Preventative Maintenance

3/24/24 SOLSC Day 24

This is just as important in a camper as it is in your car or your house. Actually, it’s like what you do for your car AND your house, since a “drivable” camper is both. We did or will be doing maintenance on all of these.

Diesel engine and driveline – This just had its 30,000 mile check before we bought it, so other than keeping an eye on fluid levels, it’s good. I hope.

Generator – It also has an engine, so check fluids & other parts and run it occasionally.

Slides – The rubber seals need to stay lubricated so they stay flexible and don’t crack and dry out. We did this in the fall and we will do it again before we leave this spring.

Roof – Camper roofs have seals around the things that are on it. (Vents, air conditioners, solar prep, etc.) You need to periodically check the seals to make sure they haven’t cracked. Why might cause this? Between sun, rain, and the fact that the roof will flex as you go down the road, the seals can crack and cause problems.

Gutters – Did you know campers have gutters? I didn’t! But this camper has gutters on the roof so they have to be cleaned out periodically, just like the gutters on a house. (Who knew?)

Tires – With campers, especially heavy ones, you need to replace tires based on age rather than on wear. The last thing you want is to have a tire blowout when you’re driving (which is more likely with older tires). That can be catastrophic!

Exterior – my favorite preventative maintenance activity, (sarcasm alert) is washing and waxing the exterior of the camper. Just like a car, you need to keep a layer of wax on your paint to protect it, and prevent damage. I don’t need to do arms at the gym that day!

Washing the previous camper

Poor planning with the previous camper. Too cold so we waxed in the storage unit. Brrr.

In other words, owning an RV, or any kind of camper, is basically like having another house. Luckily, you don’t have to wash and wax your house. 😉

What is your “favorite” preventative maintenance activity?

P.S. And just when you think you’ve done all you needed to do, you find out the Jeep door really DOES need to be slammed into to shut correctly and not drain the battery. Sigh.

We did get it started, but I’m still frustrated.

I just needed a picture like this after the Jeep issue.