RV Tips & Tricks

Winterizing with RV Antifreeze

After winterizing with RV antifreeze, it is a good idea to drain as much of the antifreeze out of the system as is possible. It has already done it's job by pushing the water out and the less of it you leave standing in the system the smaller the chance you have of it having a smell or taste in the spring when you flush it out.

Gary Kile

Equalizer Spring Bars Connected/Disconnected

So often I see folks working too hard to get their equalizer spring bars connected/disconnected to/from their trailer receiver. During hookup, I found that if you connect the ball to the hitch, then jack the trailer receiver up several inches, you relieve the spring pressure required to connect the spring bars. Then connect the spring bars and lower the receiver, placing the jack in the traveling position.
To unhook, you jack up the receiver several inches until the spring pressure is relieved from the spring bars. Then with little effort, you can release the spring bars.

Jim Hicks

Cleaning Bugs off a Motor Home

When my wife and I travel in central Canada , we get a lot of bugs on the front of our motor home. To make it easier to clean, I put a light coating of dish soap on before we leave. Then when we arrive, I just have to rinse it down and it comes clean. The front looks good to others, not to mention it saves your paint and chrome.

Mice in Your Motorhome

We were in Big Meadows, a forest service campground in Colorado, and had mice get in our motorhome. They came in the trap door which the power cord goes through (it was left open). The best thing to use on a mouse trap to catch them is peanut butter (better than cheese). Mice also like peanuts, so to be sure we had caught all of them, we left peanuts in the bays, around the outside and inside. If the peanuts were left alone, then we had no problem.

Robert Hatter

Close Pin to Remind Us

We use a clothes pin to remind us to lower our T.V. antenna. We keep the clothes pin clipped to the crank when the antenna is down. When we raise the antenna, we clip the clothes pin on the steering wheel. This reminds us that the antenna is up before we hit the road. "We can't do great things in this life..... we can only do small things with great love"

M.T.

TV Antenna Reminder

I put my motorhome keys on the antenna handle, that way there is no way I can drive off with the antenna up - which I have done before.

LEO P

Lovebug Solution

While traveling in the south last spring the lovebugs were very bad, so I brushed on a coat of Johnson & Johnsons Baby Oil on the front of the RV and front of the hauler, so that it was much easier to remove the lovebugs each evening when we stopped for the night. They had to be removed because they will eat right through the paint (so I've been told)

John Beckman

Keeping Bugs out of your Motor Home

We bought some cheap "zip lock" plastic containers, punched some small holes in them, then filled them with moth balls. We put them in the bays in our 5th wheel - especially near the front jack stands, and it seems to help keep ants and bugs out of the RV.

John Beckman

Do It Yourself Upgrades

Up grades are easy if you have a little talent, patience, and common sense. For example, we installed fancy beveled mirrors in our motor home and they look just as good as factory at a fraction of the cost. We measured the area we wanted to cover. First floor to ceiling, then width. The mirror width needs to be in even number because the beveled mirrors come in even numbers example: 4", 6", & 8" If there are no obstacles like electrical outlets, it's a piece of cake. If there are, get your mirror supplier to make those cuts. We did two areas in our motor home, the large wall (approx.) 4'x 6 1/2') we had the mirror supplier install 4" beveled mirror at an installed cost of around $130. I did the area around the stove myself in 3" beveled morror at a cost of around $35.00. Now we have the look of the big guys, but didn't spend the big bucks.

John G.

Fresh Water Tank Dump Solution

When I first bought my new motor home and returned from our shake down trip I still had almost a full tank of fresh water. The manufacture did make provisions to dump it, the only problem is it dumps right where your standing. Being a 1/2" PVC line it was a simple fix. I simply purchased a 1/2" PVC slip to threaded fitting and a 1/2" pipe to hose coupler and in a few minutes I had a place to hook on a water hose and drain the tank away from the motor home. No more water standing after dumping.

Keeping Ants out of your Motor Home

Don't learn the hard way, I did. Back a few years ago when I had my first Class A motor home in Florida I found a nest of carpenter ants camping out. They sure did like the RV and were enjoying the lifestyle more then I was! Why not? free food, free travel, they were having a ball. I sprayed all kinds of junk and finely got them out of there. Problem solved, wrong! they came back. Then it dawned on me, I don't need the smelly chemicals inside the motor home, I need to treat the ground it was setting on. I purchased a 10 lb. bag of lawn and garden insect treatment, and a hand spreader. I walked around the outside of the motor home and laid down a pretty good coat, I did that once every couple of months. The bag coast approximately $12.00 and lasted all summer. I haven't had a problem with ants or bugs in years. Maybe they moved next door?

John G.

Windshield Wiper Replacements

Anyone living in Florida knows the sun can be brutal. The rays and heat can do a number on your windshield wiper blades in a season or two. You can go out and spend the money for the after market wiper blade protectors, or go to Home Depot and purchase a length of 3/4" foam pipe insulation for about $1.00. The foam pipe insulation is split down one side. All you need to do is cut off a piece the same length as the blade 22" 24" or whatever, spread it, and put it on. Easy on-easy off What a deal, and it really works!

