SweetLifeRVing Tips Archive

Problem: Exterior rubber molding getting stained from mold or rust.

Solution: I found that putting Comet scrubbing cleanser on a piece of paper towel I could remove the stain with a little water and rubbing.

While cleaning and waxing the exterior of the motorhome, I noticed the rubber molding was staying stained from mold and rust.

After putting a little Comet cleanser on a piece of paper towel and wetting it. I was able to remove the stain. I tried a lot of other cleansers and cleaner wax and it never touched it before.

Problem: Where to put the Laptop computer in a convience place.
Solution: Denny thought of a clever way to make a mini slide out holder for laptop computer on our motorhome dining room table.

The mini slide out holder only holds the laptop computer so you can lift it up on the table and use.

When the drawer is closed it is neatly concealed away. If you made it long enough to work on it would of stuck out in view.

Example of laptop on the drawer. Since there is a electric plug and phone jack under the table it makes it perfect spot.
Also he installed it so it was towards the rear of the motorhome. This way you don't have to put it away on your travels. The drawer stays in on emergency braking stops.

Example of laptop on drawer in the closed position.

The rails for this drawer was able to be purchased at Home Depot. Denny installed a extra strip of wood on table frame to mount left rail to table. This way the table can be expanded to put leaf extension in for guest, without taking a part drawer.

The right rail conviently attached to table edge that was mounted to wall.

The drawer wood was purchased as already finished and then Denny used a molding trim on both sides to keep the laptop from sliding off the drawer. The drawer edges by the rails did not need trim since the rails held the laptop in on the sides.

The cost was around 30 dollars. But it makes a perfect desk for us to use on our travels. We like to have a place to put things so our guest always have a place to sit down :~).

Problem : Tire failure notification. Two times we had tire failures without being aware of it occurring. One time it was our towed car. A passing motorist passed by and pointed to his left front tire after getting attention. We pulled over after checking our rear camera and mirrors and did not notice anything wrong. The towed car was looking good and the sides of the RV was okay. Investigation showed the left front tire of the towed car was completely missing. The wheel was okay and the fender was not damaged.

The second incident was driving out in California. We pulled into the campsite and notice air leaking out of the extension valve for the left rear dual tire (See last tip about valve extensions). The tire was already down to 60 psi from 90 psi. Another 30 minutes and I would of cause damage to the tire and maybe RV fender well. Also being stuck on the side of the road in the desert. Denny was not going for the third incident. So he ordered a Tire Monitor Device.

Solution : Fleet Specialties Co. has a very easy system to install on your own. Its called Tire Sentry and its portable to another RV if you decide to buy a new RV. Denny liked this system because he did not have to have all the RV tires and the towed car tires pulled off to install sensors inside the wheels. This would of been a very expensive process.

The display is 2 inches and was designed for your RV. In our case we have a Motorhome with 6 tires and a towed car with 4 tires. The display shows a diagram of the motorhome and car.

It is easily mounted in the dash if you wish to drill 2 inches. In our case, Denny purchased a 2 inch gauge mount for under the dash. This lets you remove it if you decide to sell your coach. The connections were easy. Two power leads. One to a ignition power source and the other to a continuos power source. Then another connection to a ground. Then you hook up a antenna cable that you feed to the outside and run it along the chassis and towards the back to monitor the connected vehicle.

After you do this each valve sensor is numbered in the easy instructions and already set to your requested tire pressure showing what wheel to install it on. They screw on to the valve and are radio controlled to monitor the tire. You do each tire one at a time to see if it is monitoring on the display properly.

This shows how each valve is marked under the protective grey cover. Each valve sensor only weighs one ounce. And the battery is not used unless the tire sensor reads the tire pressure in a drop of 10% or more. So therefore the batteries last up to 2 years. The display also will notify you if a battery is going low.

I know what your asking! What if I change the towed car and RV and the tire pressure changes? Well Fleet Specialties even thought of that. You can open the sensor and use a screwdriver to change the sensor from a wide range of pressure. The photo shows the plastic protective cover and the sensor opened up to get access to the two watch batteries and pressure adjustment.

The sensor will display what tire is going low (see above photo) by a red light flashing and a beep. Fleet Specialities even made it better. Even while parked in a campground the system monitors your tires and will display a flashing red light only on the tire going low. I park the towed car close to the rear of the RV and it also monitors that too. So I now will not be all dressed up and going out to be surprised by a flat tire.

The system cost me $609 dollars and was easy to install on my own ( the price will vary with the amount of tire sensors you will need). Denny now has the peace of mind while driving to be notified if a tire is low in pressure. He will not as often, need to check the dual tires and check the car tires at every rest break stop. Even if it looses air quickly, it will notify me to get off the road before it starts to break a part and cause damage to the fender well or RV. The price of the Tire Sentry is worth having to pay a 500 dollar deductible towards your insurance to repair your RV. Not counting the loss of having your RV in the shop for the repair. Allow one month for ordering, so it can be designed and set up for easily installation.
You can contact Fleet Specialties Co. at 1 (800) 350-3556 or (818) 889-1716 pacific time or visit there website at www.tiresentry.com.

