Maintain Your Fleetwood RV
One of the first things you’ll want to do as a new Fleetwood RV owner is to go over the maintenance needs of your particular unit. Even high-quality brands like Fleetwood require maintenance to keep them operating like new. Plus, performing routine maintenance will help you avoid costly emergency maintenance down the road.
Your Fleetwood RV dealer serves as a wealth of knowledge when it comes to maintaining your new or used Fleetwood RV. If you prefer to do very little of your own RV maintenance, you can rely on your dealership to do most things for you. On the other hand, if you’re a real do-it-yourselfer, you can ask the techs at your dealership how to perform common RV maintenance tasks like winterizing, battery maintenance and more.
Fleetwood maintenance falls into two basic categories: routine and preventive. Obviously, the types of tasks you’ll perform in these categories depends on whether you own a Fleetwood motorhome, travel trailer or tent trailer. Let’s look at some of the tasks you’ll need to perform for each type of RV.
Routine RV maintenance includes tasks you do at scheduled intervals. Here are some examples of the types of routine maintenance performed on motor homes and travel trailers:
. Change oil
. Lubricate chassis
. Service transmission
The most important routine maintenance task you can perform is checking your owner’s manual and warranty. These documents will spell out exactly which tasks must be performed, when, and by whom. Some routine maintenance items must be performed by your Fleetwood service center in order to keep your warranty intact. To be safe, consult your Fleetwood dealer regarding routine maintenance of your RV.
Preventive maintenance, on the other hand, is not mandated by warranty. Rather, it is designed to identify and address potential problems before they arise. Some common preventive maintenance tasks for motorhomes, travel trailers and pop-ups include:
. Check for engine fluid leaks
. Test windshield wipers, inspect blades
. Check brakes
. Check taillights/brake lights/backup lights
. Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
. Inspect condition of tent canvas
. Inspect pop-up cable system
One special area of concern to motorhome and travel trailer owners involves how to winterize their RV for storage. Again, the winterizing tasks you undertake will depend on what type of Fleetwood RV you own. Winterizing is an extensive proposition. In fact, entire books have been written about the process. The following suggestions should serve only to give you an idea of what’s involved with preparing your motorhome or travel trailer for hibernation. Check with your RV dealer for specifics on how to winterize your RV properly.
According to experts, preparing your RV’s water system for winter storage is a rather lengthy process composed of about 20 steps. If you’re not handy with tools or don’t have the time to perform this step correctly, leave it up to your Fleetwood dealer. The last thing you want is to ruin your water system by allowing it to freeze, especially when this step can be done in advance of actually parking the RV for the winter.
To winterize the chassis, remove the house batteries (the deep cycle, lead-acid batteries, not the engine battery), top off their fluid, charge them and store them in a cool place. Change the generator oil and filter. Make sure the fabric of your tent trailer is absolutely dry before storing. If your tent camper will not be in covered storage, angle the hitch downward to allow water to run off the roof.
Maintaining your Fleetwood travel trailer, motorhome, fifth wheel trailer or pop-up will bring you and your family years of enjoyment. And, you can rely on your Fleetwood dealer to perform any maintenance you don’t want to do yourself.
