RV Today Archive - Extended Day Kit

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This video provides a demonstration on how to install an extended stay kit, which will allow you to extend your stay without running out of propane. It is a step by step guide, and illustrates checking for no leaks.

This kit runs a barbecue and other plants right off your motorhome tank, but it also allows you to use a cilinder, so you don’t have to use the propane in your motorhome,

Campfire safety, it’s not all light my fire baby!

This week I want to talk about campfire safety. I realize and hope I am talking to the people that already are safety-minded about fires, but, since this is one of the most frequent causes of injuries while camping, I thought it deserved a strong mention. The campfire is one of the nicest parts of camping. My family loves to sit around the campfire telling stories and making s’mores (if you promise to read this to the end I will give you the new s’mores recipe we are using!), as the night goes on and the wear and tear of the day starts to take it’s toll, and the fire burns down, we become quiet and begin watching the fire and the almost hypnotic effect it starts to have. Finally, when someone either yawns so wide it looks like the top of their head is going to fall off or falls asleep, then it is time for bed. It is also most useful for cooking and heating water for dishes if you are dry camping.

But, like any tool, you must learn how to use it safely. You don’t give a 4-year-old a axe and say go have fun.  Likewise you don’t give a 4-year-old matches and say go have fun… but, at any age, you can learn about fire safety. Most of what I am going to say is common sense but, like my Grandfather used to tell me, “Common sense isn’t that common anymore.” So, Please read this and if you learn one new thing that can make you safer, it will have been worth it!

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RV Today Archive - Quick Tips - Vice, Bed Support and Mat

See how to create and adapt a traveling vice and working bench into your RV hitch receiver. You can also learn a way to strengthen the storage compartment support beneath the bed by using closet rod hangers and pvc pipe, cut to size. Finally, for those occasions where you need to get under the rig, the video recommends to carry a lightweight camping pad which can double for exercising.

Watch the video for a visual step by step demonstration on these quick tips. For more RV Today Quick Tips, click here.

The Bear Facts on Electric Fences

You have a better chance of being struck by lightning than ever having a close encounter with a hungry bear, but recent events; including an aggressive black bear having to be put down in Yellowstone National Park on July 11, a grizzly attack on a camper just outside the park on July 18, and an attack on a solo hiker yesterday in the Walker basin area east of Bakersfield, CA have elevated awareness of the risks associated with camping in bear country. With that in mind, we look at a pair of gadgets this week designed to protect your campsite sleeping area through the night. Read more

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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Stainless Steel Coach Upgrades

Personalizing, or customizing a motor home, is a relatively popular thing today.  While for many this consists of choosing color schemes and interior swatches if ordering a new coach from the factory, or perhaps locating a unique color graphic on one in the market place, new or used.  Add-ons like chrome exhaust tips, fancy mud flaps and wheel dressing are also popular choices.  At the high end of this craze is customized re-painting and graphical color designs.  But one item, probably in the mid add-on price range, that is in my mind the best bang for the buck, is stainless lower body trim.  This chrome like accent to the rocker panels can provide a striking look to any motor home as well as adding lower body protection from road grime and debris.

The material used is generally a high quality stainless steel.  It can be ordered with a plain flat polished surface or with folded ridges running horizontally.  It is glued to the body with no need for any mechanical fasteners and is normally guaranteed never to come off.  It is also available in various sizes depending on how high you would want the material to be from the bottom edge of the body.  Further personalizing can be selected as to how the entrance steps would be trimmed, if the rear departure lift will be followed or horizontally ran out and additional trim to body contours. 

                                                                                                 

So, where do you get it and how much does it cost?  There are several manufacturers and suppliers in the U.S.   One of the more popular is Summit Products of Johnston, Iowa.  At Summit they design, laser cut, and install a top quality product built to the individual’s needs and wants.  Costs, on say a 40 foot coach, can generally run from under $3,000 to $5,900 or more, all depending on what the owner wishes.   Ridged material can run a bit more than flat as the ridges may require to be angle ground at the basement door edges to provide clearance when opened.  Of course, if you would prefer your coach be stainless trimmed to resemble a Marathon Prevost XL, it can be done, but at a much higher dollar.  The choice is entirely yours.

There are many more options and additional add-ons available from Summit, like fuel door trimmings, interior step faces, jack pads, etc.  In fact there are so many options and variations that can be tailor made, it is reasonable to assume that one could virtually customize their rig to be a one of a kind.  

One consideration when getting this done is the extra basement door weight.  In some cases this may exceed the ability of the existing gas shocks that hold the doors open.  Either larger stronger ones or the addition of an extra one may be required.  In the above picture, an additional shock was added.  These are available from most RV supply houses and possibly also from Summit themselves.

 

So, is there a return on the investment when sale or trade time comes around?  While it is possible that a portion of the original cost may in fact be recovered, it is doubtful.  It may however, sway a buyer when comparing a choice of a similar coach.  Either way, you may have a coach that will uniquely stand out from the others.

 With An Upgrade Idea    -   Lug_Nut    -    Peter Mercer

 

Forget Oil! The Future is in Electricity

By Bob Difley
A lot of experts and theoretical think tanks are looking at ways to quickly and drastically reduce our oil requirements, rather than pursuing ways to increase supply to meet demand with unpopular options like increased drilling in places like ANWR and the continental shelf. They are suggesting that we instead put our efforts into producing most if not all of our energy needs from domestic sources.

• No to foreign oil.
• No to war with foreign nations to stabilize their shaky governments and whose oil we want.
• No deals with disruptive, threatening, unfriendly, and unstable governments and rulers just so we can buy their oil.
• No to competing with China and India for oil, whose exploding economies have them gobbling up all the oil they can buy from any source at any price.
• No more oil tanker spills.
• Reduction of CO2 emissions and air pollution.

A pipe dream?

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RV Today Archive - Product Showcase - Soda Machine

For all those who enjoys sodas, there is a machine to make your own soda at home or on the road! It is made by Soda Club. It is simple: you use the machine, water, the soda flavor and a carbonation bottle. You buy your favorite flavor and make the soda yourself…

Watch the video to see how to produce your own soda while traveling. Please note the price may have changed since this episode was filmed. To watch other RV Today Product Showcase, Destination and Quick Tips videos, please visit the RV Today Archive.

Gas Vs Diesel

Should I buy gas or diesel? This question has fueled many a heated debate over the years. A universal response you could expect to hear to this question goes something like this; diesels cost more than gas, don’t buy a diesel unless you plan to put a bunch of miles on it and keep it for a long time. That’s the only way you can justify the extra cost of a diesel.

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The Kamp Kaddie

On our last camping trip, over the 4th of July weekend, we picked-up a new Coleman 8D Family Size LED Lantern for those nighttime marshmallow roasts. The lantern worked great, but we quickly figured out that the picnic table was not the most efficient place for a light source. Luckily we were deep in the woods of Oregon’s Coast Range, so a tree branch was readily available, but we will need to come up with a better solution and I think I have found it in the Kamp Kaddie, from VacationGadgets.com.

The Kamp Kaddie can be clamped to a table top, or staked into the ground by switching-out the bottom section of the pole. This flexibility is important to me, because football season is right around the corner and our tailgate barbeques take place in a paved parking lot. I have been in many campsites, though, where the picnic table is some distance from the fire ring, so the ability to stake the Kamp Kaddie into the ground will come in handy. The condiment basket is adjustable up-and-down, and could easily double as a soap dish, making the Kamp Kaddie a useful addition to any wash station.

Happy camping!

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