A major topic with RVers these days and on RV forums, is the poor quality of RVs being produced of late. Reader John Kiblin sent this letter and photo:
Wanted to send this along as an example of a very dangerous situation. This is a 2014 Coachmen that I bought new. Upon unplugging a small appliance the entire plug came out. Not only is this very shoddy workmanship but it certainly presents a shock hazard. Can you imagine a small child unplugging something and wondering what excitement awaited in the neat hole? And yes, I contacted Coachmen and got an apology and a suggestion to put a piece of wood behind it. No offer to fix it! Just thought I’d pass this along to hopefully keep others from finding the shocking truth….pun intended.
I receive letters like this all the time — readers complaining about poor quality or poor service on their RVs. The industry talks about improving, but in my opinion, it’s just a bunch of hot air. My guess is 95 percent of the people who make or sell RVs care about only one thing — selling as many as they can. Sad to say, most first-time buyers are so ill-informed about what to look for in an RV they are suckers for being sold a piece of junk, even though at a glance, the RVs look great.
I wrote an e-book a few years ago called “The Smart RVers Guide to Buying an RV.” At the same time I was helping write a script and then hosting a DVD for the Better Business Bureau titled “Buying a Recreational Vehicle.” Both included advice on how to avoid making common buying mistakes. The video is no longer sold, but is available in some public libraries. I am currently updating my e-book to help educate new RVers on the right way to buy an RV and not the stupid way, which, sad to say, is how very many RVers buy these days.
Sorry to be so negative, but sometimes I get angry about how little the bigwigs in the RV industry care about RVers. What they care about is making lotsa money. And, yes, there are good people who do care, just way too few.
For people like me, who have traveled by RV for decades, RVing today is not as much fun. I was reminded of this in a letter last week from a reader named Paul. There are so many RVs these days, it’s often a chore to find a campsite. Until about five years ago, I never made a campground reservation, never needed to. Now, I make them most often, typically after a lot of time and research.
Gail and I were driving south on California Route 99 the other day. We passed a huge RV dealer. There must have been 400, 500 or more RVs on the lot. Next door, Camping World was selling hundreds more. “Those RVs will be taking up campsites this summer,” I complained to Gail.
Now, the letter from Paul:
Hi Chuck, My wife and I have been RVing for 15 years and gone to many places we never would have been able to without the RV. But the fun is over. There are just too many people getting into it. Like you have written, the campgrounds are too crowded, loud trucks going and coming all the time, golf carts on the go, having to make reservations way ahead of time. After our last outing as I was unloading the camper I realized I didn’t want to do it anymore, and my wife agreed. So we sold our motorhome. I believe that sooner or later humans ruin everything they touch and now it’s happening to the RV industry.
Crowded KOA campground last summer.
I know how Paul feels. I’ll just add that the RV parks that do have room in peak season are often poorly maintained or crammed tight. The good ones book up fast.
I took the photo to the right of a KOA in Miles City, Montana, last summer. Not only was it crowded, the campfire smoke was worse than a bad Los Angeles smog. For this you pay $40-$45 (or more) a night!
Now, there is so much more to this story, including why, when commercial RV parks are filled, many primitive public campgrounds are mostly unoccupied (a subject for another time). But the fact is, with 400,000 new RVs being sold each year and very few new campsites being created, finding a good place to stay is harder than ever, and it takes away some of the fun of a trip.
At the popular tourist attraction Hole in the Rock near Moab, Utah, keep your eyes open for this golfer — made almost entirely from golf club irons.
The metal artwork was created by Lyle Nichols of Palisade, Colorado. Nichols is known for his sense of humor as much as his artistic talent. Many of his creations are made from what most people would consider “junk.”
We are especially fond of this motorhome, which he calls his “Motorhome on the Range.” You can see why from the photo.
I took the golfer photos. The motorhome photo is from Nichols’ website, where you can see more of his work.
