What routine checks should you do on motorhome road trips?

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What routine motorhome checks do we do during a road trip?

How often should I perform routine checks on Bryony during a road trip? I have no idea but I’ve gone with once a week as my answer.

Or, if I have done over 600 miles within a couple of days e.g. journeying from Caen to the south of France or south of Spain within three days of getting off the ferry.

It all starts with my trip pre-departure checks. I use a list. No doubt you have one too. I’m weaning myself off the list and committing it to memory but on occasions I forget something. Anyway, the list goes like this:

Exterior

•             tyre inflation, tread, cracks, wear and tear; 

•             fluid levels – brakes, coolant, oil, windscreen washer;

•             all lights – brakes, headlights, side lights, reversing, emergency and normal indicators, step light etc;

•             Windows and mirrors – cracks, misalignments;

•             Bike rack and tow bar – greased, electrics WD40’d, locks working;

•             All lockers – seals siliconed, locks WD40’d;

•             Habitation door closing correctly and central locking functioning as it should;

•             All exterior ports, valves and vents as they should be;

•             Awning winds out and in!

•             LPG tank full; Petrol tank full; Water tank full.

•             Some waste tank cleaner and water down the waste tank for the first day journey

Interior:

•             appliances – stove, microwave, fridge, heating, hot water boiler – all working;

•             gas lines and valves leak free;

•             Ditto for plumbing;

•             Smoke and CO detectors working;

•             Safety – lockers secure, all locks working;

•             Nothing loose or peeling;

•             Security – wheel and steering wheel locks working and greased or WD40’d;

•             Battery levels checked, connections checked, MPPT app working, solar panels as they should be;

•             Water and waste tanks cleaned with puriclean;

•             All interior lights working;

•             All windows and skylights opening and closing as they should.

What about my ‘once a week’ checks?

•             Oil and fluids check, tyre pressure and condition check.

•             Monitor semi air suspension inflation levels;

•             Exterior walk around check for scratches;

•             Interior clean, hoover and polish (this does slip fairly often if I’m honest);

•             Can I include charging up of all camera batteries here as well?

•             Monitoring of our Victron app – looking at trends over the week on the MPPT controller and shunt monitor – is all as it should be?

On the day – just before setting off?

How many times have I forgotten to close the kitchen roof vent? Don’t go there! Now I have a list. There is a sticky transparent one on my side window as well.

Interior – all loose items secured. All cupboards and doors closed. Fridge and oven door closed. Fridge switched to auto. Water pump and heater off.  Everything stored on seats securely covered by blankets. Sunglasses and drinks to hand. Ditto with atlases, maps. Batteries sufficiently charged?

Exterior: electric cable disconnected and stowed. Watering cans ditto. Bikes firmly locked in place, cover and aluminium board securely tied on. Eternal lockers locked; ramps stowed. Awning retracted and secure. All furniture inside. Door mat brought in.

Sufficient water, gas and fuel onboard. Check!

Final agreement about route and destinations for the day. Google maps programmed, phones plugged in for charging on the way. Schrodinger, our crotchet cat, secure on dashboard and able to have an uninterrupted view of the journey. Dashcam working! Reversing mirror on.

And, phew, all done, so we can have a smooth departure!

What are your routine checks whilst on a trip – what have we missed? Drop us a comment if you have any further tips and we will amend the post accordingly. Safe travels now, have fun!