Issue 1025 • January 1, 2019
Welcome to another fabulous edition of RV Travel’s Daily Tips newsletter. Here, you’ll find helpful RV-related, and small-space living, tips from the pros, travel advice, a handy website of the day, our favorite RVing-related products and, of course, a good laugh. Thanks for joining us. We appreciate your readership.
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Happy New Year to you!
May 2019 bring you peace, love, joy and many safe RV travels. We hope you’ll take the road less traveled, adventure more, eat foods you’ve never tried, support small, local businesses, and drive safely. Thank you for a great year together. We look forward to continuing this journey with you. We so appreciate your readership and support.
QUICK TIPS
Oh, what a tangled web we weave …
With electricity expert and veteran RVer Mike Sokol
Do you have a drawer or box full of “wall-wart” power supplies and have no idea what they belong to? Well, the best way to fix this is by marking every power supply you get with a piece of white electrical tape and a Sharpie. Just write something like Yamaha Piano (if you’re a piano player like me), or Linksys Router, and include the date of purchase (if you’re really organized). Now, when the power supplies get mixed up, you can easily figure out where all the strays go. Note that randomly plugging in unknown power supplies to test a piece of gear is dangerous, since plugging in an AC supply, or one with reversed polarity, can quickly damage some electronics. So, always check to be sure you’re using the correct wall wart.D-I-Y awning track hangers
Got an awning track on your rig and want to hang a tarp, a light, or something else from it? You can make your own hangers according to “Instructor Bill.” Cut a piece of paracord to 10″ and melt each end. Chop off a chunk of 1/4″ rigid aluminum tubing (you can sand the edges down for safety and easing through the track). Pull the cord through the tubing, hold ends together and tie a knot. Plan on hanging a tarp? Then slip a 10 mm washer over the tubing with the cord pinched alongside the length of the tubing. The finished hanger can be slid in the awning track. If you want to hang a tarp – pinch the cord again against the tubing and push it through the grommet hole. The washer will prevent the knot from pulling through the tarp grommet. You can extend the length of the paracord to accommodate other hanging items. More info and detailed instructions from popupportal.com here. Paracord is available on Amazon.com.
Worth Pondering
“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.” —Rainer Maria Rilke
RV couch looking yucky? Here are some great tips for DIY RV sofas to spruce up your home on wheels. One of these projects has a built-in wine glass holder for your couch, so you’ll definitely want to click here for that.
MORE QUICK TIPS
No truck to pull your fifth wheel?
For one enterprising individual, this apparently didn’t prove to be a problem. Looking a bit like a refugee from the “Red Green Show,” we can only imagine the work that went into building this definitely original RV “mod.” From the looks of the dolly, somebody must’ve had some engine problems. Posted by scruffs on the google trucks! community.
Some things you might forget to oil …
Steps — If you don’t oil these frequently, they will start sticking and not go all the way in or all the way out. Leveling jacks — These are expensive to replace, so crawl under your RV and spray all sides of the shiny cylinder at least once a month. Slide gears — If you don’t keep these oiled, they will stick or put a heavy load on your motor. Slide motors are expensive to replace. And, of course, grease the chassis when you change the oil. Handles on the storage bins. Entrance door latch and handle. Recliner — An occasional spray of silicone will keep it operating smoothly and quietly. Put a piece of cardboard under your recliner before you spray the silicone and leave it overnight so any excess oil won’t end up on your carpet. Even if you have tile or hardwood floors, it’s still a good idea to keep oil off of your floor. Driver’s seat and the co-pilot’s seat—including all of the cables and controls. I’m sure you will find other things that you can spray. Go for it. Yes, I carry WD-40 with me, but I normally don’t need it as long as I keep things moving freely in the first place by spraying everything regularly with silicone spray. And by spraying everything I don’t have to listen to squeaks either.
From RVing: Less Hassle—More Joy: Secrets of Having More Fun with Your RV—Even on a Limited Budget
Do you have a tip? Send it to Russ (at) rvtravel.com
WEBSITE OF THE DAY
New Year’s Resolutions for RVers
Some of these might seem a little obvious, but we think they’ll lead to a more pleasurable year on the road. Take a look and make some resolutions of your own. Happy 2019 travels!
Check out the long list of great RVing-related websites from RVtravel.com.
Reader Poll
Reader Poll
How good a swimmer are you? Please click here to vote.
Hang up the heavy stuff!
