By Paul Wesner, Vintage Trailer Land
“Out of sight – out of mind” is never more true than with the underside of your Recreational Vehicle. There are good reasons to inspect under your RV throughout the year. Whether you’re going to store your RV for the winter, or keep venturing out during upcoming colder months, you’ll want to pay attention to a few critical workings underneath your RV.
Areas Of Rodent Entry
An Airstream owner complained their shore power wasn’t working. When we inspected, we identified rats had crawled into the underbelly and chewed completely through the electrical wires. Any hole in your RV underbelly is an entry path for rodents and insects. This can result in a small nuisance, from having to clean up contaminated food in the cupboards, to costly repairs like damages inside walls, and, worse yet, potentially serious health issues. The remedy: carefully inspect and repair any hole larger than the size of a dime using rodent-resistant materials such as sheet metal, hardware cloth, steel wool, sealants, tapes, etc.
The Frame
Support frames are made of steel. Although strong, the steel and joining welds can experience fatigue, leading to cracked welds or broken bolts. Be sure to inspect welds/joints starting from the hitch, the “A-coupler” (named after its shape), and continuing under the RV living space (i.e. the “box” or “body”) all the way to the rear bumper. Also look for rust, worn bolts, and stressed brackets that hold components, such as water tanks. We recommend protecting the metal frame with a quality chassis coating.
Tires
Your RV’s “shoes” need to be inspected for more than ample tread. Look for sidewall cracking or bulging on the outside face and the inside face. Also look for uneven tread wear. If you want to know how old your tires are, find the DOT code on the sidewall; the last two digits provide the year they were manufactured. You can check more information online using the entire code. This is important because tires can appear “good,” but age alone can deteriorate rubber and cause them to fail quickly on the road.
Running Gear
Good tires are paramount to your RV’s transportability, but have you had the rest of the running gear checked and properly serviced? This includes axles, axle bearings, axle grease, brakes, wheels, shocks, mounts, suspension, and more. There are many harrowing stories of trailer wheels shearing off and shooting into (or through) the trailer’s wheel well. These disasters can be caused by excessive friction and heat, but can be prevented by routine lubrication.
Don’t procrastinate… take care of the underbody before the days get shorter and the weather gets colder. Most tire and/or RV shops can perform these necessary inspections and maintenance. Perform upkeep now so you can spend time making family memories instead of wasting time dealing with the cost and ordeal of breakdowns. Happy Camping!
Looking for a Restoration shop?
Look no further! Our shop specializes in everything from minor fixes to full-scale frame-off restorations. Your vintage journey starts here! Call us today at (541) 944-7541
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