Blog

Below is a list of items we take with us on every camping trip. We recommend them to friends and customers, we trust them with our families, and we’re sure you will trust them too. Everything here is available at our store, or you can order online and get it delivered right to your home.

1. Chempace drop-in toilet chemicals

Toilet chemicals are the most important element to your black water (sewer) system on your camper. Make sure you have the ease of use that drop-ins provide. They are less expensive than pre-mixed liquids, and easier to store, because they don’t freeze during the winter. Stock up on these – you’re going to need them.

2. Aquasoft toilet tissue by Thetford

Only toilet paper designed for RV black water systems should be used in your trailer. Prevent clogs, and avoids the hassle of time consuming tank clean-outs when the kids are cranky from the heat and the wife is complaining about the clean-out station smells.

3. Valterra EZ-Coupler Sewer Hose set

Don’t get caught without a good quality sewer hose. The EZ Coupler set has built in fittings, and the sewer fitting, and easily converts from a 10′ to a 20′ hose, depending on what you need. Made with heavy duty 18 mil vinyl for long lasting protection from leaks and pin holes.

4. Valterra water pressure regulator

All RV manufacturers recommend using a water pressure regulator to protect your RV’s plumbing fittings. It keeps the water running between 40-55 psi. and stops water surges from campgrounds (they don’t use fancy plumbing) from damaging any of the water lines in your trailer. One leak inside your trailer and this will pay for itself.

5. Iosso water repellant

Camping is fun, but getting wet is not. This works on any fabric that is exposed to the elements. Use it on tent campers, tents, boat covers, luggage bags, trailer covers, anything you want protected.

6. Lap sealant (roof caulking) by Dicor

The most expensive repair bill you’ll ever get on your camper will be if the roof leaks and you don’t do anything about it. This is the only caulking you should be using on your rubber roof on your RV. It is designed to level itself, and fill gaps in your application, making a good seal. Trailer manufacturers recommend checking your roof every three months.

7. Black Streak Remover from Best

Remove those ugly black streaks from your camper easily, keeping your RV looking showroom clean for years to come. Especially useful when the family in the next lot pulls up in a $500,000 motorhome.

8. Replacement Anode Rod by Camco

For use primarily with Suburban water heaters, this is one of the most sought after repair parts. When you drain your water out of the water heater, make sure you inspect the anode rod, and replace it if necessary. Protect your water heater from corrosion, and avoid costly repairs down the line.

9. Mud Dauber Insect Screens by JCJ Enterprises

Insects will gravitate to any area that smells like Propane. This means that your furnace exhaust, water heater vent, and refrigerator vents are all likely places for mud dauber wasps and other insects to nest. Protect yourself from accidental fire, as well as exhaust vent problems with these easy to install screens.

10. 7-4 wire adapter by Hopkins

Once you’ve got a good hitch, everyone in your family will know it and they will want you to tow something for them. When you need to tow any smaller or older trailers, this adapter converts the round 7-way plug on most new vehicles, to a 4-wire flat plug, common among smaller campers, and utility trailers. Make sure you have one in your toolbox, so an easy job doesn’t cost you time searching place to place for the right adapter.

Source by Steve Rochette

When we left off last, we were safe and sound in Tacoma and the Christmas holidays were fast approaching. I promised you that we would let you know how the RV handles freezing weather.

Lessons in Cold Weather RVing:

It was December, but temps below freezing in Tacoma are rare. So, when the temperature the first night there got down into the 20s (-9 C) we were totally caught off guard.

Here’s what happened:

• The hose connecting us to water froze
• The plastic pipe leading to the fresh water tank froze
• The gas/propane furnace ran most of the night

I need to tell you, our Rexhall Aerbus is a good quality motorhome and all the pipes are enclosed and access is through a sealed exterior bin. We thought that would be enough if the temps got down to freezing or just below. Truth is, had is only been a couple of degrees below freezing, we probably would have been OK. The problem was that it got more than just a little below freezing!

Lesson #1 – How to Keep Pipes From Freezing

If your water connections or any of your water lines are exposed to the outside, even temperatures just below freezing can freeze and crack your lines. Even if your lines and fill points are enclosed in bins or compartments, if those areas are not heavily insulated and heated, just having the sewer line or water hose coming up through an access hole can bring in the freezing temps and problems… as we found out first hand.

Our simple solution was to wrap a heat tape with a built in temperature sensor (about $20.00 US) around the exposed pipes and valves. We got it from the local hardware store. It’s the kind meant for outside or crawl space water lines. It looks like an electrical extension cord that has no plug at the end.

When we are in an area that has possible freezing temps, we just plug the heat tape into our full hookup power box via an extra extension cord (heavy duty) and the sensor takes care of turning on when needed.

That’s all we needed to keep the bin and connections from freezing. We don’t connect the water hose in freezing temperatures, we just fill the fresh water tank as needed. If you were staying in one place for the winter, you could use another heat tape and some insulation wrapped around it on the hose to keep your hose from freezing too.

For boondocking or dry camping, you could also stuff the compartment full of insulation or heavily insulate your exterior water lines to keep them from freezing in all but the coldest of temps.

