Winter Care

[DesertRoads]

Ideally I'd like to have my trailer under a car port, but unfortunately that's not practical this year. So should I buy an air conditioner cover, and cover the solar panel? In addition to taking the house battery into the house and putting it on a trickle charger and keeping it off a cold floor, should I bring in the propane tank as well? I bought tire covers, and plan on leaving two windows cracked to keep out mold so there is some air circulation. In addition to RV antifreeze, anything else I should be aware of?

[RoadrunnerII]

Problem with covers is they move in the breeze. They can rub the finish off.
Snow on a trailer cover puts weight on the AC cover.
If you can find cheap indoor storage is best. Locally our fair grounds rent out space relatively cheaply. Used that until we built our pole shed.
Propane tank is fine left on trailer just turn valve off.
Put some mouse traps around it on the outside if you can. Catch them before they get inside.
Make sure you put rv antifreeze in the water pump. The filter is plastic and will hold water. Push pink stuff thru indoor and outdoor shower hot and cold
We winterize using the pump to put the pink stuff in. Also push a little in the black tank flush.

RoadrunnerII

[JFlightRisk]

A battery maintainer would be better than a standard trickle charger, as it varies the charge and maintenance cycles automatically. I would also check it over thoroughly for anything you don't want to freeze and take that inside.

We may winterize in a way that some don't need to, or disagree with, but the water gets drained, air blown through the lines, water pump screen emptied, then antifreeze sucked from the pump throughout everything after the water heater is bypassed. The freezable things get removed, dryer sheets are placed in and around inside and in the storage areas, a Dri-Z-Air dehumidifier is filled and put in the sink, and then gets covered along with the tires. The battery goes down cellar to my shop to a Battery Tender. Just a condensed version of what we do.

In our particular situation, a cover hasn't caused any issues, but that's here, not everywhere, where it may be windier.

[Kim Gass]

Not much.
We bring freezable liquids in and all paper goods. Prop the fridge door open. Remove all food even canned.
Winterize
Batteries left on the trailer. It is plugged in to power.
Let it snow. We used to get minus 30 temp in January No more. Seems the lowest is minus 15 or so.

Usually the trailer is used for a month ( elsewherre) in Feb.

[DesertRoads]

Originally Posted by RoadrunnerII

Problem with covers is they move in the breeze. They can rub the finish off.
Snow on a trailer cover puts weight on the AC cover.
If you can find cheap indoor storage is best. Locally our fair grounds rent out space relatively cheaply. Used that until we built our pole shed.
Propane tank is fine left on trailer just turn valve off.
Put some mouse traps around it on the outside if you can. Catch them before they get inside.
Make sure you put rv antifreeze in the water pump. The filter is plastic and will hold water. Push pink stuff thru indoor and outdoor shower hot and cold
We winterize using the pump to put the pink stuff in. Also push a little in the black tank flush.

RoadrunnerII

I appreciate your input. The covered RV storage locations are no where near where I live, and the ones that I can find are super expensive. So I might have to buy a framed canopy to use for the winter. I don't have a lot of space to put one in, but might have to rig something up to make it work.

[DesertRoads]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

Not much.
We bring freezable liquids in and all paper goods. Prop the fridge door open. Remove all food even canned.
Winterize
Batteries left on the trailer. It is plugged in to power.
Let it snow. We used to get minus 30 temp in January No more. Seems the lowest is minus 15 or so.

Usually the trailer is used for a month ( elsewherre) in Feb.

I definitely leave it plugged in over the winter to keep things moving. As well as the fridge propped open, and goods into the house. I essentially leave the trailer empty. Thank you for your input.

[Jagiven]

Stabilizers - Keep the stabilizers up, if a tire has a slow leak the stabilizers can be damaged as they are not designed for that much weight.

Propane tanks - can be left on the rig, just make sure the tanks are turned off. I always top my tanks off in the fall. I consider them a spare tank for the grill or propane power generator.

Batteries - you can remove them. I place them in my garage on a couple 2x4's. Modern batteries are not affected by the moisture like old batteries. I put mine on my battery maintainer a few times during the winter. I never leave it on all winter. If the batteries are maintenance style batteries, check the fluid levels. If the fluid is down, top off with Distilled water only. Never use anything but distilled water.

Clean - Good time to clean everything. We take all the smellables out, including any non perishable foods/drinks, bug sprays and so forth. We do a deep cleaning for two reasons. One it is nice to open it in the spring and be clean and ready to go. The main reason to ensure any crumbs that might be present are removed to encourage critters to go some place else (no mice yet). Wash the frig and freezer, do NOT seal the door close, most RV refrigerators have a clip so you can lock it in ajar position. A closed frig can mildew badly. If time and weather permits, I wash and wax the exterior.

Check and remove any batteries, aka smoke detectors, thermostats, remotes, etc. For things like the smoke detector, I leave the door/cover open so in the spring I have a quick reminder to install fresh batteries.

Caulking - Check all the caulking and touch up - make sure to check the roof.

Mouse Traps - As much as I like spring traps, I use sticky traps, as they can capture more than one mouse. Last two years I have also used a couple bags of CabFresh, one in the main cargo hold and one in the center of the TT. If your at home, try to keep the area around the TT, mowed down. Mice do not like being out in the open. They will avoid open spaces like pavement, short grass, and other open areas.

Winterize - standard winterizing for your area.

General Maintenance items - I usually do a walk around and do any maintenance items I identify, such as lube my tongue jack, stabilizers, steps, sometimes the bearings. Check and lube door/slide seals. Check for any loose trim inside and out.

Covers - mixed options. Lots of people like them, many do not. I have never used one. Luckily I have been able to find an indoor place to store my TTs in the winter, ether at the local fairgrounds or in a farmer's barn.