, the heater, air conditioner, and slide still work like new. We haven’t had a blow out or tire go flat. The stabilizer jacks still work and no one has gotten sick from bad water. Sure it might be some extra work, but getting to travel all over the country to visit family and friends is worth it.