Innovative RV Lighting. Are L.E.D. Lights Worth The Money?

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To know if the added cost for L.E.D. lights is worth it, we will first re-visit an article I wrote in the early spring of this year. 

Innovations to interior and exterior lighting for recreational vehicles strive to meet several needs, appropriate for the intended task, within an acceptable power consumption range and to look good, create an ambience.  While there are additional requirements, these are probably the most common and apparent to the user.  As far as being appropriate for the task at hand, the most common uses are providing light to see in, illumination for vehicle night operation and just plain designer accents.  Power consumption for all but the vehicles moving lights, is a concern.  Low wattage is required to extend the charge state of a battery, or battery bank, during non-electrical AC support such as shore power or generator.   Designer accent lighting can be used indirectly in valances, rope lighting runs, and many other eye catching ideas.

Having adequate interior light for such chores as reading, cooking, etc., requires the use of more illumination.  This in turn uses higher wattages resulting in the shortening of the charge state of the batteries.  This has led to many coaches being equipped with fluorescent light fixtures for decades.  These fluorescent lights provide a great deal of light with far less power usage when compared to incandescent lamps.  Also halogen lighting has become very popular, though certainly not a power saver.  These provide a bright focused lighting and are usually set up in groups with wattage of 10 or so at 12 volts per unit.

The newest innovation slowly finding its way to the recreational vehicle market is the L.E.D. (light emitting diode) lamp.  These draw substantially less power than even fluorescent lights and can today, be found on some models used for tail and clearance lights. Additionally they are showing up in decorative rope lighting.  There are many advantages to these types of lamps including a much longer service life than the regular incandescent bulb.  Regular lamps generally have an expected life of around 1,000 to 2,000 hours, whereas many L.E.D. can provide anywhere from 30 to near 60 thousand hours or more. In brake light applications, they are noticeably faster to illuminate than traditional units.  Also, unlike ballasts, in fluorescent light fixture, there is no R.F. (radio frequency) interference.

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Caster, Camber, and Other Neat Stuff

Before we get to the front end stuff, a comment on Labor Day Weekend.  We spent the week before the weekend parked on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. Friday we headed for Wiscasset Maine to attend a wedding and meet up with daughter Becca, her husband Tobin, and an eight week old grand daughter Elise. Elise is a keeper. But the other eye opener was the lack of folks, traffic, and campers in Maine on Labor day weekend. There was not a No vacancy sign to be seen and the camp ground that we stayed in, a Passport America affiliate, West Side Campground in Wisscasset was only a third full. The economy is taking it’s toll.

Like I said last week, reading a tire is not rocket science as Sean and Kristie Michel, authors of the Long Long Honeymoon blog, recently found out. They wacked a curb with the Airstream and then began a wear tire problem resulting in blown tires. Sean published a photo of the ruined tire and it plainly showed a camber condition. Excessive wear on one side of the tire.

Camber wear will very seldom extend down onto the side wall. When wear does that it is usually low pressure. Camber when excessive will create a pull to one side or a drift. It is simple. When a tire is rolling down the road and the center line of the tire is parallel with the ground the tire will roll straight ahead. If we tip the wheel in, one side of the center line will point up into the air while the other side will extend down and the intersect with the pavement. This makes the tire think that it is an ice cream cone rolling and will roll around the point of the cone. Meaning the open end of the cone (tire) will not roll straight but rather around in a circle, pulling to one side.

In the old days with bias ply tires we used to off set the camber when aligning front ends to over come the tendancy of the car to drift down the crown in the road. Radial tires tend to track truer making the vehicle handle these problems better. So camber is first a tire wearing angle with positive camber being the wheel tipping out at the top while negative camber the wheel tips in at the top. When camber changes the contact point between the tread and the road surface does not change, the tire tilts around this point. There are several angles that also use this patch of contact as the meeting point. These angles are called the Included Angle and is a major part of steering geometry.

