It’s springtime and a young (-ish) couple’s fancy turn to thoughts of travel. (Apologies to Lord Tennyson!) But prior to heading out, we first must address a few vehicle logistics.

Each fall, we have to winterize our motorhome in order to prevent damage. It’s a process….

All the water needs to be drained from tanks and plumbing. Four valves need to be operated to place the water heater in a by-pass mode so it is not contaminated when we flush the fresh water system with RV antifreeze. In all, there are 16 points (low-point drains, p-traps at the sinks and shower, faucets, outdoor shower, the toilet and fresh water connection) that need to be filled with antifreeze or they may freeze and break.

We make sure the house batteries (which operate all the lights and appliances) are fully charged and that the master charging switched is turned off. This prevents the solar panels and the Mercedes engine alternator from charging the batteries. Lithium batteries can be seriously damaged if charged when the battery cells are below 32 degrees.

The master switch for the inverter (which inverts 12 Volt DC battery power 120 Volt AC) is also switched off so there is no parasitic draw on the batteries. Anything stored in the motorhome that may freeze is removed and stored in our basement.

Finally, the 12 volt switch is turned off and our motorhome goes quiet and slumbers. We won’t de-winterize until evening temperatures remain above freezing again.

Even while winterized, we attempt to drive the motorhome every three weeks for an hour or so, because remaining stationary for long periods of time is not good for any vehicle (or people for that matter😊). Today was a beautiful spring day so we decided to exercise our motorhome AND ourselves: We headed to Peace Valley Park near Doylestown, PA for a hike.

We packed a Primo Italian Hoagie in a cooler along with some chips and water. We left late morning, arrived at the park near noon and set up the table in the back of the RV so we could eat lunch. Even though the sun was strong and the temperature was nearly 70˚F outside, inside the RV was cool and the floor was quite cold. We needed to turn on the heat.

Immediately after we turned on the inverter, charger and 12 volt system switches, we were greeted by the familiar sounds of our motorhome waking up. The buzz of the inverter fans as it reboots, the beep from the microwave as 120 volt power reaches the system, the faint sound of the Fantastic Exhaust Fan checking to see if the vent cover is closed.

Then the heater tried to start. We could hear the clicking of the igniter as the furnace tried to light, followed by the pop and whoosh of ignition and finally the quiet hum of the heater fan as it slowly blew warm air at our cold feet.

The experience was like hearing from a dear friend after a long absence. It felt good and we were excited to be out in nature again (with an excuse to eat a hoagie). We enjoyed a wonderful hike afterward.

Travel season is nearly here. Happy Spring everyone!