How to Prepare your Caravan for Storage

 So, you’ve just returned from the last trip of the season, and selected a secure storage site for your caravan. Is it as simple as leaving your van in its plot, or do you need to do some prep work before storing it away for winter?

The answer is yes, there are some things you’ll need to do. And here’s our guide:

·         GAS

Gas cylinders should be disconnected or removed from your caravan. If your caravan is going into a storage facility, check the gas cylinder policy.

·         BODYWORK

Give your caravan a thorough clean using suitable cleaning products for each type of surface (walls, windows, metalwork). Consider using a wax coating product to protect the exterior.

·         ELECTRICS

You’ll need to take a look at your car to caravan13-pin or 12N/12S connectors for any signs of damage or wear and tear. Wipes the electrical contacts over and spray with WD-40 to protect against water damage. 

·         BATTERY

If your leisure battery isn’t needed to run your caravan alarm system, it’s best to remove it and store in a cool, dry place. You can then top it up at home, when necessary. Don’t forget to remove batteries from other electrical items in your caravan too. Check out this post for leisure battery maintenance advice.

 ·         WINDOWS

Give all the windows a check to make sure the rubber seal is in good condition.

·         AWNING

After every use, your caravan awning should be cleaned and dried thoroughly. Make sure it’s completely dry before storing somewhere dry.

·         COVER

You may want to cover your caravan to protect it during the winter months. This blog post has more information.

·         WATER

Remove any filters from your system to prevent any remaining water held from freezing during the colder months.

You’ll need to open all taps including the shower. If you’ve got a lever control it’ll need to be moved to a central position between hot and cold. Put a plug in any sinks, and open the caravan’s drain taps.

Refer your caravan model’s manual to check how to drain down the water heater. 

·         TOILET

Your toilet will need flushing and emptying. Refer to manufacturers guide for specifics.

·         TYRES

Your caravan should be stored on a level plot, with corner steadies lowered. If you can, place chocks under the wheels.

If possible, turn the wheels to avoid them being in one position for long periods of time. This can be achieved by moving the caravan back and forth, or jacking it up to rotate each wheel.

·         FRIDGE

Ensure you remove everything from your fridge/freezer and clean it out. Make sure doors are left ajar so that air can circulate.

·         INTERIOR / FURNISHINGS /BLINDS

Leave your caravan interior ready for the next season ahead of time by giving it a thorough clean before storage.

Ideally, remove upholstery and store somewhere warm and dry to keep it damp free and not on view to potential thieves.

Blinds are best left open to prevent strain on the springs.

·         VENTILATION 

Any air vents should be left uncovered so that air can inside around the caravan. You may even want to consider a dehumidifier or some moisture adsorbing crystals.

·         SECURITY

All valuables should be removed from your caravan whilst in storage.

Hitch locks and wheel clamps are useful deterrents to potential thieves, but remember to check both your insurance policy and storage conditions for any specific requirements.

Whilst your caravan is in storage, it’s really important that you properly maintain your leisure battery, to ensure it’s ready for your next trip out.

Despite what you might think, you shouldn’t just forget about your caravan battery once it’s fitted – it’ll require some attention to make sure it doesn’t slowly discharge and deteriorate. So, if you’ve invested in a good quality battery, and take good care of it, there’s no reason why you’ll need to fork out for a new one next season.

• Check if your battery is charged by taking a voltmeter reading monthly. Avoid doing this immediately after use – leave it to settle for a few hours. You can buy a voltmeter for around £20. Always remove the negative terminal first when disconnecting a battery.
•  A fully charged 12V battery would show a voltmeter reading of 12.7V. 75% charged would read 12.5V, 50% would read 12.4V and a reading of under 12V would be fully discharged.
• If you’re putting your caravan into storage for the winter, your leisure battery should be fully charged.
• If you store your caravan at home, you’ll be able to plug it into the mains supply and recharge that way.
• For periods when your caravan is in storage, you can buy a maintenance charger to keep the battery fully charged.
• Mains operated maintenance chargers provide a low trickle charge for keeping batteries fully charged. However, new technology uses circuits that are reactive to the battery and deliver tailored charging patterns – e.g. when the battery reaches full capacity, the charger will switch off.
  
• When in storage, you may want to remove your leisure battery from the caravan so that you can attend to it more easily at home. However, removing the battery may disable an alarm or tracker which may invalidate your caravan insurance and leave your tourer vulnerable.
• For maintenance, caravan batteries should be recharged as soon as they fall short of 50% charged. This should be done as soon as you return home or to storage from a weekend or holiday.
• Turn off small electrical items in your caravan which could drain your battery.
• Use high quality clamps and ensure their contact areas don’t rust.
• Letting a battery lose all charge will make it pretty much impossible to fully charge again. Leaving a battery discharged will result in white deposits forming on the battery plates. When this happens, the battery can’t be used again.
• If you’ve got a ‘wet’ battery, you’ll need to check the battery regularly to see whether the electrolyte liquid is covering the top of the lead plates inside. If it’s not, add de-ionised water to top up the level.
• There are a range of battery chargers on the market – most battery manufacturers recommend that lead-acid batteries charge best when given a 14.4V input. 

Always remember – Please read individual manufacturer guidelines prior to any maintenance work, and do not attempt in the vicinity of naked flames or cigarettes.