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Get rid of splattered bugs with Love Bug Eraser

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Get rid of splattered bugs with Love Bug Eraser

There is probably not a single RVer who has not experienced pulling into a campsite after a day’s drive to discover a mass of dead bugs splattered on the front of his or her vehicle. The problem is that bugs are greasy little critters who are not only difficult to remove, but if not removed soon will leave lasting stains on a vehicle’s paint.

What to do?
A product called Love Bug Eraser gets rave reviews for both ease of use and effectiveness. Bugs come off easily using the eraser with car wash soap and water.

Here’s what Bob Livingston of Trailer Life wrote: “The Love Bug Eraser is an amazingly simple product that will change the way you tackle bug removal. It’s destined to allow owners to throw away most of the tools in their cleaning arsenal. . . . Just dip the eraser in a bucket of soapy water and clean away. It takes virtually no effort to remove anything in its path. It worked amazingly well, removing all the bugs in just a few minutes.”

Visit Love Bug Eraser’s website to learn more or order. The owners of Love Bug Eraser offer a money back guarantee if a customer is not satisfied.

Is it time to change to a composting toilet?

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By Greg Illes

If there’s one single topic that can sponsor an entire evening’s conversation among RVers, it’s the RV toilet. Everyone has their preferences and their funny/horror stories. The horror part is almost always associated with the dumping process, a noxious affair where days or weeks worth of accumulated, concentrated sewage is carefully deposited deep inside some septic system that you have entrusted to absorb the smelly mess.

My wife and I are about to embark on what we expect to be a radical change of life in the toilet department — installing a composting toilet in our rig.

It will no longer connect to the black tank, since it is completely self-contained. We will not be collecting sewage any longer. We will, literally, never have to dump brown stuff again through the “stinky slinky” three-inch drain hose.

For those unaware of the technology, composting toilets have been around for quite a while. They’ve seen extensive use in remote locations, sea-going watercraft, and even in residential applications where folks don’t want the expense of, or can’t get permits for, traditional sewage systems. Some of these toilet units have trickled into the RV realm (no pun intended), and there are many successful installations.

After a huge amount of research on our part (you would be amazed at some of the questions and answers on this topic), we have decided it’s a game-changer.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS, and please excuse me for getting a little graphic: You use the toilet in standard fashion, and the design of the bowl causes a separation of liquids and solids. This is critical, because keeping the pee separate from poo helps eliminate odors. The poo is mixed with normal garden peat moss in a special agitator bucket, and quickly becomes odorless, benign compost — essentially, dirt. A tiny built-in ventilation fan is all that’s required to keep fresh air over the compost, and any small odors out of the RV.

The pee can be disposed of in the gray tank, in a campground toilet, or sometimes on the ground where permitted (but not in a campground). The compost can be disposed of in either normal trash or on the ground where regulations permit.

There are a lot more details about disposal strategies, but suffice it to say that it’s safe, legal, and simple without using a dump site. Remember, by the time it hits the ground, it’s simply more dirt.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? Several things. One, we will seldom need a formal dump station any longer. Depending on our surroundings, we will be able to dump gray water and compost soil on the landscape. (In fact, it actually benefits the local vegetation.)

Two, not using water for flushing a toilet will nearly double our endurance on our fresh water supply, extending our boondocking independence for many days. And three, not having any solid wastes in our tanks means we can dump tanks any time we please, and we don’t have to wait for that one-half or three-quarters full to assure proper flow of solids.

Another small advantage is that we can easily do partial dumps and fills, because all we need is a water supply. This will mean that we can carry less water on average, since we aren’t always carrying all the water we started with. Less water is less weight, which will help with the hills and our fuel economy.

Yeah, we’re going to have to get used to actually handling our waste products — but it’s still better than waiting for a sewage-disposal disaster, just above a tank full of everybody’s waste products. A host of experienced users uniformly report no smell or mess issues whatsoever. And for our diligence, we will never have to worry about a sewage leak or backup again, and our flexibility and freedom will be significantly extended. No more searching for a (pricey) dump station, no more lines, no more trip planning around the arrival of the black-tank half-full day.

The composting toilet is more convenient and more eco-friendly than the black-tank standard, and it clearly affords many boondocking and general-travel advantages. But I’m not optimistic that it’s going to show up in factory RVs in any foreseeable future. If you want one, you’ll have to pony up about $1,000 or more and replace your standard toilet with it.

