Photovoltaic spray paint turns steel into solar panels

By Bob Difley A European steel company and a university in Wales are putting their collective heads together to develop a spray-on coating that would  transform sheets of steel into solar panels. No Joke. Not only that, but it is efficient, also, with the ability to work even in diffused sunlight. Perfect for states (and countries) in the higher latitudes and those without much bright sunlight. Forward-lookers ate visualizing the automotive industry where photo-sensitive dyes could be applied to generate electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen for fuel cells. Imagine the applications of such a product. No more need to invest thousands of dollars in not-so efficient solar panels for your RV’s roof, and–get this–no range limit for electric vehicles. No more need for users of smart phones, laptop, iPads, or other devices to cart around power cables to re-charge. The power options could be limitless. Fat chance you think? Another hair-brained idea from 20-something science majors who have been smoking something. Think again, if you think the spray-on solar technology is years away from reality. The technology of  ’printing’ these dyes onto steel sheets has already been mastered by a subsidiary of the European steel maker, which is working on a new plant for the production of these steel sheets. They didn’t say whether the spray-on would work on fiberglass. I can’t imagine making RVs out of steel plates just to turn them into... Read more

Quartzsite 2012 RV Show Dates Announced

Every January something happens that is hard to believe, unless you have seen it! Heading to the Big Tent at the Quartzsite RV Show. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved According to the Arizona Highway Department, as many as 750,000 to 1,000,000 people, mostly in recreational vehicles, converge on the sleepy little desert town of Quartzsite, located just 20 miles east of the California border on Interstate 10, for the rock, gem, and mineral shows, plus numerous flea markets and the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show. “If you’re looking for anything related to RVs, you’ll find it at the RV show in Quartzsite,” says Kenny King, show promoter. There will be several hundred new and used RVs on display in 2012 and over a dozen service bays will be offering immediate installation, repairs, and service on many of the items that will be exhibited at the show. This phenomenon started over 35 years ago and is now billed as “The Largest Gathering Of RVers in the World”. The inaugural Quartzsite RV Show opened January 28, 1984 at the corner of Highway 95 (now Central) and Business 10 (now Main Street) in Quartzsite, Arizona. With just 60 exhibitors and a small tent, the “new show in town” was still very popular since the majority of the people in Quartzsite were RVers. In 1987 the show, now re-named the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show, moved up the street to the Quartzsite Trailer Park which was situated directly across from the major attraction... Read more

Rogue Wave by Wave WiFi

Review by Jim Guld www.geeksontour.com If you’re an RVer looking to improve your Internet connections, take a look at the Rogue Wave Wireless Bridge and Ethernet Converter.  I have been working with WiFi equipment almost since the beginning of the technology. I have an arsenal of devices, large and small, that I have collected over our years of RVing.  The Rogue Wave is the latest and I like it. The Purpose of the Rogue Wave Of the three ways to connect to high speed Internet on the road, WiFi, Satellite, and Cellular, WiFi can be the best. WiFi is available in many places and is reasonably priced and often free. WiFi was never designed to cover large areas or go long distances. It was made for small and home offices and Starbucks. Advances in technology and innovative designs can enable communication over much greater distances and over or through obstacles. The Rogue Wave is a device to extend the effective range of a WiFi Hotspot . It works exceptionally well and is easy to set up and use.  Here is a typical scenario for an Rver: You are in an RV park that advertises WiFi, but your computer cannot connect reliably to the Access Point. You can take your computer closer to the AP, and it works fine, but you want to work from the comfort of your own rig. The WiFi built into your laptop is not good enough. A better radio and a better antenna will give you a better connection. One solution might be a USB WiFi adapter. USB WiFi adapters require device drivers and... Read more

