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Old 02-21-2022, 04:41 AM   #1
cpeebles1
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Storage for 6 months 3761 idea's

Hi,
First post on the Forum. We own a 3761 montana which will be stored in Florida on a full time campsite. Storage period would be 6 months, with electric available.
Options I've been advised of
run a dehumidifier,
run Dehumidifier and set AC units to 80 degrees
just run ac unitls,
Run dehumidifier and open roof vents (which are covered) slightly.

Would really appreciate your idea's
 
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Old 02-21-2022, 04:58 AM   #2
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We do plan to close all the slides
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Old 02-21-2022, 06:57 AM   #3
DutchmenSport
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If it were mine and I was closing up shop for 6 months, I'd do exactly that ... close up shop.

Drain all the tanks, but leave a few gallons in each one to keep the dump slide valves wet.

Pull slides in (which you said you are going to to).

Also, snug up your trailer stabilizer jacks, or go through the process to relevel, especially if you have hydraulic jacks.

If you can attach a hitch lock, do so. It won't hurt anything, even on a fifth wheel, they make king pin hitch locks. A good thief can steal anything, but if a thief sees a hitch lock he is more likely to move on as the extra minute it takes them to remove it may be one extra minute too long for them.

Remove and put away your garden hose.

Pull the power cord to the camper and put it away. (yes, no power at all).

Close everything up tight, including roof vents.

Empty all the contents from the refrigerator and make sure the refrigerator door and freezer compartment door or drawer is cracked open for ventilation.

Remove all the food. ALL the food. If the camper reaches temps over 100 degrees inside (and that is highly possible), the heat build up can cause cans to explode. Remove everything. Sealed in a bag stuff, cereal boxes, and quick foods in boxes, is an item waiting for a mouse to enjoy. A mouse will chew on the cardboard and plastic packaging and then have a pleasant delight once they break through and find FOOD for them. Remove it all, thus eliminating Mr. Mouse's temptation and returning to exploded cans and what a mess.

Next, sweep and mop floors read good. Clean off all counter tops and flat surfaces, removing any food particles, sticky stuff, air spray can droppings, including hair spray and room deodorizer droppings (which is an attraction for bugs, ants, and mice). A mild Bleach solution works good here.

Take with you any valuables. Don't leave anything in the camper you'd absolutely regret forever if it got stolen, especially guns, legal documents, money, jewelry, electronics. Anything that you'd absolutely miss if it got stolen.

Turn off your propane tanks.

Disconnect your battery by pulling the negative wire on the battery. Flipping the battery cut off only will not keep parasitic draw happening on the battery. There are items that still run on the battery that are never shut off. Pulling the negative wire on the battery does shut down everything.

Last, right before you leave and shut the camper, set of 4 bug bombs inside the camper. Place one in the bathroom, one in the back of the camper and one in the front. Fire them off and get out of the trailer. Close it up. Bug bombs will penetrate all the cracks and holes even the tiniest of bugs can get through. They may attempt to come in, but when they crawl over the bug bomb poison, they die. You'll have dead bugs laying around when you return, but it's better they are dead than have an ant infestation or a Beatle infestation. Set off the 4th one in your basement.

For 6 months, that's what I'd do. (If you are going to be gone during the freezing months, (November through March), remember, even in Florida it freezes sometimes with the absolute weird weather we've been having for the past 20 years. So if you are going to be gone during those months, it would be good to winterize also. It's better to do it and not need it, than to not do it and kick yourself in the arse later because you a a couple thousand dollars of repairs because of cracked and broken water lines, valves, and seals.

Here's the deal. Close it up tight, put everything away, leave nothing out. Some "could" steal your RV power cord. A law mower could run over it. A kid might unplug it and then your camper is toast anyway. No, put it away, keep it safe and you have no worries. Same with your garden hose. Exposed to the sun and elements will only shorten its life. Closing all the vents, windows, slides, everything, keeps bugs, critters, and mice out. Leave them cracked just give them a front door into your camper.

