Making Modifications to Your RV

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our E-mail Digest or RSS Feed. We will then send you the stories that are posted each day in an e-mail digest. We use a service called Feedburner for delivery of these emails. You will receive an e-mail from Feedburner after you subscribe and you must click on that email to activate your subscription. Thanks for visiting and enjoy all the information! RV.Net Blog AdminI 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 →

The Yearly Costs of Owning an RV (Part 2 of 2)

Last week we looked at some of the yearly costs involved in RV ownership.  (If you missed Part 1, here’s a link,  You might want to first read it   http://blog.rv.net/2009/10/the-yearly-costs-of-owning-an-rv-part-1-of-2/)  If you recall we touched on fuel, maintenance/repair, finances, insurance, licensing, taxes, and in more depth, the cost of depreciation. Today we will examine those costs and how practically and theoretically they may be able to be reduced. We will breeze through the items that we currently deal with, and are often discussed in the forums, and expand the “Wild Card,” depreciation.   Doing them in the order of last week, we will start with fuel cost. Read more  Read More →

The Yearly Costs Of Owning An RV (Part 1 of 2)

There are a number of items that must be considered when determining the yearly cost of buying a new RV. We hear so much about fuel costs, whether it is a motorized or a tow vehicle.  But, fuel really is peanuts in most cases.  Likewise, maintenance and repairs, while not necessarily cheap, are relatively small in the big picture.  The financial purchase, whether it is a cash deal or involves a finance contract, will almost certainly out weigh both fuel and repair costs.  Then of course there is insurance, licensing, and taxes, if applicable. 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 →

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 →

Is Better Quality In The Future For RV’s?

Well, it just might. The RV industry has been crippled by this economic downturn like no time before.  It has been particularly hard hit as it was such a hot product considering the somewhat limited market.   Some say it will never be the same, and that may very well be, at least for many of our lifetimes.  But, it will recover and again grow.  Perhaps not in the galloping way it has of the past decade. Back in January I did an article on the quality, or lack thereof, of RV’s today. It was titled “Is There Quality In Today’s RV’s?”  (Link Here if you missed it)  It drew many comments with a variety of different points of view.  But now, could there be changes afoot?  There just might be, but not necessarily by design. Read more  Read More →

Hensley TrailerSaver 5th Wheel Hitch Line-up

When TrailerSaver introduced the TS3 nine years ago, a new standard for 5th Wheel hitches was set. When Hensley Mfg. bought TrailerSaver three years ago, they raised the bar even higher, and the improvements just keep coming. Today, Hensley Mfg. offers a 5th Wheel hitch for any sized truck/trailer combination, with or without air-ride. For the medium duty trucks, Hensley offers the 2H Air-Ride hitch, a 32k adjustable hitch, and a 32k low profile hitch. All are bolt down models. For the light duty pick-ups with standard rails, Hensley offers the TS3 Air-Ride hitch, a 26k adjustable hitch, and a 19k adjustable hitch. Read more  Read More →

2009. The Year Of The Revival Of The RV “Bat Wing”

Welcome to the year of the bat wing.  The “Bat Wing”, the “T” shaped crank up off-air television antenna found on pretty well every RV.  Have you noticed how many you see now in the up position in every campground?  Even large highline rigs are displaying their bat wing antennas.  So, why has this changed from last year, or previous years? The government has legislated that television broadcasters switch from analogue to digital.  This was done to make better use of the frequency spectrum and allow more services to have the ability to better share these frequency bandwidths.  This changed has brought a whole new view on off air reception.  Top quality high definition programming is now on many local channels in the U.S.A.  This will boost the number of viewers of off air substantially.  This is a definite bonus to those of us that have an RV.  Many homes get their local news through cable and probably don’t even have an off air antenna.  Many RV’s have satellite dishes, but on occasion wish to view the local news via their off air bat wing.  Whether you have a newer TV that is already digital ready, or add an analogue/digital converter, you will love the picture quality. With this increase in use of the “Bat Wing” antennas on RV’s, will come more accidental damage caused by forgetting to retract it prior to departing camp.  While some rigs have warning buzzers and lights, many do not.  Additionally, with this... Read more

The RV Trivia Challenge No. 2

The Lug_Nut RV Trivia Challenge No. 2. If you did okay on the RV Trivia Challenge No. 1, you may be on the road to becoming an RV Guru.  Others may be settling into a well informed RV enthusiast while still some may well be slipping into an “RV For Dummies” candidate rating.   If you missed the first RV Challenge, here’s a link to it.   The RV Trivia Challenge Keep in mind, this is a trivia.  It is not based on one RV type rig.  So, regardless of your type of camping, there should be some things that are familiar. Well. Let’s get at it!  Be sure to post your score, and or comments, in the comment box at the very bottom.  Good Luck!!! The Lug_Nut RV Trivia Challenge No. 2 1) The hitch point of a 5th wheel trailer pivots the tow and towed vehicle  ………… A) At the rear most part of the tow vehicle B) Near, or over the axle of the tow vehicle C) It does not pivot, the trailer becomes part of the tow vehicle, similar to a bus 2) If your house battery bank was rated at 400 amp/hrs, how long should you run a 20 amp load on a fully charged bank? A) 10 hours B) 20 hours C) 40 hours D) 15 hour 30 minutes 3) What would the maximum output be of a 5000 watt generator operating in Denver Colorado? A) About 5000 watts B) About 5350 watts C) About 4225 watts D) About 4805 watts 4) What is meant by the term “3 way fridge”? A) It refers to a three door, side by side frig B) It has a fridge, a freezer and an ice maker C)... Read more

Nitrogen Filled Tires. Is It Worth The Bother & Cost?

One of the topics that come up often in the RV community is the use of dry nitrogen in tires. That is, using compressed dry nitrogen instead of regular air.  Is there an advantage to this that warrants the cost?  I think first we have to understand why, and if, nitrogen works better than normal compressed air in an RV tire application. Normal dry air contains mainly nitrogen to begin with, in fact about 78% by volume.  The balance is around 21% oxygen and 1% argon and mixed miscellaneous gases.  Moisture, however, is usually present in this air after it has been compressed.  For that purpose, air compressors generally employ a dryer in order to reduce this.  But, in normal service station tire fill-ups, you can expect an additional product, vapor or humidity, 1 to 5%.  The later being the worst case scenario. Though we can not see them, the air is made up of molecules.  Nitrogen molecules are much larger than those of oxygen.  This, in its self, serves as a benefit when used to inflate a tire.  More on this later. Over 99% of tires in use today are tubeless. Tubeless tires expose the rim to the gases that support the tire.  Over time these gases and vapor can oxidize or rust the rim surfaces.  While such internal damage is slight given the wheel’s life span, it can produce micro metallic pieces or dust.  There is a remote possibility that this debris may eventually end up in the tire valve seat.  This could occur when air is being expelled such... Read more

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