Caster can best be illustrated by looking at a shopping cart the next time that you are in a grocery store. If you drew a line through the pivot point for the front wheels of the cart it would intersect the ground in front of the wheels. This leaves the wheels to trail the pivot point and follow. If we try to make thw wheels stay out in front of the pivot, they will swivel right around and follow. In a vehicle caster is changed by tilting that line forwards or backwards so that we can control the angle and the tendency to provide more or less of a tendency to track straight ahead. In other words more positive caster, more straight ahead stability. And as a result uneven caster will create a pull in the direction of the wheel with the most negative caster.

The problem with tilting the pivot line front to back will cause the wheel to lay over when going around a corner. This means that tire edge wear will occur but it will be on both the inner and outer edge, like camber wear but on both sides, so there is a limit to the amount of caster that you can dial into the front end.

Well enough for this week, we will wrap all this up next week and then move on to more stuff. have a great week and keep camping.

Brad

Managing Your Cellular Phone In Your RV

Most recreational vehicle owners carry a cellular telephone now a days, or a P.D.A. (Personal Digital Assistant) like a Blackberry or similar device.  Managing these while operating a motor home or pulling a large trailer can be a challenge.  Particularly when dealing with where to store it and how to use it safely.

It seems most dash boards today lack an area or location that would be suitable to store a phone.  Fortunately, there are accessories available that can accomplish this on any vehicle configuration.   Cellular phone and P.D.A. holders come in a variety of installation arrangements such as securing to a vent, screwing to the dash face, or suction cup mounts.  However, there are other considerations when deciding the type of mount best for you.  A secure mount is very important.  The last thing you need while negotiating a winding mountain grade with a heavy vehicle, or vehicle combination, is your phone to go flying across the rig and onto the floor.  The mount also must be within a comfortable reach of the driver.

 

So, what is the best choice to meet these requirements?  Well, in most cases, the placement anywhere on the dash face within a reasonable distance from the driver is not possible without obstructing something else, like a gauge or a control.  In my opinion, there are two choices here; a good quality suction mount or a simple on-the-dash non-skid pad.  A top quality suction cup base, like the German made one shown in the photo, is easy to install on most surfaces such as a window glass, dash top or dash face.  It will hold fast for years through freezing temperatures to scorching hot sunshine, yet can be removed in seconds.  It can be installed on a textured dash top if required, by using the supplied stick-on adaptor.  The second choice, the use of an inexpensive non-skid dash pad, also works well.  It will not only hold a phone but could be used for a variety of items.   These pads, like the one depicted in the photo, do a remarkable job of holding all kinds of items, even during rough road conditions or hard brake applications.

 

Okay, we have secured the communication device within reach of the driver, now how can we use it safely?  Well, if you want to use it while driving, we had better look at both a safe and legal method of doing that.  Safe, being a way to use it and keep both hands free to drive.  And legal, being able to meet current and future laws forbidding the use of non-hands free cellular phones.  These depend on the laws in your current geographic location.  For this purpose there are wired and wireless headsets, stand-alone wireless modules and integrated wireless interfaces.  The wired type of headset is available in many shapes, sizes and configurations and is relatively inexpensive.  It is basically just a unit that plugs into the handset and tethers to a combination microphone/ear piece or more traditional boom microphone headset.  The wireless type uses a technology called Bluetooth.  Bluetooth transmits and receives between your handset and the listening device on frequencies separate to that of your cell service.  This wireless communication between your phone and audio device only operates providing they are with 30 feet or so of each other, and unlike that of your network provider, transmits wirelessly without additional charges.

 

Some people do not like to wear ear pieces or like headgear.  For those people, here are three popular choices.  First, some cellular handsets are capable of operating in a speaker phone mode.  These units can be used absolutely hands free once the initial call has been placed or answered.    The second option is a stand alone rechargeable audio module like the Motorola T505.  These units are built to receive and transmit via Bluetooth to your handset.  They have a built-in microphone and a speaker to allow full hands free operation.  The T505 has an additional feature that will integrate with an FM radio should it be desired.  When used in that mode it selects and announces the FM channel, or frequency to dial to.  Additional audio announcing includes caller I.D. as well in either mode.  This then drives all the incoming audio through the existing vehicle speakers mimicking that of General Motors OnStar system.  It works well.

