7 RV Maintenance Tips for Your Next Camping Trip

When you purchase a recreational vehicle, you should expect to have to keep up on all the regular maintenance required for your car, truck, or SUV, and more. You undoubtedly learned this the hard way if you have had your RV for more than a few months. RVs are more than just vehicles. The RV is a workplace, a kitchen, a hostel, a secure room, a reading nook, or a vacation home. Many RVs cost more than the average new home, and preventative care and regular maintenance help minimize costly problems. To keep your RV in the best possible condition, we’ve compiled a list of RV maintenance tips and ideas for you. Take a look at these seven RV maintenance tips for your next camping trip.

Check Your Battery

A dead RV battery is the last thing you want to encounter on your camping trip. You must consider whether you need to replace your battery before leaving. A full charge is an ideal state for an RV’s battery. Batteries often last three to five years. After three years of use, a deep-cycle battery (for towable RVs) loses about 20 percent of its total capacity. A start-type battery (for drivable RVs) will begin to lose capacity after five years. Before you go on your trip, swing by your local Commercial Tire and get your battery checked for free. If it needs to be replaced, our team of experts will make sure you get the right one for your RV. We’ll even install it for you!

Check Your Tires

Always make sure to check your RV’s wheel lug nuts and tire pressure before setting out on your next road trip. Confirm that the lug nuts have not become loose during prior travel or storage. When you don’t securely fasten your lug nuts before you leave, you can risk losing a wheel on the road. Additionally, monitoring the tire pressure on your RV is critical since overinflated tires might rupture, causing damage to your RV and perhaps resulting in an accident on the road. Underinflated tires can lead to poor vehicle handling and increase your gas mileage costs. If you stored your RV all winter, the tire pressure would have decreased dramatically, which raises the risk of dangerous driving and fuel consumption. Your best bet is to stop into Commercial Tire and make sure your tires are road trip ready.

Check Your Electrical Connection

If you’re towing your RV, your RV towing vehicle connection is important for your safety while traveling. When you touch the brake pedal in your vehicle, this connection sends the electronic signal between your tow vehicle and your RV, turning on your RV’s brake lights. You and your RV are more secure thanks to this electrical connection. It also provides the additional benefit of the charge circuit in your tow vehicle charging your RV’s batteries while you’re traveling. Your RV would have faulty brakes, a depleted battery, and malfunctioning lighting without an electrical connection.

Maintain Your Brakes

It is critical to keep your RV’s brakes in good working order for your and everyone else’s safety on the road. Remember to check the brakes and maintain them regularly. Throughout the summer, keep the wheel bearings in good condition and oiled. Furthermore, ensure that your brakes have enough material remaining on them and they function so that you achieve a good working activation in the trailer. Brake replacements might cost between $300 and $500 and often include repacking the wheel bearings and replacing the seals.

Clean Slide-Outs and Seals

Regularly clean and oil your slide-outs so that you avoid having debris trapped within and around the seals. It is difficult to close your RV if you fail to clean your slide-out properly. You can lubricate the mechanisms to keep the motors from wearing out. There are also lubricants for window seals that you can use around the rubber to keep it fresh and malleable so that it can form good seals. Also, it allows you to raise and lower the windows easily. If they begin to catch, the felt on which they slide may require repair.

Get Your RV Waxed

Everyone knows it’s good for us to get a little sun, but we need to stay mindful about how much exposure we get. Your RV is the same. Sunlight can discolor paint, bake fiberglass, and break decals, all of which are signs of severe solar damage. A number of RVs include elaborate paint jobs and attractive graphics. It takes a lot of effort to keep your outside surfaces looking new, but the benefits in resale value and the overall appearance of your RV compensate for the trouble. Routinely maintaining your RV with a yearly wax will protect the paint and graphics. Waxing also keeps pests and road grime from clinging to your RV, helping you maintain cleanliness while on the road. Consider placing a cover on your RV and parking it in shaded regions when you are not using it. This is one of the lesser-known RV maintenance tips for your next camping trip, but an important one, nonetheless.

Check Your Roof

When you drive throughout the year, you expose the roof of your recreation vehicle to bright sunlight and snow, damaging it over time. Without preventive maintenance, a roof leak might do serious damage to your RV. A variety of RV roof coating materials are available, depending on the model. Regardless of the RV you have, it is critical to conduct a check-up each year to detect any moisture damage or degeneration. Keep your RV as far away from direct sunlight as possible. You can use sealant to cover the apertures and hardware required for mounting. If the sealant appears dried out or missing, replace it.

Keeping the RV in good working order is a critical component of owning it. RVs require even more maintenance than SUVs, cars, and trucks. Because an RV has so many systems, they may fail if they aren’t inspected and maintained regularly. Since the process is overwhelming and you can forget a few tasks, it’s prudent to make a checklist for RV maintenance advice. There is little or no risk of missing something vital if you have a list of everything you have to examine. This will ultimately save you money on maintenance and make you feel comfortable on the road. If you have any questions about making sure your RV is ready for your next big trip, why not stop by your local Commercial Tire and have our team of experts make sure everything is good to go?