I’ll be smiling a lot as I drive on past the line at the dump station.

Greg Illes is a retired systems engineer who loves thinking up RV upgrades and modifications. When he’s not working on his motorhome, he’s traveling in it. You can follow his blog at www.divver-city.com/blog.

Three day rule can enrich camping experience

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Three day rule can enrich camping experience

By Gerry Bruder

When I was a new RVer, I rushed from campground to campground like a shopper scurrying through the aisles at a department store on half-price Saturday. So much to see, so little time! Rarely did I spend more than a day in one place. I’d pull into a campground in the afternoon, sample the attractions, hike some of the trails, and be on my way to another campground by noon the next day.

Then I got married. At first, Suzanne tolerated my whirlwind RV pace. But she’s a laid-back, spiritual person who prefers strolling to striding, and soon she began to protest what she dubbed our “one-night stands.” We ought to stay a week, she said, to relax and properly explore a destination. I maintained that with so many interesting places to visit, we should keep moving to squeeze in all we could in the allotted vacation time.

So we compromised: at least three days everywhere, unless a long distance between destinations, or bad weather or mechanical trouble en route, necessitated an overnight stop. We could stay longer than three days, if each of us agreed.

While Suzanne reveled in the extra time, I felt shackled at first. After the usual post-arrival sightseeing at a particular campground, I’d find myself inside our fifth-wheel, reviewing the route to the next destination on the road atlas, oppressed with another day or two until the three-day rule permitted a departure. To occupy myself, I began revisiting the local attractions. I also started spending more time there initially, knowing I had three days to fill. (With Suzanne holding my hand to slow me down, it was impossible to rush around, anyway.)

Now I studied museum exhibits tucked into corners I would have hurried by before. I read informational placards I would have previously ignored, and attended educational talks by rangers I would have avoided in a one-day visit. Soon, I found myself admitting that the additional attention enriched each experience, just as reading a book is more meaningful than merely skimming it. We were stopping at fewer campgrounds but enjoying each one more.

LINGERING AT DESTINATIONS also created opportunities for day trips that added further spice. On a recent RV outing we stayed at Three-Island Crossing State Park in southwestern Idaho. My one-day habit would have restricted us to sights within the park. Because of the three-day rule, we had the freedom to hike a whole afternoon in Little City of Rocks 30 miles away, a BLM-administered valley of wondrous gargoyle-like rock formations.

On the same vacation our three days at Massacre Rocks State Park, in south central Idaho, allowed a 60-mile drive to the original site of old Fort Hall, a major trading post and Oregon Trail refuge built on the Snake River in 1832. The site lies in a remote section of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, and we had to obtain written permission from the Tribal Business Council to enter the area. Without a commitment to stay at least three days at the state park, we might have left before taking the time to savor the sense of history that radiates from this quiet place.

But for the three-day rule, in fact, we might not have learned about Little City of Rocks or the old Fort Hall site at all. On my own, I had done only minimal research for a trip. Instead, I would choose a general region — southern Utah, say — and plan on making spontaneous stops at campgrounds within it as I came to them. If a particular spot seemed especially interesting, I would linger. If not — another one-night stand. Now, under the three-day rule, we research extensively not only the region but specific campgrounds and their surrounding areas to select those that promise to best justify three days of our time. That’s how we discovered these two highlights.

Dyson handheld vacuum: easily stored, perfect for RVers

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Dyson handheld vacuum: easily stored, perfect for RVers

By Eric Brotman
RVtravel.com

At least one portable, efficient and lightweight vacuum cleaner is popular among RVers, and others, around the world. Look at the packaging in the box containing Dyson’s DC34 handheld vacuum and you’ll see a warning to properly dispose of a plastic bag (so children won’t play with it) printed in over 20 languages.

There’s other unusual information in the product box: “Dyson machines are exhibited in the following museums: New York’s Museum of Modern Art, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, Zurich’s Design Museum, The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris.”

That’s high status for a line of machines made to suction away dust balls and dog hair.

And the DC34 looks different from other vacuum cleaners. Part of it resembles a construction tool, another part would seem at home under the hood of a car, and the middle section looks like it could brew a cup of coffee.

Maybe those are all signs of genius.

