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Motorhome Jobs to Keep You Busy
If you’re unable to travel, here’s fourteen jobs you can do in your motorhome right now! Not only will these motorhome jobs keep you busy, but staying connected with a hobby you love is also important when you can’t get out on the road. So what if you’re on the drive or parked in the street, a cup of tea from your whistling kettle will make everything ok!
Get Your Motorhome Ready for Storage
Whether you ‘store’ your motorhome in a facility or at home, there are certain steps you should take if you’re not intending to use it for a while. Unless you use your motorhome as everyday transport, then the government advice is that you should not travel in it.
Follow our motorhome storage checklist (this is a winter checklist but can easily be adapted for the spring and summer) and put your van to bed for the next couple of months. When we are allowed to travel and holiday in our motorhomes again, your’s will be ready to go!
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Deep Clean Your Van
Not only will this help prepare your motorhome for storage but any form of cleaning is usually a good mental exercise and might help take your mind off current events.
If you’ve been travelling recently, you might feel that using a disinfectant is a good idea. Which? has a great guide to cleaning your home to combat Covid-19, which is also applicable in a motorhome environment.
Take Out the Carpets
Some motorhomes have removable carpets and if you’ve left them in for the winter season, now is a good time to get them cleaned and aired. Wash them in the van using a wet vacuum (although the suction can be difficult if the carpets aren’t fixed down) or a good hand carper cleaner with warm water and then hang them in the garden to dry. If you don’t have space to dry them, use a dry powder cleaner instead. This is also good for upholstery.
Have Good Sort Out!
This is also time to have a good clear out. As you empty cupboards to clean them, check out what’s lurking in the furthest corners. When was the last time that came out? Have you ever even used it? Who knows, you may find a few precious loo rolls or tins of beans hiding somewhere!
Our golden rule (now we full-time) is that if it hasn’t been used for six months, it’s out the door! When we holidayed in our motorhome and tended to leave a lot of stuff in the van, if it hadn’t been used on the previous trip, then it would stay at home for the next one.
Deal with Soft Furnishings
Take out and launder all your bedding and any other soft furnishings that can be washed. Store in your house if possible, along with duvets, cushions and rugs. If you need to store these items in your motorhome, think about vacuum packing them to keep them fully dry.
Turn your mattresses and ensure they have a flow of air all around; if necessary prop up one side to help with circulation. Any drop down beds should be lowered slightly, again to provide some air circulation. This will help to prevent any mould forming. Damp, condensation and mould in motorhomes can occur even when they are in storage, you can find out more about prevention here.
Consider cleaning your upholstery or leather as well. If you are washing upholstery, make sure that you can heat and air your van for a day or so afterwards to give the material enough time to dry thoroughly.
Don’t Forget Your Loo!
Give your toilet cassette a really thorough clean. Remove and empty, rinsing out as usual. Fill your cassette with a solution of hot water and a specialist motorhome toilet cassette cleaner. If you can’t get this right now, you could try bleach, coke or bio washing liquid…all fluids that people swear work.
If you really want to go the whole hog, remove and clean the seals and moving parts, making sure that you keep a note of how they all fit back together. We find photographing or videoing each step helps!
What About Waste Tanks?
This is an ideal time to give your waste tanks a clean out. This is a bit of a grotty job but will prevent any unpleasant smells when you next start using your van. You can find out more about how to clean your grey water tanks here.
Screws and Hinges
Check all your cupboard screws and hinges. During our last trip to Morocco, we had to do this at almost every stop. If your motorhome is slightly more ahem…elderly, then things will move about especially on poor road surfaces.
Tighten screws and adjust fixings and cupboard door positions if they are rubbing. Give your door and window hinges a grease so they don’t seize up whilst your van is having a well earned rest!
Touch Up Your Cabinetry
If you use your motorhome a lot or live in it full-time, the cabinetry and wood fixings can take a bit of a battering. Many older motorhomes have a dark wood theme and any nicks and chips are really noticeable. We use these wood furniture repair crayons to mix up just the right shade and apply wherever there is a chip. Let it dry for a day and then add another layer for extra protection.
Get Creative!
This is an ideal time to get creative! Making cushions and curtains for your motorhome can be done, even if you have no sewing experience, equipment or expertise.
Many motorhomes have blackout blinds, making curtains more of a decorative panel. Remove these (they may be velcroed or hooked) and use them as a template to make new ones. You can sew them if you have a machine, but I use iron on tape which works a treat!
Clean the Roof
Apply Wet & Forget and leave it to do it’s thing. The next time it rains, it will be washed away (it’s biodegradable so can’t harm the environment) and your motorhome roof will be clean again.
Once applied, if you know its going to rain, try leaving your motorhome on chocks to give a slight angle so that the rain water and solution runs off. Don’t leave your motorhome at an angle for too long as this may have an effect on the running of your fridge.
Sort Out Your Garage
Don’t forget your garage, often the place where everything gets dumped and forgotten about.
As well as having a clear out, now is also a good time to get the shelving, hooks and brackets fitted that you’ve always thought would come in handy. A quick search on Google should give you loads of ideas for layouts and gadgets that will help keep your garage organised for your next trip.
Take on a Project
This could also be a good time to plan or start a project. Anything from changing your table, painting your cupboards or re-upholstering are jobs which need a bit of forethought and research. Check out Pinterest or Google for lots of great ideas to kick start your research.
If you are planning a full on van conversion, this could be the ideal time to start thinking about a specification and budget. This detailed and informative guide can help you get started and provide inspiration along the way!
Plan Your Next Trip!
Get that kettle going, spread out your maps and plan your next trip with the help of our motorhome road trip planner. It may not be for a few months or possibly longer, but having something to look forward to will help get you through the difficult times to come. We’ve got lots of great destination and road trip suggestions and places that we think might inspire you!
Are you looking for more motorhome tips? Check out these top posts…
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Tolls for Heavy Motorhomes >3.5T in Europe: Country by Country Guide
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