As a result of COVID, people in Australia are buying caravans and travelling in record numbers.
As a result of COVID, people in Australia are buying caravans and travelling in record numbers. If you are one of them, then you already realise that a caravan is a large investment that is more than worth taking proper care of. Beyond the monetary consideration though maintaining your caravan properly is one of the best ways to assure that it will provide you with all the freedom and pleasure that you bought it for.
Despite what many believe a caravan is more than a house on wheels. While you may be able to lock the doors on your home and drive away without any worries, a caravan requires some special consideration when not in use. That is if you want it ready to roll the next time that wanderlust strikes you.
In the interest of making sure you can squeeze every bit of enjoyment out of your caravan that you deserve, we would like to offer this short guide on major considerations to take when deciding how best to store your caravan when not in use.
Security
Security is probably the most overlooked concern that people think about when getting ready to store their caravan. It should really be your first though because of all the fronts it plays out on and the intrinsic value that a caravan represents.
If you park your caravan where you can easily hook-up to it and drive away then you are also making it easy for those with less than an honest nature to do exactly the same thing. Even in quite and secure neighbourhoods with watch programs there are times when few people are around. A caravan is a prize few professional thieves will pass up.
If your caravan is parked where it can easily be seen then its absence is an announcement to malcontents that you are on the road and your home is unattended. An emptied home is not the best thing to find at the end of a fun trip.
Power
Just like in an automobile, the batteries in your caravan can run down when left unattended. There may not be much drain on them from the few essential systems they must maintain when your caravan is just sitting but there is enough that over time, they can be damaged.
The Lithium-Ion battery systems used in most caravans today are much more resilient than older models. They will still deliver full power even if allowed to drop down to 25-30% charge. However, if they do go flat, they can be seriously damaged and are not as cheap to replace as the older power banks.
Most modern systems do have a failsafe cut-off to prevent over-discharge but the best way to protect your caravan’s electrical system is to have it constantly being attached to a standard 240v power supply as it was intended to be.
Plumbing
Just as problems can develop with your caravan’s electrical system, its plumbing must be properly prepared for storage especially if it is to sit for a month or longer. Water tanks and your cassette toilet should be drained, rinsed with freshwater and then left to air dry before being resealed to prevent vermin from invading.
Some people advise leaving water tanks full during storage but water can sometimes go stale and take on the flavour of the tank when left sitting and algae can grow if tanks aren’t sealed properly. The above procedure precludes both of these problems. It also clears any sediment that you may have picked up from dodgy water systems you encountered on your last trip.
Tyres
Tyres are probably the most often sufferers of a shortened lifespan due to improper storage. Frequently left under-inflated on gravel or soil they easily dry, crack and suffer early breakdowns. The best procedure is to inflate them to their maximum allowed pressure (shown on the sidewall) and parked them on a smooth, hard concrete or composite flooring pad.
The best possible scenario is to store your caravan in a purpose-built building like those constructed by ShedEx. They make it possible to easily take care of the majority of caravan storage issues here and all the ones like sun fading, weathering and mildew issues that storing your caravan outdoors in Australia can intel. Australian owned and operated they combine maximum strength, maximum space, maximum durability and maximum value in highly affordable buildings.