For RVers who simply want a superior vacuum cleaner, the facts speak as loudly as the art. The DC34 does not emit carbon, thanks to an innovative digital motor that spins at 98,000 rpm — five times faster than an Indy car engine.

It has two speeds, high and maximum, plus three attachments: a crevice tool and a clever, two-in-one debris nozzle that converts to a brush tool in two seconds. A Dyson video shows the vacuum falling from several feet above a hard floor without breaking.

Holding the vacuum over a trash bin while pushing a button will quickly release dirt and debris. The debris chamber can then be snapped back up into position. The unit weighs just 3 lbs.

Dyson’s DC34 comes with a 2-year warranty on parts and labor. It retails for $199, but is available for about $175 at Amazon.com. Learn more about the product Dyson.com.

CLICK THE VIDEO FOR A DEMONSTRATION.

 

How to troubleshoot electronically controlled RV appliances

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By Russ and Tiña De Maris

Perhaps some of the most mysterious of RV technical issues surrounds electronically controlled appliances. ‘Back in the old days,’ as some of us recall, we didn’t have fancy control boards on refrigerators, furnaces, and water heaters. Of course, ‘back in the old days,’ a lot of us had to go outside in the cold or heat to light off those selfsame appliances.

Screen Shot 2016-04-07 at 8.45.01 PMNowadays, the trouble is, when things start getting “buggy,” it can be difficult to track down the problem. Not long ago one of our 3-way refrigerators, which had been a straight-A student, suddenly went rebellious on us. Sitting on a hot parking lot just outside of Old Mexico, our refrigerator stopped being a chill box, and the threat of global warming parked itself right in the middle of our kitchen. Only by turning on the generator and resorting to “shore power,” would we get any chill in the box. Gas didn’t light, and DC simply knocked all the low voltage power out throughout the rig. We cut our time in the field short and headed back to base camp.

In a safe harbor with another working ‘fridge available, we started down through the diagnostics process. The whole works pointed to a control board failure — or so it seemed. We contacted an RV refrigeration supplier who opined that it ‘sounded like’ a board too, but he couldn’t really be sure without running tests on it. Too bad he was 1,500 miles away. Finally, we called the horse’s mouth–or should we say, the Dinosaur’s mouth.

Yep, when campfire talk comes around the appliance control board problems, the name that probably gets mentioned the most is Dinosaur. Built by a seemingly obscure company, in an equally obscure town (OK, maybe not real obscure, Lincoln City, Oregon), Dinosaur boards are the leading word in replacement control boards. The Dino-folks build replacement boards for just about every RV appliance (and generator) application there is. We called in and immediately tied into one of Dinosaur’s tech fellows. After an initial discussion of the problem, the technician asked if we wouldn’t mind checking a couple of things “in situ,” right on the back of the refrigerator. Thanks to cell phone portability, the Dino-tech walked us through a series of tests with a digital multi-tester that soon assured us that in fact, our refrigerator control board was ready for the scrap pile.

TO HIS CREDIT in addition to making a suggestion for a given Dinosaur board, the technician did suggest we could try an OEM replacement board. Maybe there was a bit of tongue-in-cheek here, because the old “pudding covered” board out of the back of our ‘fridge was “out of production” from the reefer maker. That’s a common complaint among RVers: Seems like a lot of the control boards aren’t “replaceable” with OEM boards–it’s a case of “Well, we’d be happy to direct you to a dealer where you can by a new refrigerator, furnace, water heater, etc.

Bottom line: We got a new refrigerator control board, and after it was installed, everything was as happy as could be. The new DINO board even had a function our OEM didn’t have — the ability to fine-tune how “cold” or “warm” we wanted our refrig to run. Our advice? Got a board problem? Contact the Dinosaur folks without delay. Dinosaur Electronics can be reached by phone at 541-994-4344 8 am-5 pm Monday through Friday, Pacific time or at the company website.

Let Google fix your RV

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By Bob Difley

In the early days when many of us were just starting our RV lifestyle, keeping our RVs repaired usually required a trip to the RV tech or the mechanic, knowing it was going to take a chunk out of our wallets.

Our alternate options at the time were to seek help from a friend (often more harm than help), or go to the library and pore over repair manuals— if you could find one that you needed for a particular job.

