Maintenance Reminder for Full-Timers

[firedude]

Well with the new year here I thought I'd throw out some good 'ol maintenance reminders which basically apply to most RV types. Some apply even more as we live in our RV's. I may go over board (it must be the firefighter in me:) ) but my trailer still looks and performs like the day I picked it up. Feel free to chime in and ad your own as I am only covering a few items that come to mind and my situation. Above all read your manuals and follow the maintenance guidelines in them. I've seen many who "use and abuse" and never do any maintenance and it's not pretty......

Water Heater Tanks...
Don't forget to change the Anode Rod (if you have one). Most Suburban water heater tanks have them. I do mine twice a year and just did it. Boy was I surprised (again) at all the crud that came out of the hot water tank when I flushed it. I'm sure doing this sure extends the life of the tank.

Water Fittings...
Check all your water fittings. They will and can come loose over time and by checking them and tightening them you'll avoid a "flood". It happened to me last year. I even crawl in the basement, pull the wall where a lot of the water fittings reside and check those. That's where I had my leak and luckily caught it before it became a major problem.

TV Antenna....
For those with the Winegard bat wing type antenna. I had developed a small leak down the shaft at the crank handle. Who ever reads the manual and care instruction for these? I didn't lol. It calls for a little silicone spray down the shaft every 6 months or so to keep the rubber o-ring/seal from drying out and preventing these type leaks! Nothing worse than a water leak over your bed lol!

House Batteries...
Should be checked often fopr proper water level in the cells. This prolongs the life of the battery(s) and will insure a proper charge and juice i those things when you need them!

Refer and Hot Water Exterior Compartments...
Check and keep these ares clean and clear of debris for proper operation. Bug, Bees and all kinds of things like to get in there and make a mess.

Tires!...
At least once a month check your tire pressure! Nothing worse than to have your sidewalls cracking because of low air pressure. The host I replaced here had a bad situation. He was here almost a year and never checked his tiires. They were half flat and sidewalls cracked to the point I'd be afraid to pull the trailer any distance. The tread was brand new but the tires were shot! Tire covers help to and prevent damage from the suns ultra violet rays and other weather components. CHECK THOSE LUG NUTS for proper torque. Losing a wheel goi ng down a highway can be costly to say the least.

Slide Seals...
I treat my slide seals with a protectant (Dicor) at least twice a year. It also contains a UV protection. This keeps them from drying out and cracking. Mine still look brand new thank goodness after 2 years.

Rubber Roof...
There are lots of good threads on here regarding this. You should at leat inspect your roof every 3 months or so. It should be cleaned and inspected for any areas where the sealant has deteriorated. Water is the #1 enemy to RV's! Be sure to check around ALL vents (hidden areas) A/C' units, TV Antennas and any other place there is a seal. It saved me. During one inspection I found a problem with my roof which was repaired by Keystone right away. Had I not caught this it would have been a worse situation down the road.

Misc Lubrications...
Don't forget to lube those areas and things you don't think of often. Awning rollers and Stabilizers come to mid as well as anything else that needs lubrication. Locks and entry steps also. It keeps things free and helps with corrosion control.

A/C Unit...
If you are not traveling and stationary for any length of time you might want to cover your A/C unit. This prevents UV damage to the covers, keeps unwanted debris out of the unit and in some cases can prevent damage during a storm. Also if your A/C unit has filters, inspect them and replace as needed.

RV Exterior...
Keep it cleaned and waxed! Makes for a happier RV. Also consider using a UV protection on the graphics such as 303 or ProtectAll. It does work. Mine still look new after 2 years.

Camp Host....
Always be kind to your camp hosts. Be sure and give them lots of goodies, smiles and pies especially. Oh and don't knock on their door for firewood at 2 am! A well maintained camp host goes a long ways.. :B:B:B

Moderators...
Always be kind to your Moderator. Remember they are always looking out for your best interest!:B:)

[huerun09]

Including a chain saw is sometime useful,

During RVing just little bit assure to have a saw or other wood cutter to get help. It's not just a tool but sometime it's makes easiest way to manage things.

