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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on May 15, 2016 at 11:42am

Sounds like a great time!  I've had RV's most of my life (or at least my family has!)  and I can tell you they're not cheap, but worth every penny...

A couple of things I have learned:   An RV is a house with engine trouble, or a Car with plumbing problems.

Tires:  RV Tires ROT, and at the age of 6 years start to come apart.   If you do it right, you can change a pair of tires every 2 years to spread out the pain and cost.  Let me guess:  outside rear dual, probably the passenger side came apart?  (probably the most common).

You should inspect your roof and windows carefully.  You may have a couple leaks or cracks in the caulk.  Also, given the age, you may have a vent cover or two on the roof that are falling apart from sun exposure...  

Water:  When you have a hookup opportunity, be SURE to use a regulator.  City water has way too much pressure and can blow your plumbing lines.    Every couple of years, it's a good idea to sanitize the system...  add 1/4 cup of bleach to a gallon of water... add that to your drained fresh water tank and fill to about 5 gallons...  Run all the faucets until you smell bleach... let it sit for an hour.   It'd be even better if you could drive it to splash that water around...  Drain the tank, refill with some fresh water and run the facuets to clear the bleach... you don't want it sitting in there longer than necessary...

Batteries:  Deep Cycle batteries must be maintained: check the water regularly.  Don't leave your RV plugged in for too long a time as the battery chargers can boil your batteries.  When plugged in I leave my "Coach" batteries turned off.    I also bought 2 good battery minders on Amazon.  When I get home, I plug them in and my batteries stay fresh and strong.  If you do have to replace your RV batteries, Costco has 6V golf cart batteries that cannot be beat.

Lighting:  If you dry camp a lot, invest in LED replacement bulbs.   They're brighter and your batteries will last a LONG time... (I camped for nearly a week without running my generator)

Enjoy the RV!  I love the convenience of home with the getaway aspect.  If you're retired, you can get a National Park pass pretty cheap.  Check out County, State, and National parks. there are lots of great places to stay!

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Permalink Reply by Kigar on May 15, 2016 at 1:51pm

Great story, thanks for sharing it.  We have had pull behind camping trailers for quite a while and discuss the motor home option every year so I like to hear some real world tales about them.

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on May 15, 2016 at 5:15pm

Having owned both, I can say that a tow trailer is cheaper in the long run, but since we are desert rats, it makes more sense for us to have a class-A and tow a flatbed trailer.  For most, though, a standard tow trailer is awesome, because you can disconnect and go where you want to...  Though I have been known to flat-tow a vehicle...

There is something to be said, however, to having a toilet available while you're driving...

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Permalink Reply by Thumper on May 16, 2016 at 7:54am

John, thanks for the tips, it has led lights, it was the driver rear inside that blew, vent covers were already updated, have the H2O regulator attached to the fill spout. We do Winterizing here, so the bleach isn't necessary, however, running a tank of water through the faucets before filling for consumption is a must. The tires are just over 2 years old and have no idea why the one blew??? I will be doing a new roof seal although it doesn't leak at this point. Thanks for the tip on the batteries also, I'm definitely at the bottom of the learning curve, but climbing as fast as I can. Perhaps you can tell me why a generator needs to be "exercised" under a load, it does make a difference I just found out by experiment and then reading up on the unit. 

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Permalink Reply by JL on May 17, 2016 at 1:43am

I'm getting ready to take my new tow-behind out for Memorial Day weekend.

the Fresh Water tank should be sanitized at the beginning of every year, and when it has sat unused for a while.  Why? Take a canteen, put a few tablespoons of water in it, close it, and leave it in your garage for 2 months.  then open and take a whiff and smell the mildew.  even with the drains open not all the water comes out of the tank, the walls remain moist even if you get all the standing water out.

And the generator needs to be run with a full load on it to make sure the governor is working correctly.

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Permalink Reply by Thumper on May 17, 2016 at 3:58am

Thanx for the input, have a safe Memorial day outing!!

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on May 19, 2016 at 4:33pm

What JL said....   The thing about generators, is they are just like lawnmowers.  If you don't run them from time to time, the carb gets gummed up... If you run one to load, you test everything like JL said, but you also move all the old fuel out of the line...  (I always add sea-foam to my fuel...)   I have had to take apart my generator carb before... the bowl was green with crud, and the idle jet was clogged with goo...  

I should run my generator monthly, but sometimes I forget.  

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Permalink Reply by JL on May 20, 2016 at 12:33am

I forget too, lol, then I get my friend Eddie to help me clean the mess.

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