RV seasonal prep, all four seasons.

RVs reward owners who run a checklist every season and punish the ones who don't. Here's the year-round list, written for renters and owners, with links to the troubleshooting guides for the things that actually break.

Spring Summer Fall Winter

Spring

De-winterize, inspect, and shake the cobwebs out before the first trip.

De-winterize the water system. Drain antifreeze from every tap, the water heater, and the toilet. Sanitize the fresh tank with 1/4 cup household bleach per 15 gallons, fill, run through every faucet, let sit overnight, then flush twice.
Walk the roof and reseal. Every spring, walk every seam on the roof and look for cracks, lifted edges, or pinholes in the lap sealant. Reseal with Dicor before the first rain. See our roof leak guide for the right product and technique.
Check the propane system. Soap-bubble test every LP fitting from the regulator to each appliance. Light the stove, water heater, furnace, and fridge to confirm they all fire. Replace the propane detector if it's over 5 years old.
Inspect tires and check inflation. RV tires age out before they wear out. Check the date code on the sidewall (DOT XXXX, last 4 digits = week/year). Replace tires older than 6-7 years even if tread looks fine. Inflate to the door sticker pressure cold.
Test every appliance under load. Run the AC for 30 minutes, the furnace for 30 minutes, the fridge for 24 hours, the generator for an hour, and the water heater on both gas and electric. Catch failures in the driveway, not at the campsite.
Recharge or replace the house battery. After 5 months of storage, lead-acid batteries are likely sulfated. Test resting voltage (12.6V+ is healthy). Run a full charge cycle. If voltage drops below 12.2V within an hour of disconnect, the battery is shot.

Summer

Heat is the enemy. Keep the AC alive and the rig cool.

Clean the AC condenser coils. Pull the rooftop AC shroud and rinse the outside coils gently with a garden hose. A summer of cottonwood and bug bodies kills cooling capacity. This is the single biggest weak-AC fix.
Check the AC return air filter monthly. In summer the filter clogs fast. Pull it, rinse it, dry it. Or replace it. A clogged filter freezes the evaporator coil and the AC stops cooling entirely.
Watch for tire blowouts in heat. Hot pavement plus underinflated tires equals blowouts. Check pressures every morning before a long drive. Consider a TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) for highway peace of mind.
Run the generator monthly under load. Even on shore power trips, run the gen for 1-2 hours under load (AC on) every month to keep the carburetor clean and the windings dry. Storing a gen unused is harder on it than running it.
Check black tank treatment. Hot weather accelerates everything. Use double the normal tank treatment dose, dump more often, and never travel with a bone-dry black tank, always leave a few gallons of water and treatment.
Inspect awnings before every trip. Sun degrades awning fabric and the spring-loaded arms. Check for tears, weak spots, and stiff motors. Wind comes up fast on summer afternoons, plan for fast retraction.

Fall

Stretch the season, then start thinking about winter.

Test the furnace before the first cold night. Run the furnace for 30 minutes and verify it actually heats. Most furnace failures show up the first time you need it after a long warm spell. Better to find it now.
Check propane tank levels and refill. Cold-weather camping uses 5x more propane than summer. Top off both tanks before fall trips. Many propane suppliers have shorter hours in the off-season.
Inspect and clean the furnace exhaust vent. Mud daubers love the warm exhaust vent on the side of the rig. A blocked exhaust will trip the furnace high-limit and stop ignition. Inspect with a flashlight, clear with a coat hanger.
Charge batteries fully for winter prep. Going into winter with a partially charged battery means freezing damage. A fully charged battery resists freezing down to about -75 degrees F; a discharged one freezes at 20 degrees F.
Plan winterization timing. Don't wait for the first hard freeze. Anything below 25 degrees F overnight can crack pipes if water is still in the system. Watch the forecast and winterize 2 weeks before expected freezes.
Inspect roof seals before the wet season. Fall rain is the #1 way RVs get damaged. Walk the roof, reseal anything questionable, and check the seals around windows, vents, slides, and the front and rear caps.

Winter

Winterize properly or pay for cracked pipes in spring.

Drain the fresh water system completely. Open the low point drains (under the rig), drain the water heater (turn it off first and let it cool!), drain the fresh tank, and run the pump dry briefly to clear it. Open every faucet, including the outdoor shower.
Bypass the water heater. Set the water heater bypass valves to bypass mode so antifreeze doesn't fill the 6+ gallon tank. This saves you 6 gallons of antifreeze and avoids contaminating the tank.
Pump RV antifreeze through every line. Connect a winterize valve or hose from the pump intake to a jug of pink RV antifreeze (not automotive!). Run each tap (hot then cold) until pink fluid comes out. Don't forget the toilet, outdoor shower, ice maker, and washing machine.
Pour antifreeze into every drain. A cup of pink antifreeze in each sink drain, the shower drain, and the toilet bowl prevents the P-traps from cracking and keeps the holding tanks safe.
Disconnect or maintain the battery. Pull the battery out and store it in a heated space, or keep it on a maintenance charger (not a trickle charger) connected through the winter. A frozen battery is a dead battery.
Cover or store the rig. If you have indoor storage, use it. If not, a breathable RV cover prevents UV damage and keeps water out of vents. Don't use a tarp, it traps moisture and rots the walls.

Something already broken?

Camphost is the free AI co-pilot for RV troubleshooting. Ask in plain English, get walked through it step by step.

Open Camphost