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Reference

Ten Checklists You Can Run Yourself Before You Call Anyone

Ten printable checklists covering pre trip inspection, post storage wake up, roof and seal walk, water intrusion hunt, slide room function, pre purchase evaluation, storm damage documentation, claim photography, drop off preparation and seasonal readiness.

Checklists exist to make the phone call shorter

When an owner calls and says the roof leaks, the next twenty minutes go to establishing facts that the owner could have gathered in ten minutes with a ladder. Where is the stain. Is it directly under a penetration. Does it grow after rain or after a wash. Is the ceiling panel soft or just discolored. None of that requires a technician. All of it changes what we quote.

Run the relevant list, write the answers on the printout, photograph what the list tells you to photograph, and the conversation that follows starts three steps further along. For a Hacienda Heights owner deciding whether a problem justifies the drive out on the SR-60, that is often the whole question answered before anybody gets in a vehicle.

What these checklists deliberately do not do

None of them asks you to remove a panel, open an LP line, work on a 120 volt circuit or get on a roof that has a soft spot. Every item is observable from a ladder, a doorway or a walk around. That constraint is not politeness. Water damaged decking fails without warning, and LP work is certification gated for reasons that become obvious the first time somebody skips it.

They also do not diagnose. A checklist tells you what is true. Deciding what caused it is a different job, and the cause is usually somewhere other than where the symptom shows up. Water that appears above the dinette got in at a marker light nine feet away more often than it got in overhead.

10 lists

Work through them in order

What to do in the first 24 hours after an RV collision

The documentation you create in the first hour is worth more than anything anyone can reconstruct later. Work this list before you move the coach if it is safe to stay put.

  1. Confirm nobody is injured and move people away from the LP tank side of the coach
  2. Shut the LP tank valve at the tank before you do anything else
  3. Photograph the scene wide, from all four corners, before any vehicle is moved
  4. Photograph the damage close up, then photograph the same area from ten feet back
  5. Photograph the other vehicle's position, plates and any road debris or skid marks
  6. Photograph your own odometer, dash warning lights and the interior of the coach
  7. Get the other driver's carrier name, policy number and plate, not just a phone number
  8. Ask any witness for contact information before they leave the scene
  9. File the police report even if the other party asks you not to
  10. Call your carrier and open the claim yourself rather than waiting for the other side
  11. State clearly that you are choosing your own repair facility, which is your right
  12. Do not authorize a tow to a facility you did not select
  13. Check whether the coach is roadworthy for the drive before planning to bring it in
  14. Keep every receipt from the day, including the tow, in one place
  15. Write down what happened while you remember it, including the time and the weather

What to bring when you drop the coach off

A write up takes 30 to 60 minutes when this list is complete and considerably longer when it is not. Morning drop off between 8:00 and 10:00 is the fastest window.

  1. Registration and the current insurance card, physical or on your phone
  2. The claim number and the adjuster's carrier extension if a carrier is involved
  3. Every photograph you took at the scene, including the wide shots
  4. The prior repair invoice if this area of the coach has been worked before
  5. Keys to every compartment, including the generator bay and the wet bay
  6. The coach powered and levelable if the complaint involves a slide, so it can be cycled
  7. The tow vehicle if the complaint involves a coupler, pin box or hitch
  8. Fresh water tank at least partly full if the complaint involves plumbing
  9. Full LP tank if the complaint involves a gas appliance, so ignition can be verified
  10. Remove valuables, medication, firearms and anything you will need in the next month
  11. Remove perishables from the refrigerator and prop the door if it will be off
  12. A written list of every symptom, including when it happens and when it does not
  13. Your preferred contact method and the hours you can actually answer

Before the coach goes into storage for a season

Southern California layup damage is UV, rodents and flat spots rather than freeze damage. This is the list that decides what condition the coach is in when you come back.

  1. Wash and dry the roof and sidewalls so acid rain residue is not baking on for months
  2. Inspect every roof penetration for chalked or lifted sealant and reseal before the rain
  3. Drain and flush the fresh water tank, lines and water heater
  4. Dump, rinse and treat the black and gray tanks, then leave the valves closed
  5. Shut the LP tank valve and check the regulator vent for insect intrusion
  6. Disconnect the house bank negative, or leave it on a maintainer sized to the chemistry
  7. Set tire pressure to the sidewall figure and cover the tires against UV
  8. Move the coach a quarter turn of the wheel every month if it will sit longer than 90 days
  9. Seal every exterior opening a rodent can use, including the furnace and water heater vents
  10. Place rodent deterrent in the wet bay, the generator bay and under the refrigerator
  11. Leave cabinet and refrigerator doors ajar so nothing grows in a closed box
  12. Retract the awnings fully and confirm the fabric is dry before the arms lock
  13. Retract all slides and confirm the seals are seated rather than folded
  14. Photograph the interior and exterior on the day you leave it, dated

Owner roof inspection, twice a year

Do this in spring and again before the rainy season. You are not looking for holes, you are looking for sealant that has stopped being flexible.

