5 Tips For Extending the Life of Your Motorhome
5 Tips For Extending the Life of Your Motorhome
There’s much to love about having a motorhome in your life, but there’s no avoiding the fact that they can be expensive. To make sure you get most from your motorhome, here are five top tips.
We’re going to make sure your motorhome lasts for as many years as possible.
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Protected from the Elements
While you might dream of spending all your time travelling in your motorhome, the reality is that it will be spending a time sitting on your driveway, or in storage. Your motorhome will be exposed to the elements, the weather and UV light. A lot of sunshine and rain can have a hugely negative impact on any vehicle, including a motorhome. As such, it’s important to take steps to keep it protected. This could involve covering it with a motorhome cover or a wheel cover. This will protect the paintwork and rubber tyres from degradation and damage.
It is worth considering a ceramic coating to protect your paintwork from the elements. This will make washing your motorhome easier to keep it looking sparkling.
Try to keep your batteries topped up when you are not using your motorhome. His will prolong their life and improve their performance.
Keep the mileage down when you can
It might be that your motorhome is in regular use as a main vehicle. This can be a tempting way to cut costs (since you won’t need a car), but it’s not a recommended approach. Your motorhomes mechanical parts will wear sooner with a higher mileage. You will find servicing costs increase as parts such as brakes, filters and tyres need replacing.
The more you drive it, the faster you’ll reach the limit of your motorhomes life span. Instead of wasting precious mileage on just getting around town, get a runaround vehicle. Perform a used car search, and you’ll find plenty of affordable, high-quality options. It is nicer to drive a vehicle that’s designed for urban spaces when you are popping to the shops or collecting a takeaway. If you purchase a small car you may be able to tow this behind your motorhome too.
Servicing and Maintenance
You will be putting your motorhome through its paces when away touring. It might be you take short weekend breaks, a few weeks touring Scotland or eight weeks around Europe. Whatever your touring style you must remember to service your motorhome. Depending on the chassis your motorhome is built on will depend on the service intervals. Some require a minor service at one year and a major at two years. You will need a mechanical service for the chassis and cab and a habitation service for the motorhome. A yearly habitation service is needed to maintain any warranty you have. The engineer will check your gas appliances and check for any damp too. A service is important to ensure your motorhome is safe and roadworthy. At three years of age it will require an MOT test on a yearly basis, like a car.
Deep Cleaning
We all want out motorhomes to look clean and shiny. When touring in bad weather that is easier said than done though. There are plenty of good blogs available with tips around cleaning your motorhome. Make sure you deep clean the interior and exterior of the vehicle on a regular basis. You will notice any damage to your motorhome if you clean it regularly.
Some products can be abrasive and not suitable for your motorhome. Make sure you use specific products such as those from PP Protect.
Leave it to a professional
Unless you know what you are doing, do not start DIY projects on your motorhome. If you motorhome is new then leave it to a dealer or reputable engineer to fit equipment to it. It might be you are considering air conditioning, satellite or a solar panel. To start cutting or drilling in to your motorhome is not recommended. You may invalidate your warranty, cause water ingress or cut through an electric cable.
When you come to sell your motorhome, it won’t look good is you have fitted some wonky plug sockets, or had a go at painting a wall. After all your motorhome should be your pride and joy, so treat it as such.
These tips should have given you some very quick and simple guidance about motorhome care.