Putting Your RV Away for Winter: A Storage Checklist
A practical end-of-season checklist so your RV comes out of storage in spring ready to go.
Apex RV Team
Red Seal technicians ·
At a glance
How you put your RV away in fall decides how it comes out in spring. Batteries, plumbing, rodents, tires and seals all need attention. Here's the end-of-season checklist our technicians use.
How you put your RV away in fall decides how it comes out in spring. Dead batteries, chewed wiring and cracked lines are some of our most common spring repairs, and nearly all of them come from a rushed fall shutdown.
Plumbing
Winterize fully: drain the tanks and water heater, bypass the heater, and blow out the lines or fill them with RV antifreeze. Our winter plumbing guide covers this step by step.
Batteries
- Charge fully, then disconnect, or remove them and store them somewhere cool and dry.
- A flat lead-acid battery can freeze and crack. A full one is far more resistant.
- Use a battery maintainer if the RV is stored with power available. Check lithium batteries against the manufacturer's storage instructions.
Keep Rodents Out
- Remove all food, including sealed packages.
- Seal gaps where plumbing and wiring pass through the floor.
- Mice chew wiring and nest in furnace ducts, which is both expensive and a fire risk.
Inside
- Prop the fridge door open and clean it out to stop mould.
- Leave cabinets open and use a moisture absorber.
- Close blinds to protect upholstery from sun.
Outside
- Inspect roof sealant before winter. See our roof sealant guide.
- Wash and dry the awning fully before rolling it up for the season.
- Set tires to the recommended pressure and cover them from UV if the RV is stored outside.
- Turn propane off at the tanks.
Let Us Handle It
We offer winterization and pre-storage inspections at our Okanagan Falls shop, and can flag anything that should be fixed over the winter so you're ready to go in spring.
Rather we take a look?
In our Okanagan Falls shop or at your campsite.
