Don’t Like Your RV Faucets? Change Them!

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As you might have guessed, RV manufactures do not use the best or the most expensive faucets when building your RV.  You might just love your sticks and bricks faucets and hate your RV faucets. What can you do with those RV faucets?  Replace them with new faucets.  You can use regular sticks and bricks faucets.  The only thing you need to do is measure the spacing between the handle holes.

Faucet Hole Spacing

Be sure to turn off the water to the RV and relieve the pressure (if any) in the hot water tank. Then turn on the hot and cold handles of the faucet you want to replace.  Clean out the stuff underneath the sink. Get a flashlight and look up underneath the sink and see how the water lines are hooked to the current faucet. You may have to get yourself up under the sink bottom to see what is going on. But you should see something like the photo below.

Faucet Water Connection Under The Sink
Sometimes a red plastic pipe is used for hot water and a blue or white plastic pipe is used for cold.
The fittings should only be hand tight.  If they are on the faucet stem harder than hand tight use a Channel Lock Pliers
Channel Lock Pliers 
and carefully loosen the fittings. Now you should see two black or blue flat plastic nuts with wings sticking out. See photo above for the flat nuts above the white water line.  Use you channel lock pliers to loosen and then remove these nuts.  What you have left should look like below.
Bottom of faucet shafts without water lines or black plastic wing nuts
Now you can pull the faucet out from the top.  Clean off the area where the old faucet was and get ready to install the new one.
For the kitchen faucet you can use. (Low Cost Kitchen Faucet )
Low Cost Kitchen Faucet 
You can also use a kitchen faucet with an integrated sprayer. (Kitchen Built-in Sprayer Faucet)
Kitchen Built-in Sprayer Faucet
You should double check the water feed line spacing before you make your purchase.
Here is a chance to put the faucet of your choice in the color and style you want into your kitchen.
So how do you put everything back together? Clean the area that the old faucet sat on with your favorite cleaner.  You want to make sure there is nothing on the top of the sink where the new faucet will be going.
Put the new faucet together according to the manufacturer’s instructions.   Then apply some Kitchen and Bathroom Caulk
Kitchen and Bathroom Caulk
around the bottom of the faucet (unless the faucet manufacturer says not to.)
and put the water stems into the holes in the top of the sink.
Bottom of faucet shafts without water lines or black plastic wing nuts

 
Put the black flat nuts back on and tighten them down tight.  You can use your pliers to tighten the black nuts down to be sure they are tight.  Then put the water lines back on.
Faucet Water Connection Under The Sink
Caution If the faucet stems are metal you may need to use plumbers tape.
Plumbers Tape
Just wrapped the tape around the metal stem before you screw the plastic water line back on.  If the faucet stem is plastic you should not need the plumbers tape. Make sure the new faucet is turned off and then turn on your RV water CHECK FOR LEAKS and enjoy your new faucet.
For the bathroom sink you can just follow the above instructions for that sink as well.  The bathroom sink is where you can get fancy and make something that is really yours.
Bathroom Faucet
Brass Bathroom Faucet

Until next time.

Severe Weather!! — It Happens

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When you are asleep do you worry about this,
or maybe this
or even this?
 Well I did!!
At the beginning of camping season and at the end of camping season are the most dangerous times for storms expected, or not.  And if predictions are correct and this is an El Niño year then things could get really bad or not.
What  is an El Niño?  El Niño is an ocean-atmosphere climate phenomenon that is linked to the periodic warming of waters across the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. This warming is part of the natural climate system. On average, an El Niño event occurs every 2 to 7 years and typically lasts about 9 to 18 months.
So why should you worry or even be concerned about an El Niño ?  During periods of El Niño  warm water builds up off the South American coast and this sends more than the normal waves of moisture into the US.  These waves of moisture can, and do cause more storms, some of which are more severe than storms in a non El Niño year.  This translates into more severe thunderstorms and more than normal tornado’s
While you can use your phone most of the time for weather alerts and weather radar, when you are out camping your phone may not get a signal or changing weather conditions may suddenly make your phone not work.  And the basement of a 5er is not a safe place to be.  So what is a person to do?
During the check-in process to get your RV site, you should ask, where do we go in case of severe weather and do you have a method of alerting the campground of approaching bad weather?
In most cases the park will have a severe weather location, like a cement block bath house or  underground facilities.  But most will not have a warning system.  It is left up to you to know when bad weather is approaching and it is time to take cover.
So now your phone has no bars and the park has no way to tell you that a large thunderstorm is approaching your RV site.  Now what are you going to do to keep you and your family safe?  Buy a weather radio with built-in weather alert.  Our government built, many years ago, a National Alert System to let citizens know about disasters before they happen.  That was the old weather radio that went off (with its built-in siren) all the time for just about any reason (some good, mostly bad).  After a lot of citizen complaints over many years a new system of alerting people was developed by the government that had a better built-in method of stopping false alerts and added text messages to each alerts displayed on a screen on the new generation of weather radios.
Midland WR120EZ NOAA Weather Alert All Hazard Public Alert Certified Radio with SAME

