Preparation for Season Six 2024
We’re sharing some of the maintenance items we did while preparing for our Season Six travels in 2024. Hopefully, some of these items will be helpful for you or help remind you of items you may have forgotten.
You can use the links below to go directly to a particular item of interest.
Item One: Test lowering the spare tire
Item Two: Change TPMS batteries
Item Three: Replace cabin air filter
Item Four: Touch up paint on camp sign
Item Five: Change batteries in propane level monitors
Item Six: Replace detector batteries
Item Eight: Applied rubber gasket conditioner on all the exterior doors and windows
Item One: Test lowering the spare tire
This is not exactly a maintenance item, but probably the most important item we did. We had never tried lowering the spare on our Winnebago EKKO before, so it was a good exercise. We found out that we needed to carry some more tools in order to lower the spare. The tools that came with the EKKO were insufficient. The extra tools we needed were a 1/2” extendable socket wrench with a universal joint (paid link), a 24” socket extension (paid link), a 2.5” extension (paid link), and a 1/2” universal joint socket adapter (paid link). We’ll put together a future post on what is involved with lowering the spare. In addition, we added a lug nut socket (paid link) for easier removal of the lug nuts, and a number 3 Philips screw driver for easier removal of the hub cap. Practicing lowering the spare, knowing where the jacking points on your vehicle are, and practicing changing a tire is much better than trying to figure it out, on the side of the road, in the dark, with insufficient tools. We’re glad we practiced.
Item Two: Change TPMS batteries
The Tire Pressure Monitoring System doesn’t do any good if the batteries in the tire sensors are dead. Changing the batteries each year is better than waiting for the batteries to die. We use the TireMinder i10 RV TPMS with 6 Transmitters (paid link).
Item Three: Replace cabin air filter
Air filters get dirty, especially if you drive on dirt roads to reach campgrounds and dirt roads within campgrounds. Breathing clean air inside the vehicle is nice and healthier. We plan on replacing the cabin air filter every year. It is a little bit of a pain to replace as it sits behind the glove compartment. So you have to remove the glove compartment to reach it.
Item Four: Touch up paint on camp sign
Our camp sign sits out in all kinds of weather. Touching up the paint every year keeps the wooden sign from deteriorating.
Item Five: Change batteries in propane level monitors
Knowing the levels of propane in our tanks is nice. We don’t want to run out of propane in the middle of a cold night, causing the furnace to stop running. We have Mopeka sensors (paid link) on the bottom of our tanks so we can check the levels via a phone app. Replacing the sensor batteries is on our annual maintenance list.
Item Six: Replace detector batteries
Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors can be life savers, only if they work. Replacing the batteries in the smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector is on our yearly to-do list.
Item Seven: New wiper blades
We replaced the wiper blades on our EKKO. The original blades were 20 inches long on the passenger side and 30 inches on the driver side. We could not find a wiper blade that was 30 inches long, so we replaced it with a 28 inch one. It seems to work, but there is a little spot between the two that gets missed by the blades. If anyone knows where you can find a 30 inch wiper blade, let us know!
Item Eight: Applied rubber gasket conditioner on all the exterior doors and windows
Keeping the rubber gaskets in good condition helps preserve a good seal on the exterior doors and windows. The doors included all of the exterior compartments, the entry door, the driver side door, and the passenger side door. We don’t want water leaking into our rig. Hopefully an annual application of rubber gasket conditioner will do the trick.
Item Nine: Lubed the locks and steps
Nobody wants sticky or noisy locks or steps. To lubricate them, we used Boeshield T-9 lubricant (paid link).
Item Ten: Applied toilet seal conditioner
There is a rubber seal in the toilet that keeps smells from the cassette from entering the rig. Let’s keep it that way. Not only do we apply this toilet seal conditioner (paid link) at the beginning of the season, we apply it about once a month during the season as well. Nobody wants a smelly RV.
Happy trails and safe travels!
Check out our related video: Preparation for Season Six 2024
(Ann)