A question for those who store their RV's for the winter

[The Bad Witch]

Do you completely empty your RV when you store it for the winter? We store ours in the yard but DH insists on emptying it completely before doing so. He claimes that if little critters got in then they'd ruin things. I think it's a PITA to do so only because I'm the one stuck loading the thing back up in the spring.

Just lookin' for some feedback

Michelle
Fort Wilderness for the 1st time in Dec.'07 for the Flying Monkey's 1st WDW trip!

 

[CCIntrigue]

I only remove things that are in danger of freezing - toiletries and cleaning supplies. In 20 years of RVing, we've never had "critters" damage anything. I take a plastic tub out to the MH, fill it up, store it in the basement till spring. One trip and I'm finished.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

We remove any food stuffs, including sealed packaged items. No food - not likely to get critters. Take some time in nice weather to crawl underneath your trailer and seal off any holes which might allow critters to gain access. In over 20 years of camping, I have yet to empty everything out of the trailer and have never had an invasion, knock on wood.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

We remove all of the food, paper products and most of the bedding. Other than that its packed and ready to go at a moments notice.
Unfortunately its covered in snow right now and I would probably freeze to the driveway if I tried to hitch it up. For some silly reason we decided not to go to WDW for Easter this year, instead we opted to stay home and relive January.

 

[kmccain]

I only remove things that are in danger of freezing - toiletries and cleaning supplies. In 20 years of RVing, we've never had "critters" damage anything. I take a plastic tub out to the MH, fill it up, store it in the basement till spring. One trip and I'm finished.

Bad Witch, my DH wants me to do the same thing but I am the one that takes care of the inside so I do exactly what CCIntrigue does. It makes it so much easier to carry just that tub back in and emty it out.

Good Luck!

 

[F4disneyfan]

Do you completely empty your RV when you store it for the winter? We store ours in the yard but DH insists on emptying it completely before doing so. He claimes that if little critters got in then they'd ruin things. I think it's a PITA to do so only because I'm the one stuck loading the thing back up in the spring.

Just lookin' for some feedback

Michelle
Fort Wilderness for the 1st time in Dec.'07 for the Flying Monkey's 1st WDW trip!

My wife left her trailer packed with all the things she feels are not necessary to take out of it and left it in the driveway for the winter no tarp no anything just the snow that fell from teh sky to cover it. She has an 06 jayco tent trailer. The only issue was somone tried to steal the hot water heater out of it LOL so she has to take it in to get it repaired.

 

[pamom65]

I usually pack everything kitchen or food related in a couple plastic totes and pack all the bedding in plastic bags. I never had a problem with mice before, but unfortunately, this winter we had some in there. I had left a package of garbage bags and Brillo pads in a drawer, which they made a mess out of. They also got into a side cabinet where I kept our vinyl tablecloth, clothesline, and the dogs dishes and tie out cable. Needless to say, the RV got a thorough cleaning from top to bottom before I started packing for our upcoming trip to FW on April 13. I threw most of the stuff out and went to Dollar General and bought some new things. Anyway, next winter everything is going in the totes.

 

[terri01p]

After every trip I wash and fold our sheets and just stack them back on our bed. The only thing I remove is any and all food products canned and fresh food. I don't even remove cleaning supplies ( I wonder now if they go bad )?
I have never had any problems, ever, with any critters. Of course I guess it would depend on where you have it stored...we have ours on the side of our house on a cement pad.

 

[auntie]

When I kept it at the end of the driveway..we emptied all the food type items out..along with any bathroom items. Shampooo..and the like..anything that could freeze. Put the sheets and bedding in rubbermaids. Quite honestly..I would use it when it was home in the winter. It used to be my official "Santa's Workshop" at Christmas time. I would put out the slide..and listen to Christmas tunes while I wrapped the gifts. I would store them in there..and lock it up. Keeping the key with me..so no one else had access. I miss that, because last couple of years I've left it on site at the camping resort we have been seasonal at. It usually means spending a weekend emptying it all out...and I take home all the bedding and kitchen and bathroom items. LOAD it up with fabric softener sheets. The bottom is very well sealed..but we added screening to the vents..and steel wool to any outside areas..like the water heater area..or the venting area for the frig. It was alot more work..and we don't know how it's doing..since they had SO MUCH SNOW this year we weren't able to get in there to check on it. We closed up the middle of October, and did check on it in Dec. However, since then, we've not been back. We are do to open up on May 1st..but they got socked with another 6 inches of spring snow the other night! Oh well..what's gonna be is gonna be. I really would feel better with it at the house. I am already thinking that next winter we will bring it home and either store here at the house or more locally. As we are hoping to use it heading south. My older son gets some winter time off, and it would have been nice for him to use. We also found a campground open all year on the ocean. While it would be cold..it might also be nice for a weekend trip here and there. Also, a couple of campgrounds in the Connecticut area are opening up for April 1st..so we would be able to get an earlier start on the season. At least that's the plan for now. I'm just hoping the unit held up well with all the snow they've received in upstate NY this winter. Supposedly the campgroud has maintenance people who go through with snow mobiles and are supposed to report any damage they see to the exterior of the units. Guess, we'll know for sure soon enough.

