Full Time RV Maintenance and Dreary, Drippy Weather

Ughhh. . .I’m pretty sure the weather system we were expecting on Sunday pretty much caught up with us last night and today. . .a wee bit cool. . .but mostly just gray and dreary. . .a very good day to stay inside and do nothing. . .

Full Time RV Living–More Tips for RV Wannabees

I probably receive a handful of requests each week for info from folks

who are interested in the lifestyle. . .and while we love it. . .

and have no plans in the near future to go back to sticks and bricks. . .

I am very truthful when I say. . .this lifestyle is not for everyone. . .

it’s really, really not. . .

That’s why I love to share great articles with great view points when I find them. . .

and this is one of those articles. . .I hope you’ll take the time to check it out:

Is Full Time RV Living Really For You?

and please share in the comments section

any tips that helped you when you were

just getting started. . .

it's time to pass it forward!

Full Time RV Maintenance–Avoid Electrical Problems

Avoiding electrical problems in your rig is much, much better than

dealing with the consequences of them. . .

 

 

I highly recommend this great set of articles. . .

written in easy to understand everyday language.

 

NO SHOCK ZONE!

 

 

Full Time RV Maintenance–Keeping the RV Potty Fresh and Clean

Have you guys discovered these little disks that you stick on the inside rim of the potty?

Not sure how much actual cleaning power they have. . .but they do make the potty room smell nice. . .

Of course, I had a coupon. . .so it was worth a try. . .I like ‘em. . .

Full Time RV Maintenance–The RV Stove. . .Again!

Yesterday. . .I was in one of THOSE moods. . .a CLEANING MOOD!

They don’t strike very often. . .but when they do. . .watch out. . .LOL!

Because I rarely EVER use the RV Stove (I hate it!). . .

I was contemplating setting my countertop toaster oven on top of it,

so. . .I decided that it need a really good scrubbing before I did that.

It wasn’t that I really thought it was that dirty. . .after all, I rarely use it. . .

and I wipe it down. . .even lift the lid and wipe down under. . .

but if it was going to serve as a storage space, it should be really, really clean. . .

right. . .so I took it apart. . .well, just the top portion. . .not the whole thing.

Who designed this thing?  What were they thinking. . .

not a new thought for me. . .I think that almost every time I use the crazy thing. . .

but really. . .as I removed the screw, and pulled out the burner. . .

there are all sorts of little crevices and indentions under there. . .

and guess what?  Each one was filled with grease and stuff. . .yuck!

Go check yours out. . .I bet it’s the same. . .so even though you take the

top off, and wipe around under there. . .you can’t get to some of those places.

Hmmm. . .what to do, what to do?  Pulling it out, and replacing it with a

sealed burner unit would be my first option. . .however. . .

that’s not gonna happen. . .at least not right now.

I’m still thinking of solutions. . .there has to be a way to prevent stuff

from falling through, and causing issues. . .

Is it just me. . .are you able to keep your RV stove absolutely spotless? 

If so, would you please share. . .

Just sayin’

Janice

Addendum: I decided adding a couple of pics would be interesting, so here they are:

Once I had all the burners out, and everything scrubbed spic and span,

I decided a coat of paint might help.  Since what I had on hand was a  can

of Rustoleum Hammered Aluminum, that is what I used. . . 

perhaps it will be a little easier to wipe down, now that it's no longer

the dull flat aluminum like the burners. . .we'll see. 

This is my temporary solution to cover the holes around the burners. . .

miniature pie pans that I normally use to make small cobblers and such. . .

I'll need to look for something else to use, as I can't really sacrifice these. . .

but they'll do for the interim.

and here is the toaster oven on top of the stove. . .

one of our better investments. . .it cooks great. . .

I can make homemade bread again. . .

and it doesn't heat up the entire place like the RV oven does. . .

We'll see how it goes!

Full Time RV Maintenance–Circuit Board and Humidity

A blogger friend wrote about taking their rig in because the furnace fan was coming on,

but the burner wouldn’t light. . .the fix. . .a new circuit board.

This story brought back memories of the circuit board on our furnace. . .

it just kept going out. . .on about the third trip for a replacement,

the service guy explained that because we lived on the Texas Gulf Coast,

where the humidity is like 100%. . .and a thunderstorm rolls in off the bay

almost every afternoon. . .our circuit board needed some protection.

His suggestion was to take silicone (you know, the clear kind in the tube)

and put a light layer of it all over the circuit board. . .so we did. . .and I guess it worked,

cause we never had to replace the circuit board again.

. . .now the dirt daubers that built a nest in the furnace

because we didn’t have enough sense to put on a $7 screen. . .well that’s a different story altogether!

Oh the things you just don’t know when you start out to live in an RV. . .pages of stuff. . .

So, have you ever heard of such a solution?  This was an older gentleman that told us this,

and we greatly appreciated the suggestion, and took him at his word

that he knew what he was talking about. . .

