After a summer of fun-filled camping trips, it is time to prepare your camping trailer for the winter season. As you follow your trailer's winterizing recommendations, be sure to also take care of some important interior tasks and get the right type of trailer cover to protect its exterior. Here are some tips to help you accomplish these tasks.

Take Steps to Protect Your Trailer's Interior

Before you invest the time and money to buy and install your camping trailer's cover, get its interior ready for winter. Along with winterizing your trailer's plumbing, you don't want to forget even the tiniest of tasks. 

First, remove any dry cell batteries from items, such as wall clocks and flashlights. Batteries left over the winter can corrode and damage the appliance they are in. 

Wipe out the fridge and freezer to clean out any spills, then place a container of baking soda in them to control odors. Leave the refrigerator door open to help keep the space ventilated. Then, remove all the food from your trailer to prevent it from attracting rodents and other pests. 

Place some mice traps throughout the storage compartments and cabinets of your trailer. Then, go into your unlit trailer during a sunny day and search for any cracks allowing in daylight. Be sure to check any areas where hoses, wiring, or other utility lines enter into your trailer. Plug any holes with silicone caulk. Mice only need an opening the size of a dime to gain access into your trailer and make it their winter home. 

Protect Your Trailer With an Appropriate Cover

When you spend thousands of dollars on your camping trailer, you want to keep it as protected as possible during the winter from storms, snow, and ice. To do this, it is best to use a cover that is custom made for the make and model of your trailer. Using a trailer cover does not need to prevent you from having access to your trailer during winter. Some trailer covers available on the market have a zippered opening to allow you to gain access into your trailer while the cover is in place. 

A Cover Protects Your Trailer

A trailer cover is made to protect your trailer from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays that can damage and fade its exterior. It is also to help protect protruding fixtures on the top and sides of your trailer, such as the air conditioning unit, antenna, and ventilation covers, from winter weather. Then, the cover will also protect your trailer from moisture leaking into your trailer through cracks, seams, and other small openings around its fixtures. Leaking moisture in your trailer can cause the interior wood to warp and rot, and mold and mildew growth. 

The right type of trailer cover is made of soft, breathable material that prevents moisture build-up and mold growth, while not rubbing against and damaging the exterior of your trailer. Its fabric will be of a durable material so it will hold up all winter and protect your trailer. 

A Cover Saves You Time

Using a trailer cover will also save you time in getting your trailer ready for use in the spring. Your trailer's roof-mounted air conditioning unit can collect debris, such as dirt, dust, leaves, and pine needles during winter that can clog up and damage your unit.  At the beginning of spring, you won't have to clean out the air conditioning unit to prepare it for use. When you remove the trailer cover in springtime, your trailer will be just as clean as when you covered it the previous fall.

A Tarp Can Harm Your Trailer

If you decide to store your trailer under the protection of a cover, it is important to not use a large plastic tarp. The reason for this is because a plastic tarp can rub the corners and edges of your trailer over the winter. Eventually this will rub off the exterior layer of plastic and cause more harm than good to your trailer. A plastic tarp can also tear on any protruding fixtures during the winter, allowing ice, snow, and debris to get in and cause problems to your trailer. Then, covering your trailer with a tarp will prevent air flow and promote mold and mildew growth if any moisture gets between the tarp and your trailer.

Use this information to get your camping trailer ready for winter. You may be able to get more advice or a trailer cover from a local trailer dealer like Camping World of Ocala.