Lots of RVers keep Blogs. Lots more would do so if they knew how easy it is. Here at Geeks on Tour, we think that the free Blogger.com platform by Google is the easiest way to create and maintain a blog. It can be like a personal journal, or it can be a club website, a small business, or just a place to write what’s on your mind. It’s already drop-dead simple, but if you turn on the setting to allow posting by email, it’s even easier.
Set Up Posting with Email
Go to Blogger.com and log in to your account. Click on Settings, then Email and one of the options you will see is “Post Using Email.” Here is where you create a special email address. In this case, the email address starts with odie123, then you fill in some text of your choosing and type it in the space where it says, “SecretWords.” For example, if you type rvusa in that spot, then the email address would be “odie123.rvusa@blogger.com.”
There are also options for what should happen when you send something to that email address. Do you want it to become a published blog post immediately? Or, do you want it to be a draft that you have to revisit before it gets published? I set mine to publish immediately.
So, here’s how it works
I use Gmail and compose a new email. The email address is odie123.rvusa@blogger.com. I type whatever story I want to publish. I add photos by using Gmail’s insert photo button and accessing all my Google Photos. Gmail also has formatting features like bulleted lists, fonts, links, and emojis. Whatever I create in this email becomes a Blog post when I click send.
It is so quick and easy, I feel like I’ve been given a magic wand! I remember trying this feature years ago but I couldn’t get it to work. I had no problem this time. I even composed the email on my smartphone. For more on how to create and manage a Blogger.com blog, see our Blogger Learning Series.
Chris Guld is President and Teacher-in-Chief at GeeksOnTour.com. She has been in computer training and support since 1983 and owned a Computer Training Center called Computer Savvy from 1983-1996. She has been a Fulltime RVer, popular seminar presenter at RV Rallies, and regular contributor to RVTravel, for many years.
Right up in the “neatest thing since sliced bread” category, for our family at least, are big “assist handles” that you can mount on the side of your RV. At the end of a long road day, or a long trail, being able to grab that handle and stabilize yourself heading up the steps into the rig has been a lifesaver.
Trouble is, the grips sold as standard on many of these units just don’t hold up too long. Maybe it’s UV light, maybe it’s the wind blowing over the handle as you blast down the highway, but sooner or later, the foam grip on the bar just gives up the ghost. This leaves you with an unsightly mess, and a more difficult situation. If your assist handle is wet, and you have no grip, you’re far more apt to slip off. On the other hand, if you grab hold that of handle on a HOT day, you can practically hear the palm flesh sizzle like a steak on a grill. Cold out? Maybe you’ll stick like a tongue on a frozen flagpole.
We’ve looked into the “standard” answer that one of those assist handle manufacturers offer: a piece of “replacement” rubber wrap that you wind around the bar. That’s great, until you consider the price of the wrap, enough to cover 12″ of the bar carries a list price of close to $17, and add shipping on top. If you want to cover the entire bar, you’ll need at least two packages – pretty close to the price of a whole bar. It’s a bit of a head-scratcher.
Raw metal bar after the original foam deteriorates just doesn’t cut it.
A couple of years ago when our original wrap ratted out, we tried an alternative. We removed the old, worn out wrap, and in its place, glued on a chunk of foam-rubber pipe insulation. It was inexpensive, gave a good grip, and promptly deteriorated in the weather within a few months. Next we tried using a small foam rubber “swim noodle,” which we cut a lengthwise slit down to put it over the rail, and adhered it with glue. Aside from the fact that it looked pretty strange – a brilliant, neon blue against our white rig – it had a lifespan similar to the pipe insulation.
Nearly everything you need in one box.