But that all changed with the Internet age, especially with search engines like Google and Bing, and adding in altruistic RVers who post clear and concise step-by-step directions, photos, even videos of everything from testing and analyzing your RV systems and appliances to completing the necessary repairs or replacements — including the tools and parts you will need to do it.

If you haven’t tried it yet, the next time you have something fail, Google it. Look at several different Web pages and find the one that makes the most sense to you. You will be surprised how much maintenance and repair you will be able to take care of yourself with proper instructions — as well as all the money you can save on shop repairs.

You can find Bob Difley’s RVing e-books on Amazon Kindle.

Traveling burger grilling done safely

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By Russ and Tiña De Maris

It was J. Wellington Wimpy, Popeye’s sidekick, who oft pled: “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” Hard-luck Wimpy was rarely rewarded with such a request and so, to get the lunch he so desired, may have turned to the grill.

Wimpy isn’t alone. Face it — who among us mortal men can simply refuse a burger? There’s just something so tempting, so tantalizing, so downright tasty about a chunk of ground beef in a bun, slathered with mayo, pickles, tomato, lettuce, onions — I digress. But before you slap the beef on the bun, oh traveling burgermeister, it’s best to make sure your culinary creation meets the standard of safety.

Beware the wanton deviant in this drama. Illness, thy name is O157:H7 (among others) — aka, E. coli. This irreverent bacteria is no respecter of age, status or social standing. The nasty little bug, and friends of his, can lay low, even kill off an unsuspecting slurper-up of undercooked ground beef. And pushing on your patty with a paddle won’t tell you if the burger is safe to eat.

The answer: Invest in a simple meat cooking thermometer. The “instant tell” digital, available for around $10, can make your life at the grill sweeter and safer. Just poke the tip of the thermometer in the side of the burger and run the probe down to the center point of the patty. If it reads less than 160 degrees, keep cooking. Once the 160 point is reached, those dastardly bacteria are gone. Chomp away, Wimp!

photo: U.S. Government.

Floor or wall heat registers – which are best for you?

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Floor or wall heat registers – which are best for you?

By Dave Helgeson

There are many items to consider when purchasing an RV. Type, length, floor plan, color scheme, number of beds, tank capacity, etc. However, few people ever take into consideration the type of heat register the RV is equipped with and some later regret their decision. Typically, manufacturers will use either wall registers or floor registers. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each.

Heat ducts with wall registers are run within the living space of the RV, which takes away from the usable space of the RV, especially storage space. Just open a cabinet or two near the floor line of a RV you’re considering purchasing and you will see the downside of this system. Much of the storage space is impacted by the duct work, and most likely exposed freshwater lines too. When looking at the ducts, notice they are made of accordion-like material, much like the dryer hose in your home. The inside of this duct work is not smooth and thus not very efficient in allowing hot air to travel from the furnace to the register.

Conversely, the duct work connected to floor registers is built into the floor of the RV, which does not impact cabinet storage. Typically, manufacturers that use floor ducting also run the freshwater lines in the floor along the heat ducts, freeing up more storage space under the cabinets. In addition, floor ducts are made of smooth sheet metal much like the duct work in homes, allowing for more efficient delivery of hot air to the registers.

Based on the above, you might think that floor registers hold a clear advantage over wall registers, but that is not the case, as floor registers have their disadvantages, too. Many of those enjoying the RV lifestyle travel with a dog. If that dog happens to be a breed that sheds hair, floor registers may not be the best choice for you. Dog hair readily finds its way into the duct work. Needless to say, removing the hair can be a constant hindrance to enjoying your RV and pet.

As mentioned above, freshwater lines are typically located in the floor next to the ducts to protect them from freezing in cold weather. This is great as long as you run the furnace in the RV when the outdoor temperature is below freezing. However, if you are like many RVers, you carry an electric heater to save propane when your RV is hooked up to shore power. Unlike under-cabinet freshwater lines that are within the confines of the insulated body of the RV, lines in the floor are much less protected from freezing temperatures and will freeze if the furnace is not in operation. While the plastic pipes and fittings are unlikely to burst, the flow of freshwater in the RV will cease until they thaw out.

While the type of heat register won’t be on the top of your list when deciding which RV to purchase, it should be taken into consideration if you are a dog owner, want to maximize storage, or use your RV during freezing weather.

If you do settle on floor registers, make yourself an adapter (heat a section of plastic pipe and flatten it to the appropriate size) for your vacuum, as pictured, to get into the ducts without their removal.  By not removing them as frequently for cleaning, you lessen the chance of stripping out the screws and creating yet another problem.