RV walls aren’t exactly designed for having screws or nails driven into them. Enter acrylic mounting tape. This is a clear, double-sided tape that is sturdy enough to hang heavy objects and can easily be removed without doing damage to the walls. Get some on Amazon here.
LEAVE HERE WITH A LAUGH
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Best-selling RV products and Accessories at Amazon.com. UPDATED HOURLY.
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RV Daily Tips Staff
Editor and Publisher: Chuck Woodbury. Managing editor: Diane McGovern. Staff writer: Emily Woodbury. Contributing writers: Russ De Maris, Bob Difley, Gary Bunzer, Roger Marble, Mike Sokol, Greg Illes, J.M. Montigel and Andrew Robinson. Advertising coordinator: Gail Meyring. Marketing director: Jessica Sarvis. IT wrangler: Kim Christiansen.
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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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In my working days I swam 1,000 meters a day. That was about 30 years and at least 30 pounds ago. On a good day nowadays, I can get in 50-100 yards. What exercise I get these days is mostly through walking.
Label the power cord inverter or converter immediately, BUT use a knife to carve the title on it. It is permanent and knives always readily available.
Concerning the lubrication recommendations. Be aware that HWH (makers of most hydraulic leveling jacks) do NOT recommend lubricating them. They suggest that they be CLEANED by either spraying WD40 and wiping clean (do not leave the WD40 on)…. or wash with soap and water and dry off.
Thanks for the tip on the DIY awning hangers. I added the tubing to my Home Depot list.
Best wishes for a safe, happy, and awesome New Year wherever your travels take y’all.
REF: News letter 1024 (12-31). With regard to the heat lamp – be very careful that it does not touch any flammable materials or fluids. Many new construction homes/buildings have burned because of a drop lite and 40, 100 watt bulb left hanging on a 2 x 4 board.
Also, driving on grades comments were made on the transmission – it is true transmissions have lock-outs primarily to protect the engine from over revving. The issue with tranny’s is the fluid temperature. Once it hits around 175-180+ degrees it is gone and burned. The key is to slow down before you start down the grade – and manage the brakes – as with the tranny, “temperature” is the serious problem with riding the brakes – overheat them and you will no longer have any brakes – along with warped disks etc…….
Before venturing into mountainous terrain – I’d suggest a refresher review and/or training; and a transmission temperature gauge – a tachometer is a good idea also, even with an auto tranny.
PS: If you want to practice down hill driving – here is 10% grade just west of Rapid City, SD! (Railroads try to limit grades to 1%!)
Happy trails and New Year too!
It would be nice to see an addendum to the “wall wart article” that tells us how to match up the “wall wart orphans” with their matching “parent”…
Skip
The majority of times the “wall wart orphan” unit has a label with its output marked i.e. 4.5 vdc (volts direct current), 5vac (volts alternating current) etc. The parent usually has markings where the orphan goes stating what the proper input should be. Match the orphan output with the parent input. And in most instances, you cannot plug a damaging voltage into a parent because the voltage, and polarity, are given different size or style plugs.
If too confused, find a friend with a multimeter who can determine the voltage polarity and output of the orphan. You can match it with the parent. and mark the appropriate orphan as Mike Sokol stated.
Kosmic
MUCH better than electrical tape that starts only modestly sticky, then gets gooey and falls off, is to get a silver PAINT marker… highly visible on black adapters, good on white too, does NOT fall off when touched or warm. I mark all new adapters immediately.
For existing adapters, read the specifications on both the adapter and device — you may need a STRONG magnifier — and match VOLTS, AMPS, POLARITY, and whether DC or AC. Without plugging into the wall, test fit the jack. If all match (or all with more amps provided by the adapter), you’re set.
The vast majority of RV/car gear is 2.1mm, center positive 12VDC, and most small electronics are now some variety of 5V to be USB compatible. But, test anything you aren’t SURE of, unless you like to release the angry pixies’ magic voodoo smoke.
Happy New Year!
In regards to the piece about lubricating steps, jacks, etc. RV owners might be well served to refer to their manufacturers guidance on this topic. Lubricant specifications and even “to lube or not to lube” vary between applications.
Yeah my manual specifically stats to NOT lubricate the slide gears. I am assuming since the drive gear is some sort of hard plastic compound that any petroleum product might be harmful to it.
I can swim across a standard hotel pool but that’s about it. However, since blubber floats, I could probably keep myself from drowning for at least a little while. lol
I was an excellent swimmer when a lot younger and even taught swimming, lifesaving, boating, etc. in Boy Scouts. However age and weight have taken its toll. I am very careful when around water these days.