So while everyone is sitting back planning a trip for sometime in the future, its probably a good time to really get into the practical side, if your rig has been sitting there doing nothing for a few months, make some time to jack up each wheel and give it some good spins to give the bearings some exercise, check your tyre pressures and give the bearings a shake, if parked up for months at a time every 3 months is a good idea to do this, making sure you mark your tyre where it wa son the ground so that when you finish that mark is now up at the top............ No flat spot on tyres, pressures checked, bearings checked and grease given some exercise, I leave my hand brake off when I park Big Mal up, chock the wheels, my idea is if the drum rusts up (which they do) it will rust up even so no edge if shoes are hard up against the drum, no strain on cable.....but when I spin the wheel with the hand brake I give it a few tugs it also means that the surfaces of all 4 wheels should be even, my view. ...... I will also have a sticky inside the hitch to make sure nothing has made a home inside ....
Suppose I should declare that when you do this put a stand under the draw bar, don't jack up an axle with a jockey wheel supporting the front, use wheel chocks on one axle at times......If I have to explain why, sell your van and buy a tent..........
Moving inside turn on water pump and flush each tap form each tank, I start at the back then work to the closest to tank, I can't remember why though.... run HW taps as well and give the mains line a go as well but only need to flush from the closest tap o the intake, when finished give the tank filter a clean, leave tanks and HWS full, drain and refill when you are going to hit the road, bugs don't grow when everything is full of water and things don't corrode... If you leave your tanks and wateer lines empty they aren't really, they will sweat and fungi loves dank places............ Years of tank water, the tanks kept full where always the cleanest of the mob..
If its been a long time since you checked your HWS annode ( if yours has one) checking every 6 mths is good, 27mm socket does the job, tunr pump off, disconnect mains, turn on a HW tap to release pressure, remove annode, weather you replace or refit it, stick the garden hose in the hoel enough to flush the tank out, when no more white bits come out, its good, but before you stick in the annode, turn on the mains so it will flow thru the HW tank and flush out any stray bits, then pu the annode in, firm pressure to tighten..... then run a HW tap closest to tank till it stops spitting, your HWS tank shoudl then be full of water so the annode shouldn't rot............... sometimes the tap end filters may need flushing clean as well , just like oyur household ones.........
So thats the water sorted, give all your sparky stuff a test run, radio, TV, if laid up for ages even plug in the fridge and give it a run up better to find things out early......240 and gas....
My regime is wheels every 2nd month along with water stuff, I will also give the diesel heater a run every month or so just for 30mins keeps things clear, I never drain the fuel tank , every 3 wks or so I will fire up the VAST to keep it logged in, Big Mal is plugged into a dish I fitted on the shed roof for that purpose, plus handy when our local tower drops off during an important Cricket game....... With a lookie on the roof to clean all the pollen and dust off the panels....... A week before I head off the Jeeperific is plugged in to make sure everything works, nothing gets me going more than plugging in and the damn 7 pin has a problem.........
If its been raining or stinking hot I always open up the van to air..................
So hopefully the wheels won't fall off when you get to roll ...... don't forget the wheel nuts before your hook up tug and van..............
Suppose I should declare that when you do this put a stand under the draw bar, don't jack up an axle with a jockey wheel supporting the front, use wheel chocks on one axle at times......If I have to explain why, sell your van and buy a tent..........
Moving inside turn on water pump and flush each tap form each tank, I start at the back then work to the closest to tank, I can't remember why though.... run HW taps as well and give the mains line a go as well but only need to flush from the closest tap o the intake, when finished give the tank filter a clean, leave tanks and HWS full, drain and refill when you are going to hit the road, bugs don't grow when everything is full of water and things don't corrode... If you leave your tanks and wateer lines empty they aren't really, they will sweat and fungi loves dank places............ Years of tank water, the tanks kept full where always the cleanest of the mob..
If its been a long time since you checked your HWS annode ( if yours has one) checking every 6 mths is good, 27mm socket does the job, tunr pump off, disconnect mains, turn on a HW tap to release pressure, remove annode, weather you replace or refit it, stick the garden hose in the hoel enough to flush the tank out, when no more white bits come out, its good, but before you stick in the annode, turn on the mains so it will flow thru the HW tank and flush out any stray bits, then pu the annode in, firm pressure to tighten..... then run a HW tap closest to tank till it stops spitting, your HWS tank shoudl then be full of water so the annode shouldn't rot............... sometimes the tap end filters may need flushing clean as well , just like oyur household ones.........
So thats the water sorted, give all your sparky stuff a test run, radio, TV, if laid up for ages even plug in the fridge and give it a run up better to find things out early......240 and gas....
My regime is wheels every 2nd month along with water stuff, I will also give the diesel heater a run every month or so just for 30mins keeps things clear, I never drain the fuel tank , every 3 wks or so I will fire up the VAST to keep it logged in, Big Mal is plugged into a dish I fitted on the shed roof for that purpose, plus handy when our local tower drops off during an important Cricket game....... With a lookie on the roof to clean all the pollen and dust off the panels....... A week before I head off the Jeeperific is plugged in to make sure everything works, nothing gets me going more than plugging in and the damn 7 pin has a problem.........
If its been raining or stinking hot I always open up the van to air..................
So hopefully the wheels won't fall off when you get to roll ...... don't forget the wheel nuts before your hook up tug and van..............