While you can certainly use an RV during the winter months, most RV owners look forward to summer vacations to put their rigs to use. If your RV is usually parked outside during the winter, it’s important to protect its condition properly throughout those cold months. We’d like to present some ideas to help you keep your RV in great shape so you can put it into use when spring and summer come around.

Prepare Your RV for Winter Conditions

Before talking about where you will store your carport, it’s a good start to discuss what you should do to your RV before the wind, rain, and snow arrive. Of course, it’s a good idea to consult your owner’s manual for winterization procedures, but these are starting points to help extend the life of your RV.

Disconnect the Batteries

If you leave your batteries hooked up all winter long, they will slowly drain, even if you turn everything off in the RV. Find a suitable place to store your batteries through the winter, making sure they stay dry. If you can, periodically charge the batteries to keep them from draining all the way down while in storage.

Get Rid of the Water

Assuming you live in an area where winter temperatures will drop below freezing, it’s important to get the water out of your RV before that happens. When water freezes, it expands and can do costly damage to various components inside your rig. Drain the lines in advance of winter so you don’t find yourself stuck with some surprise repairs before your first trip next year.

Clean Your RV

You don’t want to leave anything inside your RV that might motivate little critters to make their way inside. In other words, take all food out of the RV and give it a thorough cleaning.

An RV Cover is a Starting Point

If nothing else, consider getting a RV cover to keep it protected from winter rain and snow. While covers don’t provide outstanding protection, they are better than nothing. This is especially true when a snowstorm moves into your area. Without a cover, that snow will sit directly on top of your RV until it melts away. With a source of moisture piled up on the roof, even the smallest cracks or holes are going to lead to leaks that bring water into the RV. With a cover on the RV, you’ll have a layer of protection that will hopefully keep the water where it belongs – on the outside.

Upgrade to a Carport

While an RV cover is a decent option, it doesn’t come close to offering the kind of protection available from a carport. With an RV carport from American Steel Carports, Inc., you’ll have a roof over your RV that can catch all the rain and snow, so your RV stays dry all winter long. RV carports can also protect your RV from the wind and keep fallen leaves or sticks away.

If you are particularly interested in protecting your RV from snow, consider going with a vertical roof when ordering from us. A vertical roof orientation will help snow to fall off the sides of the carport, rather than building up on the roof. That means the roof will not have to support a huge load of heavy snow, and you’ll be able to shovel it away from the sides easily.

Protect Your RV Until Summer

It’s hard to beat the fun you can have with an RV when traveling with family and friends. Of course, your RV needs to be in good condition to enjoy those trips, and costly repairs can make it hard to enjoy this hobby as you should.

With a sturdy, affordable carport from American Steel Carports, Inc., your RV will always have a dry and protected place to rest when not in use. Get started on this project today by using our Build & Price tool. If you have any questions, just contact us and our professional team will help you with each step along the way.