  1. Confirm the ladder is rated and the roof is walkable before you go up at all
  2. Count your penetrations and write the number down, most coaches have between 14 and 30
  3. Press each lap sealant bead with a thumb and note any that feel hard rather than rubbery
  4. Look for crazing, a fine cracked pattern, which is the first stage of sealant failure
  5. Look for any sealant edge that has lifted from the membrane or the flange
  6. Check the air conditioner shroud for cracks and the mounting bolts for looseness
  7. Check the refrigerator and water heater vent flanges, the most common single source
  8. Check the front and rear cap to membrane transition across its full width
  9. Check every antenna, satellite and solar mount foot and its fastener line
  10. Check the slide topper mounting rail along the sidewall transition
  11. Wipe the membrane field with a dark cloth and note how much chalk transfers
  12. Walk the deck slowly and note any area that feels soft or spongy underfoot
  13. Photograph anything you find from directly above and from an angle, with a scale in frame
  14. Look for black streaking down the sidewalls below any seam, which marks a runoff path

Walking a used coach before you buy it

This is what to do yourself before paying anyone for an inspection. If three or more of these come back wrong, the coach probably is not worth the inspection fee.

  1. Sight down every sidewall in raking light from both ends looking for flat spots and bulges
  2. Tap the sidewalls in a grid and listen for the change in tone that marks a void
  3. Open every cabinet and put your face in it, a musty smell means water with no stain yet
  4. Walk the roof if it is walkable and press every sealant bead
  5. Run every slide out and back in fully, twice, and listen for a change in motor note
  6. Look at the slide seals for paint, which means someone hid a gap rather than fixing it
  7. Check the slide floor for a step or a dip where it meets the main floor
  8. Pressurize the fresh water system and leave it under pressure for 20 minutes
  9. Light every LP appliance and watch the flame color and the ignition sequence
  10. Run the house generator under load, not just at idle, and listen for a miss
  11. Check the tire date codes, not the tread, because RV tires age out before they wear out
  12. Look at the frame from underneath for fresh paint, which often hides a repair or rust
  13. Ask for every service record and read who did the work and when
  14. Check the yellow cargo capacity sticker and compare it to how the coach is optioned

The claim file you should be building yourself

Carriers document their side thoroughly. Owners who document theirs get better outcomes on supplements, valuations and total loss decisions, and it takes an hour to set up.

  1. Open a folder, physical or digital, on the day of loss and put everything in it
  2. Record your claim number, the date of loss and the adjuster's carrier extension
  3. Save every scene photograph at full resolution, not compressed in a text thread
  4. Get a copy of the carrier's own estimate as a document, not read to you over the phone
  5. Get a copy of the repair facility's estimate, line by line, and compare the two
  6. Note every date the coach moves and who moved it, including tow operators
  7. Keep a log of every call: date, who you spoke to by role, and what was agreed
  8. Ask in writing for the total loss threshold percentage your policy and carrier use
  9. Ask in writing whether the policy is agreed value, actual cash value or stated value
  10. Read the non OEM crash part disclosure section and note any part you want changed
  11. Save receipts for anything you spend because the coach is unavailable
  12. Photograph the coach at every stage of repair if you visit it
  13. Keep the final invoice and the supplement paperwork together for the resale file

The morning you leave on a long trip

Twenty minutes of this list prevents most of the calls we get from owners two hundred miles into a trip. Work it in the same order every time so you notice when something is different.