 

[The Bad Witch]

Thanks for all the replies. Is there reasoning behind the fabric softener sheets other than the fresh smell? Maybe I'll leave all the textiles in plastic containers in the trailer as that would protect them and cut down on hauling for me. The poster who uses the trailer for Santa's workshop is GENIUS!!! I'm soooo gonna do that next year!

 

[gemstone1952]

We never had a problem with critters for more than 13 years. I always took out all food stuffs and anything that could freeze and left the rest. Last year mice decided to camp in my RV. They ate the soap (little tooth marks), shredded the paper goods, left droppings in my dinnerware, silverware, pots and pans--I'm sure you get the picture. We cleaned out everything, put bounce fabric sheets everywhere because we read that the critters wouldn't like them. It didn't work. They used the bounce as bedding. This year we took everything out. I use a separate bin for each "room" and stored everything away in the downstairs of my house. I've been looking for evidence of critters this year. So far, none have appeared so it may have been a one time deal but I ended up doing a lot more work cleaning up after the critters made camp than I did simply emptying out everything this year. My husband thinks I'm a bit oversensitive about the critters and didn't see a reason to move everything out just because of a 1 year critter infestation. I still bought the bins and cleaned out the RV--Peace of mind for me.

 

[4mickey2]

we take out all freezables and food. we put the fabric softener sheets inside. it works really good.

 

[auntie]

We've been lucky so far..the fabric softener sheets seem to repulse the critters. At least they have the last few years....guess since I am not there until May 1st this year..I'll have to wait and see. I hope they stayed away. I even put them outside by the fridge ventilaton and the water heater. Also inside the unit vents..along with screening. I guess they could eat through the screening also, but I figure at least I'm slowin' the critters down..and maybe they'll go someplace else where it requires less effort to get in.
We had folks who were seasonal one year have the interior of their unit practically eaten up by chipmunks. I mean destroyed! They had to replace the trailer. Others we know have used moth balls..but Lord, what a God awful smell, and you still smell it all summer, even though they clean it all up when they opened back up. Kept the mice away..but also anyone human with a nose!
Either way..I miss having it at the end of the drive. I am hoping to be able to bring it home next winter. Never had to do any of the above when it was home. Truth be told..not only was it Santa's Workshop..it was also a spot for mom to dissappear to..and no one knew where I was. Put on a pot of coffee ..and have complete silence...ahh..I miss those days!

 

[christinou]

I take the food the food items out, but nothing else, not even the bedding, I wash all of the bedding in the SPring before we go out the first time. I also put dryers sheet around as well as moth packets, I found lavender last year, and they smell great. It seems to do the job, in 6 years of having pop up then class C, we have not had any critters issue, and we do live in the country with lots of critters. I do got check it out in winter and make sure everything looks good.

 

[Shannone1]

Do you completely empty your RV when you store it for the winter? We store ours in the yard but DH insists on emptying it completely before doing so. He claimes that if little critters got in then they'd ruin things. I think it's a PITA to do so only because I'm the one stuck loading the thing back up in the spring.

Just lookin' for some feedback

Michelle
Fort Wilderness for the 1st time in Dec.'07 for the Flying Monkey's 1st WDW trip!

We store our RV at our house, but we do winterize it. I bring in all the linens and towels, wash them and store them in rubbermaid tubs for the winter. In the spring when I take them out of the tubs they are still nice and fresh smelling. I also put the all of the dishes and utensils in covered tubs. I leave the kids games, my decorations, and craft stuff in the cabinets. We don't leave any food in here when we aren't camping.