Get ready to hit the road this spring with a
de -winterized RV I'll walk you through every
step to get your rig ready for adventure from
flushing your water system to checking for leaks
and giving your engine a little TLC Plus the
latest RV news and essential RV pro tip you won't
want to miss stay tuned Welcome to the Restless
Nomads, the ultimate RV show for modern -day
rubber tramps and weekend warriors alike. Whether
you're chasing sunsets full -time, savoring seasonal
escapes, or just hitting the road for a quick
weekend getaway, this is your go -to show for
tips, tricks, and tales from the road. Join us
as we dive into everything RV, choosing the right
rig, surviving life on wheels, and navigating
the highs and lows of life on the moon, from
towables to Welcome back to the Restless Nomads
RV Radio Show. Well, check us out on therestlessnomads
.com. I've got all kinds of tips there, tricks,
photos of our recent adventures. We're gearing
up for our campground hosting job this summer.
It's going to be all summer long and we're looking
forward to it. And it's only an hour and a half
away from home. So that'll be nice on our days
off. We can come home and sleep in our real bed.
Hey, the RV world is gearing up for spring and
there's a lot to talk about. National park reservations
are filling up super fast if you're planning
a spring or summer trip be sure to reserve your
campsite today and You will likely find that
many of those parks are already sold out and
you'll be relying on Snagging one of those last
-minute cancellations. I'm talking about places
like Yellowstone Yosemite Super busy already
There's major RV maintenance recall from Winnebago.
So if you've got a Winnebago manufactured in
the last couple of years, it's important to check
your VIN number and do a search online to see
if there's been any recalls on your particular
unit. You want to get those straightened out.
Recalls are typically safety related. Service
bulletins would be something that may affect
the use of the RV, maybe kind of inconvenient.
But if something gets recalled, There is usually
a safety reason behind it. So kind of want to
put that on the front burner and get that checked.
Highway construction in Utah on the I -15 corridor
near Zion National Park. That's going to cause
major delays throughout the spring. It's a good
idea to plan alternative routes and give yourself
some extra time. So there you go. If you're going
through Utah near Zion. Avoid I -15 this spring
or you will be stuck in traffic. And you know
how much fun traffic can be when you're driving
a big rig. That's it for today's RV news. Now
let's dive into today's topic, de -winterizing
your RV, getting ready for spring. We've all
been longing to get back on the road and get
back into campgrounds. After a long winter, it's
time to... Wake your RV up from hibernation and
get it ready for the road again. And here's how
to do it right. So I want to say our particular
climate here in Klamath Falls, we frequently
will see 65 degree days and then weather will
drop to 28 degrees at night. Don't think that
that is going to not allow you to use your RV,
particularly if you're in your RV using it and
your tanks are under a sealed underbelly, your
furnace is most likely warming up those tanks.
And if you're running the furnace, then your
pipes inside should be OK as well. If it gets
really chilly, you can open the cabinets to expose
those pipes to the warmer air and prevent them
from freezing. But, you know, coming into April
now, we're not seeing temps in the single digits.
So. We have a little less to worry about. Now
I say this as a disclaimer, you know, if it drops
below 32 and you're not using the RV, then it
needs to be winterized because it's very likely
that that will cause some damage. But if you're
actively using it, then you will have a little
more leeway. Now, another thing, a lot of people
this time of year just keep some antifreeze on
hand and Sometimes this time of year, they'll
go out, they'll go camping. Maybe you get an
Indian summer or something like that and they'll
enjoy their RV for that brief period and then
they'll re -winterize it. And it's not uncommon
for people to de -winterize and re -winterize
a couple of times before the weather really warms
up because they're trying to get a little bit
of an extension from their season. If you don't
want to de -winterize, you can still use your
RV. Just know that you won't be able to use any
of the water systems. So good idea to bring some
kitty litter and trash bags to put in your toilet.
And you can just toss that in the trash every
morning if you need to bring some five gallon
jugs of water for drinking and washing dishes
and things like that. But as we get a little
bit warmer here, we're going to start poking
around the yard and getting out to that RV pad.
