September 22, 2026 Dean Horton

How to Prepare Your Caravan for Winter: The Complete Checklist

Most winter caravan damage is not caused by cold. It is caused by water: water left in pipes that freezes and splits them, and water in the air that condenses on cold surfaces and turns into mould. Get those two things right and the rest of winterising is housekeeping.

This checklist covers both the caravans that go into storage for the winter and the ones that keep touring through it, because the jobs are different.

Part one: water, before the first frost

Water expands as it freezes. A litre left in a pipe run is enough to split a fitting, and you will not find out until you refill in March.

Drain the fresh water tank completely and leave the drain valve open.
Drain the water heater. This is the one people forget, and it is the most expensive thing to replace.
Open every tap and leave them in the mid position so both hot and cold sides can drain.
Drain the waste tank and leave the outlet open.
Pump the shower hose out and leave it hanging low.
Remove the submersible pump from the aquaroll and store it indoors.
Empty and clean the toilet cassette, then leave the blade open so the seal is not compressed all winter.
Remove and store any inline filter cartridge.

If your caravan has a self-draining valve, check it has actually operated. They stick.

Part two: damp and ventilation

A sealed caravan in a damp British winter grows mould. The instinct is to close everything up. The correct move is the opposite: keep air moving.

Leave roof vents and floor vents clear and open. They are there for exactly this.
Lift all seat cushions and stand them on edge, or better, take them home.
Leave wardrobe and locker doors ajar so air circulates behind them.
Take out every soft item: bedding, towels, curtains if you can, and anything fabric.
Remove all food, including tins and dry goods. Mice are the winter problem nobody plans for.
Put moisture traps in the van and check them. They fill faster than you expect.
Prop the fridge door open on its catch. A closed fridge grows mould reliably.

If the van has mains power in storage, a thermostatically controlled heater set to its lowest useful level keeps the interior above the dew point, which stops condensation forming at all. The Ceramic Heater MKK-230 has a 500W setting and an adjustable thermostat, so it cycles rather than running continuously. Check your storage site's rules first, as many do not permit unattended heaters.

Part three: battery and electrics

A leisure battery left flat over winter will sulphate and may not recover. Either remove it and keep it on a maintenance charge at home, or leave it connected to a solar panel and controller that will keep it topped up.
Disconnect anything with a standby draw: alarms, trackers and radios all pull current continuously.
If you are leaving solar connected, check the controller is set correctly for your battery chemistry. Lithium and lead-acid need different charge profiles.
Clean the hook-up cable and store it indoors. Cold makes cable stiff and cracks the outer sheath.

Our guide to leisure battery installation covers the connection side in more detail.

Part four: outside

Wash the van before it goes away. Traffic film and tree sap left on all winter etch the panels.
Check and treat the seals around windows, roof lights and body joints. Winter finds every weak seal.
Clear the roof of leaves, and clear the gutters and drainage channels.
Check the tyres, including the spare, and inflate them to the correct pressure. Consider winter wheels or moving the van periodically to avoid flat spots.
Grease the hitch, the corner steadies and the jockey wheel.
Fit the cover if you use one, and make sure it is a breathable caravan cover rather than a tarpaulin. A non-breathable cover traps moisture against the panels and does more harm than no cover at all.

If you are touring through winter instead

Different job. You are not draining anything, you are managing heat and moisture while living in the van.

Know your pitch supply. On a 10A hook-up you have around 2,300W total, so a 1,500W heater leaves limited room for cooking.
Cook in ways that produce less steam. An enclosed air fryer puts far less moisture into the air than boiling pans, which matters when you cannot leave windows open.
Ventilate deliberately, twice a day, even when it is cold. Short and thorough beats a permanently cracked window.
Wipe condensation off windows in the morning rather than letting it run down into the frames.
Lift mattresses and cushions off their bases periodically so the underside can dry.
Keep the water system running and use antifreeze in the waste tank if you are pitched below freezing.

A quick pre-storage sweep

A 12V vacuum such as the MS-80, rated 100W with a HEPA filter and a 0.6 litre container, makes the final clean-out easy without needing a mains socket. Crumbs left in the van over winter are what attracts mice, and mice are considerably more expensive than a vacuum.

Bringing it out again in spring

The recommissioning job is shorter but worth doing properly, because problems that developed over winter show up in the first weekend rather than the second.

Close all the drain valves and taps before you refill, or you will empty a full aquaroll onto the grass.
Flush the fresh water system through with a sterilising solution, then flush it again with clean water until the taste clears.
Check for water ingress before anything else. Look at the corners of the ceiling, around roof lights, under the front window and along the floor edges. Soft spots and dark staining are what you are looking for.
Test every 12V circuit and every 230V socket individually.
Check tyre pressures and look for cracking in the sidewalls. Caravan tyres age out before they wear out.
Test the brakes and the breakaway cable, and check the corner steadies wind freely.
Refit the battery and give it a full charge before the first trip rather than relying on the tow car.
Run the fridge on all three power sources for an hour each before you load it.

The one job people skip

Draining the water heater. It sits low, holds several litres, and does not empty when you open the taps. A split water heater is one of the more expensive winter repairs and it is entirely avoidable with the drain valve you already have. Check it has actually run dry rather than assuming the valve worked.