  1. Walk the full perimeter and look at every tire sidewall and valve stem
  2. Check tire pressure cold, before you move, against the sidewall figure
  3. Confirm every compartment door is latched and every lock is engaged
  4. Retract all slides fully and confirm the seals seated rather than folded
  5. Retract and lock both awnings, and confirm the arms are fully home
  6. Confirm the roof has nothing on it: no tools, no cover, no branch debris
  7. Shut the LP tank valve for travel if that is your practice, and confirm it is shut
  8. Confirm the refrigerator has switched to the power source you intend for travel
  9. Check the entry step retracts and stays retracted with the door closed
  10. Walk the interior and confirm nothing heavy is unsecured above head height
  11. Check the tow connection, safety chains and breakaway cable if towing anything
  12. Test every exterior light including brake, turn and marker, with a second person
  13. Confirm the leveling jacks are fully up and the indicator agrees with the jacks
  14. Note your odometer and the time, which matters if anything happens later that day

Seasonal slide out check on any mechanism type

Slides fail from geometry and moisture far more often than from mechanism wear. This list finds the geometry problem while it is still cheap.

  1. Identify your mechanism type and write it down: in wall, through frame hydraulic, rack and pinion, cable or Accu Slide
  2. Run the room out fully and measure the gap at the top corners, left against right
  3. Run the room in fully and check that the interior fascia sits flat against the wall
  4. Watch the room move and note whether one side leads the other at any point
  5. Listen for a change in motor note or a click at any point in the travel
  6. Inspect the wiper seal along the top for tears, folds and set
  7. Inspect the bulb seal for compression memory that no longer springs back
  8. Check the slide floor at the threshold for a step, a dip or a soft area
  9. Read moisture at the slide floor corners and along the bottom of the slide face
  10. Look at the slide face in raking light for a flat spot that marks delamination
  11. Check the topper fabric for pooling wear and the mounting rail for lifting fasteners
  12. Clean the seals and treat them with a product intended for EPDM rather than a silicone spray
  13. Confirm the room seats fully with no light visible around the perimeter from inside

LP and appliance safety, what to check and what to stop using

This list is deliberately conservative. LP work is certification gated for a reason, and the correct response to several of these findings is to shut the tank valve and stop.

  1. Confirm the LP detector is present, powered and inside its service life date
  2. Confirm smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are present and inside their date
  3. Look at the regulator vent for insect nests, corrosion or a missing cover
  4. Check every accessible flexible LP hose for cracking, abrasion and date stamps
  5. Light each appliance in turn and watch the flame: it should be blue, not yellow or lifting
  6. Listen at each appliance for a delay or repeated clicking on DSI ignition
  7. Note any smell of gas anywhere, at any time, even briefly
  8. Note any soot pattern on or above any appliance vent
  9. Confirm the furnace and water heater exterior vents are clear and undamaged
  10. Confirm the refrigerator exterior vent is clear and the burner area is clear of debris
  11. If you smell gas, hear hissing or see soot, shut the tank valve and stop using the system
  12. Book a timed pressure drop test rather than trying to find a leak with soap alone
  13. Never test with a flame, and never chase an LP leak into a wall cavity yourself

Fleet unit intake, what the operator should send with the truck

Commercial units are revenue, so the intake exists to compress downtime. Everything on this list is something that otherwise costs a day waiting for an answer.

  1. Unit number, VIN, and the body or upfit manufacturer plate if there is one
  2. Purchase order number and the department cost center the invoice must reference
  3. Whether this is an insurance claim, an operator pay repair or a body builder defect claim
  4. Photographs taken at the dock or scene before the unit moved
  5. The driver's written description of what contacted what and at what angle
  6. Any prior repair paperwork for the same area of the body
  7. Whether the unit must be returned with the livery reapplied or left plain
  8. The date the unit is genuinely needed back, and what happens on that date
  9. Whether a spare unit is covering the route, which sets the sequencing priority
  10. Keys, including body compartment keys, roll up door keys and lift gate switch keys
  11. Confirmation the cargo area is empty and swept before arrival
  12. The name of the role, not the person, who can authorize a supplement without delay
  13. For a county or municipal unit, the exact PO wording required for the invoice to clear

Questions

Questions on this

Are these the same lists your technicians use?

They overlap but they are not identical. Ours include torque values, moisture meter thresholds and disassembly steps that are not appropriate to hand to an owner. These are the observable subset, which is most of the diagnostic value and none of the risk.

Can I bring a completed checklist in with my vehicle?

Please do. A filled out list with dates on it is evidence, and on an insurance claim evidence with dates is worth considerably more than the same information delivered verbally. Dated owner observations are one of the few things that establish when damage started, which is frequently the entire question on a water intrusion claim.

Ran a list and found something

Bring the filled out sheet with you. Dated owner observations are evidence, and on a water intrusion claim they are frequently the whole question.

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