RadioShack SAME Weather Radio 12-991

I could go into detail on how this type of radio works but this is not a DIY Blog. This type of radio can be programed simply, thanks to SAME(Specific Area Message Encoding) technology you will only receive alerts for the locations that you have entered into the radio and you won’t have to worry about false triggers or deal with an event that has nothing to do with your area. Also some weather radios like the ones pictured (above and below) you can customize some of the alert types, so it only alerts you to the alert types that you have selected.  For example, if the National Weather Service issues a thunderstorm watch and you have only thunderstorm warning selected. The radio wont alert you unless a  thunderstorm warning alert is sent. Most of these radios have battery back-up and you can attach your HDTV antenna to them to extend the pick-up range of this type of weather radio. You should never leave home to go camping with out one of these special SAME radios.

RadioShack 7-Channel Handheld Weather Radio with SAME
La Crosse 810-805 NOAA/AM/FM Weather RED Alert Super Sport Radio with Flashlight

Here are two that operate on just batteries and can be carried on the hiking trail or just outside around the campground.

No matter which one you choose like a smoke detector or gas detector your RV is not complete and you are not fully protected nor safe until you have at least one WEATHER RADIO.

Until Next Time

How to Save Money While RVing or Getting Started RVing

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I see all the time on RVing Facebook pages and on RVing Blogs the question “How expensive is it per [week, month, year] to full time RV or even just to set up an RV with the stuff I will need?

One place that gets very few mentions from posters is your local Salvation Army, Goodwill or local thrift store.  While I am not a spokesman for any group.  I would like to remind you that if you really want to save money while you are full timing or just setting up your new RV.  You should give them a look. 

If you want more variety than what you find on your average department store shelves. Most Goodwill stores introduce more than 2,000 new items onto the sales floor each day.  You can stop by one of more than 2,700 stores in the United States and Canada or you can even  shop online at “shopgoodwill.com” to snag basic items and one-of-a-kind finds.  You can for example take this worn out table, found at my local Goodwill Store. And with a little magic 

and turn it into this for your RV.

Wow, that is a nice looking table  But maybe you could do better.  Goodwill has a huge selection of stuff that varies per store, so if you do not see what you want at one store the next Goodwill store will have something completely different.

For example, here is a great chair find.

Which could have been left as is.  But with a little magic and some imagination could turn into this.

How about that?

If furniture is not your bag, sorta speak, then maybe clothes is your bag.  You can go to any Goodwill or thrift store and find thousands of gently used clothes for everyone in your family as prices well below even Walmart in many cases.  Remember that no two Goodwill or thrift stores will have the same selection.

For example how about this,

there is a lot of good used clothes on those tables.  If you do not believe me, then just ask these two ladies,

the clothes they have on came from their local Goodwill Store.  Looking behind them you will see racks and racks of gently used clothes.

How about the kitchen?  You could save a virtual ton of money by buying kitchen supplies at a Goodwill or thrift store.  For example how about any of the shown items for less than $10 and most under $5.

Not just one item the whole set for less than $20

I think you have seen the light.  If you break one of the items you don’t even need to cry, because its replacement is just as cheap as what you paid for the original item in the first place.

Tools for the junk drawer and for the RV can also be purchased at the Goodwill Store.  I have shown below some items under $20 all the way down to under $10 as examples of what you can find to keep the cost of getting started RVing down, way down.

For more details on the type of tools you should have with you when RVing go to Weekend RVers Blog and read “Tools of the RV Trade”.

I hope that at the least I have planted the seed to use thrift shops, Goodwill, Salvation Army and other recycle shops to save money before and during your RVing adventure.

Until Next Time


RV Dog Bones and Adapters

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Many times as you travel around the country you will find that you are in need of some sort of thingy that changes what you have into something you need.  This happens most often in the electrical side of your Rig.  If you have a 50 amp rig you may find the the campground you have only has 30 amp plug-ins.  Or you may want to plug in your power pedestal power analyzer into the 30 amp or 50 amp plug-in to be sure that it is safe you plug into your rig.

Let’s see what these things look like and what they are use for.  First the RV Dog Bone.

The typical RV Dog Bone is an electrical adapter that changes a 50 amp RV plug so that it can plug into the 30 amp socket of a power pedestal. The 30 Amp Male to 50 Amp Female Dog Bone  looks like this;

30 Amp Male to 50 Amp Female Dog Bone  

Of course there maybe a time when you need to plug your 30 amp Rig power cable into a 50 amp power pedestal socket  The 50 amp Male to 30 amp Female Dog Bone looks like this;

 50 amp Male to 30 amp Female Dog Bone 

Plugging in you 30 amp RV into this adapter will not harm your Rig and will give you no more power that what you should have. The reason to do this is often the power socket on the power pedestal is worn or broken and the only good one is the one your power cord will not plug into.  These RV Power Dog Bones let you mix and match to get some power.

So you have stopped by Grandma’s house to spend a few days and you need a way to plug your RV into her outside power socket so you can get some lights and keep the fridge going.  What do you need well you need a 15 Amp Male plug to 30 amp Female plug . This little gadget is shown below.

