its easy to winterize a teardrop way to easy!

[doug hodder]

You bring up a great topic Slow....While it's a hassle to do a lot of maintenance and some will blow it off....it's a lot easier to do it in the fall, rather than let it sit all winter with maybe pitch, sap, bird crap etc...on it and then want to clean it. This is especially true if it's an aluminum one.

Also make sure you clean up the galley really well, like from stove splatter or overspray from Pam, if you have a built in stove. It attracts dirt and sometimes doesn't want to clean all that easily over a winter of storage. I got Pam overspray on a fender during a waffle spree...

Clean out any food stuff as that can attract bugs and mice, besides, if you forget it's in there, chances are, it might be stale next summer anyway.

If it's an aluminum clad tear, check your screws on your trim and make sure if it's starting to loosen or the butyl has all squished out, take care of it....better now than doing a lot of resto work later when you really want to just load and go. Water loves to find a way in.

Although I store mine indoors, I'm a big fan of washing the tear or standy after every trip, but then mine are painted so don't stain like a mill finish. That way I can see any new road damage, and gives me a chance to clean off road oil and grease from over-lubed drive lines on big rigs. I give them a coat of wax in the fall.

You're either going to do it now, or later and if you just do it before it gets out of hand, you'll protect your investment and avoid a headache when you just want to go. Other opinions may vary. Doug

[Mukilteo]

I wash mine after each trip.
It comes home covered with dust. I boon-dock in eastern Washington most of the time.
I usually have to replace broken lenses and reflectors because of gravel kicked up by the rear tires on the truck after each trip too.

[DragonFire]

Slow...you brought up a good point on covering your tear...using a car cover. I have been trying to figure out what to cover mine with. It is (or will be in 3 weeks) a Grasshopper. My RV cover from CW is for the Aristocrat...fits a travel trailer up to 20 feet. The Grasshopper is about 12 1/2 feet all told.

I'm going to Wally World tomorrow and I'll see what I can find...I may need to go to a Super Walmart to find a good selection.

I'm hoping to convert my trailer to the Coleman propane canisters too...hopefully the seller will be able to replicate the parts for the adapter.

And I have a sink with the tube out the side into a bucket or whatever...

All I need to do is wash and wax the trailer when I get it, steam clean the carpet, and get my friend over here to take a look at making new 'Grasshopper' graphics to replace the old ones that are peeling. Then I can store it until I'm ready to camp in the spring!!

[mkitchen]

Not sure what this winterizing topic is all about; we are just getting into our camping season. We get some days below freezing but not too many and seldom before January.

I do wash my TD after use but I think I am ok on the winterizing thing for a while. Heck, we have five camp trips planned between now and March and I can't wait.

[canned o minimum]

Fer me... winterizing means puttin a few more blankets in the tear and takin the easy up cover in case it rains.. but as the song says.. "It never rains in Southern California."

"I" always cook OUTSIDE of the tear.. cause I ain't got no galley.

But a very GOOD thread thar Slow...Great advice !

[pete42]

Slow couple of things:
if you sit the trailer on blocks either cement or just boards it would be like leaving it on the ground,
now if you meant you blocked it up with the wheels off the ground this would do two things
first it would eliminate the flat spots and second it would allow the rubber inside your Axel to relax and unwind to it's normal state which is a good thing.

if your sink has a "P" trap it may still contain some water and freeze but since this isn't your first winter I doubt it would if it hasn't before.

summer is to short and winters are to long.

Pete

[john warren]

throw my water jug on a shelf in the basement. take out any leftover canned goods. roll it into the garage.