Welcome to the Beginner’s Guide to RVing from RVtravel.com. The information we present here every Monday through Friday is for brand-new RVers – those in the market to buy their first RV and those who just purchased theirs. If you are an experienced RVer, this material may be too basic for you.
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Monday, November 7, 2022
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DID YOU MISS reading this morning’s RV Daily Tips Newsletter? Good stuff there.
Page Contents
RVing Basics
How long will your propane supply last?
There is a way to roughly calculate propane usage. You need to know how much propane is in your RV when it is full. An RV propane tank is full at 80 percent of its capacity to allow for expansion. Multiply your propane container capacity using one of these formulas (gallons or pounds) to determine container BTU capacity. BTUs per gallon equal 91,502. BTUs per pound equal 21,548. Divide your container BTU capacity by the total BTU demand of the appliances you are using. BTU appliance demand can normally be found on the appliance or in the appliance owner’s manual. This will give you an idea of how long you can expect your LP gas to last. For example, if your RV propane container holds 14 gallons of LP gas when it’s full, you multiply 14 X 91,502. The result is 1,281,028. You divide this figure by the total BTU demand of appliances, let’s say 43,800 BTUs, which gives you approximately 29 hours of use. Tip from Mark Polk, RV Education 101.
Always retract your steps when parked temporarily!
“NEVER leave your steps extended in a public place where cars and people are moving around. I pulled into a gas station and jumped out to see if I had pulled far enough forward to reach the fuel filler with the hose. Seconds later as I came back around the RV to get in, a car was trying to squeeze in between my RV and the pumps and ran over my steps! In my hurry I had not flipped the switch to retract the steps when the door was closed.” —Thanks to Jimmie C. for letting us learn from his painful lesson!
Essential equipment for RVers!
Camco TastePURE Water Filter with Flexible Hose Protector
This best-selling product reduces bad taste, odor, chlorine and sediment in drinking water with a 100-micron fiber filter. Use it at your campsite to keep sediment out of your RV water tank and improve the taste and smell of your drinking water. Many RVers consider this essential equipment. Learn more or order at a big discount.
Quick Tips
Driving in dust or smoke?
If you must drive in dusty conditions (gravel road, dust storm, etc.), fire up your generator and run ALL of your roof air conditioners while driving over any dusty roads. Doing this will help keep dust from creeping in through any tiny holes. Also, if you find yourself driving through smoky conditions as a result of, for example, wildfires, running your air conditioners will help reduce the smoke and odor inside the RV. Don’t forget to check the filters on the air conditioners later. Thanks to Ron Jones, AboutRVing.com.
Short-term workaround for conked-out RV fridge
If your RV refrigerator should ever fail when you are far from a repair shop, buy some bagged ice and put it inside. It will help keep your food cold until you can get help. You won’t have as much time with the frozen food, so maybe it’s time to pig out and eat it up before it goes bad.
“If you could tell someone new to RVing just one thing, what would it be?”
From the editors: We asked our readers this question. Here is one response:Â
“Plan everything, but be flexible in its execution. Meaning, be flexible with your route, your stopping time and location, your checklists, your RV contents, and your intention for this RV trip. When you have a plan and work through that plan your chances of a successful experience are much better than if you just wing it. Of course, anything CAN happen but if you are prepared with a plan it doesn’t blindside you into making a bad decision. You just deal with it according to your plan and roll on. Enjoy the journey!” —Candace
Random RV Thought
If you bring along a dog or cat on a trip, there is a 99 percent chance that it will prefer your favorite easy chair to all other places in your RV.
Perhaps your pet needs their own sleeping bag?
RESOURCES:
• If you’re a member of Facebook, be sure to sign up for our groups RV Buying Advice, RV Advice and Budget RV Travel. For a list of all our groups and RVtravel.com newsletters, visit here.
• If you buy a defective RV and are unable to get it fixed or its warranty honored, here is where to turn for help.
• If you need an RV Lemon Law Lawyer, Ron Burdge is your man.
• Why you should never finance an RV for 20 years!
Contact information
Editor: Emily Woodbury
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Everything in this newsletter is true to the best of our knowledge. But we occasionally get something wrong. We’re just human! So don’t go spending $10,000 on something we said was good simply because we said so, or fixing something according to what we suggested (check with your own technician first). Maybe we made a mistake. Tips and/or comments in this newsletter are those of the authors and may not reflect the views of RVtravel.com or this newsletter.
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Where does the air come from to pressurize the RV? Doesn’t it have to come from outside.
If the RV isn’t air tight enough to keep dust out, the pressurized air will leak out faster than with the fan or AC off and need to be replaced.
The only way I can see this making sense is if the fan or AC intake is well filtered and the filter is easy to replace or clean.
My thoughts on driving in dusty conditions is not to fire up the generator and not to run the roof air conditioners as they only use recirculated air and do not pressurize the coach to keep dust from creeping in. I’d suggest to run the coach fan on high, as this pressurizes the coach, to help keep dust from coming in cracks. Also, depending on location of generator, (example, if behind rear tires) on dusty roads if it is running it pulls a lot of dust in to the generator compartment and the generator filter.
If dry ice is available, buy a chunk along with your bagged ice, to keep the freezer cold if your fridge conked out.