                                                15 Amp Male plug to 30 amp Female plug

While these may not be all the ones you will ever need this group will get you started and cover most of the situations that you will find.  One last bit of information the industry does make Y connector so that you can get 15 amp sockets from both 50 amp and 30 amp outlets from the power pedestal.  I have shown one type below.  I do not use these myself because where I camp has always had 15 amp sockets to plug into if I need to have 15 amps at the power pedestal.  If you have a blow-up boat or kayak

you might need this type of Y Adapter with 50 Amp Male Plug To RV 30 Amp and 15/20 Amp Female Connector  Shown below is what it looks like;

Y Adapter with 50 Amp Male Plug To RV 30 Amp and 15/20 Amp Female Connector

The last thing I would like to cover is the pedestal power combiner.  These devices combine the power outlets of the power pedestal to give you more amps.  For example if you combine the power output of the 30 amp socket with the power output of the 15 amp socket on the power pedestal you would get 45 amps of power to work with.  Or at least that is the theory.  Again I do not use this type of device as my KZ Spree is only 30 amps.  But to be fair I am showing you the device. The 45 amp Power Maximizer  The unit is shown below;

The 45 amp Power Maximizer  

Click on the name of the item to learn more. 

Until next time,

Smoke, Fire, Gas Safety

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Did you know that there is a date code on the smoke detector as well as your carbon monoxide detector in your RV?  Did you know that the propane detector in your RV has an end of life?

I sure didn’t know.  If you are just changing the detector batteries at the beginning of each RV season and removing the batteries at the end of each season you may not be doing everything you  need to be safe, there is more to it.  When was the last time you tested all your detectors to be sure that they all worked? (In many cases pushing the test button on the detector does not test the most important part of the detector, the sensor.)  Do you know how to test the detectors?  When is the last time you had a fire drill in your RV?

Let’s look for some answers.  On the back of every smoke detector there is a date code.  You may have to hunt for it but it is there.

Beginning in 1999, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) required the manufacturing date code on the back of the device to be printed in plain English. This information may appear on the back of the device, on the face of the horn, in the battery compartment or on the top sensing chamber.

It is widely held in the RV industry that if your detector is more than five years old, or is out of date, it should be replaced.

Some detectors have permanent batteries built-in and others need to be replaced annually.  Always use alkaline batteries when replacing batteries in detectors.  Alkaline batteries last the longest in low power usage situations, such as detectors.

Now let’s talk turkey.  Most RV manufactures use the lowest cost, simplest smoke detector they can in their rigs.  So false alarms and the possibility of alarm failures are there.  What can you do, upgrade your standard smoke detector to a combination ionization and Photoelectric smoke particle alarm such as the

Kidde Model Pi9010 Dual Sensing Smoke Detector .

These alarms have fewer false alarms and will give you and your family more time to get out if there is an emergency.

Most fire safety experts agree that you have about 20 seconds to get out of a RV that is on fire before you will be overcome and not be able to get out.

Where should I put the smoke detectors in the RV you ask?  One should be in the Master bedroom and one in the Bunkhouse (if your RV has one).  Another one should be located in the kitchen area of the rig.

You can test this type of detector by using a burning candle near the detector and then blowing it out.  See what happens.  Also you can push the button located on the detector to test the battery.  Pushing the button just test the battery and the electronics and does not check the sensor inside the unit.  The candle does that.

Next we have the Carbon Monoxide detector.  This detector looks for the gas from combustion. CM gas is odorless, colorless, and tasteless.  This is a very deadly gas.  Every year there are deaths caused by CM gas when people run gasoline generators outside of their trailer. This detector can be located in the hallway to the bedrooms or in the bedroom itself.  Don’t forget to put one in the bunkhouse. It should be located off the floor about head high or higher. In my rig the detector is located on the ceiling. The CM gas is lighter than air and will be found near the ceiling first.  Here is the one that I have  Battery Operated Carbon-Monoxide Detector.

Battery Operated Carbon-Monoxide Detector

Be sure to replace the batteries at the beginning of the RV season (remove batteries at the end of season) and keep the surface of the detector clean.

The LP Gas Detector is the last of the required detectors in your RV.  This one usually runs off of the 12volt battery system of the RV.  It is located very near the floor usually in the hallway to the master bedroom, but not always.  This is the guy that will detect if you stove, oven, furnace, refrigerator, or any other LP gas product in the RV is leaking LP into your breathing space.  LP Gas is heavier than air and sinks to the floor and builds up from there.  It has an bad odor that has been added to the gas by the LP Gas provider.  So LP Gas is not odorless, you sure can smell it.  Unless of course you are sleeping.  If you smell gas get out, get out now, do not look for the leak just get out, and get help.

Here is a 12volt LP Gas detector that has gotten good reviews and could replace what you are currently using if after testing yours does not work or the 5 year replacement date is up.  Remember pushing the test button on a detector does not test the sensor just the electronics and sounder.  Here is a detector that has gotten good reviews 12v LP Gas Detector.