Problem: Dual Wheel Valve Extensions getting cut from the Wheel cover or Simulator Cap. Even when its steel braided. Another 30 minutes and we would of ruined a tire and got stranded along the highway if I didn't discover it.

Solution: I figured even if you put a cover over the hose it will still cut through it. The problem is the razor edge on the the wheel cover.

So, I took auto door trim and put it on the inside edge of the vent hole. The trim comes in the color black or chrome. It also has a glue strip inside to hold it on. Now the hose lays against the plastic trim and not the sharp steel edge.

Problem: Campgrounds are getting tougher in allowing you to wash your RV or other vehicles. They either charge you a small fee to use the water, or do not allow it at all. Some have well water that I don't like using it to shower or wash my clothes in. So I won't use it to wash my vehicles with it. Then after all that you are still worn out to wax your RV or vehicle.

Solution: BOM Products ® in Naples, Florida has a product that is simply amazing. The Bom gives you a way to wipe off a dirty vehicle with the solution and polish it dry. That's right only two steps. No more hosing down your vehicle, getting wet, drying it, then applying wax and buffing it off. It simply wipes on a dirty vehicle and polishes off easily. It claims to protect up to 6 months. I would be happy to even do it every 3 months. Boms Away is a fantastic metal cleaner that will make aluminum wheels shine like chrome.

I used The Bom on my Jeep Liberty. After getting done with the whole vehicle I still had what felt like a full bottle. Then a neighbor RVer pulled in and had bugs all over the front of his RV. The Bom took them right off and made it feel a smooth as glass. He took the information down to order some for himself. I still used very little of the product. I feel we can do our motorhome 3 times over before I need to buy another bottle. Another thing I am going to use it on is the fiberglass shower stall walls and glass doors. It will help the water roll off. The Bom can be used on all types of material.

I got the combination of The Bom and Boms Away. It came with a chammy and a micro fiber cloth. You simply dampen the chammy with water and spray two mist of The Bom on the cloth. Then you wipe a large area. After that you take the micro fiber cloth and dry it off. The Bom lifts the dirt away to protect from scratching your finish. The Micro Fiber cloth dries and bring your finish to a smooth as glass feeling.

Question: How do I keep the heat from coming in the front windshield of the motorhome during the hot summer days

Answer: On my Gasoline motorhome I had a front privacy screen that snapped on. It was a pain on getting a ladder out and also monitoring the silicone around each snap for the screen. I also was concerned later in replacing the screen and having to match the drilled snaps.

I found out from another RV'er when we bought our new RV about a prompt privacy screen.

Question: Fantastic Fan in our motor coach had no automatic features to it in temperature or vent cover.

Answer: Contact Fantastic Fan Corporation at 1-800-521-0298. They will ask you to describe your present fantastic fan to them over the phone and will suggest your options to you.

We contacted them and had our Fantastic Fan changed out to a temperature controlled fan that will automatically open the vent cover turn on the fan and close it to maintain a set temperature in the coach. If it rains the fan has a rain sensor and will shut automatically . The installation is easily done to change the controls out by the diagram's they send. You can also call them and have them walk you through the operation step by step. The cost was 80 dollars total. Fantastic Fan rep's told me that they are a company that stands behind their products, and constantly send free parts to out of warranty fans. They are truly a exceptional company.

The automatic fan is very nice to have when you have a pet like we do. We have it set to go on in hot temperatures, to cool the coach down if the electric or A/C's go out. Remember the Fantastic Fans are run by House batteries if the AC current goes out. The nice thing about a RV is having alternative power (AC, DC, generator, invertor, or LP gas for your refrigerator).

A picture of the fan shows the temperature setting on the bottom left. The automatic vent cover opener on the top left (Can be manually opened too).
The air direction in or out on the top right.
The speed of the fan on the bottom right.

Question: I am staying at a campground that does not provide sewage hookup at the camp site itself. How can I make my gray tank last a little longer?

Answer: I learned this one from Joe and Vicky at the Great American RV Rally. It really came in handy for us on this location that we are at now. The campground is located on the Mississippi and there is no sewage lines allowed in a flood area.
To answer your question, I learned to use a Dish pan to wash the dishes. I then pour that water in the toilet after I am finished. It saves filling up the gray tank that much sooner, and it helps add water to flush out the black tank even better. Joe and Vicky use two dish pans, one to scrub, and one to rinse. I just use one, and place the dishes in as I do them. Like Joe and Vicky said at the Rally, count your silverware. I would hate to have you lose a fork down the toilet.

