Summer is the whole reason a lot of us put up with owning an RV. Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend, a shaded site in the national forest with the awning out, that’s the payoff. It’s also when our heat and humidity lean on every system in the rig, and when an hour of prep in the driveway saves you a rough weekend later.
Here’s the once-over we’d give a customer’s RV before the temperatures really climb.
Sort out the A/C first
Your air conditioner works hardest on the exact days you can least afford to lose it, so don’t let the first 95-degree afternoon be the test. Clean or swap the filter, get the coils cleaned so the unit can actually move air, and have the capacitor and fan checked, since those are what usually quit.
A pre-season A/C clean and inspection is cheap next to a holiday-weekend breakdown. If yours is already blowing weak, our piece on why an RV A/C won’t cool walks through the likely causes, and we can fix it before you head out.
Check the fridge before you load it
Absorption fridges, the gas/electric kind in most RVs, hate heat, especially when the back of the unit can’t shed it. Park reasonably level, because they genuinely depend on it, clear the exterior vents, and make sure air can move behind the unit. If yours already runs warm in summer, a couple of cooling fans can make the difference. If it’s flat-out not keeping up, look into it before a trip rather than after, which is where our refrigerator repair comes in.
Wake up the power and generator
Running the A/C leans hard on your electrical system. Start the generator and let it run under load to confirm it holds voltage. Old fuel is the number one reason a generator won’t start after sitting all winter, so if it’s been parked a while, deal with that in the driveway, not at the campsite. Look over the batteries and connections while you’re at it. If the generator is a year overdue or struggles to bring up the air conditioner, get it serviced.
Don’t trust old tires
Heat is brutal on tires, and East Texas asphalt in July is no joke. An underinflated tire runs even hotter, and that’s a leading cause of summer blowouts. Set pressure cold against the load rating, and look hard for cracking and uneven wear. Keep in mind that RV tires age out long before the tread wears down, so the date on the sidewall matters as much as the depth.
Look up, and cover the small stuff
Summer storms find every weak seam on a roof, so give the seals a once-over before the first downpour does it for you. (Our roof maintenance guide gets into that.) While you’re working through the rig, have the propane system leak-tested, push the test buttons on the smoke, CO, and LP detectors and change the batteries, and glance at the charge and date on the fire extinguisher.
Or just hand us the keys
If that reads like a lost weekend, it doesn’t have to be yours. Our preventive maintenance service runs the whole list in one visit, at your house or the storage lot, and you get back a plain-English report of anything worth attention.
Worth getting done before the season’s in full swing. We serve 100-plus towns across East Texas. Call (936) 237-3103.