12v LP Gas Detector

So how do you test one of these?  Remember those BIC lighters and Charcoal Starters?  Well get down near the detector and flick the BIC but do not light it.  Hold the lighter near the detector for a few seconds and you should set the alarm going.  Stop the flow of gas from the BIC and blow on the detector to dissipate the gas and the alarm should stop sounding.

A word of caution here I think is advisable.  I have heard that people are replacing the two gas detectors with one that claims it will do both jobs.  I would not want to bet my family’s safety on this all in one detector.  These gases are not the same weight in the air one rises and one sinks, now how is one detector going to be in the right place to detect the right gas?  Just say’in.

Now lets talk about fire fighting.  Don’t do it.  Get Out!!!  If you must fight the fire to give yourself and your family more time to get out, do you have the right fire extinguisher?  Here again, in most cases, the cheapest fire extinguisher was installed in your rig.  When was the last time you check the extinguisher?  Now is good time before you start off for this season.  If it is a powder type, turn it over a few times to resettle the powder.  If it is a squeeze the trigger type what is the date of manufacture?  You should plan on replacing the trigger type ever six years or sooner if the gage says so.   RVers die every year from rig fires, use the fire extinguisher to give you and your family time to get OUT not to fight the fire.

You need a fire extinguisher in each bedroom, in the kitchen area, and at the front and back door of the RV.  I recommend using Fire Gone 2NBFG2704

Fire Gone 2NBFG2704

as the best you can get to give you more time.  If the kids are old enough be sure they can operate the Fire Gone and be sure to put one in the bunkhouse.

Because of recent fire events, the following fire suppression device was developed RV Refer Compartment Fire Suppression.

RV Refer Compartment Fire Suppression

Because of the number of fires that have been caused (or thought to have been caused) by refrigerators in RVs, a automatic fire suppression system has been developed, shown above.  This system is one the average RVer can install and will activate in the presents of a fire in the the refrigerator compartment of an RV.  While you still need to get out as quickly as possible this unit may put the fire out completely or give you more time to get out either way it is a plus.

OK the fire drill.  Do you know how to get out of your Rig if the front door is blocked by fire?  In each bedroom area of the rig as well as other locations you will see a window with a red leaver at the bottom.  With the word EMERGENCY EXIT printed on it.  Move the handle in the direction indicated and the window will open and you can climb out.  Of course it will be a real job because you may have forgot a few tools that will help make it easier.  First did you have your emergency window prop open stick?  If you said no, you should.  Take and old broom handle, rake handle, hunk of PVC, etc, and cut it to 24″ long and paint it red.  Attach two dots of hook and loop to the top and bottom of the stick and to the wall along side or below the window and voila you are ready.  When the emergency occurs open the window put in your prop stick and pull a blanket or comforter from the bed or a blanket from other area and lay it across the bottom of the window frame covering the exit handle area of the window.  This will stop you from being cut or badly scratched by the window frame as you crawl out.

Have a meeting place well outside of the rig area, that everyone knows and will meet at if there is a fire so you can take a head count and be sure everyone is safe.

Last but not the least.  Do the kids know how to get out?  Each season before you hit the road you should go over the fire safety rules and how to get out.

Rule number,

  1. GET OUT
  2. GET OUT
  3. NEVER FIGHT THE FIRE (you have approx 20sec to get out before you can’t)
  4. DO NOT GO BACK FOR THE DOG, CAT or GOLDFISH
  5. EVERYONE MEETS ACROSS THE ROAD

I am sure you get the picture.  Cats and dogs are part of the family for sure, but they are not humans and the kids and grandma are far more important.  Be sure to remind the kids of that.

Fire Safety Quick Check

  1. Test all Fire, LP Gas, and CM detectors
  2. Do not fight the fire GET OUT!!!!
  3. Know where the emergency exits are located
  4. Have an escape plan
  5. Have fire drills
  6. Be sure the fire extinguishers are up to date

Until next time

Do RVers Really Need A Power Monitor System?

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I see that question all the time on Facebook and most of the Blogs that I read.  For the simple, easy, straight forward answer, YES you do.  There are so many factors involved here that I can not possibly cover them all in a single post but, I would like to cover the basics so that you can better understand why you need a Power Management system of some kind.

1. You need to know what the AC (Shore Power) voltage is inside your rig.  This is the power that indirectly powers lights, water heater, microwave, furnace, charger for the 12-volt battery system, etc.  If the voltage gets below 102 volts and should stay there for a few minutes it would be possible to sustain approximately $1200 of damage or more.

So what do you need?  You will need an AC Line Voltage Monitor.  The unit shown below is plugged into an AC wall outlet that you can see and will monitor what the line voltage is.  If it should go below 105 volts you need to unplug your rig from the outside power pedestal until the voltage goes back to normal.

