RV Sewage Management - Best Shaken Not Stirred

Typical RV Service Center

One thing that a camper ends up knowing how to do, is how to properly dump and maintain their RV Sewage tank.
And, I can tell you that almost all of my fellow campers have a Horror story they tell about "that time they saw....."
Because, honestly, when something does go wrong while someone is dumping an RV Sewage tank it is definitely a bad situation, that they will remember for the rest of their life.

Home Remedies for You and your RV when on the road

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Red Cross Emblem, pic by Don Bobbitt

When you're traveling, you sometimes need to be creative when dealing with household and health situations.

The reality is that you just cannot carry everything in your RV that you have in your home. 

Of course, it goes without saying that you should never leave home without your required medications, as well as a well-prepared First Aid Kit.

But many times you will have situations pop up, that you need a remedy for. Things that you did not prepare for, but happen anyway.

The following is a collection home remedies and alternatives from various magazines, other campers, manufacturers, etc. for improving or eliminating pesky problems or temporarily relieving some simple health issues.

CAUTION: You still need to read the labels of all items carefully, for your safety ,and always use common sense, Please!
 As a disclaimer, I do not accept any responsibility for whatever happens (good or bad) if you try any of these remedies listed in this document.
 If you try one of these, and it works or if it does not, let me know. Also, If you have a Remedy of your own that works for you, send it to me and I will probably add it to this list.

Problem:	Proposed Remedy/Solution:
Anti-Fog Glasses and Goggles	Coat the lens’ with Colgate Toothpaste and then wipe off.
Arthritis	Spray WD-40 on the area of pain and rub it in.
Athletes Feet	Mix Cornstarch and Hot water, and soak feet.
Baked on Food	Soak overnight in water with 2 Efferdent tablets.
Bee Stings	Apply a Meat Tenderizer to a Bee Sting for relief
Bicycle Chain sticking	Use PAM cooking spray if no other lubricant is available.
Burn (Minor)	Colgate or Crest toothpaste works well for temporary relief.
Burnt Tongue	Pour some sugar on it for relief.
CD scratches	Apply Peanut Butter (Smooth), and then wipe it off with a Coffee Filter.
Chigger Bite	Apply Preparation H for relief
Chigger Bite	Place Fingernail polish onto the bite, and the larvae will suffocate within a day and you can pop it off to heal.
Clean Toilet stains	Use a mixture of Kool-Aid and water to clean stubborn Toilet stains.
Dandruff (Heavy)	Pour Vinegar on your scalp to loosen and remove dandruff.
Diarrhea	Make a Tea of Ginger (1-tbs Ginger & Hot water) and drink it 3 times daily to stop Diarrhea.
Diarrhea	For relief of Diarrhea, boil some Rice and drink the water.
Dirty Grout	Use Listerine to cut the dirt and/or place some toothpaste on a moist rag or sponge and scrub.
Facial Treatment	Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and you will see the dead skin and blackheads lifted off.
(To Dry) Fingernail Polish	Use PAM Cooking Spray
Fleas in the Carpet	Use 20-Mule Team Borax and let it sit for 24 hours before removing.
Fungus (on Toenails or fingernails)	Use Vicks Vapor-Rub on the nails to reduce or kill the Fungus.
Grass Stains	Karo Syrup will break grass stains down, but can present a job removing the Syrup later, so do not leave it on too long.
Grease Stains	Coca Cola will clean many grease stains
Hair Conditioner	Budweiser Beer.
Hair Conditioner	Cool Whip works well, but will take about 15 minutes to soak in.
Hair Conditioner	If your hair is really Dry then try Mayonnaise as a Conditioner to get some oils back into your hair.
Headaches	Drink some Ginger tea (1-tbs Ginger Powder and Hot water) to sooth Headaches.
Immune System	Eat Garlic regularly to boost your Immune System.
Insect Stings	WD-40 will ease the pain.
Inflamed Eyes	If ou have any Carrots, cook them to a mush, place this in a moist cloth, and place this over your eyes to sooth them.
Lice	Mayonnaise will kill lice.
Menstrual Cramps	Chamomile Tea will help reduce Menstrual Cramps.
Mice	First, cut up a small cheap sponge into 1-inch squares. If you then place a few drops of Peppermint Oil on the Sponges, and place them in the Baggage Compartments, the Mice will go away. Re-juvenate the Peppermint Oil on the sponges every 6-8 weeks, for an ongoing solution.
Mosquitoes	First of all, If you are going outside, be sure you are clean, as Mosquitoes love sweat.
Mosquitoes	If possible, head for high, dry ground, also a nice wind also helps keep them away.
Mosquitoes	Mouth Wash. Putting a little Listerine in a spritzer, and spraying your legs and arms will keep them away for a while.
Mosquitoes	To ease the itching from Mosquito bites, rub the sites with rubbing alcohol or white vinegar.
Paper Cut	Super Glue or ChapStick. Glue is used instead of sutures in many hospitals, and works well with cuts to protect them from germs, and .seal them for healing
Poison Ivy Rash	To prevent the rash from Poison Ivy, if you brush against the plant, immediately wash the area with warm water and soap, then wipe the cleaned area with Alcohol pads
Puffy Eyes	Apply a little Preparation-H to the eyelids, keeping away from the eyes.
Paint removal from hands	Use PAM cooking spray.
Remove Labels from glassware	Rub with Peanut Butter
(For) Shiny Hair	Use Brewed Lipton Tea
Sore Throat	Steep Sage leaves in hot water, and make a tea. Drink the Tea to sooth a sore throat.
Spiders	It seems that a good temporary remedy for Spiders, and some other insects is the good old Flea-&-Tick collar. If you cut a new collar up into small 1-inch pieces, and place them in the corners of all of your rooms in your RV, it will keep the Spiders away. Of course, they need to be replaced regularly, just as they would on your pet.
Stains on Clothes	Use toothpaste on a cloth to rub stains and wash off.
Stinky Feet	Soak your feet in a Jello mixture.
Stomach Gas	Chamomile Tea will help reduce Stomach Gas.
Sunburn	Empty a large Jar of Instant Nestea into your bath water and soak.
Swollen Eyes	Place wet teabags on the bags under your eyes to help reduce the swelling.
Tick Removal	Do not “rip” the Tick loose, or cover the site with Nail Polish, as you could end up with an infection. You should grasp the Ticks body with a pair of tweezers and pull gently and it will eventually release it’s hold. Then clean the site with Alcohol or an Antibiotic if you have it.
Toothache	For temporary relief of a toothache, suck on a Tea Bag as the pain can be reduced by the Tannins in Tea.
Upset Stomach	Chamomile Tea or Ginger Tea will sooth an upset stomach.
Urinary Tract Infection	Drink 3-4 cups of Cranberry Juice a day to help reduce Urinary Tract infections.
Vomiting	Chamomile Tea will help reduce Vomiting.
Wine Stain	Pour granulated salt on the stain and it will soak up the stain. Then clean.
Wound Infections	Apply Honey to a wound to discourage infections. The moisture is good for a wound and the Hydrogen-Peroxide in Honey acts as an antibacterial.