When you return your battery may be low, but it won't be dead. When you power up the trailer again by plugging it back in, your converter will run everything but, if the battery is a good battery, it will still have adequate power to move the slides and keep the camper operational. The other option is to remove the batteries, take them with you, and keep them on a trickle charger at home.
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Old 02-21-2022, 07:21 AM   #4
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Another note: I personally would probably leave the jacks down and stable. But if the camper needed to moved for an emergency, .... a hurricane coming, tornado, or severe flooding, it would make it next to impossible to move the trailer. So, might want to leave the jacks up for this reason. And then, you may want to leave them down to keep the trailer secured so it can't move. Well, I've rambled enough.

And oh. I forgot to say.... Welcome to the forums!
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Old 02-21-2022, 11:32 AM   #5
cpeebles1
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appreciate all the good information.
My concern is mold. Which has been a problem with many in the camp ground.
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Old 02-21-2022, 06:18 PM   #6
Todd & Mary
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Dehumidifier

Absolutely run a dehumidifier in the rig. moisture needs to be kept at a low level to keep mold and mildew from taking hold inside. Remove all food, water turn off propane. I would leave the shore power on to keep the batteries topped of. Put a small dehumidifier in the kitchen sink and drill a small hole in the catch tank so when it fills it will drain into the sink before it trips the high water level switch on it. it will continue to run until you turn it off. This is how I store my rig when we are not using it. Bars of Irish spring all over inside the rig and basement to deter small rodents from taking up refuge inside our rig.
Good Luck.
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Old 02-21-2022, 10:10 PM   #7
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I would be torn over leaving it plugged in or locked up. Plugged in someone could just walk up and take the cord. I think these are > $200 for a 30 footer (just guessing). Would take about 2 minutes to make off with it. On the other hand, dehumidifier seems wise too! Good luck
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Old 02-22-2022, 04:26 AM   #8
cpeebles1
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Again, thanks for the tips, was planning on running a dehumidifier, Do I need to run the ac units as well. Both neighbors on each side of me are full timers. So I am going to stay plugged into power.
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Old 02-27-2022, 05:27 PM   #9
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I stored in Florida for years and you're right to be concerned with mold. Best luck we had was the dehumidifier with the air on set at 82. I pad locked the power cord to the power pedestal and we got a product called " Bad Air Sponge The Original Odor Absorbing Neutralant". ( you can buy it on Amazon and some retail stores ) Put two containers in bedroom and one large one in kitchen. We never had a problem after doing that. The sun is a killer on on anything plastic so I'd coat vents, skylights,etc. with 303 spray and cover the tires if exposed. If you don't have them I put screen on the water heater and fridge vents to stop wasps from building nests.
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Old 02-27-2022, 05:28 PM   #10
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If you don’t want to do the dehumidifier with the electric on, In addition to the above I leave 4 big buckets of damp rid in my RV and a 10lb bag of charcoal We had to leave our rig for 18 months unexpectedly due to covid and we had mildew on 2 items but no mold. So I’m sure if we were gone only 6 months we would have been fine
I will be doing the bug bombs this year also. Not sure about 4. That may be a bit of overkill��*♀️Also I used a hard plastic cover for my awning and covered my ac
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Old 02-27-2022, 05:59 PM   #11
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10 years of leaving in Florida

We have been leaving our rig in Florida from April to September for the past 10 years. We remove the water hose and sewage hose after emptying the black tank. We do empty the hot water tank and try to vacuum the water from the hot water tank. We bring in all the slides. I leave non-perishable food stuff in the pantry and condiments in the refrigerator and Gallon Bags of water that I have frozen, but no food and a cup of ice with a coin on top of the ice. We leave the electricity on and the A/C set at 85. I put a tin of kitty litter in each sink and in the shower. I also fill the commode and cover it with plastic wrap. In 10 years we have never had any mold in the rig. The coin has never sunk into the ice and we have never had any evidence of critters. We are in Hardee County which is mid-state, south of I4 and about an hour from each coast.
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