AC Line Voltage Monitor

So how do you know when the outside power pedestal is back to normal.  You plug the Voltage Monitor into the 125 volts two pin socket in the power pedestal and see what the monitor reads.  It should read 110 volts or higher up to 125 volts.  The same caution goes for overvoltage.  You should unplug the rig form the power pedestal if your Voltage Monitor begins to read over 122 Volts.  Plug the Voltage Monitor into the power pedestal and watch for the voltage to drop to below 122 Volts.

Could this monitoring of the voltage be done for less money?  Yes, by using a cheap Digital Volt Meter  pictured below;

 Digital Volt Meter

You could plug the test leads that come with the meter into the meter and then the other ends of the test lead into the slots on the AC wall socket. (Caution do not leave unattended) Or you could make up a cord from a 6-foot extension cord and the test leads that come with the meter.  See below for an example.

AC Cord With Test Meter Leads

2. Next is  The Polarity Tester.  This is used to be sure that the Neutral wire of the power line is not reversed with the positive lead of the power line.  If that were to happen you could have what is called a hot skin condition.  Meaning that if you had an aluminum skinned rig you could receive quite a shock from your rig.

 The Polarity Tester

The Polarity Tester can also tell you if the Earth Ground (the bare copper wire) is hooked up properly.  

The Earth Ground is a separate conductor which may seem to be doing nothing but, is, in fact, a protective wire. It is there, ready to take the current away to earth ground, from the body or frame of the electrical device it is connected to, makes contact with any “hot” wire. [the 120 volts mains power is carried in two current carrying conductors called “hot” and “neutral”.] 
So, IF one of the “hot” conductors should contact the metal frame of the rig or housing of an appliance, perhaps because the appliance got damaged by being dropped from a table, or similar accident,  the third wire which is the earth ground wire, which runs directly from the housing to the grounding [or earth ground bus] in the fuse or breaker panel, will in effect cause a short circuit which should blow the fuse or trip the breaker. 
This third wire also guarantees a current path back to the electrical panel where the fuse or circuit breaker protecting that circuit is located, in the event that the hot wire should come in contact with the rig frame, but the neutral conductor should happen to have been cut or damage and become disconnected, or open. 
The idea is to guarantee that if a part of the rig, device or appliance should become “hot,” which could be fatal to anyone who then came into contact with it. That the earth ground would trip/open the circuit protection device [fuse or breaker], and turn off the flow of AC current. 

To help further in checking for unwanted or wanted electricity a good investment is the Voltage Sensor which is shown below;

 Voltage Sensor

With this probe, you do not need to touch the power line to tell if there is voltage present.  You can use this probe to find power lines behind the wall or under the floor of the Rig as well as the towing vehicle.

3.  Often times you want to know or need to know how much power something uses, especially if you keep popping a breaker or the power pedestal. The solution is Kill-A-Watt.  The unit shown below can be used to show how much power an appliance, tool, or piece of electronics is using.

 Kill-A-Watt

4. Next, let’s look at surge protectors for the various pieces of equipment in your Rig.  Surge Protectors protect only what is plugged into them and only for overvoltage surges.  Surge Protectors do not protect for under voltage or high voltages.  Shown below is a pair of good simple surge protectors;

Surge Protectors

There are Appliance Surge Protectors made just for appliances like, microwave and coffee makers

Appliance Surge Protector

AC refrigerators, freezers. 

Refrigerator/Freezer Surge Protector


These special surge protectors offer extra features like audible alarms, flashing lights, displays, etc and are to be used with just the items listed on the packaging for the one you would buy.

5.  Next is a group of power management items that will protect your entire Rig not just one item or several items in it. First is the Portable Power Management System This type of system looks at High and Low voltage protection, time delay for air conditioning compressor startup, 3-mode surge protection, reverse polarity protection, open neutral protection, open ground protection, AC frequency protection accidental 220 Volt protection. Includes an Integrated information panel, previous error code display is weather resistant and has a built-in locking bracket so it can be chained to the power pedestal at the campground to prevent theft.  The only thing this unit cannot do is flush the black water tank.  The miracle unit we are talking about is shown below.

30 Amp Portable Power Management System

These portable units come in two sizes the one above 30 amp and the one shown below 50 amp.

50 Amp Portable Power Management System

Let’s say you were involved in a lightning-caused power surge at a campground.  It is estimated you would suffer approximately $3000 worth of damage to the electrical system of your Rig along with the things plugged into it.  The features of the 50 amp unit are the same as the 30 amp unit.

Ah, but there is more!  What happens if you do not want something portable but something more permanent in the Rig? Then you have the permanent installed units which are called Fixed Power Management Systems  These units are not really DIY type of items but, they can be installed by the DIYer if care is taken during the installation.  The 30 amp models is shown below;

 30 Amp Fixed Power Management Systems

There is also a 50 amp version of the same unit as above and can be found here;  50 Amp Fixed Power Management Systems .  The features of both units are the same and are,  high and low voltage protection, time delay for air conditioning compressor start-up, 3 mode surge protection, surge trip indicator, reverse polarity protection, open neutral protection, open ground protection, AC frequency protection. Accidental 220V protection, with the remote information display panel, and unit bypass switch.  Unfortunately, this unit also does not dump the black tank.


