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A Penny or a Dollar… Annie Larsen 1) Always turn off the propane at the tank when you are driving. If you are in an accident, you may be liable for fire damage. (Not to mention losing your pets and all your possessions.) 2) Check the power at the supply post with a polarity tester (about $6 at the hardware store) before you plug in your rig. 3) Use a pressure regulator at the supply (visualize a water balloon) and turn off the water when you’re gone for the day. (There might not be anyone there to notice the water gushing from under your door because a fitting in your kitchen separated.) 4) Leave your grey and black water valves closed until your tanks are almost full and you are ready to empty them. Use plenty of water when flushing and limit paper deposits in your black tank. Use quickly degradable paper. It is not necessary to append a fortune for special RV toilet paper. If you are willing to do a little shopping around for off-the-shelf paper, take a single sheet and put it in a glass of water and wait 30 seconds. Stir it around, and if it breaks up readily, you’ve found a good one. Don’t pour grease down the kitchen sink. It will solidify in the grey tank and make it nearly impossible for the sensors to function. Using a grease-cutting liquid soap will help keep the tank clean. 5) Run your generator once a month with a load on it. Change the oil yearly, or more, depending on your usage. A load can consist of an electric space heater (about 10 amps), or electric water heater (only of it is full), or your air conditioner. If your battery switch is on, the generator will help charge them up, too. 6) Check for rain leaks and critter infestations. Look carefully around windows and slide-outs for water. Look outside for separated seams and caulking around windows, slides and doors, and don’t forget the roof- skylights, vents, AC openings, and TV antennas. Check your engine and storage compartments for insects and furry visitors. Rodent will chew wires and steal insulation for nesting materials. Scented dryer sheets have some ability to keep them at bay; I’ve also heard they will keep deer off your bushes. 7) Check the pressure and condition of your tires often. (I don’t want to think about blowout disasters.) Use tire covers when in storage to slow the effects of UV rays. Covers will not stop ozone damage. If your tires are more than 7 years old, even of they don’t have much wear, you should consider replacement. 8) Flush your water heater at least once a year. At the beginning of winterization is a good time. (You should have seen all the sediment I got last time.) Lightly cap the empty tank so that any remaining sediment will not dry and harden during storage. Using a filter at the supply post will cut down on minerals. Get one that will allow at least 3 gallons per minute of flow. 9) Sanitize the fresh water tank at least once a year. Coming out of storage is a good time for this, as you can rinse and freshen the water lines at the same time. Put a tablespoon or two of bleach in an almost full tank of water and let it sit for a few hours, then run the water through the water lines. Drain the remainder, fill with fresh water with a cup of baking soda mixed in, run some through the water lines, drain the rest. The baking soda will help cut the bleach and/or antifreeze taste and smell. (More on antifreeze later.) 10) Check the water levels in your batteries monthly and use only distilled water to top up. Fill to bottom of the fill tube. 11) Use one-time surge protectors with every appliance- refrigerator (the AC plug is accessible from the small door on the outside), microwave, TV, video equipment, computer, etc. These run about $5 each; whole-house reset able units that hook up at the supply post are costly and stealable. (You have maybe seen what lightning does to trees…refrigerator circuit boards are very pricey. I can clearly remember camping in Ohio during a ferocious lightning storm, I was certain we would be struck. We turned everything off and just prayed.) 12) When camping during freezing conditions, disconnect and drain your water supply hose at night. (Or you can put it in your shower to thaw. Hope you have a spare hose.) 13) Cold packs can be used in the fridge during travel days to keep things cool. A small, battery-operated fan will help even out the temperature in your refrigerator. Before a trip, pre-cool your fridge with freeze packs for 8 hours. Use a fridge/freezer thermometer.
More information on all of these points can be found in ‘Trailer Life’s RV Repair and Maintenance Manual’ by Bob Livingston. |
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