The final choice is to have a Bluetooth receiver connected to your in-dash radio if the set is capable of such input.  These are relatively easy to install on a radio that allows that option as it is basically a plug-n-play unit.  Many of these installations on an LCD screen equipped radio include such things as touch screen dialing, visual call I.D. and auto contact transferring, to name a few.  These also allow crystal clear communications through your existing in-dash audio system.

 

Of course there are other alternatives to managing your cellular communications while travelling.  You can elect to turn the ringer down and check for messages occasionally throughout the day.  This way the calls could be returned at your convenience from a rest stop or camp later that day.   For this purpose a suitable message could be recorded outlining your return call activities such as “Hi, I’m currently travelling and unable to answer or respond to your call.  Please leave a message and I will call you back later in the day.”  Additionally, you can elect to carry your communication device on your belt, in your pocket or elsewhere within your vehicle if immediate answering is not required or wanted.

 

These are some relatively inexpensive ways that may make your travels safer and more enjoyable.  Additionally, they make your vehicle just a little more customized for your particular needs.

 

 

Just Communicating Some Ideas   -   Lug_Nut    -    Peter Mercer

 

Maintaining Your Wastewater Tank

Wastewater tanks are the easiest things to keep clean and smelling like roses. All you have to do is maintain them and they will never be a problem. I will give you a few ways to do this and not have to worry about the smell that creeps up in your RV from time to time. Let’s start with toilet, paper you can use single ply, the cheap stuff that does not clog your tank and then there is the RV toilet paper that cost much more and will do the same job. The next thing is dumping, dumping needs to be done when the tank is full and to perform this you connect the sewer hose to the dump station, then just pull the handle marked Wastewater tank or Black Tank, when the tank is empty, hook a hose to the sewer flush or run a hose into the RV and down the toilet, make sure you are not using your fresh water hose for drinking water, we do not want to contaminate the hose we get drinking water from. When the water coming from the tank is clear you’re done. Make sure to leave about three gallons of water in the tank to keep the enzymes swimming; now you want to add some more tank chemicals/enzymes that you can pick up from any RV dealership.

The tank chemicals/enzymes you add will help in breaking down the toilet paper and the solids. They also help by keeping the smell down and keep your tank clean as a whistle. There are a few other ways to keep your tank clean. One way is to flush your tank then add some Dawn or Joy soap, not that anti-bacterial stuff as that would kill the enzymes you have in the tank , if you did use something like bleach or anti-bacterial soap the enzymes would stop doing their job of breaking down the paper, solids and smell in the tank. Next you can add 2 bags of ice to the tank through the toilet and go for a drive. While you are driving the ice will scrub the tank and clean it of any foul things that have been sticking around in it. Next, proceed to the nearest dump station and Bingo you have a squeaky clean tank. You will hear many ways of dealing with your black water/ wastewater tank but it will be up to you. A few things you might want to get for yourself when you know you have to do the dirty deed are Latex gloves and some cheap eye glasses, they will keep you clean and no splatters will get in your eyes. Next make sure you clean the area up of any spills so that next guy who uses it does not kneel down in a puddle you left behind. Just be courteous, when at the dump station so everyone will be happy to follow after you.

This article was brought to you by Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service

Locking Fuel Caps. Securing Your Fuel

Locking fuel caps have gained in popularity recently, driven in part by the rapid rise of the cost of fuel.   Many motor coach owners believe that installing such devices may in fact lead to other issues if their rig is subject to fuel theft.  So, is purchasing and installing these fuel tank security devices the way to go?  Is the jury still out?  According to many, no.  So let’s look at the arguments on both sides.

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Road Testing MS Streets And Trips, Product Review (Part II)

Last week we looked at the workings and features of Microsoft’s Streets and Tips 2008. (A link to last week’s blog if you missed it LINK)  This week we are taking it to the street.   We’ll be testing the GPS navigation guidance in the real world.  I chose the City of Vancouver, Canada, to conduct the trial run.  In as much as I was not familiar with the areas of this city that I would be navigating, it would mean relying fully on the product’s ability to direct me.  I really did not doubt its ability to find and direct me to the target; after all, they will all do that.  It was how it does it, and the speed and timing.

