Keeping the Caravan on the drive over winter...
This is our first year owning a new caravan. We have our final weekend away in November then its nothing until Feb 17.
I have read various posts about prep for winter but was after some advice from those experienced caravaners who keep theirs at home.
We have a solar panel on the roof but i guess in the coming months this will do little for the battery, I am wondering if;
The blinds should be up (springs), seats removed indoors or just stood up inside, heating kept on around 8 degrees, need for damp traps etc etc.
Any useful advice we be well accepted.
Comments
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Most important is to ensure it is secure on your drive,
It will depend on what sort of winter we are going to get ,if you have access to an electricity supply you can use van heater? on low or a small low wattage convectoor heater will keep it dry its up to you if you take seats out, it helps with security
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You will get loads of opinions on this.
The solar panel will easily keep your battery in good shape as there will be no load on the battery.
Keeping the heating on will cost an arm and a leg and does nothing but increase the relative humidity - cool, dry and well ventilated is better IMO. On nice days you may even want to open up the van and give it good airing.
Damp traps are a total waste of time - you will find your caravan floor is full of holes so you will just be trying to dry out the planet.
We make sure everything is well cleaned and wipe surfaces down with an anti-bac spray before shutting up for winter.
Taking seats out for security is a good idea if you have somewhere to store them.
Obviously make sure you drain down all water systems etc.
Move the van a few feet every so often to help the tyres.
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To some extent it will depend on whether, with the sun being low in the sky, it is in permanent shadow. If it gets a bit of sun each day, just move cushions from the sides, leave cupboad doors ajar and let the solar panel do its thing. With mine, I jack
it up until the wheels are only just touching the ground and block off the chassis to save the tyres, which would benefit from being covered against UV degradation. Angling the roof line to ensure any water runs off easily is also prudent.0 -
I've been caravanning for best part of 50 years. We only use it during British Summer Time so our last trip will be at the end of October. My procedure is to park up, drain the water, open the frig door, make sure the battery isolator is off and shut and
lock the caravan door.In the spring. Open the door, plug in the mains to charge the battery, clean inside and outside hitch up and go. Simples!
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You do have to ake sure the water is comploetely drained down. If you are using it again before winter I would drain before leaving the last site. Blow into the taps and shower to get any last drops pout and leave the taps open half and half hot and cold.
The drain should then be left open on the way home to allow any last drops of water out. If you are not using the caravan again before Spring, after draining I would give it a short run and try to get a couple of hills in if possible.0 -
If not using the van until spring make sure all water is drained including flush for loo. My last van was a 2005 Swift Charisma. It had two drain plugs on the near side. Present van just has the one from the hot tank. I used to open drains and taps and bloe
doen taps using tubes if needed to clear water from the system. Noeadays we finish a tout early December and hop off for a couple of weeks from mid December. If it looks to drop below freezing I put the Alde heating on 5C.0 -
Firstly, why stop caravanning over the winter months? It's often the best time of the year to get away, sites are quieter, vans are well insulated etc
However if you do lay up your van either completely remove your shower head & pipe or at least lay in down in the shower tray. Ensure that the taps are fully open midway between hot & cold.
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When we had roller blinds in our first van, we were advised to leave them open over winter to save the springs. To stop the sun from fading the soft furnishings I used garden weed suppressing fabric cut large enough to cover each window & kept in place by
clothes pegs onto the curtain rails. The fabric is extremely light & it worked a treat.0 -
I agree with birdebilly not to heat a stored caravan. I did it for 3 days before a winter trip as the tempreture was forecast to go below freezing and I was happy to use some calor gas up as I am now on Safefill. I found heating just increased condensation on the windows and inside walls. I just keep it ventilated and have not had any damp or mildew problems.
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We heat ours using electric with the alde a few days before going off. No condensation problem. If the weather is very cold the fridge will not work properly for us unless the van is heated and we want that on ready to recieve food and frozen pre-prepared
stuff when we are off for our two week Christmas break.0 -
When we had roller blinds in our first van, we were advised to leave them open over winter to save the springs. To stop the sun from fading the soft furnishings I used garden weed suppressing fabric cut large enough to cover each window
& kept in place by clothes pegs onto the curtain rails. The fabric is extremely light & it worked a treat.Why not just pull across the curtains when the blinds are down. That's what they are there for, aren't they?
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Some interesting post and food for thought. I like the idea about closing the curtains over to save the springs and jacking the van onto stands to save the tyres. Mixed views about the heating, think I will go for keeping it off and cupboards open etc. Looking
at buying a cover which will be the next bit of research....0 -
Draining down is normally the first thing I do when we get back each time. Good shout about the shower head, I will lower it to ensure there is nothing left in the shower hose. Axel stands to take the pressure off the tyres seems another good idea to take
the strain of the tyres and suspension. I am thinking just enough to take the strain / bulge of the tyres and no more.0 -
Not mentioned above - make sure you take all food out of the van and hoover up crumbs in cupboards etc, so that mice aren't tempted in.
