Laying up your RV after a rainy getaway

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The universe is known to have a perverse sense of humor. For weekend RVers, it generally manifests itself in providing five wonderful, sunny days during the week, and then puckering up and raining when you finally get to take the rig out for the weekend. If this is your sad situation, how do you care for a "wet" RV when you come home?

Before putting the rig back in storage, start praying for a dry day. When the sun shines (or at least, the rain stops), roll out your awning and let it dry out. This little bit of air time will discourage mold growth, prevent staining, and keep your shade-maker smelling fresh.

Pop-up owners, you've got a similar need. No, it won't hurt to "implode" your pop-up to bring it home. If you've got a barn or tall garage, pop open the unit and open the door and curtains for a complete air-out. Better this should be done under the sun, if possible, so by all means, when Sol appears, get cracking. 

Even hard-sided RV owners will find a little "after the trip" work will make things far more pleasant for the next trip. Crack a roof vent and a window or two, letting a little cross flow ventilation remove the built up moisture that accumulates with use. If you won't be RVing for a while, be sure to drain down the fresh water holding tank.

All RVs do best when their batteries are maintained. If you're charging your batteries by means of the "trailer electrical connector" then be assured, when you return home after a short run your batteries probably won't be fully charged. Hang a battery charger on the RV battery and bring it up to full charge. If the unit will be left disconnected from shore power, cagey RVers will simply disconnect the negative lead from the RV battery, preventing "phantom loads" like safety detectors and other circuitry from draining down the battery. Leave yourself a note in plain sight that reminds you to reconnect the battery before hitching up for the next trip out.