I set three targets, one after the other, all located in the Vancouver area.  I did this in the hotel prior to setting out.  Instead of doing each as a waypoint, I opted to enter each as a separate route, or trip, using my previous destination as the start of the next.  I made four routes that started with the hotel in Richmond, B.C., and finishing with the hotel as the final destination in the fourth route.  I saved each as a leg number, “Leg1, Leg2,” etc.

The unit was fast to set up.  I put the GPS/antenna module, with tether line connected, onto the dashboard near the bottom of the windshield.  I then plugged the tether line into a USB port on my laptop computer and booted it up.  I selected the program icon and opened the program.  I then activated the GPS and selected my first saved route.  The time for the GPS to acquire the needed satellites was nearly instant.  This was comparable to a late model O.E.M. or like quality in-dash GPS system.  The position shown and the actual were basically one and the same, or what you would expect.

The voice guidance was clear and understandable.  The audio volume, however, was limited.  While operating at slow speeds, windows closed and moderate to light traffic, it was more than adequate.  With the road noise associated with high speeds, the audio became more difficult to hear clearly, as with a window down or in heavy traffic.  This appears to be a laptop audio issue, not the fault of the software.  This seems to be a common problem with other laptop applications.  It can be overcome by the use of a headset or other laptop audio enhancing device.  This did not present an immediate problem for me as the large screen was extremely easy to see and navigate directly visually.

Audio turning notice was at 0.3 miles prior to the turn when on secondary roads and 0.4 miles on motorways.  This is about a 25 second warning based on a motor home’s average speed on these types of roads.   Additionally, the audio/visual queue for the next turn is delivered immediately after each turn event.  This feature works well in preparing the driver for what’s ahead.   The screen provides full navigation information at all times.  It shows the vehicles speed (miles per hour or kilometers per hour, depending on the driver’s preference), the distance and direction of the next turn and the current surrounding terrain.   It also has a reverse route option.  This allows a one step way to quickly set up the return trip.

Summing up the test results yielded the following observations..  The Streets and Trips 2008 program performed basically as expected.  This operates in a similar fashion as many other personal in-dash or stand alone GPS navigation devices.   The biggest difference here was the large screen display that the laptop provided.  In the test case, I used a 15.4″ Dell.  This not only delivered much more mapping area, but also displayed  large easy to read vehicle speed, distance to next event and full visual turn information.  The designated navigator in your coach will probably love this product.  It’s easy to plan, operate and understand.  The ability to have it within reach can’t be overlooked either.  Most competitive products are not mounted near the passenger seat and therefore may require driver input during operation.   This is a great two person GPS navigational guidance tool.  These types of computer based solutions appear to be gaining in popularity as more motor coach owners opt to carry a laptop computer with them in their travels anyway.

The overall experience of using this product was very good.  It was relatively simple to use resulting in an end to end zero frustration experience.  And if you can drive in a busy city and operate a potentially complex software package without any frustration, it must be good.

Note: This product is capable of far more than described in this review.  Construction area downloads (free for one year), off air updates on local traffic and current fuel prices, are but a few.   Testing of these advanced features was not conducted.  The review covers the more basic operations and applications only. 

Reporting From The Street   -   Lug_Nut   -   Peter Mercer

MS Streets & Trips 2008 GPS Product Review (Part 1)

It seems the popularity of GPS navigation continues to grow as more and more people turn from paper maps to LCD screens.  Just over two years ago I had four vehicles, only one of which had an on-board GPS navigation system.  Today, while I only have three vehicles, it is interesting to note that all three are equipped with on-board navigation.  All three have between 5″ and 7″ screen, a services data base, trip routing and voice guidance.  They do, however, have some short falls when it comes to trip planning, routing and making changes while on route.  So I jumped at the chance to try out the new 2008 Microsoft Streets and Trips full GPS offering.  Testing this in Canada would also add to the challenge as it is often found that many mapping software programs and related embedded data bases are not always up to date compared to that found throughout the U.S.A.   To properly evaluate the product, we will divide the trial into two sections.   First we will look at the general features and user friendliness including street level detail, route planning, data base, available tools and related functions.  We will follow that next week with a hands-on trial run, when we take it to the streets of the unfamiliar-to-me city, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

