Chickery's Travels

Chickery's Travels logo. A blue-green Earth globe with continents surrounded by dots with an arrow denoting movement or travel and "Chickery's Travels" as part of the dotted circle. Next to this is a photo of their blue and white Arctic Fox 5th Wheel with the awning out.
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      • Gunter Hill Campground (Montgomery, Alabama)
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      • Best Campgrounds in Arizona
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      • Lost Dutchman State Park (Phoenix, AZ)
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      • Crescent City Redwoods KOA (Crescent City, California)
      • Sea Breeze RV Park (Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station)
    • Delaware
      • Cape Henlopen State Park (Lewes, Delaware)
    • Florida
      • Best Campgrounds in Florida
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      • Jonathan Dickinson State Park (Southeast FL)
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      • MacDill AFB FamCamp (Tampa, FL)
      • Military Camping in Key West
      • Patrick AFB FamCamp (Cocoa Beach, FL)
      • Rainbow Springs State Park & Campground (Ocala, FL)
      • Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness (Orlando, FL)
        • Halloween at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
        • Chickery’s Travels Podcast Episode 5: Fort Wilderness Campground Review
    • Maryland
      • Cherry Hill Park (College Park, Maryland)
    • Michigan
      • Port Huron KOA (Kimball, Michigan)
    • Nevada
      • Las Vegas RV Campgrounds: Nellis Air Force Base and Lake Mead RV Village
      • Boondocking Near Las Vegas
    • New Hampshire
      • Lincoln / Woodstock KOA (New Hampshire)
    • New York
      • Round Pond Recreation Area (West Point, NY)
    • North Carolina
      • Outer Banks West / Currituck Sound KOA (Coinjock, North Carolina)
    • Oklahoma
      • Oklahoma City East KOA (Choctaw, Oklahoma)
    • Texas
      • Best Campgrounds in Texas
      • Alsatian RV Resort (Castroville, Texas)
      • Maverick Ranch (Lajitas, Texas)
      • Texas Wine Country Jellystone (Fredericksburg, Texas)
    • Tennessee
      • Camp Margaritaville (Pigeon Forge, TN)
      • Crossville I-40 KOA (Crossville, TN)
      • Midway RV Park (Memphis, TN)
    • Virginia
      • Fort Belvoir Travel Camp (Alexandria, VA)
      • Harrisonburg / Shenandoah Valley KOA (Broadway, Virginia)
      • Luray KOA (Luray, Virginia)
      • Lynchburg / Blue Ridge Parkway KOA (Monroe, Virginia)
      • Shenandoah River State Park (Bentonville, Virginia)
    • Washington
      • Crescent Bar RV Resort (Quincy, Washington)
    • West Virginia
      • Harper’s Ferry KOA (Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia)
  • USA
    • Arizona
      • Apache Trail: A Crazy, Scary, Beautiful Drive
      • Lost Dutchman State Park (Phoenix, Arizona)
      • Phoenix Faves
    • District of Columbia
      • Budget Friendly Fun in Washington D.C.
      • Favorite Hikes near Washington DC
      • Indoor Skydiving and TopGolf: Just Another Day of Family Fun!
    • Florida
      • Best Walt Disney World Festivals For Adults
      • Blowing Rocks Preserve – Jupiter Island, Florida
      • Bok Tower Gardens
      • Daytona Beach – The World’s Most Famous Beach
      • Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
      • Gasparilla – Tampa’s Pirate Invasion
      • 3 Days on the Nature Coast 
      • Florida Freshwater Springs on the Nature Coast
      • Halloween at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
      • Kennedy Space Center – Cape Canaveral
      • Island Hopping at Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island State Parks
      • Must See Sights in St. Augustine, FL – America’s Oldest City
      • Rainbow Springs State Park & Campground (Ocala, Florida)
      • Sunny Sarasota
      • Tampa
        • Get Back to Nature in Tampa Bay
        • Take Me Out to the Ball Game – Spring Training in Tampa, FL
        • The 5 Best Beaches in the Tampa Bay Area
        • Why We Love Tampa
      • Tarpon Springs – The Gulf Coast Town with Greek Flavor
      • Top 5 Things to Do on Florida’s Space Coast
      • What Not to Do When Kayaking on the Weeki Wachee River
      • Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
    • Georgia
      • Visiting Atlanta? Don’t Miss These Civil Rights Museums
    • Illinois
      • One Day In The Windy City – Chicago Itinerary
    • Maine
      • Coastal Maine Vacation