Lesson #2 – Heat Guns and Plastic Water Lines Don’t Mix

My dad had a heat gun he used for heat shrink on wires and windows. We decided to use that to heat up the pipes and get the water pump working again.

BIG MISTAKE!

Well, using the heat gun was a good idea, we just didn’t know how warm and how fast it could work. Instead of just slowly warming the whole compartment, I made the mistake of blowing directly on the plastic water lines.

In less than two minutes, I had heated up the plastic water line so well that it became soft and with the water line pressurized from the pump… It formed a bubble just like bubble gum and popped.

I was lucky, my dad had just been remodeling his kitchen and had just the right size plastic water line on hand. So, all I had to do was finish thawing things out, slowly, and then fix the popped water line. That was just two fittings, about 8 inches of new plastic water line, the heat gun to warm the ends and it all screwed back together in less than 30 minutes. Like I said, I was lucky to be where I had the tools and supplies to fix it myself.

It easily could have been a couple hundred dollars of repairs if I had to have a repair shop do it.

In Conclusion: Motorhomes, 5th Wheels and other RVs can handle below freezing temperatures. You just need to use a little common sense and have a back up plan for when things don’t work out.

• Don’t let the colder weather stop you from enjoying your RV year round.
• Do test it’s cold weather abilities close to home or family, just in case.
• Keep extra incandescent lights & insulation handy for backup & repairs
• Always thaw frozen pipes and tanks slowly – To fast and thinks can break

As we travel year round, we’ll keep you up to date on what we learn (the hard way) and how you can avoid the same mistakes (the easy way).

Source by Wes Waddell

There are approximately eight types of RV classifications. Before buying a new or used RV, it is important to get a handle on what this new lingo means.

Getting a bit of knowledge here will save you some confusion and embarrassment in the future.

So, without further ago, I present you with:

8 Types of Rvs- Understanding RV Classifications:

1. Class A Motorhome: You start with a stripped chassis, sprinkle in a suspension, some instruments, and let the manufactuerer build the whole thing up from there. The biggest and most expensive rigs are usually Class A Motorhomes.

2. Class B Motor home (Camping Van Conversion): This is a small motor home built on a van chassis. Usually you keep the same van body but raise the roof for more interior space.

3. Class C Motorhome: This is a motor home with a van front but a cut-away chassis. A shade bigger than a Class B, and is often built on top of a Commercial Freightliner, General Motors, Ford, Sprinter, and International chassis.

4. Travel Trailer: This is a tow-behind camper that includes almost all sizes and price points. What sets the travel trailer apart is that is fits to a normal bumper-level hitch.

5. Fifth-Wheel Trailer (5th Wheel Trailer): These are like travel trailers except they require a pick-up truck and a special (huge) fifth-wheel trailer hitch in the bed of the truck. There are all different sizes of fifth-wheel trailers, but many of the biggest and most luxurious RV’s are 5th wheels.

6. Folding Camping Trailer: Usually one of the first trailers someone gets. They fold down and are light and easy to move. Once at the campsite, they open up into a surprising amount of space.

7. Truck Camper: This is a small living space that can be slid into the back of a pickup truck. These are sometimes called Slide-In trailers.

8. Sport-Utility Recreational Vehicle (SURV): This is a typical motor home but with a garage all it’s own. You can take your motorized toys along with you… something like a dirt bike, motorcycle, or quad.

Now that you know the 8 types of RV’s, why not go out and see if you can spot the difference!

Source by Frank Fairview

There are lots of things to do and to see in the wintertime; beautiful winter scenery, snow skiing, hunting, riding snowmobiles and much more. It’s no wonder so many people enjoy using their RV’s year round. When winter approaches each year I get numerous e-mails requesting information about using RV’s in cold temperatures. One reason I haven’t written on this subject in the past is because it would require more than just a short article to thoroughly cover this topic. Another reason for not writing about this in the past is that there are no guarantees that your RV can or will be 100 percent protected from the harsh winter elements by following written advice on the subject.

What I can do is offer you some suggestions and ideas that will help to protect your RV if you plan to use it during the cold winter months. I just can’t guarantee that it will be 100 percent protected. These suggestions and ideas are for short term winter camping in your RV. If you plan to take extended RV trips in cold weather there are many other precautions and measures that need to be considered, like using insulated skirting around the bottom of the RV for example.

Note: What we will be concentrating on is how to protect your RV during cold weather camping. It is extremely important that you also understand how to protect yourself and other campers in cold temperatures.

One of the first considerations for cold weather RVing is if you will be traveling in temperatures below freezing. If this is the case, and there is water in the RV water system, your plumbing lines or water heater tank could freeze, resulting in costly repair bills, not to mention ruining your winter wonderland RV trip. To avoid this from happening I travel with the water system winterized. It is actually much easier to winterize an RV than most people think it is, and it’s not very expensive either. I have winterized and de-winterized our RV as many as four times in one winter. Note: Our “Winterizing & Storing Your RV” DVD will teach you how to winterize your RV, by yourself, and save money, especially if you enjoy using your RV during the winter months.

