Although you might want to, you can’t use your folding camper all the time. You’ll need to store it eventually! Before purchasing my folding camper, I knew it would be important to look at my storage options. I did some research into the safest and securest ways to store folding campers. Here’s everything that I found out.
Make sure you store your folding camper suitably by following the tips for storing in this blog post.
Storing A Folding Camper Safely And Securely
First and foremost, before storing a folding camper you must make sure it is dry. Storing a folding camper when it’s damp is the worst possible action you can take. Dampness doesn’t just make your folding camper smell. It can damage everything you’re storing inside it, as well as the structure of the folding camper itself.
You can fold away your folding camper while it is wet. You can’t always avoid folding away your folding camper on a damp day. If you do have to fold your camper away while it is wet, the best thing to do is take it out and allow it to air when you get back home.
People always ask how long a wet folding camper can be left before mould begins to develop. Unfortunately, there is no definite answer to this. Personally I aim to avoid leaving my folding camper damp for more than 24 hours. Guidance typically ranges from 48 – 72 hours, but I would advise caution when it comes to your folding camper. Mould can cause expensive damage, so it’s best to let your folding camper air as soon as possible.
Getting your folding camper ready for long-term storage. If you’ll be storing your folding camper for a long time, there’s a few steps you should take beforehand.
As I said above, ensure you air out your folding camper before storing it. The last thing you want is to open your camper after its time in storage and find it damaged.
No matter where you’re storing your folding camper, you’ll want to remove all the electronics you store inside. Even if you’re storing your folding camper in your warm and dry garage, it’s advisable to store your electronics somewhere other than your folding camper. I remove all the electronics, such as the TV and radio, before I store it. If there’s even the smallest chance that your folding camper could be damp, it’s prudent to remove electronics to avoid damage.
If you are storing your folding camper outside, you’ll want to remove the furnishings as well as the electronics. Removing the soft furnishings, such as the mattresses and cushions, is easy and won’t take up too much time. They won’t take up too much room in your house, either. If you don’t have the room to store all the furnishings, just remove as many as you can.
Do you have water containers in your folding camper? If you do, you’ll have to remove them and store them elsewhere. You should try to store your water containers with the lids off, particularly if you won’t be using them again for a long time. This will prevent any remaining water from stagnating. You must store your fresh and waste water containers outside of your folding camper to prevent evaporating water creating dampness.
Before storing, clean the interior of your folding camper as thoroughly as possible. Cleaning the interior of your folding camper is very important, as you can attract unwanted visitors if the interior of your folding camper is dirty. Focus on cleaning out the cupboards and fridge in particular, where there might be leftovers that you have forgotten about.
Once the fridge and cupboards are clean, leave their doors slight ajar to allow air to circulate. If you don’t leave the doors slightly ajar, you might have a surprise when you next use your folding camper. You don’t want to risk mould growing inside your cupboards and fridge.
Clean the canvas of your folding camper. Before storing your folding camper for a long time, it’s a good idea to clean the canvas. Weather and other variables can damage the canvas of your folding camper, so it’s always advisable to clean it before storing it for a long period of time.
Many folding camper owners have made the mistake of cleaning the canvas with abrasive cleaning products. You can damage the canvas of your folding camper easily cleaning it with unsuitable products, so ensure you only use products designed with cleaning folding camper canvas in mind.
If there’s any green or black mould on your folding camper at all, clean it thoroughly. If you store your folding camper for a long time with any mould still on it, it might result in permanent staining. You can avoid staining entirely by cleaning your folding camper as thoroughly as possible before storing it.
How Long Can I Store My Folding Camper?
Many folding camper owners stop using their camper as the summer comes to an end, around September. Other owners use their folding camper all year around. If you’re yet to purchase a folding camper and you think you might only use it a few times a year, you might be wondering how long you can keep it in storage for.
The maximum time that you should store your folding camper is 6 to 9 months. If you will be storing your folding camper for longer than this, there are some important steps you must take before storing it and throughout its period in storage.
First and foremost, move your folding camper every month. You don’t have to move your folding camper far. Simply turning it around makes a big difference.
Moving your folding camper around every so often is good for the tyres. If you leave your folding camper in the same position for too long, you can end up putting too much pressure on one of its tyres. By moving the folding camper around every so often, you evenly distribute the pressure between both tyres.
For some, this is too much hassle. If you’re anything like me, you don’t want to move your folding camper around every so often. It’s something you forget to do because it doesn’t seem too important. If you feel the same way, winter wheels are a good solution.
Winter wheels replace the wheels of your folding camper over winter. This can protect the ordinary wheels and tyres of your folding camper. Winter wheels really aren’t necessary if you’ll be able to move your folding camper around a few times while it’s stored, so they’re potentially a waste of money for some people. Winter wheels do act as a deterrent to potential thieves, so that’s an added benefit.
Try and keep the handbrake off while your folding camper is in storage. As with the brakes on any vehicle, the brakes on your folding camper will stick if left too long. If possible, you should keep the handbrake off and secure your folding camper through alternate means. I leave the handbrake off on my folding camper. I use inexpensive wheel chocks to stop my folding camper from moving instead.
As long as you have some additional security in place, using wheel chocks is a suitable solution. Wheel chocks are inexpensive and cheaper than having to replace a dodgy handbrake, so they’re very handy.