RVs Pose Carbon Monoxide Dangers

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas that is toxic and the number one cause of accidental poisoning deaths in the United States. Carbon monoxide can be particularly dangerous in recreational vehicles. The Associated Press recently reported that five people were found dead inside a rented camper at a Tennessee motorcycle festival that raised money for sick children. Investigators said the victims appeared to have been overcome by carbon monoxide fumes that leaked into the camper from a generator. Recreational vehicles are part of a broad spectrum of products called “after-market, modified, or incomplete vehicles,” which also includes limousines, ambulances, conversion vans, and handicapped-accessible vans, reports InjuryBoard.com. These vehicles are either purchased as an incomplete chassis from a major automaker and then assembled into a different finished product or cut apart and modified from their original factory configuration. Unlike original equipment manufacturers (OEM), these non-OEM manufacturers may not be held to the strict design and testing requirements to which original manufacturers are held. In fact, these manufacturers may not even be held to the minimum federal requirements under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). RV manufacturers may not properly seal or vent sources of carbon monoxide gas (either from the engine, exhaust, or generator). In other instances, the equipment may be installed, but a manufacturing defect (like a... Read more

Mark’s RV Garage Season One Finale Released

RV Education 101 releases the season finale of the new Internet based RV How-To series titled “Mark’s RV Garage.” The new episode is available for viewing at www.rvconsumer.com and on You Tube            After 16 bi-monthly episodes the highly anticipated season finale is released, revealing the completed vintage trailer restoration for the very first time. Season finale highlights:  * The Old Yellowstone trailer gets a fresh coat of paint. * Polk installs a new 3,500 pound Dexter axle. * The electric brakes are converted to disc brakes with the addition of new brake rotors, calipers, and a Actulink electric/hydraulic brake actuator. To complete the new braking system Polk adds a DirecLink Network Enhanced brake controller. * Before the trailer can hit the road for the first time Polk installs an Equalizer hitch. * Mark Polk reflects back on season one through a series of Q&A. * All of this and more on the season finale of “Mark’s RV Garage”   If you missed previous episodes of Mark’s RV Garage they are archived at www.rvconsumer.com for easy retreival and viewing Happy RV Learning, Mark Polk www.rvconsumer.com www.rveducation101.com  Read More →

Southwestern Deserts: China Ranch, Anza Borrego

By Bob Difley How to find desert boondocking campsites, the subject of last week’s post, dealt with finding and getting to a boondocking campsite and how to avoid problems. So this week let’s take a look at what to do and where to go after you find the perfect campsite.  This includes lots of different venues, such as historic sites, ghost towns, oases, towns, cities, national parks, state parks, nature destinations, birds and wildlife, events, water sports, rock hounding, and road trips. There is a lot more to see in the desert than a first time visitor might think. Miners and ranchers have been exploiting the desert since before the gold rush, and cattle rustlers, horse thieves, gamblers, dance hall girls, stage robbers, railroad workers, preachers, and gunslingers have traveled the Old Spanish Trail as long ago as 1776, though a viable route was not established until 1829 when Santa Fe merchant, Antonio Armijo, led 60 men and 100 mules to the San Gabriel Mission in Southern California by combining trails blazed by various explorers including mountain man Jedidiah Smith and John Fremont. China Ranch You can wiggle your toes in the same sand along sections of the trail from the China Ranch Date Farm where the trail crosses the Amargosa River (photo) a mile south of the ranch. The history of the ranch is a unique slice of Old West history and the current owners (in the same family since 1970) have built a museum and hiking trails through verdant vegetation along... Read more