Full Time RV Maintenance–Tools–How Many Do You Have?

My blogging friend Jeannie was writing about having tools and loving tools. . .

and it got me to thinking. . .

A girls gotta have tools too. . .I mean, we gotta talk gender neutral here. . .right?

So. . .here’s my tool stash. . .it’s very basic. . .but easily accessible. . .

Hubby keeps the “man” tools in the real tool box. . .

Whadaya think. . .what’s in your tool stash?

Full Time RV Living–Routine Maintenance Means What to You?

Message:
living full time in my 36' fifth wheel now......thinking about staying
in it for retirement....just had some questions about routine
maintence?

 

I received the email above from a new RV’er. . .

thought they posed a great question. . .and wanted to get your thoughts.

 

Routine maintenance of course includes the daily cleaning you would do even in your house. . .

and then there’s the wash job the outside needs ever so often. . .

washing the bugs off the front is an almost every trip chore!

 

We wax ours about once a year. . .yuck!

 

Empty the black tank once a week, and do a back flush. . .

that keeps the yuckies, and the smellies down. . .

 

Window washing and cleaning is constant, as is dusting. . .

there’s no end to the dusting. . .where does it all come from?

 

I keep most routine maintenance chores listed on my Google Calendar,

so the reminders pop up as needed. . .

 

Not really a maintenance issue. . .but keep a Travel Journal. . .

I also do this on my Google Calendar. . .

sure makes it nice when you want to remember where you were and when! 

Wish I would have started this at the beginning of our travels. . .

I’m slowly going back and adding in all our trips. . .

 

I’m sure there are tons more tips. . .what do you think. . .any ideas to add?

 

Hubby checks the batteries, and adds distilled water on a regular basis. . .

every three months or so. . .same with the hot water heater. . .

you gotta clean it out, or it will fill up with gunk.

 

Add bug screens to your furnace and hot water heater vents. . .

they are cheap, and will prevent dirt daubers from building a nest (we know this from experience.)

 

I’m sure there are tons more things that I’m not thinking of at the moment. . .

what would you recommend. . .any ideas?

Full Time RV Maintenance: Guarding Your Electrical System Can Save Big Bucks Down the Road

We all know that having our computer plugged into a surge protector is an absolute necessity. . .too much fluctuation in power can burn out major components that sometimes cause it to be cheaper to just replace the entire unit than it is to fix the problem.

 

Well, the same thing applies to your RV. . .there are numerous circuit boards onboard your RV that are highly sensitive to voltage variations. . .which is why we think $300 for a whole house surge protector is cheap insurance when it comes to protecting your investment, and less than $100 to monitor your voltage is an absolute necessity.

 

The following statement is posted on the Camping World page:

Surge Protectors Dangerous currents in the electrical system of your recreational vehicle can become a serious problem for your RV as well as the appliances in it. Sudden voltage spikes can potentially ruin expensive devices that are integral for you and your family to have a comfortable trip. Before you get in your vehicle for that next trip, make sure that your surge protectors are in tip-top shape. If not, look through Camping World's selection of surge protectors and guards for a replacement.

In addition there is a video on this page that may be very beneficial to watch.  Although the video is a bit of a commercial. . .it also has some very valid points that may help you understand the importance of owning a surge protector.

 

I have learned way more than I ever wanted to know about electricity since we have been full timing in this rig for the last ten years. . .my philosophy was always. . .by George. . .if I plug it in, it better work. . .ha ha. . .good plan!

 

Doesn’t always work that way in an RV though. . .there are many, many more factors involved than just YOUR rig. . .

 

RV Park systems are not always designed correctly. . .even when they are designed correctly. . .sometimes they are just old, and not quite up to speed with these new fancy, dancy rigs with all these extra electronics onboard. . .

 

Municipal Electrical Grids are not always up to speed either. . .sometimes the grid was only designed for the current population at that time. . .and then suddenly, there is a growth spurt, new subdivisions being built, new folks moving in, three story apartment complexes. . .and the powers that be can’t catch up quick enough with the demands being made on the infrastructure.

 

Brown outs occur. . .you do know what a brown out is. . .right?  Everyone gets home from work about five in the afternoon. . .they all kick the a/c way down. . .turn on the electric oven to get ready for supper.  You’re sitting in your house, or your RV. . .suddenly the lights dim a little bit. . .the fan slows down. . .you hear the compressor on the fridge or the A/C  go whomp, whomp, whomp. . .then everything speeds back up to normal. . .the reason for that is. . .nothing is getting the actual power it needs to run. . .so it all sort of stalls for a second, doing irreparable damage to motors, wires, circuit boards, etc. . .and although nothing goes out right that second, the damage is done. . .the life of the appliance or electronic is shortened. . .and replacement is eventually inevitable.