The good news is it is still possible to use the bathroom facilities when you are traveling with the RV winterized. We take one gallon jugs filled with water to use in the toilet, and if your holding tanks are not heated you can put some RV antifreeze in the holding tanks to prevent the contents from freezing. Add the RV antifreeze through the toilet for the black water holding tank and down the shower or tub drain for the gray water tank. The antifreeze will also protect the shower or tub P-trap which is usually located below floor level. The amount of antifreeze required for the holding tanks will be based on the size of the tanks, and it will be necessary to add more RV antifreeze as waste water is added to the tanks to prevent the antifreeze from being diluted.

Don’t allow the holding tanks to fill completely, before emptying them, during cold weather camping. This will reduce the chance of freezing, resulting in damage to the holding tanks. Take bottled water along for drinking and other needs like cooking, washing up and brushing your teeth when the RV is winterized. We have a five gallon jug that we always take on trips, filled with tap water from our house, for our pet’s drinking water and our other needs. This comes in handy when the RV is winterized.

When we arrive at our destination I try to select a site that will be exposed to the sun throughout the day, but also where there is some type of wind break available. Position the RV on the site so the front or rear will be facing the brunt of any wind, not the side of the RV. If there is an electrical hook-up I de-winterize the water system so we can use everything. All of the water lines in our motorhome are above floor level, in a heated space, so we don’t need to be too concerned about the water system freezing as long as the RV has heat. We leave the water heater turned on whenever the water heater tank is full so there is no chance of it freezing. Some water heaters operate off of LP gas and electricity. Keep in mind if it’s in the electric mode it will use 9 to 13 amps.

It’s important that you know where all of the plumbing on your RV is located. Some RVs have heat ducts going to the basement storage areas where the water system is exposed to outside temperatures, but many RVs do not. If portions of the RV water system are below floor level, in areas that are not heated, it is possible for it to freeze and damage the water lines. If you are hooked up to an external water supply one option is to leave a faucet in the RV dripping, to keep the water moving, and decrease the possibility of water lines freezing. Another option is to use heat tape to protect the exposed water lines. Heat tape can be purchased at most hardware or building supply stores. Make sure it is suitable for the types of water lines in your RV, and if you plan to use it on a water hose.

If it is extremely cold outside and the possibility exists that the outside water supply could freeze, or if the campground water supply is shut off for the winter, I fill our fresh water holding tank and use it for all of our water requirements. Again, keep in mind where your fresh water tank is located; ours is above floor level in a heated area. If the campgrounds shower facilities are still open it’s a good idea to use them to avoid the gray water holding tank from filling so quickly. In this situation it might be in your best interest to keep the RV winterized and just use the campgrounds facilities.

Tip: If you haven’t purchased your RV yet and you know you will be using an RV in cold weather make sure to include an artic package option when you buy it. Some packages include higher R-factor insulation, enclosed underbelly, heated holding tanks, dual pane windows and more.

Happy Camping,

Mark

Copyright 2006 by Mark J. Polk owner of RV Education 101

Source by Mark Polk

RV CATEGORIES

There seems to be a lot of confusion when using the word RV and what it describes. It is my hope that this simple little article will help in understanding all that the letters RV encapsulate.

First RV is short for Recreational Vehicle. To many, the RV is a motorhome, but while that is true it also covers other types of recreational vehicles. The main categories would be Motorhomes which covers Class A motorhomes, Class C motorhomes, B+ motor homes, and even a couple of other areas such as the toy hauler motor homes, B class motor homes, and Super C’s. Then there are the Towables category which represents travel trailers, hybrid travel trailers, toy hauler travel trailers, v-front travel trailers, work and play travel trailers, fifth wheels, toy hauler fifth wheels, low profile fifth wheels, mid-profile fifth wheels, high profile fifth wheels, entry level fifth wheels, luxury fifth wheels, and fold campers also called pop up campers.

As you can tell the letters RV covers a huge arena of products of which I named above. When you add brands and niches to all of the above it becomes a giant and hard to understand and even harder to make a decision on what to purchase. Questions like what type would work best for me? What size would work best? What is the difference between the brands? Do I have the right tow vehicle? I know I want a towable type but should I get a travel trailer or a fifth wheel? Should I get a bunkhouse camper or a mom and pop style? Should I buy a Sandpiper Fifth wheel by Forest River Inc or a Wyoming Fifth wheel by Coachmen? Should I buy a wildwood travel trailer by Forest River Inc or an Autumn Ridge by Starcraft RV?

These are all great questions and we are writing articles almost everyday to add to our article directory. The decision on what type of RV to purchase rest entirely with the individual. Yet to help make that decision here are some things to consider. Do I want to drive my RV or pull it with a tow vehicle. Is it going to be set permanently. If so definitely a Lodge park trailer would best fit this need. One of the best tips I could give is to visit a RV dealer and sit down with a sales consultant and talk your needs through with them or visit a RV dealers web site and look through the product and then e-mail them with questions.

I wish you the best in all your RV adventures. Happy Camping!

Source by Roger Dale Lee