In this article you’ll find my top five RV maintenance tips. You know, if
you want your RV to last, you’ve got to maintain it.

It’s just a fact of life and one that we can’t change. But here’s the really good news!

Roughly eighty percent of the maintenance tasks on an RV can be done by the average RVer. So you don’t need to be an RV tech or even be mechanically inclined.

Almost anyone can learn how to take care of the maintenance tasks around their RV.

So with all that in mind, let’s get started on my top five tips for RV maintenance then.

RV Maintenance Tips – Number One

And number one is a big one! And that is – have a list for your maintenance tasks around the RV.

Oh, I know we all kind of like to do things by memory. Usually because we just don’t want to sit down and write it out a lot of the time.

But you know what? If we do it that way, we’re going to miss some things. We’re going to not do some things when they need to be done. And sometimes we may even forget to do it all together.

So it’s really important to have a list. And it doesn’t have to be a fantastic, unbelievable kind of list either. Just simply write it out.

Just put down the things you need to maintain on your RV. And maybe separate them out into sections for monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, and annually.

That way it will remind you to do those tasks as they are needed. Then put in the date when you did each task too.

And then all you’ve got to do is take a a real quick look at your maintenance list. You will then know when you did that maintenance task last.

And also when it’s coming up on the schedule again. It’s really kind of simple. It just takes a little bit of effort on our part to sit down and get
that list together. But it’s really important!

RV Maintenance Tips – Number Two

My second tip – include the engine and the drivetrain on your RV maintenance list.

Yes, I know that many RVers take care of their RV itself really well. But they don’t really think about the engine and drivetrain nearly as much.

Now you may be saying, “well I don’t have a motorhome”. But even if you have a towable RV, there’s an engine and a drivetrain somewhere that pulls that RV around.

So no matter what RV you have, there’s going to be an engine and drivetrain that needs some maintenance.

What I’m saying is, make sure that you stay up with that mechanical maintenance. Because if you don’t, then you’re going to be sitting for a while eventually.

You need to keep that engine and drivetrain in very good working order to get your RV around. So include it on your maintenance list that you write out.

RV Maintenance – Tip Number Three

My third tip is – about how long you should go between service intervals on these maintenance tasks.

And of course, it’s hard to say how long maintenance intervals should be for everybody. The reason why is because there’s so many different types of RV’s.

And they can have all kinds of components and items in them that need maintenance. So maintenance intervals can be very different from one RV to the other.

That means that there’s a need for you to know what your particular RV needs. As far as maintenance intervals go.

Now in order to get that information, I highly recommend to get familiar with the manuals for the items and components in your RV. And also for the engine and drivetrain.

Again this is something not a lot of people really like to do. But it’s very important!

Set about right away to getting the manuals for things such as your water heater. Also for your furnace, roof, air conditioners, and your engine and so on. Get those manuals now!

You may say, “how can I do that?” Because maybe you didn’t get the manuals when you purchased your RV.

But the truth is that these days, you can find just about any manual you want online. And download it to have it on hand when it is needed.

Then just go in the manual to the maintenance section. And it will tell you how to maintain pretty much anything about that component.

Then all you’ve got to do is just follow those guidelines. Once again, I highly recommend to do what the manual tells you to do for maintenance
intervals.

And use what they recommend for any fluids or lubricants too. Because there’s a reason why they tell you to do that.

Maintenance Tip Number Four

Now for tip number four – have a good set of working tools. That way you can take care of a lot of the maintenance for your RV yourself.

Now I made a video about this in the past, and this video provides a very good basic place to start for a good RV toolkit.

And you don’t need to go crazy. It’s not going to cost you a ton of money to get started on a good RV tool kit.

But you do need to have certain tools to perform maintenance tasks
around the RV. So get yourself a good tool bag. And then take care of the tools that you buy.

My Last RV Maintenance Tip

Now for tip number five, and this is a really good one. There’s no excuse these days for not knowing how to maintain anything on your RV. Why?

Because if you don’t know how to do it, just go to YouTube and make a search for that particular maintenance item.

Search my YouTube channel for videos on RV maintenance tips

Like how to clean out your water heater, or clean off your roof. Or perhaps sanitize your fresh water tank. Or clean your awning. Things like that.

All of this can be found in videos on YouTube. So there’s no excuse for not being able to do it.

They’ll show you how to do it and and give you good ideas. Maybe even some good shortcuts too.

I know I consult YouTube videos all the time myself. So be sure to make good use of YouTube for RV maintenance tasks.

But you can also use websites too. There’s a lot of websites that lay it out for you step by step. And that can be very valuable.

But of course, I know that a lot of us like to see it done on video. So maybe use information on websites along with YouTube videos.

Conclusion

Well, those are my top five RV maintenance tips. Now let me say this. As an RV inspector, I have seen the poor results of not doing RV maintenance over and over again.

And let me tell you, some of it is just shocking. In fact, I have seen a five-year-old RV that looked like it needed a complete overhaul. From top to bottom. In just in five years.

Why? Because the owners had just basically neglected it. They hadn’t really done anything for it.

And it doesn’t take long for your RV to start breaking down. Especially if it doesn’t get the right maintenance that it needs.

Now I know that RV maintenance is not an exciting topic for many people. There’s not a lot of folks out there that are just itching to learn more about RV maintenance.

But in all honesty, it is one of the most important subjects that any RVer can learn about. Once you learn it, you’ll know it.

And you’ll have that skill going forward, and it’ll be a great thing. Just remember it doesn’t take a lot to learn.

So follow the tips I’ve given you in this article. Then your RV will continue taking you on fun travel adventures in the years to come.

Well that’s it for now. Have safe and happy travels my friends. Until next time…