As temperatures drop, leaves change color, and trees grow bare, it’s undeniable that winter is on its way. Before this seasonal change comes in full force, you can prepare your customers by sharing winterization tips for specific units. Proactively informing your customers will help them avoid potential vehicle damage from harsh conditions and increase their overall satisfaction with your dealership.
Let’s dive into some essentials your customers should know about winterizing their specialty vehicles, whether they own an RV, boat, or powersports vehicle.
Why Is Winterization Important?
Neglecting winterization can result in disastrous consequences for your customers’ specialty vehicles. But if they don’t understand why winterization is important in the first place, it can be difficult to convince them to take necessary precautions. Emphasize how appropriate winter maintenance is essential to preserving the unit’s condition.
Without winterizing, wear and tear from harsh winter conditions can severely damage — and even ruin — a specialty vehicle’s performance and safety. For example, at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, it only takes about 24 hours for an RV’s pipes to freeze, and this process can happen even faster as temperatures drop to extreme lows. Frozen pipes are at high risk of bursting, which can cause a lot of additional problems and cost owners a small fortune.
Similarly, boats and powersports vehicles left out in winter conditions can sustain significant damage. Frigid weather and icy water can deconstruct the gel coating on the hulls of boats and cause damage to the propeller and rudder. Additionally, extremely low temperatures can cause powersports vehicle batteries to freeze, crack, break, and become permanently inoperative.
Pro tip: Just like customers need to winterize their specialty vehicles, you should implement winter safety tips to ensure your dealership is ready for the season.
Is Winterization Really Necessary?
Yes! Protecting each vehicle correctly is imperative to ensuring they’ll perform well for years to come. Even residents of warmer Southern states should be careful not to overlook winterization. In fact, USBoat found that Hawaii is the only state that consistently survives winter months without any freeze-damage insurance claims.
It can be hard to predict how severe each winter season will be in any region, and the repercussions aren’t worth forgoing proper preparation.
Additionally, if your customers plan to store their vehicle in a climate-controlled storage space for the winter, proper maintenance is still required. This will help their vehicles stay in good condition after prolonged periods of idleness.
Pro tip: Keep customers’ common storage needs in mind when helping them find the right winter storage option for their unit.
What Tips Should Your Customers Know?
While all RVs, boats, and powersports vehicles must undergo preparation for the harsh season, the exact steps will depend on the make and model of each vehicle. Your customers should refer to their owner’s manual for detailed winterization instructions. Here are a few tips you can share to make sure your customers’ winterization process goes smoothly:
RVs
- Leave no water behind.
Customers must completely empty the water supply in their RV, including all holding tanks and any standing water found in appliances. Flush the toilet and run the faucets until no water is left. Remind customers that forgetting to drain the standing water can cause costly problems in the future if it freezes over.
- Allow the water in the water heater to cool down.
Jumping the gun on emptying an RV’s water heater can be dangerous. To avoid getting burned, customers should wait for the water to fully cool off before draining the water heater.
- Make the most of your antifreeze.
After draining any water throughout the RV, customers will then need to fill the plumbing system with antifreeze (including sinks). To avoid using unnecessary amounts of antifreeze, they should bypass their water heater. This allows the antifreeze to spread throughout the RV’s plumbing without having to completely fill up the water heater.
- Be sure to use RV-specific antifreeze.
RV-specific antifreeze is nontoxic, while automotive antifreeze is very toxic. Since people use an RV’s plumbing system directly, it’s important for your customers to be informed of the difference.
- Remember to seal any openings to the outdoors.
Applying sealant to any cracks around windows and doors will prevent the harsh cold from damaging the interior of your customers’ RVs.
- Top off and stabilize your fuel.
When left unused for long periods of time, fuel will begin to oxidize and cause excess buildup of ethanol and water. To avoid the post-winter trouble, customers should top off their tank until it’s close to full and add a fuel stabilizer. To determine the correct type of fuel for their RV, customers should refer to the owner’s manual.
Boats
- Protect the engine.
Leftover water in the engine can cause significant damage when below-freezing temperatures arrive. To preserve the engine for future boating seasons, flush it with fresh water, drain the excess water completely, and douse it with marine-safe antifreeze. In addition, remind customers to change all their engine oils and fluids before storing their vessels for the winter.
- Top off and stabilize your fuel.
To avoid ruining the boat’s engine after the winter season is over, customers should fuel up until the tank is almost full — preferably with non-ethanol gas. Ethanol gas can cause the metal found in boats to corrode and the engine to fail from overheating. After fueling up, customers should add fuel stabilizer and go for a short ride to ensure the fuel distributes successfully.
- Leave the portable heater at home!
Unless your customers plan to monitor their boat 24/7, space heaters are not a safe or viable alternative to proper winterization. All too often, unattended or improperly used portable space heaters result in accidental fires and, in some cases, fatalities.
- Cover the boat effectively.
If your customers forgo climate-controlled, indoor storage, they must wrap their boat to protect it from the outdoor conditions. Shrink wrapping or using a high-quality cover will mitigate the risk of rips and tears, which can result in gel coating erosion and other damage.
- Check on your vessel throughout the winter.
Even with proper coverage and winterization, your customers should check on their boat if it’s being kept outside during the winter. Frequent check-ins will help customers catch and address issues like ripped covers quicker.
Powersports Vehicles
Whether your customers own jet skis that must be stored for the winter, or snow mobiles that are intended for winter use, every powersports vehicle must be winterized to ensure safe storage and performance.
- Top off and stabilize your fuel.
Like RVs and boats, many powersports vehicles run on gas and should be prepared for the winter. Customers should fuel up until the tank is almost full (using non-ethanol gas if possible), add fuel stabilizer, and run the engine for a few minutes to circulate the treated fuel throughout the system.
- Preserve the battery.
Batteries will lose charge and effectiveness after being left unused in freezing temperatures for long periods of time. Customers should disconnect their battery and store it in a cool, dry location when the vehicle is not being used.
- Change the oil and filter.
By replacing the engine oil and filter before the winter, your customers will have a ready-to-go vehicle in the spring.
- Flush and replace coolant.
If the powersports vehicle will be sitting for a while, customers should flush out the coolant and replace it before storing it away for the winter.
- Don’t forget the antifreeze!
To protect powersports vehicles from freeze damage and corrosion, customers must use the proper antifreeze for their specific vehicle. For example, jet skis require marine-safe antifreeze, while other vehicles may be compatible with automotive antifreeze.
Conclusion
Although there’s a wide array of RVs, boats, and powersports vehicles, they all call for proper protection from winter weather. Informing your customers of the importance and execution of winterization will help prevent vehicle damage and increase their satisfaction with your dealership.