It was a lot of good information; much of it was repeat for us, but still good because you don't get it *all* the first time through. There was a lot of helpful information about things that we want to consider and look into regarding our rig.
RV Systems
- Get a rope that is as long as the slide out depth to check to be sure there is enough room for the slides to go out before finishing setup for parking.
- Clean gas burner of refrigerator, make sure the compartment behind the refrigerator is clear of any debris from animals or insects - once/year. Check drain tube. Look for yellow powder behind refrigerator.
- Maintain our slide mechanism and slide seals - once/year or once/6 months.
- Pull the manual out and study what the manual retract procedure is, just in case.
- Have spare fuses available for 12V systems - the 110V system has breakers, but the 12V has fuses, and if one blows, we would probably like to be able to replace it without a trip to the hardware or automotive store.
- Look for phantom loads on our 12V system - if there are things drawing power from the batteries all the time, that will be a problem when we boondock and want to be able to minimize power usage. We know that the multiplier for the Tire Pressure Monitoring System is creating a continuous load on the 12V system, so we want to be able to turn it off.
- Don't use the inverter if the loads you want to run are all 12V; the inverter takes some of the battery power too. Without the inverter, you run directly off the batteries.
- Things that require the inverter: charging cell phone, computers
- With our auto-gen-start that we got to turn on the generator if the coach is stopped and we don't have shore power and the temps get too high (so the generator is started and the a/c comes on) - we can also program it to (1) check the current charge level on the batteries and start the generator to charge the batteries if needed and (2) know about "quiet times" when we cannot run the generator, so it will "top off" the batteries before quiet time.
- House batteries recharge off the generator, shore power, or even by the alternator when you're driving down the road.
- They also talked about AGM batteries that don't need to have water fill, but are about 3 times the cost of a regular lead acid battery.
- Look into 3 stage charger or inverter charger.
- Ohms Law (I learned this in Physics class, I should know this!!!): Watts = Amps * Voltage
- 1A AC (110 V) takes 10A DC
- Check battery water 1/month; in hot weather or when you are really working your batteries, do it more frequently. Remove negative cable from battery first.
- There's a lot more I want to learn about the charging of the 12V system - whether we should look into solar, what else we could convert to LED to reduce the load on the 12V system - for a future day.
- rvsolarelectirc.com
- Full service on the generator once/year.
- Check anode rod on water heater once/year. Need a small bottle brus to clean the tube on water heater. Adjust the flame until it is mostly blue with a little yellow.
- Turn off all appliances before refueling (gas, diesel, or LP).
- Need to get a replacement propane detector (every 5 years).
- Water systems need to be winterized if they are going to be stored; the water systems should be ok down to low 20s if you are living in it (heat on, systems being used). Maybe down to 25* if it is stored.
- Consider a "straw feed" on the bathroom sink so water only is on when we need it on.
- Look into "dinosaur boards" as replacement for igniter of propane in water heater, heater, refrigerator.
- Get acquainted with downshifting - particularly when approaching a significant downhill. If there is a warning to truckers, that is a warning to us also.
- Checklist before moving - he indicated that their practice was that she dealt with everything inside, and he dealt with everything outside, and they switched places to check that everything was done.
- places to look: rvnetwork.com, rv.net, irv2.com, rvusa.com, rvtalk.net,
- rv.org - RV Consumer group - rate RVs - handling characteristics, wheelbase-to-length ratio, resale indicator, payload capacity, price/discount range
- nada.com for resale prices
- Typically new RVs will go back to the manufacturer 4 times for repair
- rvsafetyinfo.com
- CRS - Can't Remember Stuff
- CFS - Can't Find Stuff
- DC - Don't Cook
- Another session by "Mac the Fire Guy"
- Have a "bail-out bag" that has enough to survive 3 days - color copies of ids, credit card, old cell phone and charger, prescriptions, underwear.
- Approximately 20 seconds to exit the coach from time that the smoke detector goes off.
- Look into Retama Village
- Look into "gypsies on the road"
- Workamping - sugarbeets in Montana - sign up June/July - use Glyn's name (Glyn Carson)
- Express Employment - Dept of Interior for BLM - volunteer or camphost
- Get "social cards" - business card with picture of us and our rig
- If get into Coast-to-Coast, home park of Breckinridge, TN or Southern Trails in GA
- RV Park Reviews - review every park we stay in; can look back just at my entries
- RV-Dreams.com - Howard and Linda, Workamper News
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