Updated RV Park/Resort Links

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I’ve added some additional RV Parks/Resorts.

Two that we recently visited that I can strongly recommend are Mountain Lakes in Lytle Creek, CA; and Flag City in Lodi, CA.

Mountain Lakes is an older but extremely well maintained.  It is nestled in the mountains of San Bernadino and has approximately 500 sites, most of which have mature trees, grills, etc.  There are also 2 lakes that are stocked with fish (trout  & catfish).

A very quiet location that makes for a great getaway.  They regularly pick-up trash from convenient cans (only a few large dumpsters) and employees patrol regularly and enforce the rules.  Only downsides are that 1) you have about a 15 minute drive from the freeways and any shopping; 2) most sites are back-in; and 3) maximum shore power is 30 amps.

Another recent visit was to Flag City.  This is a large, modern resort with mostly pull-through sites.  It is a great overnight stop with convenient access to fuel stations, shopping, etc.

They have a very convenient propane fill located near registration.  There is also a large, fenced in area to let your furry family members run around.  It is pretty much open (no shade) and there is some road noise.

Tip of the Month – Cleaning Your Roof without Standing on it!

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On some rigs it is relatively easy to get on the roof; and the roof may be fairly flat.

Others, like our Airstream, not so much.

So I needed to find a way to clean the roof without standing on it and without using a hose (see my product review on a spray-on wash).

What I do is take a truck style windshield snow brush/scraper such as the following:

Truck Snow Brush

one that I found at an auto parts store and attach microfiber towels to it with large binder clips

Binder Clip

that are available everywhere.

I attach it such that the clips hold it to the rubber and the microfiber towel is draped around the brush.

This allows me to reach all sections of the roof without standing on the roof and while using a spray-on wash.  It also allows me to apply 303 protectant to the skylights and vents.

Product Review – Griot’s Spray-On Car Wash

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Keeping your rig clean on the road is a challenge — especially when many parks/resorts won’t let you use a hose to clean.

While there are truck washes that will do RV’s, I have always been reluctant to run my rig through a truck wash due to possible acid content of the wash and the pressures that they may be using.

So, I am basically limited to a spray-on car wash product.  There are a number of these available, but the one that I have come to prefer is the Griot’s Garage product.  It performs well and gallon refills are available for purchase.

I use their product as recommended — spraying a microfiber towel lightly and the are to be cleaned and then wiping, turning the microfiber constantly to avoid pushing the dirt and grime into the finish.  So far it has performed admirably and doesn’t require too much elbow grease.

Tip of the Month – Water Regulator

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OK, so you already have a built-in water pressure regulator in your RV from the manufacturer, do you really need another?  Or, if you don’t have one, why do you need one?

A good water regulator will protect your RV’s plumbing without any significant loss of water flow.  Not having one, or relying on a simple built-in regulator, means that you are putting the plumbing inside of your RV at risk.

Remember, the water source in an RV park is going to be subject to many more surges in pressure than at your home.  You don’t want to rely on whether or not the park has a pressure regulator for each spigot or if they have enough flow to handle all of the RV’s at peak demand.  This can result in either very high pressure at the spigot or rapid pressure spikes as other RV’s use their water systems.

There are 2 thoughts with regard to placement of a regulator.  First, is at the spigot.  This will result in protecting all of your hoses as well as your RV.  The second is at the entry point to your RV.  While this means your hose is unprotected, if you use external water filters it allows you to minimize any pressure loss from the regulator by placing it after the water filters.  While this does mean that the filters (housing) and hose are unprotected, it is the method that I use.

When you do use an external regulator, I would strongly recommend a high quality house style rather than the simple inline version that is often sold for RV’s.  The reason is that the house style is going to have the least impact on your water flow.  The one that I use is a WATTS model with a built-in gauge; and is available at most major hardware/box stores.  It is adjustable (I have mine set at 50 psi; you should use the pressure recommended by your RV’s manufacturer) and the gauge lets me instantly see my pressure after the water filters.

Tip of the Month – Spring Recharge!

