Message:
living full time in my 36' fifth wheel now......thinking about staying
in it for retirement....just had some questions about routine
maintence?
I received the email above from a new RV’er. . .
thought they posed a great question. . .and wanted to get your thoughts.
Routine maintenance of course includes the daily cleaning you would do even in your house. . .
and then there’s the wash job the outside needs ever so often. . .
washing the bugs off the front is an almost every trip chore!
We wax ours about once a year. . .yuck!
Empty the black tank once a week, and do a back flush. . .
that keeps the yuckies, and the smellies down. . .
Window washing and cleaning is constant, as is dusting. . .
there’s no end to the dusting. . .where does it all come from?
I keep most routine maintenance chores listed on my Google Calendar,
so the reminders pop up as needed. . .
Not really a maintenance issue. . .but keep a Travel Journal. . .
I also do this on my Google Calendar. . .
sure makes it nice when you want to remember where you were and when!
Wish I would have started this at the beginning of our travels. . .
I’m slowly going back and adding in all our trips. . .
I’m sure there are tons more tips. . .what do you think. . .any ideas to add?
Hubby checks the batteries, and adds distilled water on a regular basis. . .
every three months or so. . .same with the hot water heater. . .
you gotta clean it out, or it will fill up with gunk.
Add bug screens to your furnace and hot water heater vents. . .
they are cheap, and will prevent dirt daubers from building a nest (we know this from experience.)
I’m sure there are tons more things that I’m not thinking of at the moment. . .
what would you recommend. . .any ideas?
We keep a spreadsheet with all our maintenance activities on it. Paul marks the day, date, what was done, price and where each time we have maintenance done. Great way to keep actuate records of our homes "doctor" stops.
ReplyDeleteAh yes. . .I forgot to mention maintenance on our RV Hauler, oil changes, tire rotations, etc. . .since Dave always takes care of all that. . .a spreadsheet is a good idea!
DeleteJanice, MHs have whole unit water filter options. Do these exist for Fifth Wheel units and do they work? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGary, some of the higher end FW's are beginning to add them. . .we use a portable one that we "designed" ourselves. This rig has never been connected direct to a water source, we have always used a filter system on it. We started that practice back in the day when we stayed in Lufkin for church retreats. . .you know how their water is.. . yucky!
DeleteIf you are in a motorhome like I am, exercise the generator once a month. Check tire pressure each time before getting on the road. Also be sure to put the awning out after a rain if you aren't using it regularly. :)
ReplyDeleteI am certainly looking forward to having a generator . . .it would have been handy this past week during a power outage. . .we will need to add exercise the generator to our maintenance list when we get the motorhome.
DeleteEven if you haven't been using your awning, you need to open it out occasionally as water gets in even when it is closed and it will need cleaning or at least airing.
ReplyDelete