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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Friday, July 22, 2022
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DID YOU MISS reading this morning’s RV Daily Tips Newsletter? Good stuff there.
RVing Basics
What are membership campgrounds?
Membership campgrounds are for their members only. Coast to Coast and Thousand Trails are two examples. The advantage to membership campgrounds is they are most often attractive and secure with plenty of activities and member interaction. Members seldom have a problem getting a campsite; some RVers literally travel from one park to another, spending a few days or even weeks in each. But membership campgrounds are not for everybody and unless you camp a lot probably not cost-effective. Costs to join may run from hundreds of dollars to thousands. Most RVers do not join membership parks, camping instead at public campgrounds and private ones like KOA.
There are also membership programs such as Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome, that allow you to stay on private property for a small yearly fee.
Are reservations necessary at public campgrounds?
They are very often required in the busy summer months in all but the most out-of-the-way parks, and especially so on holidays when spaces in popular tourist areas are in huge demand and often booked a year or more ahead, especially as of 2022. Generally, though, the farther you are from a big city or major tourist destination (like Yellowstone or Yosemite), the easier it is to find an available campsite. National Forest campgrounds, usually of the primitive variety, are often the last to fill. While they offer few amenities, their settings in forests — often by lakes and streams — can be peaceful and scenic. Reservations are highly recommended at commercial campgrounds, especially in the prime season and on summer holidays.
How long am I allowed to stay in a campground?
In a private RV park, often indefinitely, but at least for a season. But in public campgrounds, like those in state and federal parks, stays may be limited to two weeks. Stays of up to seven months are allowed on some public lands in the Southwest.
Quick Tips
Don’t kill the good bacteria in your RV’s black tank
Reader Mike Buchanan advises: “When cleaning your RV toilet, be careful what you clean with. Any cleaner that contains bleach, peroxide or germicides of any kind will not only kill surface bacteria, but will also kill all the good bacteria that is contained in your waste water treatment. It’s that good bacteria that is eating up and breaking down that solid waste.” He adds, “If you want to kill surface bacteria, use a disposable germicidal wipe such as Lysol and dispose of it in your regular waste.” Thanks, Mike!
What to do with a noisy dryer exhaust flap
If you have a washer/dryer in your rig, as do John and Darla Pereria, you may have an annoying problem along with it: A wind-blown dryer exhaust flap that makes constant noise. Say the Pererias, “Naturally this happens most often when you are trying to get to sleep. The sound is just annoying. To solve the problem, we found a large washer in my bag of bolts, and glued the washer to the outside of the flap. It is just enough weight to stop the wind from causing the noise, yet does not interfere with the operation of the dryer.”
Make towels stay where they belong
Towels fall off towel bars in transit? Get some sticky-back Velcro tape and stick the prickly side up on the towel bar. Towels don’t run away!
How not to run your generator
Don’t run your generator for brief periods of time. Suppose you are boondocking and want to heat up your coffee in the microwave. If you run the microwave on battery power, it will rapidly run down your batteries – not good. While some RVers fire up the generator for a few minutes to do tasks like this – run a hairdryer, coffee pot, electric heaters, etc. – running the generator for those short bursts of time will definitely reduce its life. Thanks to Ron Jones, AboutRVing.com.
Tip for holding down exterior carpet
From Ralph Graner: When camping near a beach or other sandy area, fill ziplock bags with sand to hold down your exterior carpet. No need to search for rocks. Thanks, Ralph!
Common Terms Used by RV Salespeople
HOME RUN: When maximum profit has been made on a deal or when the sales business manager has sold the customer all the insurance he has available.
Another one next issue. Courtesy of the Burdge Law Office.
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:
“If you have no mechanical skills or the ability to troubleshoot problems, don’t buy one.” —Richard
Random RV Thought
If you prefer quiet RV parks, when calling ahead for reservations ask if there are any railroad tracks close by. Same with busy streets. Many RV parks are on inexpensive land, and sometimes the reason is that they are near a busy street or railroad track. If trains run often, it can be difficult to sleep. Checking the aerial view on Google Maps is probably just as effective as making a phone call.
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!
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Contact information
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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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Not sure I agree with the tip from Richard about “mechanical skills and trouble shooting”
There are going to be inevitable problems. That advice could go for buying a house, a car, a bicycle. Just realize that even new products can malfunction and make sure to know the warranty.
I like the idea of Velcro to keep the towels from sliding off the handles. The first two things I thought of though were the ruining of the threads of the towels. Eventually, the Velcro will fray your towels. The other is the sticky stuff that is on your handles of your cabinets and appliances. Cleaning it off when you remove or replace the Velcro could be more damaging to your stuff than the towel slipping.
I actually use things like chip clips and binder clips. I am not saying my way is better.. I just am throwing something that worked for me. I store my chip clips on the towel and keep it from sliding.
To hold down our outdoor carpet I got 4 of my wife’s empty Oxi Clean containers painted the bottom to match the RV, left the top yellow. I then drilled a hole in the lid to put a cheap solar light in. That way you can see them at night. I fill them with water and place them at the 4 corners. They don’t take up much space when I store them.
I believe the advice to someone who does not understand mechanical issues or having mechanical ability to not buy an RV, is a poor advice. There are plenty of legitimate motorhome warranties that can do a tremendous amount of good for those of us who are not mechanics. Ours is $100 deductible of uterine [from Diane: Not sure what you meant here, Brian. Let me know and I’ll fix it.] two major components and paid for itself and its first year. That along with peace of mind, having met a wonderful local independent RV repair service center, makes us enjoy our motorhome even more. It would be like telling someone buying an exotic sports car to drive, if you can’t repair it you shouldn’t buy it. The benefits outweigh mechanical issues, of owning and enjoying the RV adventure! I would encourage a new RV buyer, to join quality forums, read up a lot and get involved as much as possible in knowing your RV well!
Agree wholeheartedly!!!!! AND, I won’t buy for the first time until next year … AND I will be a single woman, 80 years old when I start Rving!!!!
If you shouldn’t run the generator for just brief periods, how long should you run it? Also, is it ok to turn on the generator while external power is pluged in? Thx.
Why would you need to run the genny if you have shore power?
One can assume his RV is on shore power and he wants to “exercise” the generator. I disconnect shore power when I run it for an hour once a month.
10-4 Thanks
Also, if you use an antibacterial dish soap- that too will kill the good bacteria.
Quick Tips – Black tanks are holding tanks not septic tanks so bleach should not be a problem. The black tanks do eventually dump into a waste water plant of some type but the small volume of a black tank will not kill off the plant’s bacterial ecosystem.
Hey Steve, your understanding of this issue is a little different than mine. I don’t think anyone is concerned with harming the community’s waste water plant with a small amount of bleach. The concern is damaging the bio breakdown process inside of the RV black tank. Adding bio breakdown products to the tank after each dump cycle does provide enzymes and good bacteria to the tank to promote the rapid breakdown of waste and making emptying the tank easier and more complete. Adding bleach or other disinfectants to the tank counteracts the product you added to help the breakdown.
I’ll agree to disagree. The waste storage in a black tank is usually so short that a bio breakdown process is not necessary. I use a simple mixture of liquid soap and water softener and have no problems with emptying my tank. But, the chemical companies love your train of thought.
I don’t know which of you gentlemen are correct, but it’s nice to see civil behaviour during the discussion. Truly model conduct in a public forum.
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