KD Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Hi all, we have just got back from a lovely weekend in Ashbourne, this will be our last trip of the year. I know some will say its a bit early but we have a holiday in Spain coming up and our next available weekend will be the first week in November, being as we have three young children we feel it will be too cold and dark by then. This has been our first year with a motorhome and are now packing it away for the winter. Can you please give me your advice on any essential do's and don'ts in preparation for the lovely English Winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred grant Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 yes, don't me andsums!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD Posted September 30, 2007 Author Share Posted September 30, 2007 fred grant - 2007-09-30 7:32 PM yes, don't me andsums!!!! ?????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrise89 Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Pack up for the winter? What does that mean? Do appreciate that it is a problem if you have children. Glad ours have grown up! I guess the major thing is to drain down all water/waste tanks, remove the leisure battery and keep it on trickle charge and remove anything from the van that doesn't need to be there. Look at the owners handbook, should give you more tips, and don't forget to tuck it up nice and warm and give it a hug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate1881 Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Hi K & D We had our first winter with our Motorhome last year, And I was fanatical about making sure it was all thoroughly drained down. I followed the instructions from the dealership down to the letter and we were fortunate to be able to use the Electric heater when it was really cold just to keep it aired. I did empty all the wardrobe and took all the bedding out and anything else that I thought might suffer from the cold. So Good luck Kate1881 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Hi K&D The best advice is - don't! Pack it away for winter that is. But if you really feel you have to then, as advised in earlier posts, make sure you drain down the water system including the water heater and leave all taps in the open position. If they are mixer taps they should be in the middle position. Keep the battery charged and also take all consumables, clothing, bedding etc out to keep dry in the house. Cushions and backrest should be left upright to let air circulate and you may consider leaving a container of the crystals that absorb water in the van to reduce the effect of condensation. Finally, tyres and other parts of the motorhone suffer from being left to stand for long periods. At the very least, you should move the motorhome occasionally to ensure the tyres do not stand on the same part of the tread constantly. It is best to take the vehicle out for a short run every couple of weeks. If you can still get away, even for a night or two, it is the best way to keep the motorhome and contents in the best condition through winter though. Best regards, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Packing it away does that mean you store it away somewhere ? If so i don't suppose it's easy for you to get to it. Luckily ours is on the drive but to be honest life takes over with the children and we often forget to go look inside or even move it. Some people say that its wise not to have it plugged in all the time and others say leave it plugged in ? A friend in the trade says if you don't use it you loose it . Every year we seem to get a battery problem I am not sure if its good or not to leave it constantly plugged up but we have now taken to unplugging to let the battery get used and them replenished again when we plug back in. I have noticed our blinds have gone mouldy but there was a falty batch I we are one of them whatever I dont suppose the cold helps it . I can recomend Chamonix with the children at xmas the snow was wonderful and so was opening xmas presents and xmas dinner on a campsite at the foot of the two glaciers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotchjock Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 I tend to get squatters if I leave mine unused, so a couple of mouse traps are set over the quieter periods. How do the little b*****s get in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 I suppose through all the nooks and crannies . Thats what comes of living in beautiful Scotland. Down here you just get Rats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotchjock Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 The nooks and crannies probably aren't big enough for the rats to get in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 :D :D Must just say we have never had a problem with any criters to the best of my knowledge anyway and we have certainly never seen anything to suggest anything untoward. The worst that we have suffered as I say is the mould on our blinds it does look horrible because it leaves Black little circles but if you didn't know that they were another colour originally you would'nt know at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Best advice - bring it down to Spain with you. Our winters are perishing here - sometimes the night-time temperature in the coldest parts of February actually drops to 3 or 4 degrees. Can you imagine that!!! Course, in the other "winter" months it only gets down to maybe 10 or 12 degrees on the coldest nights. And during the day, a massively chilly 15 to 20 degrees is the norm. And rain.......let me, see now; that's the wet stuff that falls from the sky. Yes, I seem to remember that happening two or three times last winter.... Just can't think why we emigrated here 5 years ago. B-) Honestly though.....I'm not clear on why you feel you can't use the van for weekend breaks etc from October onwards. It's an expensive beast to just sit there depreciating without you enjoying the use of it for 6 months or more in a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaleg Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 scotchjock - 2007-09-30 10:07 PM I tend to get squatters if I leave mine unused, so a couple of mouse traps are set over the quieter periods. How do the little b*****s get in? mice can easily get in through a hole the thickness of a pencil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaleg Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 we have had five van's over 30 years (approximatly) just drain the water down, the best thing you can do is take it for a good fifty mile round trip as often as possible. nice sunny winters day, go for a picnic, you may have to put the heating on. pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 All I can add is leave all Cupboards and internal doors open to allow air to circulate. whats best practice regards tyre care for laying a van up? I seem to remeber that over inflationg was suggested once upon a time? also moving now and again to avoid flat spots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 JudgeMental - 2007-10-01 11:39 AM All I can add is leave all Cupboards and internal doors open to allow air to circulate. whats best practice regards tyre care for laying a van up? I seem to remeber that over inflationg was suggested once upon a time? also moving now and again to avoid flat spots? Hi judgemental Some people say it is enough to just make sure the tyres are lifted off the ground (or removed altogether) - especially with caravans. This will certainly avoid the ovalisation of the tyres that can occur if they are stood on the same spot for too long but the other main problem is that rubber tends to harden and then crack when not used. Driving the vehicle helps to keep the rubber pliable and avoid this - hence the suggestion to run the vehicle every so often. Regards, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 breakaleg - 2007-10-01 11:18 AM we have had five van's over 30 years (approximatly) just drain the water down, the best thing you can do is take it for a good fifty mile round trip as often as possible. nice sunny winters day, go for a picnic, you may have to put the heating on. pete Good advice, try and use van as regulary as sensibly possible, it gives the inside an airing and the mechnical bits a working out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 thanks everyone very reassuring i dont need to panic too much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 I remember a very experienced vehicle mechanic offering a top tip if anyone is going to lay up a petrol engined car/van/bike for months at a time:- One of the big issues is the possibility of the piston rings "welding" themselves to the inside of the cylinders (which are usually steel, even if the engine cylinder block is aluminium. It's a form of metal corrosion. Essentially you can end up with a siezed engine. And then a BIG bill to fix it, as the cylinder head has to come off to try to free the parts at the very least. His tip, which he said works every time if you are going to lay up the vehicle for an extended period (and are not able/available to start it up every few weeks so that the oil has a chance to circulate), is to remove the spark plugs and fire a generous squirt of WD40 into each cylinder, then replace and the plugs just finger-tight. Then when you do eventually come to want to restart the engine, he said 1st remove the spark plugs again and crank the engine over for several revolutions using just the starter motor, to ensure it's free to rotate, and to evacuate the WD40 and to get oil around the engine from the oil pump. Then replace plugs, and start the engine as normal. I have used this tip several times with cars and bikes - I don't know if I would have had the siezing problem if I hadn't used it, but certainly it meant that the engines started immediately when retrieved from many months of lay-up. Cheers, Bruce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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