Finally, it dawned. Forget foam rubber. This time a quick stop in a big box department store sporting goods section found a box containing “road handlebar tape” designed for making the grip on a bicycle’s handlebars far more comfortable. For about $8 and no shipping charges, we had enough “soft and durable, antishock” tape to wrap around the entire RV assist bar. We’d already done a little research on handlebar tape – there’s a huge variety of the stuff, but what we were concerned about is that whatever bar tape we used, it had to have an adhesive strip on the back to help hold it in place. What we bought, Bell Handroll 300, didn’t have a description on the box, so (a pardon to our pals at Walmart) we brazenly opened the package and unrolled a couple of inches of the tape to ensure the adhesive was present – and it was.
Here’s how we put ours on. Since we’d previously used glue to hold on the “alternative treatments,” we did have a bit of a mess to clean up. The glue didn’t respond well to mineral spirits, so what was left on the assist handle we carefully sanded off, working hard not to chew up the paint. With the old glue knocked off, we were ready for the install.
The handlebar tape we bought came in two rolls – one for each side of your bicycle handlebars. Since we were heading for a single installation, we started the wrapping at the middle of the hand rail and worked down. Carefully peeling the adhesive backing paper off the strip on the back of the handlebar tape, we laid down and smoothed out the bar tape, slowly unraveling the new tape from the roll. We stretched the bar tape as we went, overwrapping the tape already on the handrail so that about two-thirds of the tape was exposed, and the last third was covered with new tape. By stretching and holding the roll firmly as we “placed” the new tape on the bar, we reached the bottom of the bar easily.
Now, if you were wrapping your bike handlebars, you’d simply stretch the remaining end of the tape into the hollow handlebar, and stuff a provided chrome trim plug into the end of the handlebar. This would hold the tape in place, and make the whole installation look sharp. However, there’s no place to “stuff” the end of the tape on an RV assist handle, so we tightened the tape down at the end of the run, and then ran a few twists of the appropriate colored electrical tape around the handlebar tape to hold it in place. Since we picked black handlebar tape, we had plenty of black electrical tape to do the job.
A couple of wraps of electrical tape finish off the job.
Now we grabbed the second roll of handlebar tape and proceeded to start placement at the middle of the grab handle, this time wrapping the handle from the middle up to the top. We started the run on top of the already-placed handlebar tape that we’d put on for the “middle-going-down” run. It was a simple matter to repeat how we’d done that first run, and again, we finished off the top run with more wraps of electrical tape. If there’s any concern about the middle points staying in place, you could similarly wrap this junction with tape. In our case, it wasn’t necessary – everything stayed put without it.
We recognized that electrical tape isn’t the greatest weather resister, and figured in a few months we’d probably have to go back and re-do the spots with new tape. Actually, the electrical tape lasted better than a year before starting to come loose. A quick revamp and we’re good to go for another year. Way better than fussing with loose foam or spending far too much money for the “official” replacement grip.
Air Lift is expanding its load assist product line with the new LoadLifter 7500 XL series kits, which offer extreme load-leveling capabilities, a release from the company stated. The LoadLifter 7500 XL is now Air Lift’s heaviest-rated air spring kit, built to provide 7,500 pounds of load- leveling capacity.
For owners of 3/4- and 1-ton pickups that tow or haul heavy loads like slide-in campers, fifth-wheel RV trailers or gooseneck flatbed trailers, this kit provides an unbeatable combination of adjustability and ride quality.
This heavy-duty air spring system provides a solution for vehicle squat, which can result from carrying heavy loads. By properly distributing weight to all four wheels, the LoadLifter 7500 XL maximizes vehicle stability while eliminating unsafe and uncomfortable driving conditions such as poor braking, unresponsive steering, trailer sway, body roll and bottoming out. This kit also smooths out the formerly rough ride that could result from heavy-duty towing and hauling.
The massive 7-inch double-bellows air springs have been specifically designed to handle extreme loads and offer greater leveling at all pressures for a safe, stable and comfortable ride. Air adjustable from 5 to 100 PSI, the air springs keep vehicles stable, level and comfortable whether loaded or unloaded, the release continued.
