The temperature is climbing, the sun is out, and you’re ready for roadtrip season. Before you fire up you RV and hit the road, however, it’s important to take care of a few things for the coming season. It’s likely that your RV has been sitting for most of the winter, so getting your RV ready for summer will give you peace of mind while you’re on the road. Read on to find ways to prepare your RV for summer.

Inspection

The first thing you want to do is give your RV a thorough inspection, especially if you had it in storage for the winter. Check the interior and exterior for any damage, particularly from harsh winter weather. A few other points of inspection are:

• Tires: Check the condition of your RV’s tires, including the treads, the tire pressure, and the lug nuts.
• Brakes: Inspect the wear on your brakes, and if it’s been a few years since they have been professionally inspected, bring your RV into a shop. RV brakes have to handle a lot of weight, and it’s crucial to your safety that they work properly.
• Water System: Flush out your water system and turn on your hot water heater to make sure it’s working properly. It might sputter a bit while it’s warming up, which is normal. Propane: Making sure your propane tank and system is working well could save your life. If there are any leaks or it appears that something is out of order, get a professional to look at your system.
• Carbon monoxide alarms and smoke detectors: This goes hand-in-hand with checking your propane system. Changing the batteries in both your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors will ensure that you and your family are safe in your RV.

Prepare an emergency kit

You should always keep an emergency kit in your RV in case you break down and can’t easily get help. Flashlights, batteries, jumper cables, basic tools, bottles of oil, brake fluid, steering fluid and transmission fluid, a gas can, portable radio, reflective road triangles, fuses, flares, duct tape, and wheel chocks should all be included in your emergency kit.

Clean out and inspect the interior

Cleaning out your RV after it’s been sitting through the winter isn’t just for sanitary purposes. You probably have a lot of things from last season that can be thrown out or recycled, some of which might add some significant weight to your vehicle. We all know that RV’s aren’t exactly good on gas, so getting rid of any extra weight will help stretch your gas mileage. This is also a good time to check out any interior lights that are out, any outlets that aren’t working, or any other interior components that need to be repaired.

Take it for a spin!

Don’t let a road trip be the first time you take your RV out on the road. Drive around town a few times just to be sure everything is in working order. Bring the family along so they can test out the various components within the RV so you don’t find out something is broken when you’re already on the road. Make a note of anything that needs to be fixed so you can get it taken care of before your first summer roadtrip.

RV Upgrades carries a wide selection of RV parts and accessories so you can get back on the road quickly with reliable equipment. Browse our store and get everything you need to stock up for the coming summer months. RV Upgrades has low prices every day so you know that you are getting the absolute best price online.