Winter storage is over. Before you hitch up and head out, there's about two hours of work standing between you and a trip you'll actually enjoy. Skip it and you risk finding a cracked fitting, a dead battery, or antifreeze in your drinking water somewhere on the road.

Do it right and your first trip of the season starts clean.

Step 1 — Inspect before you do anything else

Walk the whole rig before touching a system. You're looking for:

• Rodent evidence — nesting material, droppings, chewed wiring or insulation
• Roof damage, cracked seals, or delamination from winter moisture
• Hose and fitting cracks from freeze damage
• Slide seals and door seals for cracking or shrinkage
• Battery charge level

If you find rodent damage to wiring, stop and deal with that before proceeding. Chewed wiring near propane components is a safety issue, not a nuisance.

Step 2 — Flush the antifreeze

This is the main event. RV antifreeze is non-toxic but it needs to come out of your plumbing completely before you use the water system.

1. If you installed a water heater bypass kit during winterizing, make sure it's set back to normal flow
2. Connect to a fresh water source
3. Open every faucet in the rig — kitchen, bathroom hot and cold, shower, outside shower if you have one
4. Run water until it flows completely clear and the pink antifreeze smell is gone
5. Flush the toilet several times
6. Don't forget the ice maker line if your rig has one

This takes longer than you expect. Let it run.

Step 3 — Sanitize the fresh water system

Flushing removes the antifreeze. Sanitizing removes anything that grew in your tanks and lines over winter.

Mix 1/4 cup of plain unscented bleach per 15 gallons of fresh water tank capacity. Fill the tank with the solution, then run it through every faucet until you smell bleach at each one. Let it sit for 3–4 hours, then flush completely with fresh water until the bleach smell is gone.

For an easier no-mix solution: Camco TastePURE Water System Sanitizer handles this without measuring bleach.

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Step 4 — Recharge or replace the battery

Three to six months of storage drains most batteries significantly. Connect a smart charger and let it bring the battery to full charge before testing anything electrical.

If it won't hold a charge or takes more than a few hours to reach full, the battery is telling you it's done. Replace it before your first trip, not during.

NOCO Genius smart chargers are the standard recommendation — they won't overcharge and they diagnose battery health automatically.

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Step 5 — Test every system before you leave the driveway

Go through each one systematically:

• Propane: Turn on the tank, check connections for leaks with soapy water, then test the furnace, stovetop, oven, and water heater
• Refrigerator: Run it on both propane and electric, let it cool completely and verify temperature
• Air conditioning: Run it for at least 10 minutes and confirm it's actually cooling
• Water heater: Let it heat to full temperature, check the pressure relief valve
• Generator: Run it under load for 20–30 minutes, change the oil if you didn't do it before storage

Don't assume anything works until you've tested it. Finding a propane issue in your driveway is an inconvenience. Finding it at a campsite 200 miles from home is a problem.

Step 6 — Check tires and brakes

Tires lose pressure during storage and can develop flat spots or sidewall cracking from sitting. Check every tire including the spare:

• Inflate to the PSI on the sidewall or door placard
• Look for cracking, bulging, or weathering
• Check tread depth
• If tires are more than 5–6 years old, inspect closely regardless of how they look

EPAuto 12V portable air compressor handles inflation without a trip to the gas station.

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Test your brakes — both the truck brakes and the trailer brake controller if you're towing — before you get on the highway.

Step 7 — Clean, restock, and safety check

• Deep clean the interior — anything that sat closed all winter needs fresh air and a wipe-down
• Check the exterior for dirt, mold, and oxidation
• Restock your first aid kit, fire extinguisher, and emergency supplies
• Test smoke and CO detectors — replace batteries if there's any doubt
• Check your water pressure regulator before connecting to any campground supply

Chemical Guys Citrus Wash for the exterior wash-down if you want to do it right.

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How long does dewinterizing take?

Budget two to three hours for a thorough job the first time. Once you've done it once you'll have a rhythm and it gets faster. Some RVers do the full process in 90 minutes.

The water sanitization cycle takes 3–4 hours of sitting time — start that step first, handle everything else while you wait, then do the final flush at the end.

The one thing most people skip

The sanitization step. Most RVers flush the antifreeze and call it done. The sanitization takes an extra hour of elapsed time but it's the difference between clean drinking water and water that's been sitting in tanks since October. Do it every spring without exception.

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