A How-to Guide to De-Winterize A Popup Camper & Prepare for Camping Season

A How-to Guide to De-winterize A Popup Camper & Prepare for Camping Season

Spring cleaning, your popup camper from outside to in is important to get rid of dust, mold, and allergens. If you winterized your popup camper, you should already be ahead of the game and will not have much to do than just simply wipe down, sweep, and do some lite vacuuming of the bunk ends. Check out my post for how to winterize a popup camper. However, if you did not winterize, this is the best time to clean your popup camper from head to toe, in and out.

Give your exterior a thorough cleaning as well. Give particular attention to the canvas, vinyl, roof, and check for damages, cracks, rips, or any type of repairs. Once your popup camper is clean and dry apply a waterproof barrier on the canvas to prevent water leakage and condensation. Check all seams and re-caulk if necessary. At this time, I would check lights, power, propane, water, and services.

During long periods of rest, your popup camper tires can lose pressure, especially during the changing seasons and temperatures.

Make sure to check all your popup camper tires with an inflation gauge. Using your popup camper owner’s manual or looking at the tire’s manufacturer information located on the sidewalls of the tire should help you find your appropriate gauge information. This is also a great chance to examine the treads and wear the tires can create when riding. If your popup camper’s tires look worn out down or losing tread, it is time to replace them.

Bearings are another part of the popup camper that can easily get missed and cause serious injury or death if the bearings go out while driving. Replacing the grease or adding more can be done at home or with a professional.

When storing your popup camper for winter removing your battery is essential. Removing your battery and storing it in a warm location during winter will help the water in your battery from freezing when the temperature drops too low. This occurs because a battery loses its sulfuric acid when it discharges and leaves water behind. The more your battery discharges, the easier it freezes causing problems when you try to recharge the battery.

Checking your batteries is one more important part of de-winterize a popup camper. If you are like me, you might charge your batteries throughout the winter. But there are some owners who would choose to detach them and store them in a warmer environment. If your batteries don’t start or hold a charge over a period of time, right now is a good time to replace them.

there are some items to check before you can reinstall the battery. For example recharging the battery fully and checking for minor discrepancies when charging, like length to charge fully and shortages. If you have lead-acid batteries, check the water level, and fill it to the appropriate levels, if needed (wear eye protection and safety gloves) only add distilled water. Make sure to check for loose cables and wires, tighten or replace any loose connections. Also check the battery post, cables, and wires for corrosion including the battery for cleanliness, mainly the topside of the battery.

If you store your camper outdoors removing your propane tank is important. Damage can occur when left outside in freezing temperatures and to avoid thieves from taking off or vandalizing them. Store them upright and away from foot traffic. Check out our Propane Tank guide.

Reinstall your propane tanks back in their appropriate spot(s) and hook them up. You will need to check them further to ensure no leaks or blockages accrue. By testing them, open the LP valve a little (about a quarter turn) and add a little bit of soapy water in front of the connectors to find out if any air bubbles emerge. If you don’t see any you are fine, if you see bubbles, shut the valve off immediately. An only qualified professionals can work on propane tanks, take it to your nearest propane dealer.

Once everything is in running order, reconnect the tank and try each appliance for more testing. Heaters and cooking elements are the main sources of propane and should be in working order before use.  

Drain antifreeze and sanitize (Applicable to those with bathrooms or to those who use their water tanks)

De-winterizing your water tanks is very important. If you de-winterize your water tanks you are again ahead of the game. If you added antifreeze before storage you will need to clean your tanks thoroughly before use. Antifreeze protects the pipes and internal systems from freezing and breaking during the winter, especially if you store your camper outdoors or in climates where winter is mainly below freezing.

If applicable: Start by taking your water heater out of the bypass mode. You’ll need to flush out every part of your water lines, including the sinks, showers, toilet, water heater, etc. Connect your popup camper to a freshwater line and run water through the faucet tub and toilet, run water till the liquid is clear. Be aware of how much your grey water tank holds. You don’t want to overfill the tank. Now, all the antifreeze is in your grey or black water tanks. Dispose of this safely at your nearest dump station. Follow sanitizing procedures next.

Sanitize:

To sanitize your plumbing and remove any remaining antifreeze or bacteria you will need to add a sanitizer built for campers or follow a simple mixture. You can make this mixture by combining 1 cup of bleach for every 60 gallons of water. Check your water tanks for labels to tell you how many gallons the tank(s) hold.

Continue to move the sanitizer or mixture throughout the plumbing until you can smell the bleach. Turn off all valves and let the mixture sit in the pipelines for about 12 hours. As soon as the time allowance is over, refill the tank with fresh water and flush out all traces of bleach scent is gone.  

So now you are finished with unpleasant junk, here comes the fun stuff, making sure you have all your essentials back into the camper and restocking must needed items like toiletries, linens, first aid kit, bug spray, and other items you need to use to make your camping experience comfortable and feel like home. View our “Popup Camper Supplies Checklist” and print out a list for your popup camper

Once you have completed these steps if applicable to your popup camper, you are ready to camp! I also advise you to check your towing vehicle for further services for instance oil change, tire rotation, and so on. Knowing you did all you could do to drive a safe towing vehicle and popup camper is important. Now you are ready to go camping this season and make more memories with loved ones. Check out the Pre-Departure Checklist for Travel Safety for Pop-up Campers and print out the list.

View this link to print out a “Checklist for De-Winterizing Your Popup Camper”