Winter is just a heartbeat away and it will not be long before there is coating of white fluffy snow on the ground in many parts of the United States. That means it is time to winterize your popup camper so it can be stored for the winter, unless you are one of those hardy souls that relishes winter camping.
Your popup camper, like any piece of camping equipment, needs to be maintained each year to keep it in great shape. Many people ask, “When is the best time to winterize my pop-up?” The obvious answer is, “before winter”. The primary goal of winterizing your pop-up is to prepare it to survive the cold winter months without damage. But this annual ritual is also necessary to perform routine maintenance and to be sure that when you open that pop-up for your first camping trip next year, it is ready to go.
The “when” question is more pertinent to your camping plans than to the weather. When you have completed your last camping trip of the year and are ready to store your, that’s the ideal time to winterize it.
Your winterizing schedule includes performing needed water removal and replacement to the interior water systems as well as necessary annual maintenance to the pop-up in general. You will no doubt customize this list to your particular pop-up but here is a good starter list.
• Perform a thorough exterior cleaning, washing down the unit and inspecting for rust or other damage from the year of camping.
• Perform exterior repairs as needed.
• Perform a thorough interior cleaning making sure you get all food residue up from the floors and beds to keep rodents out and so you don’t open the pop-up next spring to the smell of aging food crumbs or smells that are even nastier.
• Perform interior repairs as needed.
• Remove all nonpermanent items including fishing gear, children’s toys, coffee mugs, pillows or sleeping gear to be cleaned and stored indoors until next year.
• Remove all canned or packaged food stored in the camper over the summer, discarding the stale or out of date products.
• Remove all garbage and litter.
• Remove any aerosol cans that could rust or rupture due to changing temperatures.
• Lubricate all motorized moving parts.
• Inspect wheels, brakes and electrical connections.
• Inspect the underside of the pop-up and repair any holes or other damage from travel.
• Remove and store the battery.
• Cover any vents with plastic wrap to keep the pop-up airtight and keep insects or other visitors out.
• Inspect the anode rod and replace as necessary.
• Drain all water retention systems including the fresh water tank, the water heater, holding tanks and toilets.
• Drain all pipes by opening the faucets and letting as much water out as possible. Some people will go so far as to blow out the pipes to clean the moisture out as thoroughly as possible. A small amount of water retention is ok but you don’t want the water pipes and tanks full as they could freeze and cause damage to connections.
• Implement hot water heater bypass systems as instructed in your owner’s manual.
• Put nontoxic RV antifreeze into all water lines that you just drained. Be sure you purchase nontoxic antifreeze that you can buy at any camping or RV retail outlet. Do NOT use automobile antifreeze as it is highly toxic and will contaminate your water lines and create a risk to your family the next time you use the unit.
You may dread getting that winterizing done, but you’ll be glad you did it next spring. So stop procastinating and get it done!
