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Good Sam Roadside Assistance

How Should I Store A 5th Wheel Trailer In Florida Without Power

by First Time Camper

Should I leave a covered top vent open? Can I leave unopened bottles of alcohol in a dark cabinet? Should i put out kitty litter in containers to absorb moisture?

What about canned food can I leave it? This RV will be stored from May to November. I need all the help I can get since this is my first year of camping and I know it will be very very very hot!!! I would like to know what I can leave and what I have to pack up and take with me.

Thank you
First Time Camper

ANSWER Greetings First Time Camper thanks for submitting your question on our Ask An RV Question Page.


First I highly recommend that if you are going to store your 5th Wheel Trailer outside, that you purchase a cover for it. The Florida Summers are going to very hard on your 5th wheel if it is not covered. If you leave it uncovered, you are going to come back to a big cleanup project in November.

Between the thunderstorms, humidity, high heat and harsh ultraviolet rays everything on your 5th wheel is going to be affected from the tires, the RV exterior, RV interior and all the contents of the RV. An RV cover will help minimize the damage that can be caused by the Florida environment.

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Here are some great places to look for RV Covers. RV Covers At Amazon.com, eBay has huge selection of RV Covers and ADCO Contour-Fit Covers From Campingworld.icon You can also get tire protectors at the above stores.

OK let me answer some of your questions.

1. If you are not planning to cover the trailer during storage, I would not recommend leaving a vent open. Even if the vent is the covered type; the summer Florida thunderstorms or as they call them in Florida "the afternoon showers" also include high winds that can and will blow rain into those covered vents. You will end up coming back to a mold and mildew problem inside the 5th Wheel.

2. As far as the Kitty Litter idea, I am not sure that it will have much effect on the humidity in the trailer. In order for it to absorb that much moisture you have to use

a lot of Kitty Litter. Plus, depending on what type of Kitty Litter you use, you may also find that the Kitty Litter may have mold or mildew form on it.

3. Since the 5th wheel is going to be in direct sunlight, the heat inside the RV can go well beyond 135 degrees. If the RV is stored on cement or blacktop, it will be baking from all sides. I would not leave any alcohol sealed or not in the trailer a dark cabinet keeps sunlight away but the heat will still be there. If anyone has ever tasted beer or wine that has been subjected to high heat they will not want to try it again. I would not even leave the hard liquor stored in the RV.

4. Even canned food can be affected by the heat. Even if it does not cause a health problem it can cause a taste problem. My suggestion to you is take the remaining canned food you have and donate it to a local food bank or find someplace else to store it.

5. I would not leave anything in the trailer that you think might be affected by temperatures exceeding 135 degrees.

There are a lot of other guidelines to follow when storing an RV. I am going to refer you the answers I gave to the following questions.

1. What Is The Best Way Of Storing My Class A, On Tires Or Jacks?

2. We Are Storing Our RV In Florida For Summer, What Should We Do To Get It Ready For Storage?

3. Tips for Florida RV Summer Storage

I would also suggest you read this article in our RV Lifestyle and Camping Articles section of our website: RV Tips for Keeping Your RV Mold and Mildew Free.

Hopefully all of this information will be helpful to you. If any of our visitors have additional tips or suggestions for you they can leave them by clicking on the add a comment link located near the bottom of this page.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

RVing Al personally uses and highly recommends RV Emergency Road Service from the Good Sam Club

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