The air springs are constructed with a reinforced two-ply fabric for maximum strength and long-lasting durability, and feature end caps made of light and ultra-strong corrosion-proof nylon composite. The LoadLifter 7500 XL kits come with Air Lift’s exclusive roll plates, which protect the air springs from sharp edges and increase load capacity up to 10 percent.
Many LoadLifter 7500 XL kits will require no drilling into the frame and install in three hours or less, and come with a fully illustrated instruction manual. For convenient inflation and deflation of the air springs, Air Lift offers automatic, wired and wireless on-board air compressor systems.
All Air Lift products are backed by an industry-exclusive lifetime warranty that covers the entire contents of the air spring kit. The company also ensures product satisfaction with a 60-day no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee on all load support air springs and on-board compressor systems.
For more information, call Air Lift Company at 800.248.0892, or visit the Air Lift website.
SOURCE: Air Lift Company press release
Editor: Being new, this product is not on Amazon yet, but here’s a link to Air Lift’s other LoadLifter products in the meantime.
Dear RV Shrink:
We are looking at a 38-foot motorhome that is like a McMansion on wheels. It has all the creature comforts of home. It has been my husband’s dream for years.
Don’t get me wrong. I love it too, but I can’t get over the poor gas mileage. I keep thinking every time we drive five miles it’s going to cost us whatever a gallon of gas costs. It seems absurd.
Am I just thinking too hard? Are we nuts buying this gas hog? —Gas Math in Maitland
Dear Gas Math: I would say you are not thinking hard enough. You have to do the math several different ways and see if this RV, or even the RV lifestyle, is going to work for you. I can tell you your fuel bill is, in most cases, not going to be your biggest expense.
Most people with a rig your size are pulling a toad. Your gas-hog expense is going to get you from point A to B; from there you will be driving the toad.
I suggest you sit down and run through what you would like to do for a six-month trip. Figure your mileage, your gasoline costs, camping and maintenance. That will give you a better picture of what your costs are going to look like overall.
Many of your costs are not going to change whether you stay at home or travel. You will still eat, heat, cool and entertain.
You should also compare your trip expense with other travel options. Figure the same trip without the motorhome and add the expense of rooms, meals and fuel. Try doing the trip using a train and a berth. Compare it to some organized tour package.
All these travel methods can ring up dollars quickly. Running the numbers may make you feel better about how you plan to travel and the cost of getting the beast down the road. —Keep Smilin’, Richard Mallery a.k.a. Dr. R.V. Shrink
In just about every large- or medium-sized urban area you can find locally printed giveaway publications called the PennySaver or something similar that lists coupons and ads for local restaurants, services, and retailers.
Often you can find two-for-one or early bird discount restaurant coupons or businesses offering a discount or free gift for visiting their establishment. Look for racks holding these publications outside restaurants, in strip malls, or wherever newspapers are sold.
Using these publications as shopping guides not only helps familiarize you with the local area but will also save you money.
You can find Bob Difley’s RVing e-books onAmazon Kindle.
By Chris Dougherty Chris Dougherty is a certified RV technician. Here is a letter he received from a reader while he was serving as RVtravel.com’s technical editor.
Dear Chris,
Condensation forms inside both the wardrobe and the cabinets on my slide-outs only, not in any other storage compartment in my travel trailer when the temperature gets down to the lower 40s. Why is this and what can I do about it? —Todd
Dear Todd,
What you’re experiencing is quite normal for a minimally insulated coach. My first full-timing coach was an old Southwind and it did the same thing. In fact, there were icicles forming on the walls in closets with no leaks … all from condensation.
Because RVs are such small spaces, humidity levels tend to be really high. Showering, washing dishes and even breathing all contribute. Even if the main part of the coach is heated and the air vented or exchanged, closed off areas under cabinets and in closets, etc., can collect the moisture and cause the condensation.
First thing would be leave the cabinets and closets open so more air can circulate within. Next, ventilate the coach well on a dry day. I used an electric dehumidifier to dry out the inside of the coach, and you’d be amazed at the amount of water it took out. There are chemical dehumidifiers on the market, as well as some other little air dryers, but as I have not tested them I can’t speak to their effectiveness.
