The leaves are falling, and so are the temperatures. It's time to get your RV put away for the off-season. You know the importance of winterizing the RV, like pouring anti-freeze into the water system, putting the batteries on charge, and making sure that the gas is shut off, but do you know what else you can do to the RV to ensure that it's in good condition when you go to use it in the spring? Here, you'll find a few tips that'll help protect your RV while it's being stored for the winter.

Move It to an RV Storage Facility

Don't park your RV in the lawn at your home. This is one of the biggest mistakes that many RV owners make – you never want it parked on a surface other than concrete or well-drained gravel. If you were to park it in the grass over the winter, there's a great chance that the brake lines, fuel lines, power steering lines, and undercarriage suffer some sort of corrosion damage – you could even find that the lines are all ruptured come spring.

Don't chance parking it in your yard – move it to an RV storage facility where it will be safe until spring.

Rodent and Insect Control

Rodents and insects are just like humans in the sense that they'll look for food and shelter when the temperature drops – what better place to live than an RV that's not being used for the next several months? So, you'll have to do some things to make sure that they don't make your RV their winter homes.

Go to the store and pick up several bars of Irish Spring body soap. The smell of this soap will help to keep rodents and insects away. It works much like moth balls, but you won't have to live with that awful smell for the rest of the time that you own the RV. Unlike the moth balls, the soap leaves behind a nice smell that will quickly dissipate once you've opened the RV in the spring.

Moisture Control

Go to your local home improvement store and pick up a bucket of silica gel – it may be labeled as a moisture-absorbing material. This bucket can be placed inside the RV and will absorb a lot of the moisture in the air before it can settle into the materials in the RV.

These three things will help make your spring opening much easier. Hopefully, your winter goes by quickly and you can get back to the RV lifestyle sooner, rather than later.