August-September 2001

Question: What is over loading?

Answer: Overloading is when you take the vehicle past it's payload carrying capacity. This is a picture of a camper who doesn't know his payload capacity.

Things to notice:

1)The front end is higher then the back
Reason: Load is not distributed evenly, causing excessive stress on the rear tires and suspension. This also gives the driver little control in steering in wet roads, because the tires are barely riding on the ground.

2) The rear tires are bowed outward on the bottom.
Reason: The suspension is once again overloaded and this causes uneven tire wear. The uneven tire wear will eventually cause the tires to blow if not corrected.

3) Three containers for items additional on the roof and back bumper.
Reason: Loves to collect things, or out grew their living space. If the motorhome has so much storage space then it means you can't add more.

The scary part is all five adults who were using the motorhome were outside eating. Meaning this motorhome will look a lot worse when all of them get back in.

June 2001

Problem: Should you, or should you not travel or pump gas with LP tank on.

Solution: You should not pump the Gas or be in a Gas Station while your LP is on!!!! Reason is that the Refrigerator or Water heater LP may come on while gas fumes are vaporing along the ground. This could cause a major flash back causing a explosion or fire.

One of the pains I had was turning off the LP tank during gas stations visits was common, because it was on the other side of the RV. We found out at the RV Rally that your refrigerator would stay cool enough for your food and last up to 8 to 10 hours without being turned, on depending on the amount of times you open it during traveling.

Reports have shown that 45% of the RV Fires that happen were results from refrigerator being in LP Mode while traveling or a LP Tank line was ruptured from road debris hitting it.

We now turn off the LP tank before we pull out, and since we only travel 6 hours a day it has no problem staying plenty cool for our food. This makes it a lot less hassle while fueling up now, because the LP tank is already turned off.

May 2001

Problem: The walls of a RV are filled up with switches and are very limited to hanging several pictures to make your RV living in it full time like a home.

Solution: We figured out by taking a poster frame and putting black construction paper behind the pictures we were able to have several pictures of our past travels and family to enjoy looking at them. We installed them by leaning against the window framed ledge and swivel hooks. Now we can sit on the couch, have our guest see them when they visit, and make it feel like our home.

Pictures on black paper in a poster frame.

Mounted above the dining window.

We can enjoy, and so can our guest from the living room area.

March 2001

Problem: The bed over the light and dresser had only one option to turn on both lights.

Solution: I went to hardware store and bought a 3 way switch and installed in in the back of the light.

The bedroom light had only two options for the two bulbs. Off or on.	Te problem was it was in my eyes if I was watching TV and Dale was reading a book using the light.	I installed a three way switch on the fixture the lets me turn the bulbs on three ways.
Right side on.	Left side on.	Or both on if we are both reading. The main black switch (in the center) holds the setting and turns the fixture on or off.

January 2001

Problem: Slideouts used in dark parking area's. A concern for other vehicles seeing the slideout while pulling in next to your motorhome has been a issue. I hear horror stories about rest stops and semi trucks hitting the slide out when its open.

Solution: You could not open your slide out in tight area's or do what I did. I purchased 3m's white reflective tape and placed it in the inside corners of the slide. This helps show the corners in total darkness when headlights hit it. It may not totally prevent an accident from happening, but it will make a difference.

Solution: Shut the gray water valve closed the day before you remove the draining hose. This will let you be able to clean the hose out with the soap water after emptying the sewage tank. This is specially helpful if you don't have a flushing system like our motor home does. I still do this with a flushing system. That way I know its cleaned out well.

November 2000

Problem: refrigerator keeps going in check status while using gas power during travels.

Solution: Dometic makes a wind diffuser plate for the back of the vent area for the refrigerator. It's under warranty and is easy to install. This stopped the Awning supports deflecting the wind into the vent stronger then normal and causing the pilot light to go out in gas mode while traveling. Now the diffuser plate stops the refrigerator pilot light from being reset while traveling.

Problem: Patio awning becomes filled with water and will eventually collapse.

Solution: Thanks to Sam for telling me about this one before it happened. Tilt one side awning down by the adjusting support. This will help let the water run off to one side, when it rains. Also go to Home depot and buy the brackets that screw down into the ground. Using the rachet straps to hold it down in case you get strong winds with the rain will help you save from replacing the awning or repairing the motorhome exterior.

Awning tilted to the left to prevent water building up when it rains.

Rachet straps looped around awning to prevent winds up to 30 MPH damaging awning

Strap then hooked to the ground

Used a screw in anchor to hold strap with a spring. The anchor can be purchased at Home depot.

Problem: The corners of a screen door on a motorhome are very sharp. We had our dog try to dart inside while it was closing and it lacerated his side open. The dog needed surgery and he was lucky that it did not permanently scar him.

Solution: Denny placed auto door molding around the corners to prevent any more mishaps