 

That is why YOU need to know what is going on. . .and for that, in addition to the Surge Protector, you ALSO need a DIGITAL VOLTAGE MONITOR . . .this link will provide a much more thorough explanation for the necessity of one of these than I would ever be able to tell you.

 

What I can tell you about the monitor is this. . .had we always had one of these in addition to the surge protector. . .we probably would not have needed to replace two refrigerators. . .yes our rig has two. . .a roof top a/c. . .and various other electronic devices over the last ten years. . .but we didn’t know, what we didn’t know. . .and ignorance always has a price.

 

That is my main purpose for writing this blog about all our lessons learned. . .perhaps I can save you a buck or two!

 

This lesson was really driven home in our last location at Estes Park Colorado where we were volunteering in exchange for our RV Site. . .the Voltage Monitor Alarm kept going off due to low voltage. . .so much so that we wouldn’t leave anything running when we left the rig for fear something would burn out. . .BUT. . .the Surge Protector was NOT kicking us off. 

 

The reason for all this nonsense was. . .we were only getting 20 amps of power at our pedestal. . .BUT. . .we did not have a dedicated breaker at our pedestal. . .and the breakers in the main breaker box were ganged together in threes. . .don’t ask me what all that means. . .but the breakers did NOT trip. . .as would have normally been the case if the circuit was overloaded.

 

According to the National Electronic Code Table, 10 gauge wire strung 200 feet from the power source, no longer provides 30 amps of service. . .in order to provide 30 amps of service over 200 feet, 4 gauge or maybe even 2 gauge wire would have been required. . .I found this information in Trailer Life’s RV Repair and Maintenance Manual. . .

 

After a month of discussions with managers. . .and literally turning off the refrigerators before turning on the microwave. . .forget running an air conditioner. . .or even the hot water heater on electric. . .we decided enough was enough. . .if our service wasn’t valuable enough to follow through on promises made to provide at least 30 amp service. . .we did not need to be there.

 

I hope you have picked up a tip or two from this discussion. . .and for all you electronical geniuses out there. . .I know you will want to explain all the various and sundry workings to the little lady. . .please don’t. . .LOL. . .hubby does that enough for all of you. . .(read eyes rolling). . .I am only trying to get someone to think enough about the entire situation to do some further research. . .and make whatever decisions are necessary to protect their investment.

 

Thank you all for your time,

Janice

 

 

Full Time RV Maintenance–This is a great idea. . .

From Blog Posts

I was very thankful to see this ad, which served as a great reminder to me that our carbon monoxide alarm is out and needs to be replaced.

And besides that, this is my favorite, favorite place to check out motorhomes. It's never a sacrifice to stop by when we are in Houston!

 



 

RV Fire Safety

RV owners need to be just as a careful, if not more so, than homeowners in guarding against fires, and the best way to do that is through prevention.

Publish Date: 04/06/2011 20:14

http://blog.rv.net/2011/04/rv-fire-safety/

Tips for RV Fire Safety | See Where the Road Takes You

I was scouring the internet looking for some tips for fire safety. I came across this wonderful post about this important issue. There is nothing more important than your family and friends safety while in your RV. ...

Publish Date: 05/20/2011 14:42

http://seewheretheroadtakesyou.com/tips-for-rv-fire-safety

Mac is back! The Fire Guy, that is. - RV Home Yet?

Someone in our Boomer group invited Mac McCoy, the Fire Guy, out to where we are camped to give a demonstration. We were fortunate that he said yes. Being on BLM land he was restricted- no fires in his demonstration....

Publish Date: 01/25/2010 22:11

http://blog.rvlifestyleexperts.com/2010/01/mac-is-back-the-fire-guy-that-is.html

Full Time RV Maintenance–This is a great idea. . .

From Blog Posts

I was very thankful to see this ad, which served as a great reminder to me that our carbon monoxide alarm is out and needs to be replaced.

And besides that, this is my favorite, favorite place to check out motorhomes. It's never a sacrifice to stop by when we are in Houston!

 



 

RV Fire Safety

RV owners need to be just as a careful, if not more so, than homeowners in guarding against fires, and the best way to do that is through prevention.

Publish Date: 04/06/2011 20:14

http://blog.rv.net/2011/04/rv-fire-safety/

Tips for RV Fire Safety | See Where the Road Takes You

I was scouring the internet looking for some tips for fire safety. I came across this wonderful post about this important issue. There is nothing more important than your family and friends safety while in your RV. ...

Publish Date: 05/20/2011 14:42

http://seewheretheroadtakesyou.com/tips-for-rv-fire-safety

Mac is back! The Fire Guy, that is. - RV Home Yet?

Someone in our Boomer group invited Mac McCoy, the Fire Guy, out to where we are camped to give a demonstration. We were fortunate that he said yes. Being on BLM land he was restricted- no fires in his demonstration....

Publish Date: 01/25/2010 22:11

http://blog.rvlifestyleexperts.com/2010/01/mac-is-back-the-fire-guy-that-is.html