And one of the first steps. That's a good idea
is to go ahead and wash and wax Your RV if your
RV exterior calls for wax if it doesn't then
don't do that But just give it a good wash avoid
pressure washing I cringe when I see pictures
and videos of people pressure washing RVs because
That is a surefire way to water damage. The only
thing that really separates the interior and
the exterior of your of your RV from water is
a thin bead of caulk. And if that caulk is not
exactly perfect, then a pressure washer will
definitely get in there. And it's very possible
that if you hit the right spots with a pressure
washer that you'll damage that seal anyhow, even
if it is good and you'll get some water seepage
to the inside. So. If ever if you you know, maybe
you just bought a used RV and it looks great
and the guy said, oh, yeah We just pressure washed
it Know that there is likely water that made
it inside Unless he did it very very carefully
in which case I would still be checking for water
damage on the inside and at the very least I
would reseal that thing as soon as I got it So
get rid of all that dirt and grime and that will
allow you to check for damage You want to look
for cracks you want to look for leaks? Anything
that may have deteriorated over the winter check
all of those seals that thin bead of caulk all
the Dicor that's that gooey stuff that is Like
tape and it's in between the seams of your RV
You want to make sure that that is all supple
and good to go. And then a good idea just to
go ahead and touch up any caulking or seals that
don't look quite right. Now you may find that
you have a lot of areas where or maybe it's been
a long time since that RV has been resealed.
Good idea just to go ahead and scrape it all
off of there. Use some isopropyl alcohol and
scrape that caulk off. Get it nice and clean
and then reseal the whole thing. And that's typically
advisable every five years or so. Anyway, just
reseal it with brand -new caulk everything windows
doors roof Any any place where a hole has been
cut into the RV it needs to be sealed Okay, let's
talk about your water system. That's what typically
people are referring to when they talk about
winterizing an RV They use antifreeze And sometimes
they'll blow out the lines with an air compressor.
And that's OK. You'll hear mixed reactions on
that. Some people say, I blew out my pipes using
an air compressor. Well, they applied more than
35 psi to their water system when they blew out
those pipes. So that's where you get the damage.
But you want to make sure that you have drains
open. You know turn a faucet on inside before
you do this and also have a regulated System
on your air compressor where it will not exceed
35 PSI because that's what the pipes are meant
to handle So you don't want to exceed that and
you always want to make sure you have open faucets
so that the air will move through and it won't
just blow up and Inflate your tanks and things
like that or inflate your pipes. You don't want
that So open all faucets, run fresh water through
until all that antifreeze is gone. And some people
just blow it out and call it good. Some people
blow it out and then they put the antifreeze
in there. And the antifreeze is just extra protection.
Now know this. When you go to Walmart and you
see antifreeze on the shelf, you want to make
sure that you're picking up RV or marine antifreeze,
not the icer. The reason is RV marine antifreeze
is not toxic but deicer that you put in your
car's windshield washer tank is Toxic and if
you put that in your water system, you won't
be able to drink your water anymore Good idea
to sanitize your tanks because they've been sitting
there all winter and there's no telling what
grew in them As you know the late fall and early
spring as it starts to warm up bacteria starts
to grow So you can just mix a small solution
of bleach and water And then put that into your
water system into your freshwater tank run your
water pump for a little bit Let that sit For
a little while maybe overnight and then drain
that out and then run Several passes of fresh
water through your tanks and through all the
faucets. Make sure it goes through all the lines
A couple of times so that you're not drinking
that although the bleach solution Likely won't
hurt you because it's very diluted. You know,
I'm talking a quarter cup of bleach to Five gallons
of water or so and then make sure that you rinse
that out when you're done Like I said can't stress
in enough pay close attention to all of those
places where the manufacturer Cut a hole into
the RV to install a window event a skylight,
whatever I often think when I look at these brand
new RVs and they're putting in skylights that
are kind of silly, you know, the brand new customer
thinks, oh, this is great. A skylight, you know,
when I see that I go, oh, there's another place
that I have to make sure to check the seals on
because that is going to leak eventually if neglected.
The other thing you can do is check all your
systems to make sure everything's running properly
Go ahead and fill those propane tanks up whether
they're on board like a motorhome or if they're
the outboard ones that you can pull off and take
to Coastal or someplace like that fill up your
tanks and then hook them up and Open the valves
and check your stove check your furnace If you've
got a gas water heater, go ahead and check that.
Make sure everything is working. Also plug your
RV in. If you're at home and you don't have 30
amp or 50 amp service, you can get a dog bone,
which converts to normal 20 amp household electric.
And that will at least allow you to check that
your converter is working. That is what takes
the. AC power alternating current power and converts
it to DC power and it runs Your battery charger
and it also runs things like your lights if you
have a DC 12 -volt fridge, it'll run that So
you can check all those appliances But you won't
be able to turn your air conditioning on with
a 20 amp system If you've got a couple generators,
you've got to de -winterize those too. So go
ahead and you know if it's a pair of generators
that equal up in in parallel to the appropriate
amperage or If it's just one generator go ahead
and de -winterize that get it plugged in and
make sure that everything is working appropriately
on your air conditioner, it's a good time to
check your air filters and If you can if you've
got that 30 amp or 50 amp service test your air
conditioning Make sure that that is working properly
and remember those things have air filters They
have to be cleaned also remember to clean the
coils on the back of the compressor unit on The
roof while you're up there check your seals Okay,
another thing if you hopefully you didn't leave
your batteries out there Especially if they're
wet cell lead acid batteries all winter long.
