Off-Season Care for Your Luxury Motor Coach

For many who own a luxury motor coach, one season of the year involves less use of this vehicle than others. And while this season doesn't necessarily have to be winter, it's easily the most common "off" season for coach owners due to a combination of winter weather and many geographical attractions that either aren't open or aren't as desirable this time of year.

At Newell Coach, we're proud to not only offer a wide selection of new and pre-owned luxury motor coaches, we're also happy to provide clients with a full range of expertise on how to care for their vehicles during any off-season period, including the winter season we're entering. What are some important care and maintenance tips for any season where you'll be leaving your coach unused for a significant period of time? Here are several.

Preventing Freezing Water

One winter-specific task that must be carried out if you're shutting down the motor coach for the cold season is prevention of the freezing of any water inside your coach. Aside from the obvious repercussions of ice in your plumbing, frozen water will also cause additional problems when it thaws out.

While most modern luxury motor coaches are built to protect against this type of problem with their own heating mechanisms, these devices are not failsafe, meaning that they can fail or malfunction due to factors such as poor installation or a bad thermostat.

A better way to prevent the problem is by draining all water from your coach, including pipes and any holding tanks. After opening up all faucet valves, use a hose with a siphon attachment at one end before starting a pump for your motor home's holding tank and flushing the system. This will ensure that all water has been removed and is safely draining away instead of pooling in your coach's pipes or holding tank where it might freeze, expand, and rupture.

Check Various Seals and Seams

Shutting down a luxury motor coach for any period of time should involve a few basic inspections made at the time when water is drained from the vehicle. For example, check the rubber seals and insulation around your coach's windows and doors to make sure there are no gaps in these materials that might let in cold air and cause any type of condensation or damage in your coach.

Pest Prevention

During the course of the off-season, your coach may be sitting in storage or an unpowered site. During this time, pests such as mice, insects such as roaches and mosquitoes, and other critters might move into your coach if they sense the lack of occupants.

These invaders are often quite opportunistic in nature, meaning that they'll look for any food sources inside your coach, including the protective insulation around walls and ceilings. This is one of several reasons why sealing windows and doors is important, as we went over above -- it's also a good reason to remove all food and food waste prior to shutting down the coach for any length of time, including storage.

Tire Protection During Storage

Especially during the cold winter, where tire pressure is especially important for safety and tire wear, it's a good idea to take any steps that might help prevent flat spots or bladder failure in your coach's tires.

First and foremost, we recommend increasing the pressure in your tires just before placing the coach into storage. While you're at it, consider adding a few pounds for the first week. We've found that this can help prevent flat spots on your tires during storage.

Also be sure to check tire pressure within the first two weeks of storage -- sudden deflation is one of the most common causes of bladder failure in tires, especially if you have onboard air systems.

If you're going to be storing your coach for a longer period of time, we recommend that you have all tires rotated as close as possible to the beginning or end of storage. This will help ensure even tire wear throughout your vehicle's suspension system and prevent damage due to lack of rotation.

Batteries and Battery Chargers

If your coach is equipped with an onboard electrical system, you should definitely take steps to ensure that it's protected during storage. Even if you'll be using solar equipment or power inverters while the coach is in storage, we still recommend checking on your vehicle after settling into your off-season site.

Many times batteries can go low due to lack of use by the time you get to your storage location. And while a full charge may be enough to last until you're ready for another season, it's still a good idea to check each battery and charging system in your coach. If the batteries do need recharging or other maintenance, now is a great time to have it done before getting the coach ready for the next season.

Ensuring Ventilation

For protection from risks like mold and mildew, plus to ensure air quality remains high during storage, it's important that your luxury motor coach has plenty of ventilation.

First things first, check all windows and doors once you've arrived at your storage site to ensure these openings are properly sealed. Then open the roof vents on high settings along with any other vent fans or air intake systems throughout your coach.

For even better results, you may want to go over the coach's interior air filters before closing up storage. This will help prevent debris from entering your coach through ventilation or window openings, while also helping with moisture control in the vehicle.

Luxury motor coaches are like homes on wheels, which makes proper off-season care extremely important for these vehicles in order to keep them in tip-top shape for their next use season. For more on this, or to learn about any of our luxury motor coaches, speak to the pros at Newell Coach today.