Preparing the Home for a Long RV Trip

[dphillipssr]

My question is not about the RV but preparing the house and the non-toad that we leave behind. What do RV's do to prepare their home base while away for 1-3 months at a time besides the basics of stopping the paper, mail, leaving a light timer on, etc.? We travel 1-2 months at a time during the late spring and early fall and are planning a 3-month trip in the future. Last summer after only 5 weeks we returned home to a costly damaged flooded utility room due to faulty valve in our washer and a dead battery in our car. We are trying to come up with a better list on preparing the home. Looking forward to suggestions.

[BirchyBoy]

The one thing I forgot was to have someone mow the lawn. Luckily, my neighbor did the front to keep the HOA happy but the back was waist high.

[SkiSmuggs]

Turn off the water and use a Battery Minder or Tender to keep car battery charged. Set HVAC to an economy setting.

[MRUSA14]

We turn off the main water valve to the house when we are gone for more than a few days. We also have someone who checks the house for us every two weeks. Mail is forwarded or held. Since we live in hurricane country, all outdoor furniture is brought inside if away in hurricane season.

[Finance]

Battery tender on the vehicles, mothballs under the hood to deter mice (not 100% in our experience). Alternately you could disconnect the battery.

On the house, we shutter all the windows and doors other than 1 (hurricane season), turn off the water, empty and off the fridge. We have a monitored alarm and webcams that alert us of intrusion, fire, etc. We have a house watcher do a walk around inside and out twice a month. Lawn service keeps the place presentable so it doesn't look untended. We take the mailbox down, because experience has shown the postal service can't be trusted to reliably follow a forwarding order; some stuff will still end up in the box, which is a dead giveaway the home is vacant.

I also have a discrete sign on the front door advising callers they are on camera and the video is stored in the cloud. Invariably they knock, look up at the camera, then leave.

Knock wood, we've had no issues in many years doing it this way.

P.S. power outages are always going to happen at some point. We use a large UPS unit to back up the power to the alarm in addition to the internal battery. Our power company uses smart meters so we get messages when the power goes out and returns. Make arrangements for sump pumps or any other systems that can cause you grief in an extended power outage.

[barmcd]

We're going to take off for the first time this summer and plan to be gone all of July, August, September and part of October. Here are a few things we've thought of.

Suspend newspaper
Suspend trash pickup (no municipal trash pickup in the county)
Arrange to pay water bill (no on-line payment with the local water company)
Arrange to have lawn mowed and trimmed every two weeks
Hold mail
Empty fridge (we'll take most of the stuff with us)

Turn off hot water heater
Cut water supply to house
Turn off propane to house
Set sprinkler to water once a week
Set thermostat to 88
Turn off electricity to workshop

[SeeTheUSA]

We are typically gone at least four months each summer, often even longer. To prepare our home such that we are comfortable with it being essentially unattended, we do the following (from a home departure check list specifically created so that nothing is inadvertently misssed!):

- clear out all trash
- turn off water supply line to house, but not the sprinkler system
- ensure sprinkler system is set for HOT summer
- close or cover all sink, bathtub and shower drains to minimize p-trap evaportation
- seal toilet bowls with plastic wrap to minimize evaporation
- lay down about a dozen glue board traps around the inside of the house (arachnophobia thing)
- replace HVAC filter, then set A/C thermostat to 85°
- replace all smoke and monoxide detector batteries
- close all blinds/shutters/drapes
- set several inside lighting timers (we use Wemo, stagger on/off sequences, access them remotely online)
- set up security cameras and alarm system (you’ll have to devise your own setup per your comfort level)
- set up mail hold or forward, review all bill payment realities (have worked to get as much as possible to online notifications and payment schemes)
- unplug as many inside things as possible (especially wall-wart chargers and power supplies, but also clock radios, lamps, etc.)
- stow bbq grill and Traeger smoker from patio into garage
- review plans and house setup with our really really really good neighbor, who gets a set of keys and a garage door remote

Hope these ideas help. The most important item on our list ... the really really really good neighbor, hope you have one, too.

Seems your vehicle battery would benefit from a simple trickle charger.

[hohenwald48]

Turn off water heater breakers.

If water leaks down in the tank you don't want the burner or element to come on.

[Busskipper]

Faced with the same Question this is My Solution. .

[56safari]

When you turn our water off, do it at the meter. Our line broke between the meter and the house valve this year. It didn't get the basement or show any other signs like water running down the sidewalk. Fortunately, the water department read the meter shortly after we left, noticed the meter was spinning with no one home and turned off the water. Will get it repaired when we return. You don't want the water bill I just paid!

[Limey0001]

We have just retired and are planning long trips away from home so our plan is. We sold the house, my daughter brought a new house with a separate large in law suite, now we are planning our motor home travels and overseas travels with out the stress of house worries.
All is good.

[KanzKran]

If you have a ground water problem, and you're concerned about basement flooding in a power outage, you can install a water-powered sump pump as a backup to the electric one (higher water level setting). They'll run forever with no power, as long as the city water supply is working. But that means you have to leave your water on. You can plumb the water supply before the main shutoff valve (but after the meter, of course), with its own shutoff valve.

Battery backup pumps are good for the short-term, but after a few hours, they're done, so they're best used where you can monitor them and use a portable generator to get the main pump running again. Which you can't do if you're not home, of course.

[Jag73e]

In addition to doing all or most of the other reply’s, we always notify the police giving them our departure and arrival dates. They kindly do a drive by daily and have our contact numbers in an emergency. Sometimes they also walk the property. Our alarm cues our neighbors who also have our cell numbers. A security camera accessible on line with text notifications notifies us if intruders or power outages (unplug computers, TVs, other susceptible to surges).

Never a problem in 20yrs traveling. A written departure checklist is mandatory.

[Russ Silber]

Originally Posted by BirchyBoy

The one thing I forgot was to have someone mow the lawn. Luckily, my neighbor did the front to keep the HOA happy but the back was waist high.

Turn water in house OFF either at house inlet or street meter. Unplug all electronic s and empty refrigerator in case of piwer failure. Give trusted nieghbor a key to check on home occasionally. Call lawn mower.
Notify local PD you are leaving for for a length of time. Check all window locks. Make sure car battery is chsrged and perhaps add a fuel stabilizer to a full tank of fuel. Then, have a safe and fun trip.[emoji328] [emoji322] Also make sure all bills are paid and make arrange mints
To pay on line.