Top Tips for Caravan Basic Maintenance
With any vehicle, regular maintenance is very important. This is true with regular cars, but it becomes crucial when dealing with caravans. A caravan is usually used for a long journey and is essentially a home away from home. Wherever your trip may take you, regular caravan maintenance will improve your odds of getting there without incident.
Keep Interior Clean
Keeping the interior clean may not seem like an important step in maintenance but it is. Your caravan should be cleaned before and after you get back from your trip. If you clean it as soon as you get back you won’t have to worry about it too much for the next trip. Make sure you put everything away and in its proper place.
If you don’t, then once you start moving some of the items may fall and cause accidents or messes. When you return home, make sure you remove all food from the caravan and wipe everything down.
Leaving food in the caravan especially if it will be a while until your next trip will invite critters. If the food goes bad, there will be a smell that may linger no matter how hard you clean up. Don’t forget to clean out the refrigerator and wipe it down too. Try to refrain from using harsh cleaners and bleach as these may warp the surfaces and mess up the wood.
Make sure everything is dry before you close it up to prevent mildew. Also, leave the refrigerator open to avoid bad smells.
Check Tires
If you have other vehicles than the importance of tires is not lost on you. The tires on your caravan are so important if they are not up to snuff, then you should not drive the caravan.
Before you set off on the wide-open road, check your tires. Check the tire pressure and make sure it is the same pressure specified by the manufacturer. Then check the tread. Some people don’t think to check the tread on their tires before a trip but you should.
If you can’t see the tread, then you need to get new tires. Going on a long or short trip with worn tires is not a good idea. You can never be sure what the weather conditions are going to be regardless of what the weatherman says. Driving through rain, snow, sleet with worn tires is dangerous.
Electrical Work
Before you go on your next trip you should check all of the electrical connections and the battery. This should definitely be done before you leave. In order for the engine to work and the electricity in the caravan to cut on, the electrical connections need to be working. You don’t want to stop somewhere for the night or at a campsite and realize your electrical appliances aren’t working.
Regular Maintenance
Before you go on a trip make sure to check your brakes. This may go without saying, but you NEED your brakes to work. Make sure to check that the brake pads aren’t worn down and everything is in working order. You should also check the caravan’s fluids, such as oil and water.
Insurance
Caravan insurance is very important. Even if you do all of the things on this list and you should, something could still go wrong. A tire could blow out, you could be in an accident and many other things.
It is always better to be prepared than to be stuck on the side of the road trying to figure out how you are going to get home. The right kind of insurance can come with free towing, which, if you are stuck on the side of the road would really come in handy.
Examine the Living Area
The living area of the caravan needs to be inspected before you leave on a trip and when you come back. The living area is where you and your family or friends will be spending a lot of your time especially when you’re not driving. Check the cassette from the toilet.
You should be able to take it out and replace it with little to no resistance. Check all gas appliances and the heater. Make sure when you turn them on, they produce a clean blue flame, if not carbon monoxide could be leaking into the air. You also need to check the water system and do a smoke alarm test. Also, make sure you have a working fire extinguisher.
Keep Secure: Caravan Basic Maintenance 
Making sure the windows and the doors close securely may not seem like maintenance must, but it is. If the doors and windows don’t close securely it may cause the caravan to use more fuel, which raises the cost of your trip. Also, if they don’t close securely rain and critters can get inside, which is something no one wants.
