Winterizing the MH

Bruce H · December 31, 2015

Hi all. Well winter has finally come to new england. I have drained and winterized the lines. I need some advice for storing it. I do have a cover for it. Its a 31ft gulfstream sun voyager 2006. I would still like to do some work in it during the winter. My questions are: should I use pressure treated blocks for the tires? Should I have the Jacks just touching off for stability? I would like to keep the batteries in so I can start it occasionlly, and that will hold true for the generator also. This is all new to me so any suggestions and help would be greatly appreciated. It will be outside all winter on a very flat driveway.

Thank you and happy new year

Bruce

Kirk W · December 31, 2015

Leveling jacks are designed to hold the RV up. When we were fulltime I sometimes sat still on the jacks for as long as five months. I would always put the jacks down to the point of relieving a significant amount of the weight from the suspension. That also helps the tires in the event that the pressure in them should drop low.

Before you lower the jacks, put the tires on some sort of pads that raise them enough to prevent any moisture from sitting around the tread for an extended period and put some sort of vapor barrier between them and the ground, or even more important if on concrete. Concrete has chemicals that will degrade tires with moisture. I don't care much for using wood alone but when I did use it I always covered it with some type of moisture barrier. I like the plastic cutting boards that you can get in kitchen departments for moisture barriers. Be sure that the entire tread of the tire is supported across its full width and the total footprint of it.

Batteries in good condition do not need to be removed but be sure to get the electrolyte to proper levels in all cells and the batteries fully charged before you put things to bed. I would then lift the negative cable from each battery, or you could install some type of cutoff switch at each negative just to make it quick and easy. That is what I always did in stead of removing the cables.

On starting things up, the worst thing that you can do to an engine is to start it in a "dry start" condition, meaning when all oil is drained out. That is especially true for big block gasoline engines, as I believe that you have. Before you park for the winter, add some fuel stabilizer such as Stabil or Seafoam to the tank and fill it to the maximum that you can get into it. Next drive it for about 15 to 20 minutes to get that treated fuel throughout the system. Now park the RV and do not start the big engine again until you are within two weeks of driving it again. It is not good for the engine or the transmission to start the engine and just let it idle in cold weather. Only start it if you plan to then drive for at least 1/2 hour. The oil should be fresh and clean before you store it also. (this is what advice I was given by the Ford motorhome hot-line when we got ours.), The generator set is a different story. because the generator is subject to moisture condensation and the engine has a carburetor it does need to be run at least monthly. Start the generator and after it has run for a minute or so, load it with one electric heater on high if the set is 4KW or less and with two heaters on high if larger. Be sure to put the two heaters on different circuits or you may trip a breaker. Let it run this way for at least 20/30 minutes, then turn off the heaters and let it idle for 5 min. or so before shutting down again. Since it is started by the coach batteries you will need to reconnect them and unconnected them each time. You can also use the air conditioners to load the generator but if it is very cold the compressors won't run so heaters will be better.

Of course, make sure that all fluid levels are proper before you park the RV and it is good to check tire pressure before parking and again each time you run the generator. Proper inflation of the tires will help to keep them in better condition. I also always cover the tires when parked for an extended period. I don't like RV covers much as wind can cause them to wear on the finish of the RV if it flaps at all.

Bruce H · January 2, 2016

Kirk,

Thank you for your response to my questions. I do have one question for you. If I switch my battery disconnect switches to off, would that give me the same results as disconnecting the negative cables? Time to go out and put your suggestions to go use.

Thanks

Bruce

Kirk W · January 2, 2016

Not all battery isolating devices are connected the same way so it is difficult to be sure. They do open most things and probably the chassis battery will be completely off, but the coach might still have power to things like the propane alarms and possibly the step. About all that you can do is to try it and see. Some RVs have what is called "phantom" loads that are not turned off by an isolator.