Proactive Marine RV Maintenance: Key to Extending Vessel Lifespan

Keeping an RV clean can help protect its value and prevent premature deterioration. Using a ceramic coating to protect the surfaces of your RV can extend its lifespan. RVs require maintenance that is a combination of car and home maintenance. Here are a few general maintenance tasks you should do regularly, monthly, and seasonally:

Inspect Your Roof

RV and boat appliances are often a collection of failure-prone, individually sourced pieces that previous owners may modify. Combined with irregular use, following a marine RV maintenance schedule is easier at best. Monitoring these devices via the connected vehicle opens up new options for usage-based insurance, modifications without voiding warranties, and improved maintenance schedules based on actual use. 

Check Your Tires

A common mistake RV owners make is focusing solely on regular tread wear. But it’s also essential to pay attention to uneven or cupping tread. Inspect your tires regularly for proper pressure, lug nuts, and visual damage. Also, check them for center wear that indicates a problem with alignment. It could require an axle adjustment. Lastly, be sure to store your tires correctly during periods of non-use.

Inspect Your Water Heater

Every RV and boat is like a mobile mystery box of machinery, electronics, and parts. The components are subject to sway, rattle, changeable temperatures, salt, humidity, and sun. These conditions make them prone to failure. Regular inspection and cleaning will prevent this. Symptoms to watch out for include high-pitched whining, rust-colored water, and rotten egg odor.

Inspect Your Holding Tanks

RVs and boats are itinerant mystery boxes of machinery, electrics, and electronics subject to sway and rattle, heat and cold, and humidity. It creates a difficult life for the devices on board.

Regularly inspecting your tanks can help keep your vessel running correctly. For example, the freshwater tank requires a bi-annual flush to prevent bacteria build-up. It can be done by adding a bleach solution to the tank.

Inspect Your Electrical System

Many RVs contain a variety of appliances that are not inherently designed for marine and mobile use. As a result, they can be more prone to failure. Regularly inspect and clean the access panels of your water heater, furnace, and refrigerator for insect nests and accumulated debris. Check and clean the batteries of your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to avoid failure.

Inspect Your Engine

Marine engines are prone to premature fatigue, and the key to extending their lifespan is simple:

• Change the oil regularly.
• Keep the ignition system in tune.
• Make sure the cooling systems work correctly.

Boats and RVs are itinerant mystery boxes of electronics that live in a harsh environment, subjected to sway, rattle, heat, cold, humidity, sun, and salt. With connected devices, usage-based maintenance is now possible for the first time.

Inspect Your Brakes

Brakes are a vital part of your vehicle’s safety and function. They require regular inspections to ensure optimal performance. A pulsating brake pedal could indicate too much rust on the brake rotors. A regular brake inspection can help you prevent expensive braking system repairs. RVs and boats see irregular use, making following a maintenance schedule difficult. However, connected devices can implement maintenance based on actual use.

Inspect Your Battery

A faulty battery can seriously impact the lifespan of your RV. Fortunately, this issue can be prevented by regularly inspecting your battery.

Use a voltmeter to check for proper voltage levels. Remember to wear gloves and goggles when working with batteries. Water your batteries properly. It is essential, as lead-acid batteries require regular topping up. Ensure you add water to the maximum level specified by your battery manufacturer.

Inspect Your Interior

RVs, like boats, are itinerant mystery boxes of machinery and electronics. They live in harsh environments of sway and rattle, heat and cold, humidity and salt. Their complex systems make them prone to frequent failures that can threaten their service life. Inspections based on actual use are so valuable. 

Inspect Your Exterior

RVs and boats are itinerant mystery boxes of machinery and electronics subject to sway, rattle, heat, and cold. They require regular inspection and maintenance. Inspect seals, seams, and vents regularly for leaks and wear. Also, check for insect nesting spots, such as the propane tank and water heater, and repair them as soon as possible. These areas often need to be addressed and can cause costly damage.