How to store in hot climate

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We need to leave our new 36 FT Everest 5th Wheel in the Palm Springs, CA area for the summer months. Since temps can get to 115F here we have talked to other RV owners. The advice is to leave pails of water inside, tightly seal windows from the desert dust storms with cardboard or the silver material. Keeping water in all tanks is another must. We know how to winterize a rig but not sumerize. Does anyone have any suggestions? Also one person told me that the silver stuff could damage the windows but I see several rigs with that material in the windows here. Thanks for your help.
 
Hi John and Phyllis, welcome to our friendly forum.

We live in northern CA, and it doesn't get quite that hot here, maybe 105o and occasionally 110o. I've never worried about storing either our current or prior coach in the summertime. If the RV isn't covered, then sun will of course take its toll on paint or fiberglass/gel coat. I'd be concered that any adhesive tape would present you with a removal problen at the end of the storage period, and this would be exacerbated by the sun.

Presumably the pails of water are meant to introduce some humidity into the RV. I'm sure some materials might benefit from it, but I've never worried about low humidity.

Others may have different opinions &/or experience.
 
When interior mildew is a concern, folks in Florida often place anti mildew granules inside the coach.  These contain a formaldehyde product that prevents the formation of mildew.  Also saran wrap over the drains and toilet bowl reduces the rate of evaporation.
 
I don't believe their problem is high humidity Steve.
 
john and phyllis said:
We need to leave our new 36 FT Everest 5th Wheel in the Palm Springs, CA area for the summer months. Since temps can get to 115F here we have talked to other RV owners. The advice is to leave pails of water inside, tightly seal windows from the desert dust storms with cardboard or the silver material. Keeping water in all tanks is another must. We know how to winterize a rig but not sumerize. Does anyone have any suggestions? Also one person told me that the silver stuff could damage the windows but I see several rigs with that material in the windows here. Thanks for your help.

Consider storing your trailer in the Banning area.  It is close to PS, not much dust, a bit more humidity, and not quite as intense a heat.  Besides the trailer storage costs are cheap by comparison.

Blocking your windows with reflecting material is a good idea to cut down on greenhouse heating.  Do consider putting cardboard to shelter your wheels. 
 
Tom said:
I don't believe their problem is high humidity Steve.

You can tell my hot weather experience is East Coast  based with not much experience in the desert!?

Would pails of water lead to stagnation over a period of time in that climate?
 
Steve,
No it would evaporate before that happens.  When we lived in Rancho Mirage CA we stored our Class C and would put water in the waste basket to keep humidity in the rig.
 
Lorna,

It's been a good day today, because I learned something new! :)

Living in Eastern Canada all my life and now spending our winters in Central Florida, I have never had to deal with dry conditions.  It just didn't occur to me that humidity would actually need to be added!

As they say in the Good Book, you can never have too much humidity ;D ;D
 
If the water buckets are going to evaporate enough to appreciably affect the interior humidity, somebody is going to have to refill them every week or two.  If they don't need refilling, then it is a waste of effort anyway.

I would be most concerned about sun (infrared) damage to upholstery, carpet and perhaps the tires if the storage period is long enough. Reflective film on the windows should help that. I would also block all the skylights with something to reflect sunlight.
 
Ned and I used to go over to the storage yard about once a month to check on the C and also the water.  We usually had to add a lot.  It was only stored part of two summers.  The first summer is when we moved out there and the second summer we traveled in it for six weeks.  The third summer we were already full-timing.
 
Lorna - Thanks for the local help. We will be too far away to refill water in the rig. Since I am new to this forum I am not sure if you will get this reply. Please let me know. I am pretty good on the computer in general but not used to a forum.
 
Carl - Thanks for the good suggestion to store in Banning. Problem is to get rig ready for road, have wood steps etc. and we do not have a truck. Always hire a transport company.  We have the white tire covers on now. Plan to use the reflective material in windows but one person said that stuff could damage glass. Does anyone know if that is true???  I see a lot of it being used. I am a real "newbie" so hope I am doing this right.
 
john and phyllis said:
Carl - Thanks for the good suggestion to store in Banning. Problem is to get rig ready for road, have wood steps etc. and we do not have a truck. Always hire a transport company.? We have the white tire covers on now. Plan to use the reflective material in windows but one person said that stuff could damage glass. Does anyone know if that is true???? I see a lot of it being used. I am a real "newbie" so hope I am doing this right.

