Here are some tips to get you through your storage period. I also have some tips for when the camping season begins again.

Since the cold weather is here, let’s start with that. It doesn’t matter if your trailer is onsite with you or in a storage facility.  You are still at risk for having rodents and other creatures get in your trailer.

Tip 1 – Don’t make their lives easier by allowing easy access. Get under your trailer and look for places where they might gain access.  Then use Rodent expanding foam, steel wool, or copper mesh to fill those voids OR a combination.  I have used copper mesh around all my plumbing leading from the sinks to the under belly.  Openings in the floor of the trailer are a great place for critters to get into your living area. Ball up the copper mesh and jam it in there, and the good thing is that it won’t rust.

Tip 2 – Keep your trailer completely empty when you go to storage. All food, clothing, soaps towels, everything out.  This includes emptying your storage areas. Rodents in particular will look for anything to nest in.  They will use outdoor mats, cardboard, rugs, and just about anything to create a home out of the elements.

Tip 3 – If your RV is on site, like mine is, you may want to use bait stations. I use bait stations that are dog safe.  To add extra protection for Eva they are secured with bricks so they can’t blow over or move.  Trust me these work. I have been using them for the last 10 years around my property.

Tip4 – If your rv is offsite, you may want to consider a product like decon.  When I stored offsite, I would put a box under the bed, and a box behind the toilet. I never let my dogs enter the trailer until I removed it in the spring.  Some folks will recommend using cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil or lavender, dryer sheets, or Irish spring as alternate deterrents to rodent bait.  I can tell you for certain that the Irish Spring recommendation doesn’t work.  The others have mixed reviews.

Tip 5 – Battery powered ultrasonic or strobe deterrents. Many of these are available on Amazon. I have not used them, and I would highly recommend that you read the reviews before purchasing.  Some swear by them but many have a large number of 1 star ratings.

Tip6 – if its spiders and ants your worried about there are many “Ortho Home Defense” type products you can spray around your trailer. Spray on all the contact points that touch the earth where they might find a way up.  I use ortho home defense along my shop walls in the summer.  Diatomaceous earth (food Grade) is another option for spreading around the contact points but over the winter it’s probably going to blow away or will get covered in snow.  Also, there are some reported respiratory issues with it so do some research, I don’t think that would be a good option with Eva as she would most defiantly be snorting it.

Now, let’s move onto summer camping season, everything that we just talked about above applies, but now we have the complication of food.

It is important to keep the campsite as clean as possible. Do not put garbage outside to wait for the trash bins. Food smells attract bugs, so clean up right after you eat. I always clean my grill or griddle immediately after use.

Try to Minimize the amount of time you’re going in and out of your travel trailer, I know that’s hard with kids. Flying insects are always hard to keep out if there is a lot of traffic in and out of the trailer.

If you have to go out at night, your best option is going to be to turn off the lights inside or dim them before you open the door. Also, I rarely put the awning light on if it’s buggy outside, but safety is more important that chasing down some bugs that slip by.

Keep in mind, while bugs are definitely annoying, they cause a lot of problems beyond just being a nuisance. They will cause damage to your major appliances. So, using bug screens on your furnace, fridge, and water heater, are a great idea. If you are worried about using them when your appliances are in use, just pull them off and reattach when you are done camping.

LASTLY – a caution about the worst pest of all – the folks that might try to steal your Travel Trailer out of the storage facility.  Do yourself a favor and buy the best RV lock you can find. You can easily tap off 20-dollar locks with a hammer, they are junk. The lock below is from The S5 Trailer Coupler Lock | Lock It and Leave It website. Use a heavy-duty lock like this and then also lock your tow chains around your hitch frame with a padlock so they can’t be used to cradle the hitch and then be towed away.  Do everything in your power to make sure you make it really difficult for someone to steal it.

I hope this gives you a few ideas of how you can protect yourself this winter, and when you start camping next season.

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Most outside storage companies will have you sign an agreement that holds them harmless should any theft or damage happen to your rig on their premises. Therefore, try to find the most secure location for storage that you can afford. Something that has good lighting, a strong fence, and onsite security would be best. Cameras are great but most of the time don’t provide enough detail to catch the thief’s. Plus, criminals usually remove their license plates. So do what you can upfront to protect your rig.

Secure Your Travel Trailer

Buy a strong lock for the travel trailer. If you really want to dissuade a criminal from taking your trailer you need to make it really hard to steal.  If it looks like it is too much trouble to deal with, the thief will move on to an easier trailer to steal. Don’t buy a $29.00 lock from the big box store or RV store down the street. Those are easily broken with the tap of a hammer. You need to invest some serious money to protect your trailer. We chose the S5 Coupler Lock.  We chose that lock because we think it is the best lock on the market. 

That is our opinion (we are not sponsored by them) and we use ours religiously when we travel. Proven Industries also makes a very strong lock – so you have choices but be prepared to spend upwards of $200.00. Good locks are not cheap, and cheap locks are not good. Also, find a big padlock and lock your tow chains so they can not be used to drag the trailer away without using the hitch. You might also want to wrap a heavy chain through your wheels as well. The harder you make things for the criminal, the more likely they are to move to an easier target.

For more information on the S5 locks, visit their website at https://s5couplerlocks.square.site/. Proven Industries also makes a great lock. Regardless of whatever lock you decide to purchase, make sure you find a strong one.  You will want to protect your investment. 

Prevent Unwanted Visitors

Clean the inside of the trailer out. Don’t leave anything in the trailer that might be able to be used as bedding or food for rodents. It is amazing the kinds of things mice will find and destroy. If you can find a safe place in the trailer to place D-Con mice bait, that is a smart move. We have always put it somewhere that was not able to be accessed by our dogs, just in-case we forgot about it. Now, since our rig is right outside our shop, we have pet friendly bait stations. Also leave your RV fridge open so it doesn’t sweat and grow mold.

While you may not consider your outside storage areas the “inside” of the trailer, mice certainly will. So clean those out too!

The Exterior

Remove your battery. If your travel trailer is offsite, remove your battery and bring it home and put it on a battery tender. If it is not a no maintenance battery, then check your water level for each cell. Add only distilled water to the battery.

You should also remove batteries from your smoke detector or any other device that is battery operated. Then put a reminder in your calendar to buy new batteries and have them ready in the spring. I have batteries in the tire pressure monitoring system and in my S-Puck water leak detectors. If you have those, you probably don’t want to start with an old set next spring.

Propane Tanks. If offsite, you may wish to remove these and take them home. If not, turn them off. They are good outside to negative 40 degrees. If you bring them home make sure you store them upright, just as they were on the trailer.

Tires. It will not hurt to have your tires over-inflated by a few pounds when you store it. You may also choose to cover the tires to protect them from UV light, and snow etc. I would recommend checking the tires each month at your storage facility.

Doors and Windows: It may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many people will find a window that is not latched. While you check each window you might as well close the mini blinds or shade. This should help to protect the interior of the trailer. If you have a second door make sure that is locked as well.

Don’t Set It and Forget It

Check on it: It may be a pain, but at the very least check on the trailer once or twice in the winter. When I had my trailer in outside storage I would check on it monthly. I would do a visual of the outside, then go in to make sure I didn’t see any leaks or signs of rodents. I would also check the level of RV antifreeze in the toilet – you don’t want that seal to dry out.

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