Spring is here! And now that you can expect some warmer, sunnier weather, you’ve got to be excited for that first trip of the year in your luxury motorhome. There’s nothing more liberating than opening the season with an RV vacation, but keep in mind that there are a few preparations you need to make before getting your luxury motorcoach on the road. This guide gives you a few maintenance tips that’ll get your motorhome in great shape for another spring of memorable vacations, so give your RV a careful inspection and do some cleaning before you take off. If you notice any serious issues while inspecting your motorhome, bring it into The Motorcoach Store in Bradenton, Florida!
You might’ve put a cover over your luxury motorhome during the winter, so you’re first step will obviously be to remove that. If the cover’s still a little damp, let it dry in the sun before putting it away, otherwise it could get mildew. Next, you should carefully inspect your RV’s exterior. You own a luxury motorcoach for a reason - you want it to look luxurious! - so take this time to look closely for any punctures, scrapes, or other damages that could have been caused by branches and harsh weather. After you check the exterior, get some rubber roof cleaner (if you have a rubber roof) or a mild detergent (for aluminum or fiberglass roofs) and take give the roof a good scrub and rinse. There’s probably a lot of dust, sap, and other debris on top of your RV, and you don’t want this to damage the paint, so it’s important to wash it all off. Also, since you just cleaned the roof, go ahead and clean the rest of your motorhome too! You can use a mild detergent like what you use to wash a car. Put some elbow grease into those tough spots, rinse off all the soap, and be sure to continue inspecting the exterior compartments for leaks and rodents while you’re cleaning.
If you used antifreeze to protect your hot water system over the winter, you’ll need to do a few simple adjustments to get your water heater ready for spring. First, check that the water-heater bypass is set to winterizing mode. If it is, then connect your fresh-water supply to your motorcoach to get some pressure going through the system. Next, take out the drain plug, turn the bypass kit off of winterizing mode, and re-install the drain plug. This will flush any stale, mineral-heavy water out of your tank, so you’ll have good, clean water. Finally, once you have the plug back in, turn the freshwater source on again and open the water-heater’s relief valve, and make sure that it is releasing hot water before turning the plug. If you find that you have a good flow of hot water, then your tank is all ready for spring vacations!
The last major part you should clean is your freshwater system. Just like in any RV, the freshwater in a luxury motorhome can get pretty smelly during storage. This isn’t a sign of any problems with your system, and it’s really easy to fix! The simplest way to sanitize the system is to use a bleach/water solution of 1 cup/15 gallons. First, drain out all the old water, and then make sure you mix up all the solution you need before pouring it into the system. Once the mixture’s in there, turn on the water pump and every faucet in every room to spread that bleach through all your plumbing. Once you start smelling the chemical from every faucet, go ahead and turn everything off and let the bleach set in the pipes for 3 or 4 hours. At this point, the system will be sanitized, so all you need to do is empty the solution from the tank and put in some more freshwater. Finally, turn all the faucets back on so the freshwater flushes the bleach out of your pipes. Once the bleach smell goes away, your luxury motorcoach is all set with clean freshwater for the travelling season!
It takes a little time, but these important steps will get your luxury motorhome ready for spring and all it’s wonderful adventures. Most of these small maintenance tasks can easily be done with household products and your own hard work, but if you find any potential problems that you’re not sure how to fix, don’t hesitate to bring your luxury motorcoach into The Motorcoach Store. Our dealership and service department serve the areas of Sarasota, Tampa, Fort Myers, and Lakeland, Florida.
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