SUMMER-IZING: HOW TO GET YOUR RIG OUT OF HIBERNATION AND READY FOR SUMMER

The time has come to uncover the travel trailer for yet another season of heading further down the road. This warmer weather is your green light to start the series of processes that need to be done (or undone, depending on how you look at it) to get your travel trailer back to travel condition.

Summer-izing (also known to many as ‘de-winterizing’) is undoing everything you did to get your travel trailer through winter. So we’ve developed the guide below to walk you through how to get your travel trailer out of hibernation and on the road in time for summer fun.

Complete a Walk Through

The first thing we do when beginning the summer-izing process of our travel trailer is to thoroughly take stock of everything that might have occurred over its duration in storage:

1. We open the doors and windows for a bit of airflow.
2. We then pull out the outdoor kitchen and extend the awning. If they stick as we open them, we go ahead and grease the wheels as needed.
3. We search for any mold or mildew and clean accordingly.
4. We carefully inspect the seals on the windows to make sure there has been no cracking or damage caused by freezing temps.
5. We always look under the trailer to check for leaks on the ground. If something needs extended maintenance, we address it before moving on to the rest of the checklist.
6. If we notice any joints, hinges, or locks frozen over the winter, we use a lubricant to get everything back in working order.
7. Last, but not least, we make sure our tires have the correct pressure before moving our trailer out of storage.

Clear and Clean Your Water System

Clearing and cleaning your travel trailer’s water supply is a time-consuming but relatively painless process. However, for those who have to fill their water system with antifreeze, a necessary step for anyone who lives in freezing temps, you need to be extra careful that your supply is entirely free of chemicals, as they’re extremely dangerous if consumed.

1. First, we start by hooking up our water system to a water supply. This will help purge the lines by pressurizing the antifreeze through each pipe and faucet.
2. We like to begin with the outermost faucet from the water supply and purge each line one at a time until every faucet cascades with clean and clear water.
3. Then, we add a water system freshener (you can use an R.V. specific freshener or a small amount of bleach) and let it sit for the better half of a day to ensure that our system is thoroughly disinfected.
4. Once it’s clean, we clear whatever refresher we’ve used from the water tanks like we cleared the antifreeze.

Plug-In + Test Run Power Supplies

Now that your water system is ready, it’s time to get the plug-in and test run all of your power supplies and battery-run technology. We like to go down this checklist to ensure we don’t forget anything. You don’t want to miss testing any of these and get out to camp, only to realize you have a problem, and be out of luck.

1. First, we start by filling our propane tanks and any generators that run on fuel.
2. After, we reinstall all necessary batteries. (Skip this step if you don’t have travel plans coming up since the batteries could drain before the trip).
3. Then, we test out our solar panels and make sure they correctly supply power to the travel trailer for long-term off-grid capabilities.
4. Next, we reinstall the primary batteries and check to ensure all electrical appliances function. We then turn on the generator and let it run for 30 minutes at half capacity to ensure it’s operating correctly.
5. Remember to check the batteries on your emergency flashlights, smoke detectors, and other battery-run technology that you might be carrying in your trailer’s loadout.

Test Run Your Appliances

The last thing we like to do when summer-izing our travel trailer is to check our appliances, accessories, and devices to ensure they are functioning before we hit the road.

1. First, we turn on our furnace and air conditioning unit to check for the proper working condition in any weather we might encounter while on the road.
2. After, we go to our fridge, wipe it down, and let it cool to the ideal temps before adding food or drink.
3. We also like to wipe our stove down and give it a test run to ensure everything is working as it should.
4. Plug in your Dometic Cooler to make sure it’s running smoothly.
5. And we finish with a test run of our entertainment system by choosing our favorite victory song and blasting it to celebrate the end of our summer-ization process and the start of another great summer on the road!

Ready Your Summer Loadout

Whether you store your travel trailer for the winter or not, your summer loadout will look slightly different from the one you had in the winter. Here are some items we always bring along to ensure we have an awesome season:

• Outdoor rug
• Camping chairs
• Side table for card games
• String lights for outdoor ambiance
• Kayak/canoe or other flotation devices
• Fishing gear
• Hiking gear
• Extra water jugs
• Sunscreen and mosquito spray

From completing a thorough walkthrough to reinstalling power systems, you can quickly get your trailer on the road in time for summer fun. It can be a bit of work, but the payoff during the summer months is worth every minute spent. Also, we always find that summer-izing is easiest when we’ve done a solid job of winter-zing and staying on top of necessary maintenance throughout the season. If you use this checklist, let us know in the comments. Have something you’d like to add? Let us know! Every travel trailer is different, so follow the advice of our trusted dealers or shoot us a message if you have any questions.

Did you like this blog? See: How To Manage High Temps: 6 Tips For Staying Cool While Off-Road Camping