 I hope that you now have come to the conclusion that some type of power management is needed to protect your Rig, its contents and YOU!

 

Until Next Time

Emergency Power & Emergency Air Pump

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When you dash off for a weekend camping vacation, most of us just don’t sweat the details.  I know, I don’t and that is what gets us all into trouble.  Last camping season,  the wife, grand kids, and I headed out for just such a weekend.  It was early in the season and when we got to the campsite we were the only ones around.

So far so good.  We had a great time exploring the Spring outdoors and when we were ready to go the truck would not start.  Normally that would not be a problem because, we would have lots of fellow campers around us to help out.  Not this time.  There also was the time we were on our way to Branson MO to meet relatives, when one of the trailer tires decided to blow and the spare was nearly flat.  Forgot to air up the spare tire at the beginning of camping season.  Hey it happens.  Short term memory fading as I get older.

All of this drove home the point that Murphy is always with us and bad thing happen to good people as well.  So what is the solution?  One of these, 12Volt Emergency Power & Tire Pump

What this thing does is provide emergency power to start your truck not all of the units that look like this one will start a V8 or larger engine, as well as an air station to pump-up just about anything that needs air.  You can use a standard AC extension cord as the power cord to charge the unit up.  You can even leave it plugged in for a continuous charge and not damage the unit.  Oh, it does have a DC output jack that may be used for 12volt stuff.  Also it has a built-in tire pump that will pump up most TT and 5th wheel tires.  Again many of these combo units can not pump up a RVs tires before the cows come home.  As always be sure you check your rigs tire pressure when the tire is cold not when it has been run on the road for several hours.

NOTE: To find out more about the care and feeding of your RV tires please see the first entry of this Blog located on the bottom of the blog.

But I hear you say that you needed something that had AC power like the 110volts that comes out of the power pedestal that your RV is plugged into.  Fear not, because you can use one of these, 110volt and USB Dual Power Inverter

110volt and USB Dual Power Inverter

The 300W DC-AC Power Inverter with USB charging ports is designed for most major brand notebook computers, digital portables devices like, video camcorder, digital camera, iPhone, Galaxy phones and computers, iPod, cell phone, PSP handheld Game, DVD player & etc.

You may want to pick-up the battery hook-up cable just in case.  It looks like this, 12volt Battery Clip-on Accessory Socket

This device allows you to hook-up to any 12volt battery or any device that has 12volt battery clamps, such as the 12Volt Emergency Power & Tire Pump.

Some of us will like a bit more AC power than the little power converter above can provide, if that is the case you might want to consider this, 1000watt Power Converter

This more powerful converter can power notebook computers, TVs, fans ,refrigerators, game machines, DVDs, lights, musical instruments.  And can be powered by the 12Volt Emergency Power & Tire Pump above.  So if you need 110volt power at the picnic table or anywhere while camping, there are ways to get it that will help keep your family safe and make camping fun.

Don’t forget that you can use Emergency Power at home when the lights go out to recharge your cell phones and provide power for lights.

Until Next Time

Can You Hear Me Know – Breaker Breaker 19

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For this post I would like to discuss keeping in touch with the family while camping.  Many people in the good old days, used string and two soup cans or a CB walkie talkie to keep in touch with family members during camping.  Most of the campers in the olden time and even RVers today, nothing was or is used to stay in touch.  While some may believe that at cell phone is good enough, and it maybe  traveling down the interstate, in a campground in the wilderness or at the nearby lake you may find that the good old cell phone does not work, even a little.   You may find that the carrier you have is the wrong carrier for good service in the area that you are in, and that the other guy would have been a better choice.  What ever the case, today we have very small radios called FRS/GMRS that will last a long time on batteries, give you several miles of range, be quite and can even be set up for “selective call” so only your family members will hear you when you call them in for lunch or are backing up the rig.  RVers who are backpackers take note, these little radios can have weather radios and GPS built-in as well.

Let’s take a look at a few [shown below] and discuss their features and benefits in more detail.

Shown above are some Basic FRS radios.  They come as a pair when you buy them and have the following feature set.  The units come with rechargeable batteries, two belt clips, charging cable, AC adapter and have a range of 20 miles over flat and open terrain.  They offer a 12hr battery life.  As you can see the unit does not offer a lot of features but it works and could be used when backing the RV into that tight site, right next to the lake.

Above is shown a step-up model of an FRS/GMRS radio.  It can run on alkaline batteries for up to 10hrs or 8hrs on rechargeable batteries.  This model from Motorola includes 11 weather channels, 22 talk channels and each channel has 121 privacy codes, (selective call)  for privacy.  Range is 23 miles over flat and open terrain.  It comes with belt clips and 1 dual drop-in charger to charge the pair of radios at the same time to save you time.  Use one as a base station at the RV and give the other one to who ever you want to keep track of.  Additional units can be purchased so everyone who needs one has one.  This unit would be great for a fisherman to keep in touch while out in the boat on the lake.