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Whether you’ve been parked for the winter or winterized for the season, odds are that you haven’t thought too much about your batteries.

But now that spring has arrived a lot of us are getting ready to hit the road and want to make sure that when we want & need power that it is there and is reliable.  While you may be plugged into shore power most of time, while you’re underway and at remote spots you will be on your own.

Whether or not you have an inverter, generator, solar panel, etc.; there is always a need to maintain good 12 VDC power for your various RV systems.  In fact, some of your systems may not operate (or may not operate correctly) at all under low DC power conditions.  This includes your refrigerator and for some rigs their hydronic heating/hot water systems, remote electrical lights, electric flush toilets, etc.

So this is the perfect time to make sure that your batteries are up to the task at hand.

Always wear safety glasses, protective gloves and other protective gear when working around batteries!!!

If you have flooded batteries with removable caps, make sure that you have adequate levels in each cell.  If low, you will need to add distilled water.  Please be sure to observe all safety precautions and use a battery fill syringe/container.  Never overfill!!!

Next I like to make sure that if any battery fluid — which is a strong acid — has escaped due to boiling over, venting, cracks, etc.; that it is neutralized.  For this I use baking soda mixed in water and applied lightly to all surfaces of the battery avoiding the terminal posts and vent caps/covers.  I use a folder over paper towel dipped in the baking soda solution for this step.  Please be sure to observe all safety precautions.  I am not attempting to neutralize the acid, merely detecting its presence.

If there is any bubbling, meaning that the acid is reacting with the baking soda, then you will need to determine the cause and possibly will need to  replace the battery.  Whether or not the battery is replaced, the presence of acid means that you will need to perform a thorough neutralization of the acid, cleaning – including underneath the battery – flushing the compartment, etc.

Keep in mind that if battery acid did leak, you need to find and correct the source of the problem ASAP.  Your battery may be failing, your charger may not be limiting output as the battery approaches full charge causing an overcharge, etc.

My next step is to remove each cable, clean the cable and post, reconnect and then coat with battery grease.  Only perform this step if you are confident in your abilities as shorting out a battery or reconnecting one incorrectly can cause serious injuries and/or equipment damage.  Please be sure to observe all safety precautions.

Finally, I like to check the battery capacity.  At a minimum (with shore power removed and no loads connected) I check the voltage of each battery and then I repeat with shore power/charger attached.  This lets me confirm that the battery output at rest and the charge levels are as expected.  The actual values will depend not only on the condition of the battery but also how your charger works and if there are any phantom loads.

BTW, a better test is to check the specific gravity of each cell, but not everyone wants to do this or buy (not very expensive but something that I often lose each season) a hydrometer.

Tip of the Month – DEF for Low-Mileage Trucks

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DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) is used in many modern truck engines to help combat emissions.  Your DIC (driver information center/dashboard display) will normally indicate when you are low on DEF or if there is a quality problem with the fluid.

When DEF is too low or has a quality problem, there is normally a limited number of miles that can be driven before the engine computer will start to limit power and/or speed.

Obviously, if you are low on DEF you should add more.  How much and where will be provided in your owners’ manual.  When you do add more fluid, please be careful as it is corrosive — where eye & hand protection and try to avoid overfiling or spilling any on your engine or paint.

If the engine computer indicates that there is a fluid quality problem, this can be caused by a number of factors, including actual contamination, a sensor problem, condensation or that the fluid has reached the end of its useful life.  When you purchase DEF, be sure to check the expiration date on the container and make sure that you don’t buy more than your engine will likely consume prior to that date.

If you are RV’ing, you may find that aside from when you are actively towing, you don’t put that many miles on your truck per year which can lead to having degraded DEF in your tank.  For us, it meant that even though we can add 2.5 gallons when the DEF low message appears, we only add 1 gallon so that it doesn’t sit around unused and degrades.