Again, as a disclaimer, I do not accept any responsibility for whatever happens (good or bad) if you try any of these remedies listed in this document.

DON

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How to Get Started in Camping?

How to Get Started in Camping?

This is a great article that can help anyone that wants to get into Campling. Whether you want to  Tent Camp, or use a small Pop-Up camper, or a fifth-wheel camper, or even a big Motorhome, this article will help you understand the differences and advantages of each style of camping. Checl it out!

RV Camping and Common Courtesies

RV Camping and Common Courtesies

Balance your RV Power Load on 30Amp Service

Balance your RV Power Load on 30Amp Service

8 Step RV Drivers Checklist before Pulling out

8 Step RV Drivers Checklist before Pulling out

Inviting Guests to stay with You in Your RV

Inviting Guests-

OK, it is going to happen, you have a great RV, and it has extra room for other people, so sooner or later either you or your spouse is going to invite someone to either travel with you, or meet you somewhere and stay a few days. If you have young grandchildren it is definitely going to happen, more often than not. This can be a fun experience for everyone, if you will just sit back and prepare yourselves for visitors, and your visitors for the world of RVing. Here are some suggestions of things for you to do.

a. Preparing Guests-

I believe there are two kinds of guests that you might have in your RV. The first is children or grandchildren. The other type are adult friends. With the young ones, be sure they know how long they are going to be with you. Kids do not like being somewhere and not know when they are leaving.