      • Monhegan Island Maine
      • Two Days in Acadia National Park
    • Nevada
      • Planning an RV Trip to Nevada
      • Las Vegas RV Campgrounds: Nellis Air Force Base and Lake Mead RV Village
    • Tennessee
      • Burgess Falls: 3 For 1 Waterfall Special
      • National Civil Rights Museum – Memphis, TN
      • Window Cliffs, TN – I’m Not Afraid of Heights, But I am Afraid of Falling!
      • WWII History in Tennessee
    • Texas
      • Best Eats in Fredericksburg
      • Enjoy a Bird’s Eye View of Texas Hill Country
  • RV Resources
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      • DIY RV Power & Solar Upgrade
      • RV Must Have: Tire Pressure Monitoring System
      • RV SnapPads Product Review
      • RVLOCK Keyless Entry Door Handle Installation and Review
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      • WeBoost Cellular Booster Review
    • Living in an RV
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      • Full-Time RV: 2019 Year in Review
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      • Full-Time RV Travel – 2017 Year In Review
      • How Full-Time RVers Celebrate the Holidays
      • How to Prepare for Full-Time RV Travel
      • Internet Solutions for RV Travelers
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      • Living in a Tiny, Traveling Home
      • Making Friends (and reconnecting with old friends) While Traveling Full-Time
      • Pros & Cons of Full-Time RV Travel
      • RV Organization & Storage Ideas
      • Short-Term RV Storage: Leaving The RV Behind
      • Top 3 Lessons Learned & Biggest Regret: 3 Years Full-Time RV Living
      • What We Wish We Knew Before Full-Time RVing
      • What You Need To Know Before Selling Everything And Moving To An RV
      • Why We Are Traveling Full-Time In Our RV
    • Maintenance Tips
      • DIY Power Upgrade – “Solar Ready” Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel
      • DIY RV Power & Solar Upgrade
      • Easy DIY Project to Protect Your RV Water System
      • An Easy Way to Protect Your RV Water Heater
      • How to Reduce the Likelihood of Tire Blowouts on your RV
      • Odor Free RV Black Tank Tips
      • RV Condensation: What It Is, What It Does, and How To Stop It
      • RV Roofs – What You Need to Know
    • Must Read Books Before Becoming A Full-time RVer
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      • Planning an RV Remodel
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      • RV Remodel Costs with Before & After Photos
      • Vintage Camper Renovation
    • RV Holiday Tour – Decorating Our Small Space
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    • RV Travelers: How to Read Books While Saving Space and Weight in Your RV
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      • Cooking Videos
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      • RVing with Your Cat
      • Traveling with Restricted Breed Dogs
    • Why I Prefer RV Travel Over Flying
    • Your Guide To Planning The Best Family Vacation This Summer
  • Travel Finance
    • 5 Tips to Save on RV Travel
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      • Annual Full-Time RV Expenses – The Big Three
    • Five Credit Card Strategies To Improve Travel
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    • How to Camp for Free
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    • How We Earn A Living While Traveling Full-Time (And How You Can Too)
    • How We Paid $139,000 of Debt in 2 Years While Full-Time RVing
    • Learn How to Finance Your Dreams
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    • Roadmap to Financial Freedom
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report April 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report May 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report June 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report July 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report August 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report September/October 2018
    • RV Purchasing
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      • Benefits of Renting an RV
      • Should I Buy A New or Used RV?
      • The Costs of RV Ownership
      • The True Cost of Financing an RV
      • Why You Should Attend An RV Show
    • Save Money Using the Public Library (On More Than Just Books)
  • Military Travel
    • Guide To Using Military Campgrounds
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April 27, 2020 by Julie Leave a Comment

