Spring Cleaning Your Motorhome

The end of April is rapidly approaching and for most motorhome owners, the possibility of an opportunistic weekend away starts becoming a real possibility. The period between the end of April and early July is the prime time for campers to get away before the school holiday start but to still make the most of good weather.

The problem with ad-hoc trips however is they usually take more preparation than it’s worth, and by the time you’ve packed, cleaned up your motorhome and filled up with petrol it’s Saturday afternoon and your weekend is halfway gone already. So, to get yourself prepared for that off-chance trip, why not spring clean your motorhome before you need it? Here’s our motorhome spring cleaning checklist.

Hobs and Ovens

Cleaning your hob can be a really nasty job and, because of that, it should be the first thing you do. You can then clean up the inside of your motorhome afterwards and, hopefully, you should be able to get away mess free. Depending on the type of your hotplate, a specialist metal and glass cleaner usually works best and your oven trays should be removed and cleaned outside. Again, there are some great products out there that allow you just to zip up a bag and degrease your oven shelves.

Work on the Inside

Motorhomes that have been in storage for some time tend to get very dusty inside, so that’s a good place to start. If you can, open up all the doors and windows and get serious with the duster, wiping down surfaces and inside storage units. Once everything is clean on top, give the floor a good hoover (or a mop if you have a laminate floored motorhome) and keep the ventilation going for a few more hours to make sure any dust leaves the vehicle.

Soft Furnishings and Upholstery

Depending on how long your motorhome has been in storage for, you may want to give any soft furnishings or upholstery a clean out. Fabric upholstery can be shampooed with a specialist cleaning product and anything that can be removed from your motorhome can be stood in the sun and left to dry. Again ventilation is extremely important: if you put wet cushions back into your motorhome it could lead to damp.

Checking Functionality

There’s nothing worse than getting on the road and noticing you’ve got a headlight missing or your radio is faulty. Sit down at your dashboard and check the headlights, brake lights, handbrake, air conditioning and any other gadgets such as a radio, CD player, iPod dock or your sat-nav. It’s worth replacing any bulbs, too, and make sure your fire alarm has sufficient battery life.

Cleaning Outside

Most motorhome owners are pretty good at keeping the outside of their motorhome clean, but the roof is very often forgotten. If you can safely do so, it’s worth getting on top of your roof and using a hose to spray down the dust that has likely accumulated. While you’re on the job, why not top up the water levels from the mains?

Spring Clean Your Engine

If you’ve had a service recently there should be too much work to do on your engine but making sure all your levels are appropriately topped up is a very good idea. Brake fluid in particular is known to congeal on the brakes if not used for some time, so it’s wise to check that you’ve got everything you need. You should also make sure your motorhome starts and just leaving it running for three or four minutes to ensure the starter motor is all in good running order and to charge your battery.

Cleaning up the Admin

Before you’re ready to go, ensure you’ve got your admin straight. In your glovebox you should have a copy of your motorhome manual, your motorhome insurance details, your MOT, your service history and some sort of breakdown cover. You also need to make sure you’ve got a tax disc sat on your windscreen. Without this, any cleaning you’ve done will be wasted, so make sure it’s there!

If you’ve followed the steps above, your motorhome should be ready for any eventuality and that swift weekend in May will seem much more like a realistic possibility. You should aim to spend three or four hours cleaning up your motorhome like this once a year, it will really prolong its life and you’ll get so much more enjoyment out of it.