Had no idea that you were in so permanently.  Sounds like you are on a purchased lot.  If so, by all means stay there, you have paid for it. 

FYI, Palm Springs does have an odd group of snow birds.  They have park models and such luxurious trailers.  In the winter they station them down in the Morongo Valley at Desert Hot Springs, PS and other spots.  In the summer their rigs are hauled up by professional tow services to Big Bear, Arrowhead, or Idyllwild for the cool of the mountains:  kind  of short-haul snowbirds.  Anyway, this should make it easy to find tow services in the area
 
John
Yes I did get your message.  I forgot another thing you can do with water that would not require you to refill them quite so often and that is to use a number of containers or lots of 1 gal. milk jugs.  The lot we rented in Yuma one year had a shed and they had used about 2 doz. milk jugs and most of them had a little water in when we arrived the end of Oct.  They had a frig/freezer in the shed and it was unpluged with the doors closed and newspaper with unused coffee grounds in both sections.  There was no unwanted smell when we used it.  Don't know about the windows as we never did that since we used the C once in a while.  Like you said there are a lot of people putting sheets or the reflective window screens in and we have never heard any complaints but have never asked either.
 
Lorna,
Thanks for the ideas. However, the owner of Sunbird RV in Indio told me to use a heavy grade of plastic because she was checking a stored RV for someonw and the container had slpit due to the low humidity, runied the carper and some had soaked up the wall in the wall paper. Wish we could check in but will be over 500 miles away. If you say we need to refill containers then I guess I will hire someone here to keep track of the water. I know all tanks need to be left with water and pottie sealed with water. Also how about wood?  One person told me to make sure cupboards had good grade of polish on them. Hate that smell!! No matter what we will worry for 6 months.
 
Carl - You have been a great help. May consider having this moved because cooler areas are close. We are new "snowbirds" and just learning. Didn't buy a lot, don't want to spend up to $150,000 for a space that's for sure. But we do feel that storing it here in same spot is very easy and very secure. I have heard of homeless people breaking in to rigs and living there on RV lots.
 
john and phyllis said:
Tom - Thanks for the feedback. What do all those stars mean by your name? We are new snowbirds and new forum folks. In fact new to a large RV. Lots to learn. Many years of camping and boating experience but in smaller RV's.

Ignore stars - put in by software automatically based upon contributed messages along with monikers like newby. Since many folks came over from other site they are anything but newbies, etc. Just post and enjoy!!!

I would add to earlier message, I see no reason why water can't be put in sink or shower stall and the possible spilling from splitting problem disappears. In fact, it would seem to me that one could fill sinks throughout coach if one was into using water. I did store my MH in Phoenix one summer and it split the wood doors so mositure may help. I put the roof vent covers on so the vents could be left open to help let some heat escape and that seemed to help in later years but it still gets extremely hot inside.
 
Blueblood
Thanks for the info on the wood. Now I know oiling the wood is a must. Also will put containers in shower and sink. Guess we could fill other sinks too. I know Phoenix gets as hot in the summer as Palm Springs but it may be wind gusts are more prevelent here. If you ever travels I -10 you have seen the acres of windmills.  Therefore leaving anything open would not be a good idea in the desert. Leaving in 2 weeks so have to really sort thois all out quickly.
 
Steve, how can you claim to live in Eastern Canada??????
I am nearly 1000km east of you, therefore I am in Eastern Canada. And the folks who live 1500km east of me laugh at the idea that Ontario is Eastern Canada.
You are CENTRAL Canada. Between you and Eastern Canada is the WHOLE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC which is the size of Texas.
Canada is a big country and you, my friend , just ain't Eastern.  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Rankjo ;)
 
I recall crossing a ridge as I headed west last year and the sign said "Contential Divide"

This side of it is "East" Daughter's side of it is "West" it's that simple

Of course I'm in the US, not Canada  Though Michigan, is classed "midwest" we are east of the Mississippi
 

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