 I had used MS Streets and Trips before when I had an earlier version sometime around 2001.  At that time I found the program a great help for trip planning, distance calculating and just plain direction look-ups.  While it was capable of being tethered to a GPS receiver, I can’t say I ever attempted to use it in that manner, but rather just as an electronic map.   

Well, the 2008 version I’m testing comes complete with its own mini GPS plug and play receiver.  When I say mini I mean small, not much more than a inch and a quarter square with a height of about a half inch, complete with a securing mini suction cup.

 I must say, the 2008 version appears extremely feature rich with many new functions.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the program as user friendly as the original.  This is rare.  Generally, I’ve found when  a program is greatly updated with new features and powerful add-ons, it loses a lot of its simple short cuts and quick solution characteristics.  Not so here.

The mapping detail and services data base is very impressive.   Very newly opened roads in Canada were already loaded.  RiverBend Motor Coach Resort in LaBelle Florida was displayed in high quality detail with even the names for each and every street.  I’ve never seen a private park ever displayed in this manner, and with such detail, as was Pelican Lake Motor Coach Resort, Cypress Woods Resort, etc.  The campground data base and probably much of the related detail was in part, I believe, thanks to Woodall’s, one of the many named organizations that were credited. 

Okay, so let’s check out the operational overview and the practical applications.  Running it on a laptop, as I am, it is not handy to use alone in a car, however once set up prior to driving, it can supply voice guided direction to a pre-selected destination.  It works great if operated by a passenger in any vehicle, certainly a bonus in an RV.  One of the big advantages found here is the ability to alter routing or search services while underway.  This is not normally permitted on the built-in types as the majority of them are locked out of such functionality while moving.  This is normally done as a safety requirement.  Additionally, the ability to be able to search, plan and set routes from the comfort of your home, or elsewhere, can’t be overstated.  There is also no question that the functionality and larger screen size delivers tools and features unmatched by both built-ins and most of the popular add-on stand alones.

So, how does MS Streets and Trips stack up against the built-ins and stand alones?

Advantages 

• Far more feature rich and application flexible
• Larger display area for easy viewing and configuring
• Can be re-routed or accept user input at any time
• Has practical applications with or without GPS receiver or receiver enabled
• Can be updated at any time through an internet connection
• Does fuel stop calculations including estimated costs
• Can be removed from vehicle reducing both security and/or environment issues

Disadvantages

• Requires the user to have a computer
• Not as easy to use in navigation mode while traveling alone 

In summary, I feel this product is top quality and certainly appears to be all the manufacturer says it is.  I think it makes a great primary GPS guide and mapping program or a super supplement to your existing in dash or stand alone receiver/display.  This is truly a great mapping and planning software.  One, you probably will not want to give up once you have had the opportunity to use it.  As well as offering in-motion real time street/road navigation, it may be worth having this product as an additional tool even if you currently have a built-in or stand alone GPS unit.  After all, they say planning a trip can be as much fun as taking it.  Believe me, this is certainly one great planning tool.  In my opinion, worth the money even if you never used it in the GPS mode function.    For this purpose, the program is available alone, that is without the GPS receiver/antenna package.  This would allow the purchaser to add the GPS at a later date or perhaps thether it to his or her GPS enabled cellular telephone.  Either way, this product has a thumbs up in my opinion  

Note: This product is capable of far more than described in this review.  Construction area downloads (free for one year), off air updates on local traffic and current fuel prices, are but a few.   Testing of these advanced features was not conducted.  The review covers the more basic operations and applications only.       

Next week we will be taking the Microsoft Streets and Trips 2008 out on the road to see how its performance stacks up against similar products.  Hope you can join us.