John G.

A Brighter Reflection Through an RV Lens

Few if any of the tail lights on an RV is bright enough. Try this, take the lens cover off, crinkle up a sheet of aluminum foil, then place the aluminum foil in the back of the bulb, crinkles and all. This will give you a brighter reflection through the lens.

Alan Tucker

Flushing Fresh Water Tank

I've been winterizing my own Rv's for about 5 years. Normally I have to purchase several gallons of antifreeze to pour into the fresh water tank, and let the 12V pump push it through the system. In the spring I have to flush the fresh water tank thoroughly to avoid an unpleasant taste in the water. Last fall on a trip to Home Depot to purchase antifreeze, I discovered that they carried the exact fittings that connect the water pickup tube from the fresh water tank to the pump. I bought 1 press-on/threaded fitting and 3 feet of pvc tubing and I can now pump the antifreeze directly out of the can. I don't have to flush the antifreeze out of the fresh water tank any more when I de-winterize, and it takes less than 1 gallon to protect the entire system. Total cost, under $10.

Chris Knowles

Taking the Wiggle out of a Trailer

On a harvest run the crew boss had a 45 ft park trailer that his family lived in and it was forever bending the rear stabilizer jacks (to big of trailer for jack) to fix the problem we took two implement jacks and attached them to the rear bumper at each end and problem fixed. It took the wiggle right out of the trailer.

Sheldon Clark

Removing Bugs

Discovered a great product for removing bug splatters on anything!!! Melts them right off and is an environmentally safe liquid! The product is called BUG-B-GONE
Really Works!!

Paul Spelts

Unwanted Odor

With our humid weather in Florida it is easy to get a mildew smell in our unit when it sits closed up for a period of time. But if you place trays of charcoal around, and open the closed areas (cabinets, closets, & storage compartments). I place small trays everywhere, the smell will be absorbed or never start.

Bill Miller

Ant Problems

This last summer camping in California I had the worst ant problem the camper next to me had a new invention called (the ant wall) he let me use It, It's a small rolling dispenser that drop a line of cleanser on the ground you just walk around or RV that all and the ant stopped right away I since have bought my own ant wall, I use it all the time and Have not seen one and since.

Pat Anderson

Erases Bugs Off Vehicles

A friend emailed me this product because I am a fanatic about keeping vehicles clean. Bug Eraser REALLY WORKS!!
It is non-abrasive, non-toxic, biodegradable and literally erases bugs off vehicles. After a return trip from Florida with half the love bug population coming back with me, Bug Eraser did its magic and removed all the dead love bugs. Check it out!!

How to get the Best use out of dash Air

At a recent Motor Home Show in West Palm beach a Newmar Rep gave me a very helpful hint on how to get best use out of dash air. Basically if put a helium ballon in the backof the coach it would move forward - just like the hot air in the coach to the rear of the driver moves forward. If you crack a back window this reverses the process so you cool air moves back rather than hot air forward. This results in more effecient cooling to the driver and co pilot when on the road using dash air. Simple idea that works.

To be honest I just bought a used Newmar Dutch Star and haven't tried the idea but the Numar rep swears by it.

Another one he came up with that I would not have thought of was never turn on the exhaust fan in the stool room when you are - can't say it a better way - taking a dump. It draws nasty oders up into the bath room. Turn on the fan after you are finished and plush the toilet during your visit for reasons you should figure out.

A new RVer from Boca Raton Fl

Septic System

If your home is served by a septic system, you will be able to receive invaluable information on how to eliminate pump outs, maintain the system properly and cure problems such as backups, wet spots, odor, etc.

SPC

Rust Block

Rust prone areas cost vehicle owners. If near the ocean with salt air, or anywhere that uses salt to melt snow on roads, your RV is rusting slowly as you read this. Solution: rustblock.net

Trailer Stability

In order to increase trailer stability while set up in camp I obtained two small two ton capacity hydraulic lacks from Wal Mart After leveling the trailer and before lowering the stabilizer jacks that came with the trailer, I place a jack under a leaf spring mounting bracket at opposite ends of the trailer suspension (example: right front and left rear). I then lift each jack 1" - 2" . The wheels do not leave the ground. I am only taking some weight off of the trailer suspension. After this operation I set the trailer stabilizing jacks as normal. It is amazing how much more stable the trailer has become and the jacks can do double duty for tire changing or other repairs.

Warren Petkovsek

Generator Exhaust & Air Pressure Gauge

1. To keep squirrels, mice, etc. out of the motorhome and generator exhaust pipes I use simple cardboard tubes cut about 3" long with fiberglass screen taped to the outer end with duct tape. They slide on and off forever.
2. To make my tire air pressure gauge (round dial with about a 4" tube) easy to find I used a jack knife to cut a hole in the bottom of a plastic 35mm film container and then mounted it to the sidewall of my storage compartment. The gauge tube fits down thru the hole and the gauge is always there and easy to grab.