Top Three Maintenance Issues With RVs

If you’ve owned a recreational vehicle for very long, you know how much fun you can have with one. Whether you use it to camp on weekends, put it to work as a guest house or live in it full time, an RV has value above and beyond dollars and cents.  As much fun as it is, though, you might have also noticed that your RV requires a significant amount of maintenance. Read on to learn some of the common issues with RVs.

If your rig is a motorhome, you have all of the systems that are found on a car or truck, plus all of the systems found in a house. Repairs to any of these can end up taking a lot of time and money, so investing in regular maintenance is a wise thing to do. Putting aside the automotive aspect and focusing on the “home” part, the top three maintenance issues are related to moisture.

Starting at the top, one of the roof’s primary functions is to keep out moisture in the form of precipitation. Older RVs have metal roofs, and newer ones are made of rubber. Whichever type you have, roofs on motorhomes and camp trailers tend to develop leaks. Unless you keep your RV parked under cover or have a tarp over it, you’ll need to do routine maintenance to the seals in order to keep moisture out.

Moving down, take a good look at your windows. They may be the old crank-style or newer sliding models. In either case, if the rubber seals around the edges start to crack, moisture will get inside the RV and cause damage to the walls, flooring and furniture. Examine them annually and replace them as needed.

The final type of moisture problem comes from within the RV and has to do with condensation. Depending on the interior and exterior temperatures, a significant amount of moisture can form on the insides of your windows and walls. If left alone, it can cause a lot of damage due to mold, mildew and rot. Preventive measures are considered maintenance and include opening your vents or cracking a window at each end of the RV, keeping cooking pots covered and extractor fans in use and adjusting the temperature inside to reduce humidity.

Maintenance, when performed properly and regularly, will save you money in the long run and allow you to have more fun in your recreational vehicle. Visit this website to learn more about RV repair service in Santa Cruz.