I get some help from here to select right gear
https://sawingexperts.com/best-battery-chainsaws-review/

[Old_Man]

ken burke wrote:
Oh yea . . . . check the plug on your hot water heater. Replace it if it looks corroded. I don't know why, but they put these cheap plastic plugs in the hot water heater and they fail after 2 or 3 years.

Mine was so bad I had to take it out in pieces. Then I screwed up the tank's pipe threads and had to use a tap. This would be a good time to flush out the hot water tank.

Seems it might have been a good idea to consider an on-demand (tankless) water heater. Saves on gas (you're not lugging all that water. When we hit destinations, we'll dump, dump, rinse and re-water with five separate filter elements. You also save the weight.

Black water tank..in PIECES? OOOOHHH, sorry, tank of the water heater.

[michaelhebert19]

Great read. First time RV's here (going to be full time for a while) and we enjoyed the post.

Question though, we don't plan on using the bat wing style antenna as it is old (and the cable lines are old and outdated, prior cable tech here) as with the dome antenna. I am all about weight reduction as I know how much we will have to actually take with us and have at all times.

Is it a simple job to take both of these out? And if so, what do we put over the hole that it will leave? I had an Airstream trailer years ago and would just patch holes with more aluminum and of course it worked great, but this as a rubber EDPM roof (plus resale value one day). Any suggestions other than to leave it be? Thanks

[Old_Man]

jefff929 wrote:
Cleaning, as in a good wash several times a year keeps crud from building up on seals, sealants, rubber roofs, and prolongs them, keeps them plyable and they will not dryout. They will last longer:B

Pretty good list firedude.

What cleaning supplies do you use to wash your MH? I'm just getting started.

[joeking]

I don't qualify as a full timer just yet, but this information was very helpful.

[TheWanderingRV]

Awesome tips! My girlfriend Kayla and I (Bill) just started fulltiming this past month.

How often would you recommend doing all these things?

[CabinetmakerII]

My wife and I are making our first trip to Alaska this summer. In preparation for the trip I wanted to make sure the coach was ready for the road. Unable to do the work myself, I took our 43' Toyhauler into a local tire shop to have the wheel bearings inspected and repacked. During the process, the technician discovered one of the brake auto-adjusters had broken and was in need of replacement. Also, while the tires were off, I had them inspect the shackles and spring mounts. After only 5 years, they were shot. The dry-bolt system installed at the factory had failed. I had them install a wet-bolt system from Dexter Axel. Although it was a very expensive day, the frustration of having a catastrophic failure in the middle of Canada or the out-back of Alaska hopefully has been avoided. Long way around to add Spring Shackles to the list.

[Anbrusten]

Great list and info..., were going full time in about a month and continue working for six more years before we hit the road

[stamppeddler]

Thanks for the to do list. We're still newbies at full timing in our 5er. We will be leaving Yuma in a couple of weeks for the coast. I'll be sure to go over the points mentioned before we head out. Thanks for taking the time to post. Cheers

[64thunderbolt]

speaking of wh, mine has a metal plug I assume is an anode. Can't break it loose. Really don't want to mess the threads up But want to get it out and clean up the heater. Any suggestions?

[Bigger__Dog]

On the subject of water heater wear and tear: does anyone turn the water heater off when not in use? Ours seems to heat very quickly. Corrosion is a chemical reaction, which goes faster at a higher temperature. I don't have a textbook to look up the q10 of rusting, but if it were 2: 140 F - 70 f= 70 degree hotter. 70 / 1.8 = 40 C.So 2 to the fourth power is 16. corrosion goes 16 times faster if heater on. If water heater on 4 hours/day, it would corrode about 5/24 as fast as 24h/d. plus less heat to fight w ac if used.

[YaYa_and_G]

What a wealth of helpful information. I copied and pasted fireguy's Maintenance Reminder and added in many of the other contributions. We now have some great guidelines thanks to you all. We are newbie full timers and need all the help we can get.

Thanks!!
Glen & Sue

[fetch13712]

Great Stuff, thx...-Mike

[ENGR55]

Firedude,

Thanks for the pointers. Fellow fireguy here. I appreciate the effort you put out for fellow RV folks. I will check my water heater today 😃