They probably should have come inside. I know
Why didn't you tell us that in October? Well,
I wasn't doing the restless nomads radio show
in October. So forgive me. But if you have batteries,
it's always a good idea to bring them inside
for the winter and put them on a maintenance
charger or a tender. And that'll just keep them
topped up. Some lithium batteries nowadays actually
come with heaters within the battery and they
will kick on automatically to maintain that battery
throughout the winter. Which is pretty awesome
and a lot of people are going lithium That was
one of the major complaints for years that lithium
batteries did not work in sub freezing temperatures
But they are improving and they're getting cheaper
too By the day lithium batteries have really
improved and now can operate all went along because
of those in onboard heaters If you're driving
a motorhome or something with an engine you want
to check your coolant You want to check your
oil. You want to check brake fluid and also your
transmission fluid, just like you would on a
car that's been sitting all winter long, you
know, for months. Make sure your fuel is fresh.
You don't want that to be stale or stagnant,
and you probably should have dropped some of
that stabilizer in in the fall. If you didn't,
then you need to check and make sure that your
fuel is good. Otherwise, you may have to drain
that fuel tank, which is a pain check for dry
rot cracks as well And this is really important.
You always want to be checking your tires But
you want to check for dry rot cracks also check
the date on your tires. Make sure that they're
within seven years after about seven years tires
Degrade the rubber that they're made out of loses
its It's structural integrity and it can cause
blowouts And of course you should be doing this
multiple times every trip So why wouldn't you
do it when you're de -winterizing? Check to make
sure that you've got the proper tire pressure
in every tire on your RV Okay, we'll get into
more of this just after the break You're listening
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So we talked about maintenance items, things
that you want to be checking for to maintain
the health of your RV, the usability of your
RV. Now let's talk. little bit about safety and
we kind of touched on this with tires because
that's a huge safety concern. Now your RV has
been sitting out there for months and you haven't
looked at anything in that RV for a while so
good idea to check the fire extinguisher make
sure that it's up to date it's not expired and
the gauge is in the green because when you need
it you need a good one. If you have a kitchen
fire or something like that If you can get it
out early, you might be able to salvage your
RV, but RVs are like kindling. So if you don't
have anything to put that fire out right away,
it quickly grows. It can get out of hand very
quickly and then you'll be stuck with a total
loss on your hand. Most cognizant and good RVers
will have some kind of emergency kit for breakdowns
on the road. You may have road flares in that
you'll have tire repair tools. You'll have your
jack All those things some first aid essentials
and you want to make sure that everything is
still there You know if you borrowed the the
four -way Lug nut breaker from your RV for some
other project during the winter and forgot to
put it back That's not going to do you much good
out on the road. So make sure everything that
you need for You know shoulder side or roadside
breakdowns is there make sure you have your roadside
assistance number programmed into your phone
too and make sure that your roadside assistance
covers your RV that's cheap and many people find
They find out the hard way, you know, they got
roadside assistance on their tow vehicle But
when it comes down to it and they're sitting
on the side of the road, they said we don't cover
a trailer So make sure that your trailer, if
you are towing a trailer, has roadside assistance
on that as well. For first aid essentials, just
make sure everything within that kit, all your
medication, if you have a personalized first
aid kit, is unexpired and ready to go. Okay,
on your tow vehicle or if you're in a motorhome,
you want to test your headlights and check all
your lights on any RV. So all the turning indicators,
your brake lights, go ahead and plug that seven
way or that four way, depending on what you have.
If it's a towed vehicle and make sure that that's
working and check your trailer brakes while you're
at this, because that's also controlled through
that seven way or that four way. And you want
to make sure that those are indeed working because
you don't want to find out you don't have any
trailer brakes. while you're going down a steep
grade especially this time of year where you
might hit a patch of ice or something like that
that's no bueno. Good idea to go ahead and jump
in the rig get it ready as if you're going on
a trip and take it on a quick spin around the
neighborhood just to hear strange noises that
may have developed. You want to check your trailer
brakes or if you're in a motorhome you want to
check your rear drum brakes of course. One of
the things about motorhomes, and this has happened
to me on a Class A motorhome, the front brakes
are disc brakes. The rear brakes are generally
drum brakes, unless you have air brakes, in which
case you've got a $300 ,000 motorhome probably.