Dear Mike,
Thank you for bringing the miswiring issue to light. I have been a licensed journeyman electrician for over ten years, but when a customer asked me to install an outside 30-amp outlet for his RV in the driveway, I accidentally wired it up for 240 volts, NOT 120 volts. That was a costly mistake on my part since it destroyed a lot of the RV appliances and electrical system. Yes, I paid for the RV repairs, but I hated to write that check. More folks need to understand that RV electricity does not follow the norm for house wiring. —Adam
Dear Adam,
I get emails like this every week from an electrician or homeowner who’s made this same costly miswiring mistake. An RV 30-amp plug is NOT wired for 240-volts like the home dryer plug it resembles. The first time I saw one of these TT-30 plugs on an RV I also assumed it was 240 volts, until I looked at the plug closely and saw it was listed for 125 volts. That was the hint I needed to avoid making an expensive mistake as well.
Below is what a 30-amp/120-volt RV outlet looks like compared to a 30-amp/240-volt dryer outlet. See why electricians can be easily confused.
And this is how a 30-amp RV outlet is supposed to be wired.
If you’re going to have a 30-amp RV outlet wired up for your RV when it’s parked at home, be sure to show this to your electrician before he makes a costly mistake. Plus, it’s really a good idea for you to measure every new or unknown RV outlet for correct voltage BEFORE you plug in your expensive RV. And that’s also a great reason to install something like a Progressive Industries EMS on your RV. It’s cheap insurance since it won’t let a 240-volt wiring mistake reach your RV electrical system.
Let’s play safe out there…
Mike Sokol is an electrical and professional sound expert with 40 years in the industry. Visit NoShockZone.org for more electrical safety tips. His excellent book RV Electrical Safety is available at Amazon.com.
Financial guru Dave Ramsey discusses the merits of both RVs and tiny houses as investments. As he has often stated before, RVs are always bad investments with terrible depreciation values. He says that unless someone can easily afford an RV, they shouldn’t buy one. As far as tiny houses, Dave says the verdict is still out. That said, he has a prediction.
Everyone has a favorite item to clean their RV with, be it a wash mitt, sponge or brush. All of these tools pick up dirt and debris that eventually collect in the bottom of a wash bucket.
Shurhold Industries’ new Bucket Grate sits in the bottom of a standard five-gallon pail and allows contaminants to settle, keeping the wash mixture and tools cleaner.
An integrated baffle system in the Bucket Grate reduces water movement and is designed to trap dirt and debris as tools are rinsed. It also provides a highly effective way to clean brush bristles.
It even includes two built-in 3 oz. measuring cups for accurate proportioning of soaps and solutions. Using too much cleaning product is often the cause of residual water spots on RVs, not to mention stripped wax.
Shurhold Industries’ Bucket Grate sells for less than $13 at Amazon.com and is part of Shurhold’s One Bucket System, a group of tools that nestle together into its 5 Gallon Rope Handle Bucket.
Shurhold is dedicated to educating owners on RV value preservation. Inventor of the One Handle Does It All system, Shurhold manufactures specialty care items and accessories to clean, polish and detail. Watch a video.
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A major topic with RVers these days and on RV forums, is the poor quality of RVs being produced of late. Reader John Kiblin sent this letter and photo:
At the popular tourist attraction Hole in the Rock near Moab, Utah, keep your eyes open for this golfer — made almost entirely from golf club irons.
In just about every large- or medium-sized urban area you can find locally printed giveaway publications called the PennySaver or something similar that lists coupons and ads for local restaurants, services, and retailers.
Mike Sokol is an electrical and professional sound expert with 40 years in the industry. Visit 
An integrated baffle system in the Bucket Grate reduces water movement and is designed to trap dirt and debris as tools are rinsed. It also provides a highly effective way to clean brush bristles.