How to Improve the Towing Power of Your Ford F150

Last year, I blogged quite a bit on making modifications to your RV, from low cost mods like battery cutoff switches and drip rail extensions to the more elaborate mods like RV cold weather preparation and sliding cargo trays. While I will still continue to write about RV mods, this year I would like to add some articles about making modifications to tow vehicles that help improve your towing experience. Since I tow with a late model Ford F150, many of the articles will focus on mods I’ve made to my own truck. But I would really like to see some mods made to other tow vehicle brands as well that have helped make towing your RV easier and safer. So with that said, the first mod I think that is not often discussed in terms of producing more towing power from your truck is reducing parasitic drag on the engine. Popular mods like tuners, exhaust, intake, etc. are common ways to get a decent boost in power from a gas engine. But a naturally aspirated engine, as in the Ford F150, can only make so much towing power without resorting to forced induction, such as a turbo or supercharger. In addition to the popular mods mentioned above, you can still find some hidden power to be tapped. Where is this hidden power? It’s sucked up by all the belt-driven accessories driven by the engine such as the A/C compressor, alternator, mechanical engine fan, and the power steering pump. One of the largest drags on the engine in terms of power delivery loss is with the mechanical fan, sucking... Read more

Making Modifications to Your RV

I get asked these questions alot: “Is it safe to modify my RV? What about my warranty? Will it be voided?” There is a lot of misinformation floating around about what constitutes a safe mod and what will void your warranty if you do certain kinds of mods. Many RV owners tend to be the “do-it-your-self” types and enjoy “doing the mod”. If you fall in to this group, you should carefully consider the implications of certain mods. You know that really expensive extended warranty that covers your RV “bumper-to-tongue” after the factory warranty runs out that you added when you purchased your new RV? It won’t help one bit if you do a mod that causes a failure on a covered part. So let’s look at what mods are safe to do and what just might cause you some grief down the road if you are not aware of your warranty conditions of coverage. Read more  Read More →

Preparing Your RV for the Colder Months Ahead

As summer winds down, it’s time to prepare your RV for the cooler weather ahead. Fall and winter are really great times to take in the changing seasons on the open road. But when it’s time to turn in for the evening, the overnight temperatures can plummet, especially at higher altitudes, resulting in increased propane usage, interior condensation, and other plumbing-related issues.  And then there is that freak snow storm you wake up to that while beautiful, can catch you off-guard, leaving you unprepared to deal with freezing temperatures.  If you plan to camp well in to the colder months, here are some ways you can make your cold weather RVing ventures less of a chilling experience. 1. Examine your RV’s plumbing to determine what measures may be needed to prevent damage from freezing temperatures. Some RV’s have plumbing exposed to the outside elements. In this case, you should wrap the exposed plumbing with heat tape and foam pipe insulation. . 2. Part of the plumbing system includes the holding tanks. Some RV’s have enclosed holding tanks that are heated by the RV’s furnace through heater ducting to the holding tank areas. As long as the furnace runs occasionally, the tanks won’t freeze unless it’s very cold (below 20F). For those tanks that are not heated and/or enclosed, tank heating pads can be affixed to the bottoms of the tanks. These are very easy to install, thermostatically-controlled, and come in both 12-volt DC... Read more

There Is Magic In This Shower Head

So how do you really like showering in your RV?  Even when using a city water connection without a regulator, a shower can still result in a less than a “pressure-packed” experience. Low water pressure from the shower head is most often caused by the poor design used by most RV manufacturers, save for the high end luxury models. For some reason, they all come with this tiny little hole inside the shower head which is supposed to help save you some water. Well, they definitely do but as a consequence, you can barely rinse the soap out of your hair! You could try and modify the standard shower head to remove the restriction and that can help. But there is another way to magically increase the output pressure of your shower head. Replace it with an Oxygenics Body Spa shower wand. The shower head uses a venturi effect to raise the pressure output  and provide you with a much nicer showering experience. This mod is so easy that you will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. Just unscrew the standard shower head and screw the magic one on. The output is also adjustable, providing a low pressure trickle to a full blown high pressure spray. At the base of the wand is a circular adjuster you simply twist. The only drawback of this mod is that you lose the ability to completely shut off the water supply. The standard shower head allows you to almost stop the water flow using a valve on the back of the head. This feature doesn’t exist on the magic wand. So you might... Read more

10 Low Cost Mods You Can Make to Your RV

In today’s economy, RV owners are either trying to sell their RV to reduce their month cash outlay, or are hanging on to them instead of trading them in on something “bigger and better.” Those who are keeping their RV are instead modifying them with doodads and gizmos to suit their personal needs. There are many ways to go about this and this article focuses on 10 low cost ways you can modify your RV so you can have what the RV manufacturers usually leave out. Read more  Read More →

RV Weather Stations – Weather Junkies Rejoice!

It’s a fine line between observing severe weather and staying away from it. As an RVer, you can experience all kinds of weather situations. Knowing ahead of time what the weather will be during your travels and at your destination is usually easy information to come by. But if you are traveling to a remote area where you cannot readily get weather alerts, modifying your RV with a weather station can help forewarn you of impending severe weather. Read more  Read More →

The Low-Down on Drinking Water Filters

As an RVer, you can come across many different water sources in your travels. Most campgrounds and RV parks take care to ensure their water supply is free of contaminants by pre-filtering the water before it arrives at your RV. Often though, the water doesn’t taste very good either because it was improperly filtered or not filtered at all. Or maybe the chlorine levels are so high to prevent bacterial growth that you think you’re drinking pool water. There are several drinking water filter solutions you can easily modify your RV with to get the best tasting water possible. So here is the low-down on various types of filtration systems available. Read more  Read More →

Get Some Control Over Holding Tank Odors

Holding tank odors can be a real problem, especially if you don’t know how to deal with them. If you are new to the RV scene, this issue is perhaps the most popular complaint (aside from dead batteries!). When purchasing a new RV, part of the delivery process is explaining how to empty and rinse your holding tanks, as well as preventing holding tank odors by using chemicals. But on a particularly hot day, even chemicals can’t stop the odoriferous emanations gagging you out of your RV. It’s the same problem porta-potties have which everyone has probably experienced at one time or another. So what can you do to assist in controlling tank odors? Do the Lil’ Stanker holding tank fan mod. Read more  Read More →

RV Security Improvements – Change Those Locks!

Do you know what CH751 means? It’s a number stamped on your RV storage door lock key. And it’s the same number stamped on almost every RV storage door lock key. Go ahead. Take a look right now. From the factory, most RVs use the same key and lock combination for all the external storage doors. This means you can wait until your camping neighbor leaves the campground for the day and then you can go check out his “stuff” with your key. All kidding aside, to improve your RV security, you should change out those locks or have them re-keyed. This goes for your RV entrance doors as well. Read more  Read More →

Making Your Air Conditioner Generator Friendly

Some RV air conditioners have a difficult time starting when using a generator, especially portable generators. There are a number of factors that contribute to hard starting but most often it’s because there is not enough available power to start the compressor quickly. The compressor motor in a typical RV air conditioner system can draw a tremendous amount of current during it’s start-up time. This can be as high as 50 amps for a typical 15,000 BTU A/C on a hot day. All but the largest of RV generators can struggle to provide this kind of power without significant voltage droop. Not having enough voltage and current to start the A/C compressor, the generator goes in to overload and pops it’s circuit breaker. What can be done to help this situation? Modify your RV air conditioner with a hard start boost capacitor. Read more  Read More →

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