 

With Your Co-ordinates     -    Lug_Nut     -     Peter Mercer

 

The Age Old Question, How Many Pounds Of Air Shall I Put In My Tires?

Well sir, I have never been accused of being terribly smart and politicaly astue, so here I go jumping from the frying pan into the fire on a subject that some have said in the forums is a dead horse and beaten to death. But there is more to the tire pressure story than just when will it fail or blow up. Or how much pressure to ad and when.

We all know that a tire that is under inflated will use more power to make it roll than a properly inflated tire. That is because of these factors:

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Practical Motor Home Inverter Applications

Two weeks ago week we looked at the type of inverters commonly used in motor homes.  This week we will touch on applications of inverters in our home on wheels.   We will deal with integrated types only, generally these are 2,000 watt output and larger.  We will also focus only at the inverter operation, not the charger function. 

 

The inverter basically takes 12 volt direct current from the batteries and inverts it to 120 volts alternating current, similar to that in your house. 

 

 In doing this, it produces either a M.S.W. (Modified Sine Wave) or a T.S.W. (True Sine Wave) depending on the make and model.  Modified types are the cheaper of the two to produce, and are the ones found currently on the majority of motor homes today.  True sine types are becoming far more popular recently.  This is due to lower prices recently and more sine wave affected electronics that are being introduced into today’s modern coaches.

 

The inverter in a standard configured propane equipped motor home is generally wired to power the following.

• TV’s, receivers and entertainment centers
• Most duplex 120 outlets
• Microwave
• Awnings, if 120 VAC (Such as Gerard)
• Refrigerator (If 120 volt AC)
• Ice maker (If 120 volt AC)

The balance of AC powered loads such as air conditioners, hot water tank, electric stoves and of course, battery chargers only operate on shore power. 

Some microwave models can be damaged if used to cook using a modified wave inverter.  This damage can result in causing the efficiency to drop substantially after continued use.  While wiring the inverter to the microwave outlet is normal, which at least keeps the clock on time, it may be wise to run the generator for any microwave cooking while boondocking.  This applies to M.S.W. inverters, but is not applicable to T.S.W. installations.  Additionally, some models of modern residential refrigerators may be susceptible to modified sine wave inverter current.  The issue is control board related.   This primarily affects newer all electric coaches.  These really require a true sine wave inverter to assure trouble free operation.

Inverters in conventional propane equipped motor coaches are generally turned off when not required, particularly if dry camping.  This is due to a continuing draw, albeit light, of electric current, even if all loads are off.  First, there is a search mode that essentially searches for a load, even in stand-by mode.  Secondly, TV’s, microwave readouts and many modern receivers use power in the “off” mode.  The TV’s and receivers remain on stand-by to be instant “on”.

Inverters in all electric coaches are generally always left on.  This is required as the refrigerator, if it is a residential type, is 120 volt AC only.  Inverters can be left on even when connected to shore power.  Once connected, the unit shuts down the inverter and operates as a charger and will automatically take over in the event of a power disruption.

Now, as if the inverter/charger didn’t do enough, there are models available with a built-in automatic generator starting board.   These will automatically start and stop the generator as required to keep the batteries within operating voltage range.  Additionally, the auto start can be wired to the air conditioning thermostat and provide instant start should the temperature within the coach rise above a user preset value.  Once the temperature is within the set temperature range, it will automatically shut the generator down until the next event.

If you have never had a coach with an inverter/charger, you don’t know what you are missing.  The convenience of having household power without the need for continually running the genset, is well worth the costs involved.  If you already have an inverter equipped coach, you probably wouldn’t have a coach without one again.

 With A Current Alternate View      -       Lug_Nut

 

Let the Computer Navigate with GPS

I’ve had some conversations with fellow RVers that went something like this: “What kind of GPS navigation system do you use as you travel?”, I asked. They responded with something akin to: “I don’t need no stinking GPS to do my navigating! I can read a map just fine.”

hmmm, that got me to thinking. I’ve told many people that I won’t travel without a GPS navigation system anymore, Read more

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