They also want to have their own personal “stuff” with them. Be sure that the music lover has his “Pod”, the computer lover has his PC, the reader has his books, the younger ones have their toys and so forth. Kids are prepared to entertain themselves a lot of the time, you need to contact them before they get there, and let them know where you are going/staying, and what is available for them to do there, so they can prepare.

As for the Adults, be sure you tell them exactly what you and they will be doing during their stay with you unless they have something special that they want to do. You should tell them your normal daily routine including, get up times, go to bed times, meal timing and a general list of your typical meals, as well as what you will be doing for entertainment while they are there.

This list in itself should spark a good conversation on everyone’s likes and dislikes. Negotiate with them, but do not make yourselves miserable just for your guests comfort and idiosyncrasies. Remember, it is your Home, and they should be willing to bend on most items, to be with you. Avoid letting your guests plan on turning your Home/RV into their Hotel.

I could tell you stories of past guests of ours who, when they left, we expected to see a tip in an envelope lying somewhere. Wait ….. that actually did happen with some guests of ours at our House in Myrtle Beach a few years ago.

b. Their Clothes-

Where to put the guests clothes is always a problem. I have a solution that really helps. I went to the local Hardware store and purchased several Robe Hooks and placed then strategically around the Living Area, just for such occasions.

I usually tell my guests to look around in their closets, and find a couple of old Suit bags, the fold-over type with a hanger hook for hotel room closets. You know the kind with room for 2-3 suits, some dress shirts, and several sip-up pockets for shoes, bath items, and underwear, etc. These are perfect for guest clothes storage and access.

Just hang one on a hook over the drivers seat, and the other over the passengers seat. They can get to their cloths easily, there is no floor space taken up, and everyone is happy.

c. Sleeper Sofa – Jackknife Sofa

A Jackknife Sofa is on of those that you lift the front and pull, the back drops down, and the person sleeps on it with the bottom and back cushions as the mattress. It is good for one adult person, that’s it. Don’t fool yourself into thinking anything else, or you are really going to upset your guests. Even 2 kids, six or younger, will be fighting for room on one of these.

Now a Sleeper Sofa, depending on the age of the RV can be a Double, Queen, or King size sleeper sofa. It is just like the ones in your friends house. It is usually a mechanical monster to open or close, and has a very sorry excuse for a mattress. The newer ones have more metal bracing to prevent sagging, and many even have a nice inflatable mattress, and can approach comfortable. The Sleeper Sofas are for two adults.

d. Convertible Dinette Table-

Many RV’s and Campers also have a dinette. You know 2 bench seats and a fold-out dining table? If you lift, flip, and arrange the pieces properly, it will convert into a very short bed. I have a sister-in law who is short enough to sleep on one of these, but I have not found a normal sized person that will attempt it. This bed is good for a kid or small teen.

e. Tents-

Often, if your friends are “Tenters”, and they can bring their gear, your campsite will easily be large enough for them to set up their tent and sleeping bags. This way, they have their privacy and space and are much better guests in a much less cluttered RV or Camper.

f. Privacy for everyone-

You must define the rules of privacy while they are in your RV. You are used to your own bedroom with a door, and total access to the bathroom at night.

Now you must work out an arrangement for using inside and campground toilets, showers, and bathrooms so everyone is comfortable living together. And for goodness’ sake, walk your guests through the steps of proper operation of the Toilet, Hot Water Heater, Sewage storage system, and Shower. Non eof this is the same as in a conventional house.

g. Shared Work-

DO not be afraid to ask your guests to share some of the workload during the day. Generally, if they do not help, it is because they have not been asked. They can help with; cooking preparation, taking out the trash, sweeping the floor in the camper/RV, changing linens, straightening out the campsite, and bagging trash, washing dishes, and much more. If they can’t help, you can make sure that they do not come back.

h. Expenses-

Your guests should volunteer to pay for any extra food costs or other expenses that you have to incur for their visit. In most campgrounds, you will have to pay an extra charge for their car and a daily extra charge for each of them to visit, at a minimum.

And, if they are staying for more than a couple of days, they should take you out for dinner one night at least, as a personal expression of gratitude for your hospitality, as well as the extra work they caused for you.

i. Other Stuff

And, there are certainly other things that you should coordinate with your guests that I have’nt listed here, but I think I have covered the basics. And ….. Remember …… Guests are like Fish, after a few days they will start to Stink. Hopefully all of yours will be gone before you detect the odor?

