Preparing for winter

As the nights draw in and temperatures plummet all but the most hardy of us will be abandoning the open road until the spring. So, if you are unable to store your motorhome inside a garage or similar, now is the time to take some precautions that will help your motorhome come through unscathed.

Personally, I make sure I still drive around in mine occasionally right through the winter months, just to keep things ticking over, combined with some other measures. These are over and above those precautions you would take with any vehicle, such as using anti-freeze in the cooling system and screen wash, squirting a bit of oil into locks etc.

Draining the water systems

I usually get back from a trip with some water still in the cold and hot water tanks and if I’m going to be heading off again soon I just top these up. That said, I also carry bottled water for drinking and just use the stored water for washing, flushing the toilet etc.

When there’s going to be a long gap until the next trip it’s a good idea to drain the systems to get as much water out of the various systems as possible (ideally all of it). Not only will this ensure you haven’t got a store of water going stagnant, it will also help to avoid split pipes and other damage due to freezing in winter.

This involves getting water out of the cold water tank, the hot water tank, the grey water tank and the toilet cistern – as well as the pipes connecting them all.

There are various approaches to this. You may be lucky and have a detailed owner’s manual that explains how to do this with your particular model. I didn’t get any such documentation so have had to resort to the internet. So while the following summarises general advice I’ve gleaned from various sites, it’s worth checking what will work best with your vehicle.

The simplest approach seems to be turning each tap on (at the mid-point with a mixer tap to drain hot and cold), then turn the pump on for a short while. Repeat for each tap individually then – leaving the pump off – turn all the taps on (again at mid-point for mixer taps).

This leaves the system open to the air and should blow most of the water out. Driving around with all the taps open may also help to ensure any residual water gets ‘vibrated out’ of the system. Your vehicle may also have drainage valves to help the process – if your toilet has a cistern rather than flushing directly from the water tank, this will have a drainage valve, probably accessed from above the cassette.

That may be enough to prevent freezing, though if you want to get all of the water out you may want to consider a system that uses compressed air to blow it out. There are various systems available and as I haven’t tried any of them I can’t make a specific recommendation. An internet search will lead to the various options.

Of course, once you’ve drained the water be careful not to turn the water pump on again until the systems have been re-filled. Dry running is not good for pumps.

Avoiding condensation

Any living space that isn’t used for a long period of time will become musty and vulnerable to condensation as the internal surfaces get cold. This will be a particular danger in a van conversion as there are more metal surfaces internally.

Any such increase in humidity and deposits of condensation can damage the fabrics of fabrics etc. and possibly even lead to mould growth.

One way to avoid this is to use some form of dehumidification. Options include ‘bags’ of dessicant that absorb moisture and are then dried out by putting them on a radiator. In my experience their drying effect is limited to within a short distance of the bag.

Aero 360

There are also moisture absorbing devices that remove moisture from the air more actively. The one I have tried is the Unibond Aero 360 and it works well. You do need to regularly empty the moisture and replace the absorber cartridge about every 3 months.

Electric dehumidifiers are another option, though they will require a constant mains supply and the tank will need to be emptied on a regular basis.

A fourth alternative is to use a low wattage electric heater such as a greenhouse heater to constantly warm the interior of the motorhome and prevent condensation – just like the frost protection setting on a central heating system. Again, you’ll need to keep your van plugged into the mains.

Using a cover over the entire motorhome will also help to keep the cold out a bit, though if you intend to drive the vehicle occasionally during the winter it may prove rather inconvenient. Any such cover should be ‘breathable’ or it may add to condensation problems.

Make sure any cover is 'breathable'

Also, as unlikely as it may be, don’t use any gas appliances while the cover is on as the cover will have blocked the flues, so there’s nowhere for the poisonous gases to go except into the van.

Alongside all of these options, I would certainly recommend taking advantage of the warm(ish) sunny days we get occasionally during the winter to open the van up and let a bit of air flow through it. With a van conversion, just leaving the sliding door open for a while will work fine. With coach built models that have quite a narrow door it will be worth opening windows and/or roof vents as well.

When ‘giving it an airing’ open up all cupboard doors to ensure the air circulates throughout the nooks and crannies. Moving cushions away from external walls will also help to encourage air movement around the cushion and help to prevent mould.

Check list

The following is a summary of things to consider before winter:

• Drain all water systems.
• Consider methods for reducing humidity.
• Stand cushions away from walls.
• Switch off all power connected to the leisure battery (it’s good to give the battery a charge every now and then as well).
• Turn off gas at cylinders.