Top Two Caravan Winter Storage Tips

Top Two Caravan Winter Storage Tips

Although some dedicated campers choose to live in their vehicle year round, most of us take primary advantage of our caravans during the summer months.

Caravans provide us with a great, budget-friendly option for travel, enabling Australians to become better acquainted with all of the interesting and immersive communities that surround us.

Unfortunately, while these summer months are always fun, exciting and jam-packed full of new adventures, they are also often fleeting, leaving us to wonder in awe at where the time went.

When these summer months come to an end, seasonal campers like ourselves call it quits until the hot weather emerges again the following year. Between these moments though, our caravans will need to be stored.

What follows is a few beginner tips that will help seasonal campers keep their caravans in tip-top condition during these long and endless winter months.

Choose Your Location Wisely

Your caravan is an expensive investment.

Although owners of pop-tops have the option of lowering their roofs and parking in standard garages, those of us who own conventional caravans are not quite as lucky.

Because conventional caravans are so tall, the majority will not fit in standard house garages and will have to be stored at some type of caravan storage facility.

When choosing a caravan storage facility, security should be your main concern. While an open farm field may be an inexpensive location for parking a caravan, an insecure location may end up costing you more in the long-run if your caravan ends up exposed to damage or theft.

The Caravan Storage Site Owner’s Association is a wonderful resource, listing and grading a large number of caravan sites according to country and security features.

Also, try checking out the storage site before parking your caravan.

Many sites have small, crowded plots which can make the positioning of your vehicle difficult. In this case, it may be beneficial to bring along a specialized wheel jockey or caravan maneuvering system.

Protect Your Bodywork

When it comes to storing your caravan during the winter months, the first thing you should be taking care of is the exterior.

Prior to storage, you should wash your caravan thoroughly. It doesn’t matter whether you intend to use an overwintering wax or a Camec caravan cover, in either case, a wash will still be required.

When cleaning your caravan, always be sure that you’re using specialized caravan cleaners. Avoid using a pressure washer on your caravan, as they have been known to damage bodywork and seals should spray make its way underneath the vehicle’s trim.

Check the exterior of your caravan for signs of green or black mold and eliminate it prior to storage.  Prolonged exposure to mold can eat away at a caravan’s structure, leaving gaping spaces and  nasty holes.

General Tips

·         Rotate caravan tires every 6 to 8 weeks, if possible. You may also want to look into purchasing a caravan tire cover to protect your tires from potential UV degradation.

·         Drain your caravan’s water heater and remove all gas cylinders prior to storage

·         Remove and store all batteries, including 12-volts as well as those located in accessories