Today is March 6. The first day of spring is about 2 weeks away. Of course, what the calendar says and how the weather behaves are often two very different things. A couple of years ago we got around 3'of snow in late March! That being said, it is still time to start thinking about getting ready for your next season of RVing, OHVing, camping, and boating.
Unless you live the in sunbelt you will probably have put all your RVs, OHVs, boats, and camping gear in winter storage several months ago. Hopefully you did that correctly, making sure everything was clean and properly serviced before being put into storage. If so, getting it ready for service now should be pretty straightforward. If not, you may be facing a lot of tedious, unpleasant and possible expensive surprises! Failure to properly prepare things for storage can result it premature failure of many pieces of equipment. Damp tents and sleeping bags can mildew and rot. Perishable provisions can go bad and create a nasty mess. Gasoline motors that were left with fuel in the fuel system may need expensive cleaning before the engines will run again. Tools may have gotten damp and rusted. Camp stoves and lanterns may need tune ups.
Regardless of the current status of your equipment, the sooner you inspect it, the sooner you can address any problems that might have developed and get them scheduled for repair. If you put everything away correctly, preparation for the upcoming season should be pretty simple, mostly unpacking and inspecting things, updating expired provisions, and preparing motorized equipment for operation. RVs and boats that were winterized to prevent freezing in cold climates will need to be purged of antifreeze and the water systems flushed and refilled for use this season. All camping equipment should be carefully inspected as varmints can sometimes damage soft goods in storage and hard goods, like tools, may have rusted in damp climates. Any damage should be promptly repaired. Items beyond repair should be replaced. Appliances, such as camp stoves and lanterns and in RVs and boats should be tested to ensure they are ready for use. Spiders seem to have an affinity for propane and often build webs and nests inside the propane lines and burners. They can sometimes be cleaned out with compressed air but often require a thorough brushing with a special tubing brush to remove them. Most rusty tools and equipment can be cleaned and lubricated so they can be put back in service. Some badly rusted joints may require treatment with penetrating oil or even heat from a blow torch to loosen them up again. Surface rust can be removed by light sanding. Dull tools should be sharpened. Wooden handles on hammers, axes, and hatchets may need to be sanded and rubbed with linseed oil. All your tools should be inventoried, inspected, and properly organized.
Getting an early start can help you deal with more difficult and expensive repairs more easily. Having more time to work on things, order needed parts, or locate replacements will reduce the stress and allow you to spread the expense over more time before you need them for your first outing of the new season. Having more time can let you shop around for the best prices on things you need. I once paid about $3.00 for 1 or 2 cord clamps for the ties on my sleeping bags when I needed them right away for an outing. After getting home I was able to stock up on 50 similar cord clamps off of ebay for about the same price!
If you are like me, a lot of camping equipment may be getting kind of old, but still useful. Older equipment is sometimes difficult to find parts for. One of the first places I look for obsolete parts is ebay.com; craigslist,com is another pretty good option. You might find good used equipment at garage sales, thrift stores, and second hand stores that can serve as replacements or as donors to repair what you have when new replacement parts are no longer available. How camping equipment is used is both good news and bad news. The good news is that when we find it, it is often still in good shape. The bad news is most of us never get to use it enough (which is why we can still find older stuff in good shape!). Sometimes I would rather buy an older piece of equipment in good condition that even a brand new one. One prime example that comes to mind is the carrying cases for Coleman lanterns. The older ones were made of metal and had a nice square shape that fit well into storage compartments. The newer ones are made of plastic and are kind of bulky and have a strange, barrel shape that doesn't fit anywhere well. The plastic may actually provide more shock protection and are more resilient to dents and corrosion, but I still prefer the older ones.
After a winter away from outdoor activities, getting our stuff ready to use can be kind of fun and cathartic. Sometimes we may have even forgotten about some of the pieces of equipment or the tools we have in our kit. Going through everything and inspecting it refreshes our memories of what we have and where it is so we can find it when we need it during this new season of fun. So spring preparation can have a lot of useful benefits as well as being kind of fun after our winter hiatus. Sometimes rediscovering forgotten equipment is almost like getting extra Christmas presents!
Spring also means the beginning of Daylight Savings Time in most US states. "Spring ahead; fall back" is a good way to remember which way to change the clocks. I kind of like the "fall back" change better as it yields an extra hour of sleep instead of stealing one! Almost all of us have forgotten the change the clocks at least once and showed up an our late or an hour early for a meeting or an appointment.
Spring? Well, maybe! Here in Oregon we got a Winter Storm Alert on the first day of spring, predicting up to 48" of new snow above 3000'. Some friends in Utah and California reported similar weather anomalies. Some areas have around 170% of normal snow pack. Utah is up to 201%! The extra snow is certainly good news given the long drought we have been experiencing, but it will probably take several years of above normal snow fall before things begin to get back to "normal". In the mean time, we still need to get ready for the upcoming season.
Spring into spring cleaning!
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