RV Weekly Round-Up (Aug. 22-28, 2009)

Check out these highlights of RV-related news, events and video from this past week. 1. Traditional RVer Isn’t so Typical Anymore: Recreational vehicles are now a common sight all year round, but RV park owners agree that in some instances, the typical visitor has changed. There are still travelers who camp out in their motel on wheels for the fun of it or to save money on lodging, as well as people who live in a “permanent temporary” home as they follow their work or use the RV as a mobile home office. Others — like construction workers or people taking medical treatments — live in their RVs permanently but don’t live in any one park all year. Read more  Read More →

Why Weigh your RV?

Weighing your RV can be the difference between a safe, enjoyable trip and a costly, disastrous trip. With multiple slide out rooms, amenities like washers and dryers, large holding tank capacities and the ample amount of storage space available on today’s RVs it’s easy to see why so many are overloaded. Overloaded RVs are extremely dangerous. Actually there are a lot more reasons for weighing your RV than I listed here, but my intent was to highlight some of the most important reasons for weighing your RV. Read more  Read More →

Tire Age Can Result in Tire Failure

Tire failure on RV’s can be extremely dangerous and can cause extensive damage to your RV. There are lots of reasons for tire failure on RV’s, like under inflation, over inflation, overloading and the age of the tires. Today I want to discuss how the age of your RV tires, and exposure to the elements, can lead to tire failure. Read more  Read More →

Are U Haul Rental Trailers/Companies Safe?

It seems like every time I turn around I read about an accident involving a rented U Haul trailer. The trailer started swaying and the driver didn’t know what to do, the vehicle was under-rated for the loaded trailer weight, the tire came off while traveling down the highway, or the safety chains weren’t connected. It makes one wonder if U Haul trailers and the companies that rent them are safe. Well, recently I had the opportunity to experience the trailer rental process first hand. Read more  Read More →

RVSEF Set to Launch RV School

By Bob Difley The RV Safety and Education Foundation (RVSEF) has recently taken up the baton of RV education, replacing the popular and successful Life On Wheels RV Conferences that were canceled upon the death of Gaylord Maxwell, its driving force and guiding spirit. RVSEF is conducting its first school for RVers this year during the Pennsylvania RV and Camping Show in Harrisburg September 13 – 16, 2009. Walter Cannon, Executive director of RVSEF, is familiar with Life On Wheels, having taught RV safety classes there before its demise. The new class roster will include technical classes on understanding and troubleshooting RV appliances, safety issues like brakes, towing, weighing your RV, driving instruction. as well as lifestyle classes. and all conducted by experts and long time RVers. This is a difficult economy to start a venture such as this, as valuable a resource as it is, and RVSEF will need all the help it can get. So talk it up to your friends who are just purchasing their first RV, those that have already started the RV lifestyle yet want to learn more, and those that have been on the road for several years and want to become more independent and self sufficient, as well as learning about what new equipment is coming on the market. You can see a description of the safety clinic and the courses offered on the RVSEF Web site.  Read More →

RV Tire Tips for Safer RV Trips

 It seems as though I talk about tire safety all of the time. The reason I do is because tires are an important safety topic concerning RVers that are often times overlooked. Just recently I read a newspaper article that summed up just how overlooked tires, in general, are. The article stated, “The Rubber Manufacturers Association found that 29 million drivers believe that tires require no regular maintenance.” This number might be considered small when compared to our current deficit, but it is quite large when you consider 29 million people are driving around the country on tires they don’t know the condition of. Read more  Read More →

Coach Slides Vrs. No Slide Units

Slides started showing up in the early ’90’s, but many non-slide coaches were still being purchased.  Today, it would seem that all, or certainly the vast majority of coaches sold, are slide equipped.  There are still coaches offered that do not have slides.  Many entertainer conversions are without slides.  I recently saw a new Prevost conversion that was produced by a converter called “Outlaw” that had no slides.  It wasn’t made as an entertainer’s ride, but a normal conversion with the usual interior look.     So, what would life without slides be like?  It is surprising how roomy one feels.  I went into the “Outlaw” conversion at an RV show in RiverBend, in LaBelle, Florida.  Of course it didn’t look or feel anywhere as large as the many multi-slide rigs that are so common today, but it still felt roomy.  I guess to really appreciate its interior layout you have to realize, this is the size of the RV when camped, or on the road.  The “or on the road” is the big difference here when compared to the multi-slide. All multi-slide rigs are somewhat awkward within the interior while the slides are retracted.  Some are worse than others, but generally, the more and the deeper the slides, the more cramped they are.  The full wall slide may have a slight advantage here when compared to the double same-slide.  They only have two wall points when brought inside instead of four.  There are some advantages... Read more

Take the Visual RV Tire Test

What do your eyes tell you. Take the RV tire test and post your answer in the comments section. One tire is inflated to 45.5 psi and the other is inflated to 65.5 psi. Is tire A or tire B inflated to 65.5 PSI? I’ll post the answer in the comments section on 02/20/09. (SEE ANSWER BELOW) Read more  Read More →

DIY – Electronic Prodigy Brake Control Installation for Your Trailer

In this video clip Stew Oleson and Bill Gehr will show you how to install an Tekonsha Prodigy electronic brake control for your tow vehicle.  Read More →

Getting The Most Out Of Your RV

Today, with RV’s costing so much money, both in the capital and operating costs, one has to get the most out of the equipment and features of their purchase.  So, how can an owner get the most out of the equipment and features from their current, or future, RV? The answer is pretty basic really: know how to operate and service each item that makes up the rig.  Surprisingly, or perhaps not, a large number of RV owners either do not thoroughly read the manuals, or do not retain much they are told or read.  Time and time again we hear or read of people asking elementary questions, like, “How do I get the chrome wheel cover off the wheel on my motor home?”  Also, one can not assume that a component on a new coach or trailer that appears similar to that of their last rig is, in fact, the same.   Perhaps many believe they already know how each component operates or maybe they don’t read the manuals as they are waiting for the movie to come out.        Knowing how to operate and carry out simple servicing and care of each component is a necessity to get the full value and maintain each in top condition.  To fully understand this requires the reading of each section of the manual, including those that seem most familiar, like the television set operation manual.   This one I can relate to first hand.  Back in October I purchased a digital TV converter for my rig, which is an ‘07, built in ‘06.  Dah!  It didn’t need one as... Read more

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