 Calling all Backpacking RVers out there.  Here is an FRS/GMRS radio that has a built-in GPS or a GPS that has a built-in FRS/GMRS radio.  This unit is not low cost, but it does show that just about any need for communications while RVing can be met with a FRS/GMRS radio.  For the fun of it here are some of the features of this radio.  The radio has a 2.6-inch color touchscreen that is glove friendly.  A high sensitivity GPS receiver, a rugged waterproof case. Runs 18hrs on a set of batteries, and has a list of accessories as long as your arm.

While most of us will want a lower cost unit you need not suffer with little to no features.  Range, number of channels, the privacy feature (selective call), and battery life are the important ones to watch out for.

Safety and peace of mind make the weekend RV get away fun and exciting for the whole family and the ability to stay in touch with all members of the camping party does that for me and my family.





Until next time.  Over and Out?

RV Fridge – Get It Cold & Keep It Cold

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Posted on November 9, 2014

Do you find that your RV refrigerator does not keep your food cold enough?  Does your RV fridge have it’s own unique smell?  Do you know how to chill down a warm RV fridge?  I think you are in the right frame of mind now.

Many of us store our RV in places that do not have electricity for us to keep the fridge plugged in and working all the time or even a few hours before we take off  for a fun filled and safe camping adventure.

So let’s talk about the care and feeding of an RV refrigerator.

1.   I hope you do not keep the fridge sealed as tight as a drum during storage.  You need to leave the door cracked open just a bit, so that air can move in and out of your fridge. This helps keep the inside of the fridge dry and reduce mold build up.  Did you ever wonder what that slide button on the fridge door is used for? Well to lock the door during travel to be sure but, if you slide the button so that you are locking the fridge door while the door is being held open the slide lock can be used to keep the fridge door from closing during storage. Be sure your fridge is as clean as possible before you close the door on the RV.  Making sure the fridge is clean will help stop the growth of mold inside of the unit.  Also if possible you should use a Naturally Activated Charcoal Odor Absorber like this one; RV Activated Charcoal

RV Activated Charcoal

This little odor eater would hang from a shelf at the back of the fridge to help keep odors out.  You can also use box of baking soda but that can spill going down the road and make quite a mess.

2. What can you do to get the fridge colder quicker once you get to the camp ground or on the way?  You could buy a bag of ice and put it on the top shelf of the fridge next to the silver fins at the back.  You could buy some cheap cold packs That look like this;

Cheap Cold Packs

Freeze them (usually three) and use them in place of the ice.  Very little if any water to clean up.  Or you could get some Zip Lock Heavy Duty Freezer Bags and put ice cubes from your home freezer in them and use them in place of the bought ice. Another idea for an ice pack is to partially fill a strong zip-type sandwich bag with Dawn dishwashing liquid, close and freeze. The liquid soap stays cold much longer and it can be refrozen many times. The frozen Dawn will conform to the place you need an ice pack. Maybe a bit more water to clean up than you would like.

The Nu-Ice Freezer Pack is a  chemical freezer pack capable of maintaining a sub-zero temperature by putting the pack into an insulated environment for up to 96 hours. This is accomplished by first  freezing the special pack to initiate the simple chemical reaction within the pack.

Nu-Ice Freezer Pack

But you could do even better and help the ice or cold pack by adding a RV fridge fan like this one; RV Fridge Fan .

RV Fridge Fan

It uses 2 D cell batteries (be sure to use alkaline type) and will give you 30 days of use before the batteries need to be changed.  It will reduce your fridge cool down time by half. I use one in my TT and it does work. (just be sure to turn it off before storing the rig).

I know some of you are a bit more high tech than a simple battery operated fan inside the fridge, and would like something a bit more.  I reference you here; High Tech RV Fridge Fan .

CAUTION:  Do not run your RV Fridge on GAS while going down the road.  Guys this is very dangerous for a lot of reasons and not recommended by anyone in the know that I have talk to.   I am sure someone will tell you that they have done it for years with no problems.  But it only take one time, of a fire or explosion or both.

3. What else could you do to help your RV fridge?  You could put a fan on the backside of the fridge inside the outside fridge compartment.  I am talking about the outside compartment in back of the fridge.  There are several type of this kind of fan.  One type uses a thermostat  to sense when there is too much heat, inside the outside compartment, thus slowing down cooling, and turns on the fan.  Or there is the DIY system that uses a 12 volt computer fan that comes on when ever power is turned on to the rig (this is what I use).  Let’s look at them both, first the thermostat controlled fridge compartment fan; RV Fridge Outside Compartment Fan

 There is some DIY here as well but a lot less that the system that I use.  Follow the link and read some of the user comments to better understand how this system works.

 RV Fridge Outside Compartment Fan

Next lets take a look at the one I used; 12 Volt Computer Fan

12 Volt Computer Fan

This is a completely DIY project so please remember that.  I found a convenient place on the inside of the outside refrigerator compartment’s grated grill cover and mounted the fan with some zip ties.  I ran the power wire from the fan to the rigs 12 volt power line, that I found inside the refrigerator compartment.  My 12 volt lines were the same color as the fan’s wiring. The fan blows air across the fins on the outside of the fridge located inside the fridge compartment.  The power draw is so small I did not worry about it and the fan runs whenever the rigs 12 volt system is on.  The fan is designed to be used in a computer so is whisper quiet. Boy does it work.

