The checklist before you leave

How long it takes, and when it is worth it

A full checklist takes between thirty and forty-five minutes, and there is no point running it every time. It is worth it before long trips, at the change of season and after the vehicle has stood still for weeks, which are the three moments when faults show up. For a weekend two hundred kilometres from home, the five checks at the bottom of this page are enough.

• Before a long trip: everything that follows, calmly and with the vehicle cold
• At the change of season: everything, plus the heating in October and the air conditioning in May
• After a long stand: everything, because standing still is what ruins batteries and seals
• For a weekend: the five essential checks, five minutes

Batteries and storage

The terminals are where a healthy system turns into a system that will not start: look at them before every trip, and it takes thirty seconds. The rest is a voltage reading, which tells you the real state of the battery far better than any light on the panel.

• Terminals clean, dry and free of white or bluish deposits, and the battery firmly in its housing
• Cables with no cuts, no stripped insulation and no loose connections
• Resting voltage with a multimeter: on a nominal 12 V system, below 11 V the battery is flat or faulty
• Load test: switch the interior lights on for five minutes, the voltage should drop a little and then settle
• Charger: switched on, it must read a current going in, not zero

Electrical system and loads

What you check here is not the wiring, it is the loads: switch on everything you will use on the road and see what does not answer. Flickering lights are almost always a loose contact or a low battery, and they are the warning that arrives before the real fault.

• All the interior lights on together: no flicker
• Fridge on 12 V: after ten minutes it must have started to cool
• Water pump: normal pressure at the tap, without hammering
• Extractor and ventilation: the air must come out of the outside vents
• Panels and sockets: no scorch marks, no play in the 12 V sockets

Heating and air conditioning

The heating is tested before the season you need it in, not on the first cold night. The test is trivial and takes five minutes: switch it on and wait for the warmth to reach the vents.

• Boiler flue and air intake clear of obstructions, pipes without cracks
• Gas boiler: flame lit within half a minute, warmth in the living area within five to ten minutes
• Diesel heater: fan starting up and warm air at the vents
• Thermostat: set a temperature and check that it switches on and off by itself
• Air filters: if they are grey, clean them; if they are black, replace them
• Air conditioning: cold air within two or three minutes, and the condensate drain clear

Brakes, suspension and tyres

This is the part of the checklist that concerns the road, and the only one where a doubt is worth a workshop visit instead of a departure. Tyre pressure on a heavy vehicle is not a detail: it is the difference between a tyre that lasts and one that fails on the motorway in August.

• Pads with at least three or four millimetres left, discs without deep grooves
• Brake fluid between minimum and maximum, and clear: if it is dark brown it needs changing
• Pedal firm and coming back up on its own: if it sinks there is air in the circuit
• Tyre pressures at the values on the door pillar plate, measured cold
• Tread: the legal limit is 1.6 mm, but below 3 mm on a motorhome you replace
• Production date on the tyres: after five or six years the rubber hardens even if the tread is there
• Shock absorbers with no oil leaks, and nothing hanging loose under the vehicle

Water, waste and sanitary system

The check people forget most often is the simplest one: how much room is left in the grey and black tanks. Leaving with the waste tanks full means looking for a service point on the first day instead of the second.

• Fresh water: level, and no leaks around the tank
• Grey and black: room available, not just the level
• Pump and taps: steady pressure, drains running away without smells
• Water heater: switched on, the water must warm up within ten to fifteen minutes
• Before a long stand: tanks empty, and in the cold months the system drained

Lights and indicators

It takes two minutes with someone watching from outside, and a blown brake light is the only fault on this page that costs you a fine as well as a rear-end collision.

• Side lights, dipped beams and main beams
• Brake lights: all three, including the high-level one
• Indicators, front and rear, flashing at a steady rate
• Reversing lights and fog lights
• Lenses without cracks and without condensation inside

Sealing, seals and roof

Water ingress does not show up on the day it starts: it shows up a year later, on the swollen panel inside a locker. Seals are checked every three months, and it is the one piece of preventive maintenance on this page that saves thousands of euros.

• Window and rooflight seals without cracks and without lifting edges
• Roof without bulges and without stains, looked at from above whenever possible
• Doors and rooflights closing without draughts
• Bodywork without rust around screws and trims

The five checks when there is no time

If the long checklist does not get done, these five still do: five minutes, and they cover what actually stops a trip.

• Tyres: pressure and a look at the tread, two minutes
• Outside lights: switch them all on, one minute
• Brakes: one gentle stop on the level, no noises and no pulling to one side
• Battery: voltage with the multimeter, one minute
• Loads: interior lights and water pump, one minute

If a check goes wrong

A fault found on the drive is an inconvenience, the same fault found on the road is a ruined holiday. Oil leaks, new noises from the suspension, wiring that runs hot or a brake warning light do not go out on the road: the vehicle goes to the workshop and you leave the day after.