Sealy Posturepedic Mattresses Now Available for RVs

Sealy Posturepedic mattresses are going on the road, thanks to an exclusive partnership with Dometic Corp. that will offer Posturepedic recreational vehicle mattresses for the first time, according to a recent news release. “With more than 60 years of designing and building Posturepedic mattresses with support in mind, we’ve realized that a good night sleep extends past the bedroom,” said Jodi Allen, chief marketing officer at Sealy. “Our new partnership with Dometic will bring quality mattresses to RVers no matter what their travel plans and type of RV while they enjoy the open road.” “This is a significant addition to our OEM product line. Sealy has the highest mattress brand awareness in the nation,” said Brad Sargent, vice president of marketing at Dometic. “There’s a lot of choice in the market for RV shoppers out there right now, so a Sealy Posturepedic mattress could easily be the deciding factor in making a purchase.” Founded in 1881, Sealy has been the top mattress brand since 1972 and was in the top ten recognized home product brands in a recent study alongside big names such as Rubbermaid, Tupperware, and La-Z-Boy. Sealy also has the highest customer loyalty and re-purchase rate, with the fastest growing specialty brands for the past three years. “Widespread poor RV mattress quality has long been a black eye on the industry, and RVers know it and talk about it. Too often you hear about people having to add mattress toppers or... Read more

The RVs We Drive – Woodall’s Bloggers Discuss their Personal RV Choices

The RVs We Drive | This Week Only at Woodall’s Campgrounds, RV Blog and Family Camping Blog! This week in the Woodall’s Blog – The RVs WE Drive! Read our expert bloggers as they share the pros and cons of various camping units – from their own personal experience. These posts are about their favorite RVs! What is your RV of choice, and why do you choose that vehicle for your camping trips? Tell us by submitting a guest blog about it at http://blog.woodalls.com/authors/guest-blogger-submission/ . Here’s what one blogger had to say: Looking for Fun with the Fun-Finder How did we select our current RV? Well, I’d like to report that we had unlimited funds and time to select nothing but the very best that satisfied our every whim and need. I’d like to tell you that, but it wouldn’t be true. Instead, I’ll tell you what is probably a common story. We had camped for ma… READ MORE  Read More →

The Iceman Cometh

Are you ready to flock south? A major concentration of snowbirds in Ol' Airy Zonie occurs each winter in the Phoenix area. Pictured above is Usery Mountain Regional Park located north of Mesa. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved You might know a poet, William Shakespeare, who’s Sonnet 73 says: That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang Upon the boughs that shake against the cold Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. The Barb makes reference to autumn here in what would become one of his most famous sonnets. Oh, Autumn, that time of year when the earth changes colors before our very eyes, temperatures start to dip, the light begins to fade away, and RV’s are readying for their migration south to Ol’ Airy Zonie, Southern California, Texas, Florida, or another warm southern destination. So in true Shakespearean style, let’s count the fourteen things—as in the fourteen lines of a sonnet—that will help you prepare your home for an extended absence during the winter: Check expiry dates. Well in advance of your departure, check expiry dates for your passport and other travel documents, driver’s license, motor vehicle registration, vehicle insurance, credit cards, and membership cards—and renew if necessary. Home insurance. Check with your insurance agency to determine how extended absences may affect coverage. Determine if your insurer requires regular walk-throughs during your absence and if... Read more

Southwestern Deserts: How to pick a boondocking campsite

By Bob Difley Getting mugged, having your rig burglarized, or late night visits from would-be thieves are not the areas of most concern for boondockers. Most thieves and other nefarious characters would rather prowl places where there are multiple and easier options to pick from than lone boondockers out in the boonies where options are few. In last week’s post I wrote of the many options for desert camping for snowbirds, from manicured RV resorts to true boondocking spots where you have no amenities and few–if any–neighbors. And those neighbors that you do have will not be of the nefarious persuasion. However, what boondockers in these locations do have to be concerned about are those natural–not man-caused– situations that could get them into trouble. This is how to tackle those “natural” situations: Don’t get stuck When picking a boondocking campsite, the first characteristic to look for is the make up and condition of the access. If you’ve been to Quartzsite or any of the BLM’s LTVA dispersed camping areas you will notice how firm and compact the road surfaces have become from all the heavy vehicle traffic. On this type of surface you won’t find much soft sand that your wheels could sink into.  Look for the same type of road surface in areas less traveled. Usually a short walk along an access road will reveal whether it is solid enough for you to drive on. But you need to take it a further step if you plan... Read more

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