The dirty dog and the locked door

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By Steve Savage, Mobility RV Service

No, this post is not about a dog eating anyone’s homework. I had an RV service call, all because a large boxer had jumped up and switched the dead bolt on the door. The owners were outside and, sure enough, they didn’t have their keys with them.

Now, if you happen to get locked out of your RV, or simply lose your keys, here are some things that might help. First of all, do not try to force the door with a screwdriver or crowbar. Yes, it will work, but it also will bend the edge of the door, and that edge is all but impossible to straighten.

If you have locked the door using only the upper lock, many RV technicians and dealerships have master keys and can open that lock. It is unlikely you will have success using someone else’s key, although it is a remote possibility.

If you have locked the bottom lock, which is the dead bolt, master keys do not work (at least not any I have seen) — so now what? Even when you are locked out via the dead bolt, I normally can open the door and it will take me longer to get the tool I need off my truck than to open the door. I am not going to go into detail about how to do this, as I know there are bad people who search the Internet and try to find new ways to do bad things. Most technicians know how to do the same thing and although you will not walk away free-of-charge, the cost will be dramatically less than replacing the door.

Or how about a spare key in your wallet?

photo: public domain image courtesy pdpics.com

Dry rot fix in a bottle may be just what you need

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By Russ and Tiña De Maris

Many RVs, particularly older ones, have a fair amount of wood in their structure. And wood, sad to say, is subject to the rigors of life in a moisture-filled environment. If not thoroughly protected, dry rot can be the result.

Some time back we acquired a truck camper “project” that must have led a colorful life in some prior owner’s hands — read “low branches” with a rubber roof, and you know what can happen there. Instead of using the right repair materials, the job was a half-baked thing that leaked, and there was a spot in the underlying plywood decking where water got in — a soft patch of decking with the layers of plywood actually separating. What’s to do?

Short of a major renovation including plywood removal, installation of a new roof, and all the attendant financial ramifications, we tried a pilot project. The folks from Elmer’s (of glue fame) have a dry rot killer/wood stabilizer product and (on our own) we went about using the stuff to see if it would resolve our problem.

After peeling back the EPDM rubber roofing material, we removed loose plywood, bored small holes throughout the area, and impregnated the plywood thoroughly with Elmer’s Rotted Wood Stabilizer. We then temporarily ran screws throughout the area to bring the plywood layers together. After allowing 24 hours in warm air to dry, we pulled the screws, spread layers of exterior wood filler, dried, sanded, and buttoned it up.

Our immediate observations revealed that the plywood most decidedly hardened up —although we weren’t willing to risk walking on it — we never walk on our RV roof anyway. We had hoped to see how it lasted over a period of years, but sad to say, the poor maintenance routines that we’d inherited when we bought the rig closed in on other places around the roof. We had to remove the entire roof and work a different routine.

Still, for the several months that the Elmer’s product had been in place, it stood the test. This may be something you’ll want to try on a “project” rig of your own.

Free camping — at wildlife refuges

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Free camping — at wildlife refuges

By Bib Difley

Be on the lookout for Fish and Wildlife refuges, both national and state, for good boondocking and cheap camping opportunities. When there is no hunting season active, these refuges can be deserted. Though policies vary with each state, at some of these wildlife resources you can camp either free or very cheap.

Some refuges can be quite scenic, on ponds maintained for ducks for instance. In some states (California is one example) you can camp free if you have a state fishing or hunting license. If not, you can still camp but will have to pay, usually a very reasonable fee.

Check online or at regional Fish & Game offices for policies and locations — but avoid during hunting seasons.

(Photo: Finney-Ramer Unit of California’s Imperial Wildlife Area)

You can find Bob Difley’s RVing e-books on Amazon Kindle.

Putting RV cabinets on lockdown

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By Jim Twamley

A couple of full-time RVers I met on the road proved that solving perennial RV problems doesn’t have to be complicated, norexpensive. They have an easy solution for locking down the RV bathroom medicine cabinet when they travel. They use a dual sided hook and latch strap and screwed one end into the side of the cabinet. When they’re ready to travel they simply loop the strap through the cabinet handle and secure it.

Simple, yet effective in keeping your stuff where it belongs.

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