But one of my disc brakes locked up in the front,
and when I drove it a mile to the gas station
to put fuel in it, Then I got out I noticed that
my front tire was smoking. That's because that
disc had locked up around I'm sorry the caliper
had locked up around the disc so the brake was
engaged the entire way and it was just overheating
and I had to take that to a brake shop to make
sure that that was fixed before I could go anywhere
because Eventually that'll overheat and fail
and just come right off of there Make sure the
steering feels solid you know whether you're
in a RV motor home or a tow vehicle you want
to make sure your power steering fluid is topped
up and that that is operating correctly. You
also want to make sure that your suspension is
in good shape and oh man this is important too
on trailers especially make sure that your bearings
are packed with grease and good to go Those need
lubricating from time to time. They will overheat
and cause big trouble if you don't lubricate
those. There are there's a system called easy
lube in which you just hook up a grease gun and
squirt some grease in there and call it good.
That's the best kind to have. But if you don't
have the easy lube system, then you will have
to remove and repack those bearings. And that's
a good time to do it before the first trip. Just
remember that you know hopefully you remembered
this in the springtime I'm sorry in the fall
when you put it away, but if you didn't hopefully
you got away with it the RV should be ventilated
and You can just do that by cracking a vent Especially
if you've got those vent covers that don't allow
rain in it's a good idea To provide that ventilation
if you've got a musty smelling RV after the wintertime
Good idea to get it ventilated now on nice days
leave all those windows open leave the screen
door open put a dehumidifier in there and check
for any mold because your rv was Not ventilated
all winter long and it's likely that you may
have had some condensation form Inside and that's
not good especially if If there was anything
in there that generated any sort of heat that
will create condensation here's an rv pro tip
for you uh you want to before you embark on your
first trip take your rv for that shakeout run
plan for a campground that is within you know
an hour from home for your first trip and just
go for a quick overnight make sure that you're
not going way out in the boondocks for your first
trip Because you will likely discover that something
needs to be repaired and you may be taking some
trips To the hardware store if you're gonna DIY
it And you can fix it right there in your campground
That's the way I prefer to do it and I have had
to do that several times You know our first camping
trip a couple years ago I figured out that one
of the faucets was not winterized quite correctly
and when we cut the water pump on it shot one
of the Handles right off of the sink and it was
spraying water everywhere. So I had to shut the
water pump off Go into the hardware store and
the RV store to get the parts to repair that
sitting right there in the campground if you
get to the campground and figure out that Things
are not as they should be and you cannot DIY
it Well, then you'll be forced to bring that
RV home and get it into the shop and likely have
to wait for a while For the shop to repair it
so you save yourself a bunch of headache and
a bunch of money and a bunch of time If you learn
how to do some of the simple repairs yourself
And you'll also save yourself a bunch of headache
if you go ahead and check all the systems Sitting
right there at home before your plans trip and
then just know that as you pull that rv to the
campground for the first time First time of the
year You'll likely work some things loose and
when you get to the campground, you may have
to spend a little bit of time just troubleshooting
and doing some quick repairs, especially if you're
kind of a weekend warrior. You don't use it that
often and most of the time sits in the driveway.
You're going to need to be kind of close by at
least have some cell signal or internet service
because you likely have forgotten to operate
all those systems on the RV. and you'll need
to be able to YouTube. What am I doing wrong
here, right? So just remember that good idea
to book your first trip within an hour of home.
Well, thanks so much for joining me on this edition
of the Restless Nomads all about de -winterizing
and getting ready for the exciting camping season.
It is just around the corner. Some of us have
already started. We've already been out in our
RV. We just got a new one, by the way, tell you
how that's going real quick. So first brand new
RV that we've ever bought. And I knew going into
it that there were going to be issues and that
it would need to go into the shop for warranty
work and so forth. So we bought a brand new 2024
Keystone hideout and we're thrilled about it.
We're really excited about it. But right out
the gate. The 12 volt fridge did not work and
then come to find out our converter Was not working
either. So it has been in the shop for about
three weeks They just approved the warranty work
and they are just now Having those parts sent
and getting to work on it. This is personal experience
We're in the middle of this whole shop wait times
And if it weren't for the fact that it's a very
expensive part, the 12 volt fridge is about two
thousand dollars Would have repaired it on my
own. I'm capable of that and I can YouTube University
The heck out of learning how to repair stuff,
but I figure it's under manufacturers warranty
for a year We're not using it quite yet before
we take our trip to Crescent Lake in May So might
as well have them work on it and they're just
gonna store it for us as they wait for parts
So if you do winterize your RV yet share your
trips and tricks with us at TheRestlessNomads
.com or connect with us on social media. We're
on Facebook. Just Facebook search The Restless
Nomads and you'll see Angie and I there. And
I hope you enjoyed the show and I cannot wait
to see you out there in the campground this season.
This is Mike with The Restless Nomads. Until
next time, safe travels and happy camping.