So what happens when it has degraded to the point where you receive the poor DEF quality message?  Read your owner’s manual for instructions!  In our case (GMC Duramax), one recommendation was to add some new DEF fluid to see if that clears the message.  Other manufacturers may not want you to add additional fluid but to take it to the dealer instead.  FYI — if you do add fluid, you will probably need to run a fully warmed up engine at highway speeds for approximately 10 miles, shut down for at least 5 minutes and repeat at least once in order to get the sensors to recognize the change and to clear the message.

If you are unable to clear the message you will in all likelihood have to bring your truck to a dealer who will need to drain the DEF tank, check/recalibrate the sensors, and then refill with fresh fluid.  This can be more involved than it sounds for at least with GM, the only way to drain the tank it to remove it from the vehicle.

Good luck, happy trails and I hope this was helpful!

Tip of the Month – Power Protection/Monitoring

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Unless we’re in the RV, we normally don’t think about power — quality, problems, etc. — when we plug-in appliances, computers and everything else that makes our lives easier.

But the RV is very different.  Not only do we have a mix of AC and DC power, but sometimes our shore power is not the cleanest.  Whether due to being in an older campground, running off of a long extension cord or due to storms in the area we can have far more spikes, surges and low/high power events that can easily damage our electronics.  Even without the possibility of a shore power problem, our RV circuits generally will not handle the same amperage pull that we are used to in the house.

My favorite way of handling most of these potential problems is through the use of a combination surge protector & over/under voltage protector.  This is plugged in at the power post (or built into the RV) and prevents problems from reaching your electronics.  Another approach — which will detect but not prevent possible equipment damage — is a voltage monitor that can be plugged into any outlet in the RV.

Surge Protector

Surge Protector

Digital Line Monitor

Digital Line Monitor

 

Whichever approach you take, it will save you money and headaches if you can detect and stop (preferably) a power problem up-front.

These products can be purchased at many RV supply companies including Camping World, as well as online at Amazon and many other sites.

Product Review – Howard Leight Impact Sport Electronic Earmuffs

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If you spend any time in a noisy environment or enjoy shooting sports, then you are regularly (I hope) using hearing protection.

The best level of hearing protection is usually a set of high quality standard earmuffs plus doubling up with ear plugs.  While not very expensive, the problem is that it is not only a bit uncomfortable but makes it difficult to hear clearly.  This, of course, makes having a conversation nearly impossible.

Aside from the inconvenience, I always felt that it was a bit dangerous not to clearly hear what was going on around me when at a shooting range.  This was brought home during a recent class where it was nearly impossible to hear the instructor.

So, I took the very scientific approach of observing what the instructors and advanced shooters were using for hearing protection.  By and large, they were using the Howard Leight Impact Sport Electronic Earmuffs:

Everyone that had these that I talked to highly recommended them…so, I went ahead and ordered them from Amazon.

After using them during a shooting competition I must say that I was very impressed.  I could clearly hear the instructions and have conversations with others and any local gunshots were suppressed adequately.

These muffs have a volume control, wind noise cancellation, an audio-input jack (MP3′s, scanners, etc.), automatic 4-hour shut-off, and used standard AAA batteries.  The noise block rating is at 82 dB and the noise reduction (NRR) is 22.  They also fold up very nicely when not in use and were quite comfortable during an all-day event.  You do need to remember that it will shut-off after 4 hours which just requires turning it off and then on again to reset.

For use outdoors and with handguns they worked extremely well.  If I were shooting indoors then I would definitely double plug with foam ear plugs and/or switch to my non-electronic muffs which have an NRR of 30 (Howard Leight L3′s).

Tip of the Month – Regularly check on your rig during the off-season

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Now that some of us have packed our RV’s away for the winter, we sometimes become lazy about checking on the rig’s condition.  After all, didn’t we fully winterize it…what’s to check?

Well, during the course of your winter hiatus your tires will continue to lose air, your batteries (if left hooked up) may be discharging or over-charging/boiling, all of the wildlife doesn’t hibernate, and you still need to be concerned with moisture/condensation.

I make it a point to check on my rig weekly whenever possible.  It’s a great time to see if the Damp-Rid needs to be changed out and to contemplate the first trip of next season ;-) .