Before the Motorhome Goes Into Storage: The Chassis Checks Most RV Shops Do Not Do
A Class A or C motorhome sits on a truck or bus chassis. The fall service list that protects the expensive half of the rig.
Island RV owners are good about the house side of a motorhome before winter: water lines blown out, antifreeze in the traps, fridge propped open. The half that gets ignored is the half that costs the most to fix. A Class A or Class C motorhome rides on a truck or bus chassis, and most car shops will not touch it while many RV dealers focus on the coach.
These are the chassis items worth doing before it is parked for the wet season.
BRAKES
Motorhomes are heavy and spend months sitting, which is hard on brakes. Have pads, rotors and calipers checked, and on air brake coaches have the system inspected, the tanks drained and the dryer looked at. Moisture left in an air system over a damp Island winter is how valves stick in spring.
DRIVELINE AND SUSPENSION
U-joints, carrier bearings, differential fluid level, and the suspension bushings and air bags that carry the weight of the coach. Grease what takes grease before it sits.
COOLANT AND FLUIDS
Test the coolant for freeze protection and condition rather than assuming. Change the engine oil before storage, not after, so the engine does not sit for five months in used oil.
BATTERIES AND THE GENERATOR
Chassis and house batteries both need a maintenance charger or to be disconnected. Run the generator under load for half an hour and deal with any fuel or starting issue now. A generator that sat unused all winter is the classic first trip failure.
TIRES
Motorhome tires usually age out before they wear out. Check the date codes, look for sidewall cracking, set pressures for storage, and get the weight off soft ground.
A PRE-TRIP CHECK IN SPRING
Book it before the first long run, not the morning of. Brakes, lights, fluids, belts, hoses and a road test.
Roland Repair in Duncan works on Class A and Class C motorhomes using the same heavy-duty tooling it uses on commercial trucks: chassis, brakes, driveline, generators and 12 volt systems, plus pre-trip checks. Work can be done at the shop at 2827 Roberts Road or on site by the mobile service truck. Shop labour is $125 an hour, daytime mobile calls are $160 an hour, and travel is 70 cents per kilometre from Duncan, quoted before they roll. Dispatch is 250-619-5324.
Disclosure: the publisher of this directory also works with Roland Repair.
Sources & further reading
Compiled from the linked public sources. This report does not imply endorsement by the named businesses.