Okay now that Howard and I are stationary for awhile, should we be opening and closing our slides from time to time?  I have heard that you should do this to keep them in good working order.  I am curious to see how many people bring their slides in from time to time?

Is there anything else that we should be doing during a long stay?

Hi Linda:

We haven't moved our slide during extended stays. At least not for that purpose. If you don't have an awning covering the slide it should be swept clean occasionally just to keep trash from building up on top of it and especially before you bring it in.

As far as other things goes you definitely should cover your RV tires to protect them from UV damage. RVers seldom wear tires out on their RVs but UV and ozone damage can take a toal on tire life as well. Also do not leave the black tank valve open while sitting for extended periods. An unsavory build up can occur inside the tank. The grey tank is another matter although I feel it should be left closed as well. Several reason for that. One is build up of solids in this tank as well although certainly not as fast. It also protects you from anything unsavory coming back up the hose into your tank.

While in south Texas you might conisder covering the exhaust outlets to your central heater. It would prevent wasps from building anything unwanted inside the heaters. However, if you do cover it, be sure to remove the cover before starting up the heater on some of those cool mornings.

In south Texas the local water can be pretty hard on your water heater. A pretty good filter system would be a good thing.

I can't think of anything else. Perhaps some of the other folks can add something.

Hope you have a great time in the RGV.

Regarding the heater outlet and perhaps hot water heater. Most larger camping supplies sell wire covers designed to keep the critters out.

They work well. My house heater had a clump of mud daubers in the pipes from storage. After cleaning them out and covering the vents with the wire cage, no more issues.

Mike

What I did during 4 months in Oregon was minimal.  I have slide toppers, so debris on the slide itself was not an issue.  You will need to clean the slide toppers of water and debris, else the toppers will stretch and form pockets. 

If your slides are mechanical, clean the slide actuator rails (guide rails or whatever you choose to call them) with mineral spirits.  Then a light application of spray white lithium grease paying special attention to the spots where it is obvious there is contact.  If your slides are mechanical. Don't put any thing on the hydraulic rods if they are hydraulic.  Clean them well and leave 'em alone.

The suggestions to get the wire mesh covers is an excellent one.

Also, get some copper "Brillo" pads and stuff them in around your utilities inlets.  Keeps bugs and mice out really well.

Cover the tires with something, Camping World sells some good covers.

Never operate with the black tank valve open.

I believe you have a really good handle on this fulltimin' business.

Ken

We bought a Wasp Screen for the heater exhaust when we bought our rig so that is taken care of. 

We never leave our tank valves open, so we are good there.

We don't have covers for our tires, but our slides are over our tires and the sun never shines on them.  Do you think we still need them?

We have hydraulic slides and was wandering if we need to run them in and out periodically to keep the mechanicals in working order.

Linda,
Our slides also protect our tires from direct sunlight. We have asked the same question on other forums and the majority of posts say we don't need tire covers. At this point we aren't using them. Also, I don't think you need to worry about your hydraluic slides during your stay. I would just wipe off the rams prior to bring them in when you leave.-Dick

Linda:

Obviously the decision to purchase tire covers is up to you. I might just add that in my previous life one of the most destructive things we had to deal with on rubber items on our radar units was ultraviolet radiation. We learned the hard way that uv damage doesn't have to come form direct sun light. If you think about a nice day at the beach, you can still get a nice sun burn sitting under a beach umbrella. Also tire covers are cheap when compared to the cost of new tires. I opted to buy covers and use them whether in direct sun light or not. Of course these are just suggestions. One has to do what one feels is best and which ever way you decide wil be okay.

We have a fifth wheel and the slides cover our tires also but we do have wheel covers on our extended stay here. 

Southwestjudy & Bob & 2blackdogs

Linda,

We do not have any slides on our current rig.  However, I work with a lot of different mechanical systems and use is better than non-use. 

Using the slides ensures thier operation and moves fluid through the lines.  I would suggest once every week or 2 to close them and then open them again.  It takes all of 20 minutes of your day and ensures that when you get ready to pack up and move on that they will work.

Just my 2-cents...

 

Hi Linda,

Our slides cover our wheels as well, but I agree with Al.  If we are staying for longer than a week or are in an area exposed to a lot of sunlight we install the tire covers.  They are not overly expensive and only take a few minutes to install.

We don't cycle the slides but we've never stayed in one place for five months.  We will be next summer so that is a good question.  I'll be watching to see if anyone has a good justifiable reason to do so.  I agree that it doesn't take but a few minutes to close and re-open the slides, but Judy puts bears, pictures, and other items on the top of the slide facia - that's what takes the time to move.