We had mice in ours once, if you leave Bounce Tumble Dryer Sheets in various places in MH/Van, it gets rid of them,apparently mice hate these, (they also hate peppermint oil) it works and it helps make the MH smell nice. I even leave them around in discreet
places when we are away as we tend to go to rural places, helps with the doggy smell too.0 -
I do it slightly diferently (Surprise)
I drain down properly, set bedding on end and open all locker doors. Unlike some, I do heat the caravan.
I use an oil filled radiator set at 10 C and just leave it on. When we get a nice day, (even if cold) I will open some windows, the roof vents and leave the door open to get ventilation through the caravan. Obviously I turn off the radiator during this time. At some point during the day I close everything and put the radiator back on.
I know some just rely on the ventilation to keep mould and damp away but because air can retain moisture better at higher temperatures I never see moisture on the hard surfaces and the soft furnishings never feel cold and damp.
Works for me, been doing it like this for a long time and I can afford the extra leccy.
By the way, I also have a weather station and put an extra sensor in the caravan so I can see the numbers from inside the house.
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I do it slightly diferently (Surprise)
I drain down properly, set bedding on end and open all locker doors. Unlike some, I do heat the caravan.
I use an oil filled radiator set at 10 C and just leave it on. When we get a nice day, (even if cold) I will open some windows, the roof vents and leave the door open to get ventilation through the caravan. Obviously I turn off the radiator during this time.
At some point during the day I close everything and put the radiator back on.I know some just rely on the ventilation to keep mould and damp away but because air can retain moisture better at higher temperatures I never see moisture on the hard surfaces and the soft furnishings never feel cold and damp.
Works for me, been doing it like this for a long time and I can afford the extra leccy.
By the way, I also have a weather station and put an extra sensor in the caravan so I can see the numbers from inside the house.
We also keep the heating on low, It was put on yesterday and will stay on 8deg untill 2 days before we go away at xmas. it will then be put on 16 to get the cold out of the walls and furniture.
Curtains are closed to save the blind springs, cupboard doors left on a jar along with the fridge door, water drained with taps in middle open to allow for expansion incase of frost.
We have done this for the past 4 years and never had a problem. It may cost a few pennies but hey ho
Kev
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Interesting stuff. Plenty of knowledge out there. Seems to be 'To heat or not to heat'. Will release the springs this weekend and draw the curtains over. Think the axle stands make sense to save the tyres although the al-ko jacking points arent that clear
and require after market purchase. Watched a few YouTube clips and you can lift on the axle behind part of the frame. Looks packed with danger on a gravel driveway!! I will take the shower head off too!0 -
I do it slightly diferently (Surprise)
I drain down properly, set bedding on end and open all locker doors. Unlike some, I do heat the caravan.
I use an oil filled radiator set at 10 C and just leave it on. When we get a nice day, (even if cold) I will open some windows, the roof vents and leave the door open to get ventilation through the caravan. Obviously I turn off the radiator during this time.
At some point during the day I close everything and put the radiator back on.I know some just rely on the ventilation to keep mould and damp away but because air can retain moisture better at higher temperatures I never see moisture on the hard surfaces and the soft furnishings never feel cold and damp.
Works for me, been doing it like this for a long time and I can afford the extra leccy.
By the way, I also have a weather station and put an extra sensor in the caravan so I can see the numbers from inside the house.
We also keep the heating on low, It was put on yesterday and will stay on 8deg untill 2 days before we go away at xmas. it will then be put on 16 to get the cold out of the walls and furniture.
Curtains are closed to save the blind springs, cupboard doors left on a jar along with the fridge door, water drained with taps in middle open to allow for expansion incase of frost.
We have done this for the past 4 years and never had a problem. It may cost a few pennies but hey ho
Kev
No heating on ours yet. WE go away mid December for 15 nights. If temeperature drops I will put Alde on to 5C.
A few days before we go away I will turn heating up to 20C and switch Fridge on.
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We open all cupboards and remove the cushions and store them indoors if you have room. If not just make sure that they are away from the sides. We use a fan heater set at 8c and leave it do it's thing. Never had a problem. And of course make sure there is
no water in the system or in three toilet. As the caravan is on our drive we can keep a check on it every couple of days. Wash it every couple of weeks to keep it clean and on a nice day open the window's to get some air in it.0 -
No mention of winter wheels? I replace wheels with winter wheels, store wheels in shed, dual purpose achieved, no pressure on tyres, no uv damage. Plus it's hard to steal a van with no wheels.
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I keep my van in storage ( undercover) during winter months. I keep the curtains closed and I have drained the water down but I forgot to drain the cistern down so that one job to be done this weekend. I think I will be bringing home the seating and store
them in the spare bedroom. Any advise on the wheels? I do have a couple of boards! Would that be ok to put under the tyres to get them off the ground?0 -
It's not the ground per se that's the problem. It's the load on the tyres in one place for a prolonged period.
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