4. So we have the fridge getting cold but how cold is it and when can I put in some food?  Well if you do not have a thermometer to measure the temperature then how do you know?  There are two kinds of thermometers one is digital and one is analog.  Let’s look at them both.

Digital RV Thermometer Digital RV Thermometer

Digital RV Thermometer

The unit has two sensors one for the freezer and one for the fridge.  The unit runs off batteries and can tell you at a glance from the outside of the refrigerator unit what is going on inside and when you unit is cold enough for food.

Analog RV Thermometer; Analog RV Thermometer

 Analog RV Thermometer

This simple unit hangs from one of the shelves in the fridge and tells you when it is safe to put in your food. The negative thing is that you have to open the fridge to tell if it is ready, letting in more hot air and letting the cold air out.  I am saving for the digital version.

Well we’ve got your RV refrigerator humming along but, it is time to go home and park the rig until the next time.

How can you get it cleaned out and dried out fast?  One of these guys should help; Inexpensive Hair Dryer

Inexpensive Hair Dryer

Because I do not dry camp I have the power needed to use this, to dry out the fridge and freezer fast and get going home. Darn the ice cream is going to melt again.

Until next time.

Tools Of The RV Trade

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What tools do you need to have when RVing?  If you ask 10 RVers you will get 10 answers.  That’s because we all seem to run into problems with our RV that is a bit different from the next RVer and the tools to fix the problem that arose is slightly different. But there are some basic tools of the trade, so let’s talk about those.

You will find that you will need something to put whatever tools you decide to carry into something that is strong but light.  Tools have weight and it does not take too many until you have added measurable weight to your rig. So here is a tool box that works.Simple Tool Box

Simple Tool Box

Now that we have a toolbox, lets see what needs to be in it.

A screwdriver Multi Screwdriver

Multi Screwdriver

I chose one like above because it cut down on weight and space in my tool box.  If you rather, you could buy two flat blades (one large, one small) and two phillips screwdrivers a #2 and #1 or an  additional size of your choice.

You will need a special set of screw drivers for use with those pesky square headed screws that are used around the inside and the outside of the rig. These special square screw drivers are shown below.

square screw drivers

A set of basic pliers is next.  You will need several types.  Here is an example Basic Pliers

Basic Pliers

You will also need several advanced pliers, such as the ones shown below.

Slip Joint Pliers

Vice-Grip Pliers
Vice-Grip Pliers

You will need and use all the above pliers.  It is just a matter of time.  Next we move on to crescent wrenches.

#8 Crescent Wrench (8″ Crescent Wrench )

8″ Crescent Wrench

#10 inch Crescent Wrench (10 inch Crescent Wrench)

10 inch Crescent Wrench

Now for the special stuff.  This is stuff you need but will not use monthly.  I use this stuff yearly.  The first is the torque wrench.  This is used to check the lug nuts on the tires of the rig to make sure they are tighten to factory specifications.

Torque Wrench

3/8 inch Extension Bar Kit

3/8 inch Extension Bar Kit

The extension bar kit is used to get the torque wrench outside of the tire rim for a safer tightening of the nuts that hold the tires.  You will also need a drive socket that fits your tires lug nuts and is made for a  3/8″ drive.

If you have a Suburban water heater you will also need a breaker bar shown below, to remove the anode to check the anode as well as to replace the anode if needed.

3/8″ Breaker Bar Wrench
Suburban Water Heater Anode

You will also need the socket that fits the anode, along with the white plumber’s tape

Plumbers Tape

to prevent water leaking around the threads.

Hex Key Set

Of course a hammer is also a tool that should be carried

Hammer

To see into those dark areas around the RV you will need a small but powerful flashlight.

Cree 7W Mini LED Flashlight

One tool that I have that I really like is not really a tool but my multimeter.  I can check to see if there is voltage what kind and how much.  I can check for open and shorted wires as well as other things.  I highly recommend one for your tool kit.

Multimeter

Another tester that is handy, and some people think it should be a mandatory basic tool is the AC voltage monitor.  This shows what the park voltage is at any given time, (low voltage can damage your RV electrical system and electronics) and shows if the power pedestal is wired correctly if plugged into the pedestal before plugging in the RV.  You may have to get a Short jumper from 30 or 50 amps to standard AC wall socket to test the pedestal. Meter is shown below.

AC Power Monitor

The following is the tool I would not be without.  The multi-tool.  I carry this tool on my belt and I even bought the expansion kit for it.  You just never know when you need a screwdriver or pliers to tighten or loosen something.

Multi-Tool

I know someone will say, this is not all you need and will give me a list of stuff as long as my arm.  Things like gorilla tape, super glue, black electrical tape, clear and white silicone caulk.  I agree they are important and should be carried, but as I said earlier. This is the basic list and like American Express “I never go RVing with-out them”

Until next time.