Motorhome maintenance advice

How to maintain your motorhomes engine and living quarters

Many people who hire a motorhome get the motorhome bug and go on to be regular hirers, some even decide to buy a motorhome. If you only ever intend to hire a motorhome and are not interested in buying a motorhome there is still some useful information contained within this motorhome article that might be worth reading.

If you own a motorhome then it is very important to maintain it just like you would the family car, keeping a motorhome well maintained will help prevent problems in the here and now and in the future.  A simple maintenance routine is all that is needed, we would advise you to carry out any maintenance to your motorhome at the end of each holiday or trip.  A routine like this will give you confidence each time you set off on a new adventure in your motorhome and will make the motorhome look and feel nice and comfortable and will help to make sure that the engine and other important components such as the tyres are well prepared for the journey ahead.

You will probably take your motorhome on longer journeys than you would a family car and this is all the more reason to make sure that a hired or owned motorhome is well maintained.  I had a bad experience when I hired a motorhome for my first motorhome holiday, basically the motorhome broke down on the outskirts of an undesirable part of a French city at two in the morning and we were literally stranded – my wife still reminds me of this incident to this day! If only we had used a reputable hire company that maintained it’s fleet of motorhomes professionally this would never have happened!

Motorhome Maintenance – keeping the engine and mechanical parts of you motorhome in good shape

It is crucial that you maintain your motorhomes engine and mechanical parts, if these are not looked after properly you will at some point encounter problems when you least need it. You should regulary do the following:

• Change the motorhomes engine oil and Re-fill all engine fluids when required to do so.
• Keep other fluids such as the motorhomes wind screen wipers topped up.
• Monitor the motorhomes batteries to protect them from corrosion and to prevent a flat battery
• Routinely check the motorhomes tire pressure especially before a long journey
• check the tread on the motorhomes tyres are to keep them above the legal limits.

There are some great tools now on the market that can monitor your motorhomes tire pressure quickly and easily such as the TyrePal tyre pressure monitoring system which keeps you in touch with your tyres settings up to a maximum of 180psi (12bar) which can easily be set up for caravans and motorhomes.

Motorhome maintenance – Keeping your motorhomes living quarters in good condition

A motorhomes living quarters also need maintaining and you should pay particular attention to dampness and moisture build up, clogged up drains and Storage

Dampness build up inside motorhomes

Constant use of the shower and cooker can cause dampness and mould within the motorhome which is easily avoidable.  Simply open the motorhomes roof vent and keep it open as long as possible, and keep the bathroom fan turned on whenever someone uses the shower. You can also close all the vents, windows and doors of the motorhome whilst someone is in the shower to prevent damp moisture in the air spreading to other parts of the motorhome. The aim is to get any damp moisture in the air to float out of the motorhomes roof vents. In very cold or damp conditions avoid using the stove to boil water and for cooking where possible and use the motorhomes microwave oven instead to limit moisture in the air.

Cleaning the motorhomes drains

A Motorhomes kitchen’s drains are similar to the drains you have outside your home kitchen area and need to be kept clean and free from obstructions.  The  motorhomes bathroom sink should also be detached and cleaned regularly basis, around once every six to eight weeks. You should also have some gardening hose pipe with you so that you can blast the shower drains free from and build up of residue – set the hose to high pressure for this task.

Storing your motorhome

Finally you need to think about where you can safely store your motorhome in preparation for periods of inaction and during the winter months, in particular the motorhomes water lines will need draining as a drop in temperatures when the motorhome is out of use may cause any remaining water within the motorhomes system to freeze, this will cause any water lines or pumps to expand until they burst to release the pressure and you may then face quite a heafty maintenance bill to sort out this very avoidable mess!

We hope you have enjoyed this motorhome maintenance advice from everyone on the Holiday Motorhome Hire team