Easy DIY RV Care and Maintenance

We all know what a valuable investment your RV is. And, of course, there’s the cost of maintenance — or worse, the repair costs if you let your regular RV maintenance fall by the wayside.

Fortunately, RV maintenance and repair are some of the easiest costs of RV ownership to defray. Namely, by doing as much as possible yourself. This is so important because of the rate of growth in the RV industry has outpaced the growth of trained repair technicians. In fact, the RVIA estimates that each certified RV tech is responsible for servicing 658 RVs.

What does this mean for us RV users? Possibly long waits to get maintenance performed. When you want to use your RV, you want it to be ready. And if you are a full-time RVer, having service done can really be inconvenient if you have to wait for it, or even worse give up your home.

Start with these preventive maintenance basics, and you’ll get more familiar with your RV and more confident in working on it. That may lead to tackling bigger projects and saving even more money. 

If you’d like to have easy to follow video tutorials for these tasks and more, check out Fix It Yourself, a self-guided online course where certified RV tech Ed Wilcox walks you through all the steps you need to know to properly maintain your rig and fix problems when they come up.

Create a Schedule

The best way to take care of your RV is to create a preventive maintenance schedule. If you purchase a new RV, you’ll get a big bag of books. That is because aside for the structure of the RV itself, just about every component was made by someone else. For example, we have an Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel made by Northwood Manufacturing, the refrigerator is a Norcold by Dometic, the stovetop & oven is a Furrion, the entry steps are made by MorRyde, the air conditioner is a Coleman, and so on. 

The only way to know what preventive maintenance needs to be performed is to read these documents. If you purchased your RV used, you can find just about any manual online. Each manual typically includes a preventive maintenance schedule. We made a master schedule using Google Sheets. You could also add the items to your calendar and set reminders so you don’t forget.

Batteries

First, we’ll discuss the regular maintenance that you should perform monthly on your house batteries. There are a couple of different types of batteries that you may encounter in an RV, lead acid (flooded or AGM/gel) and lithium. Since lithium batteries require pretty much zero upkeep, we’re going to discuss lead acid here. If you’re interested to know more about lithium batteries and why we choose to convert to them, click here to read about our power upgrade.  

Regardless of the type of lead acid battery you have, flooded or gel, it is important to know that you should never discharge them below a 50% charge. If you do, your batteries will lose energy carrying capacity. A few other things you need to do include: 

  • Maintain water levels in flooded-cell batteries. The least expensive (and therefore most common) type of lead acid battery is called flooded-cell. Over time, flooded-cell batteries lose water with each charge cycle, and this water needs to be replenished. You must use distilled water to help reduce the formation of sulfate crystals when the battery plates are exposed to air. You should check the water level at least once per month.
  • Clean battery terminals. Typically a wire brush is all that is needed to perform this task, however, you can also use a mixture of baking soda and water or a commercial battery contact cleaning product.
  • Perform maintenance even when stored.Lead acid batteries self-discharge even when not in use. Be sure to keep an eye on this or set up a trickle charger. If you don’t keep your RV at home, it might be easier to at least remove the house batteries and take them home with you. This makes it simpler to check the charge, fluid level, etc. 

Generators

Motorized RVs and larger fifth wheels will come with an on-board generator. Many RVers choose to purchase portable generators for their travel trailers and smaller fifth wheels. Regardless of what type you have there are two main things you can do to keep it running well. 

  • Exercise it.Your generator should be run on 50% load for 2 hours each month. 
  • Change the oil, filter, and fluids.You can purchase a kit with everything  you need for your particular generator like this one on Amazon. 

Water Tanks 

When it comes to RV water tanks, let’s first talk about getting water into your RV. You’ll either fill your fresh water tank and use your water pump for water when traveling, or will be at a campground where you can be hooked up to “city water.” No matter which method, you’ll want to have two very important pieces of equipment at the water faucet: a water pressure regulator and a water filtration system. Click here to read more about the importance of water filtration and to see our DIY water filter system. 

  • Fresh Water Tank –You’ll want to sanitize this periodically. We do it at least twice per year. The simplest way is to bypass the water heater, and add ¼ cup bleach per gallon of water or one ounce of bleach for every eight gallons. Allow it to sit for 12 hours before draining. Then run fresh water through your tap until you can’t smell bleach any longer. 
  • Gray Water Tank –This is the waste water holding tank for the sinks and showers in your RV. Since the waste water already has soap in it, there isn’t much maintenance required. The most important thing you can do is have a drain catcher for hair in the shower and food particles in the kitchen sink. This will keep it from getting clogged and to prevent odors. 
  • Black Water Tank –This where the waste from flushing the toilet goes. The most important thing you can add to this tank is water. You need to be sure you have some water in the tank before using it the first time, then be sure to use plenty of water when flushing. This will ensure that everything flows out of the tank when dumping. Also, never leave the black tank release valve open even when hooked up to sewer. This is what causes the dreaded poo pyramid. Click here to see our step by step process for maintaining an odor free black tank.

Another task that should be completed a couple of times a year is flushing your water heater.

Tires

There are several things you can do to maintain your tires: 

  • Slow down. Many RV (and especially trailer) tires are not rated to be driven over 65 mph. Check your owner’s manual to verify the maximum speed recommended for your tires. 
  • Conduct a visual inspection regularly. Check the tread and sidewalls for wear and cracks. 
  • Keep them properly inflated. This is so important that we use a Tire Pressure Monitoring System to monitor the pressure and temperature while driving. We feel so strongly about it, we have an entire article dedicated to this topic. You can read it here. 

Sharing is caring! We’d love for you to share this article on social media & with your friends!

Save time and money with these simple DIY RV preventive maintenance tasks. These main systems have easy tasks that anyone can do to keep them running smoothly whether you have a motorhome, fifth wheel, or travel trailer.

Filed Under: Maintenance Tips Tagged With: DIY RV Maintenance, RV Care, RV Preventive Maintenance

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