ON the ROAD with your RV - HINTS and TIPS

On the ROAD with your RV- Hints and Tips

Parking and Turning Tips for the RV driver.

I finally took a specialized driving class for Coach owners, along with my wife, and boy was it worth the time. We spent half a day in a classroom, and then went out and spent a half a day practicing what we had learned in 40-foot Diesel Pushers with an instructor.

After this one day of instruction, even though we had previously owned and driven thousands of miles in two different RV Coaches, we felt much safer driving our new rig on the open road.

Here are some of the things we learned in the classroom and on the road part of the classes. We share these in the hopes that they will aid you in your travels also.

Remember the unofficial Rule of the Road for RV drivers: I learned the rule of the road for boating when I had owned and operated a HouseBoat for years on a large lake in Virginia. Basically the rule is that SIZE RULES!.

What this means is that the larger boat is harder to maneuver in the water than a small boat, so the larger, more cumbersome boat has the right-of-way in almost every confrontational situation.

 I was happy to hear from the instructor that this same rule applied for drivers of RV's especially the very large ones and the ones that are towing..

When you think about it, this makes sense. When it comes to a situation where you, in your big rig, towing a car, or whatever, must react or the smaller vehicle must react and allow the other vehicle to get out of the way.

Oh, the driver of the smaller vehicle may Yell and blow the horn, but just be polite, smile, shrug your shoulders and continue to wait for them to get out of the way. DO Not take chances trying to make impossible turns with your RV!


DID YOU KNOW – Tips:

• If traveling in Canada, make a note that 12-feet is equal to 3.66 meters, and post it on their dash as a quick reference when approaching an overpass or pulling into a fueling station.

• The driver/owner of a Motor Home should always keep in mind that their Coach is longer, wider and taller than their automobile, and deserves the extra respect and thought when you are turning, stopping, accelerating, and parking the RV........ And the Tail moves!

• When you are on the road remember that a tractor/trailer rig is nearly always at or near the US maximum allowed height of 13-feet and 6-inches, and if you watch them on the road, it should help stay out of trouble with overpasses and fuel stops.

Tail Swing or Off-Tracking

• The number-1 accident with Motor Homes is caused by Tail Swing, and one should keep in mind that the average Motor Home has 2-1/2 feet of Tail-Swing when it is in a turn.

• When stopping at fuel dispensers, keep your rig at least 3-1/2 feet away from the pump to allow for Tail-Swing when you pull away from the fuel dispenser.

• What to do at an Intersection:

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  Notice the big white painted bar on the road at every stop sign/ stop light in the country. This bar is always designed to be set back enough to allow other turning vehicles to clear the vehicle sitting at the sign/painted bar, when they make a turn. So always stop at the white bar.

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  Situation One: When you are pulling up to a STOP sign/light and are in the left lane of 2 lanes, and turning left, you should pull up as close to the left line on the road as possible to allow for your tail to swing out and to the right when you turn left. Watch closely when actually turning, if there is a car too close to you on your right. And remember the Rule of the Road mentioned above.

• 
  

  Situation Two: When pulling up to a STOP in a single lane, and turning left, pull up as close to the left line on the road as possible to avoid your tail hitting any signs, fire hydrants or other things on the side of the road at the corner.

• 
  

  When to Turn: If you are driving a Diesel Pusher, you must remember that you are sitting over the front wheel, so whether turning left or right at an intersection, pull straight forward until your Butt is at the point where you need to turn, THEN turn the wheel. Everyone is used to their car, where they are sitting behind the front wheels, and turning the front end before "their Butt" gets to the turn location. You need to turn your Pusher as mentioned here.

When On the ROAD

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• Driving Gap: When on the road, try to keep at a 4 to 6 second gap between you and the vehicle in front of you. This is equivalent to 400-500 feet and is a safe stopping distance.

• Driving Speed: Try to keep your speed down on Interstate Highways, and drive at a 63 to 65 MPH speed and enjoy the trip and the scenery. If you drive at this speed, you will lose only 15 minutes in a 200 mile drive, and pick up as much as 2-2-1/2 MPG. And….Those people that keep passing you will pull in front of you, but will be long gone very quickly at the speeds they are driving.

• Steady Steering: If you are driving down the highway, and it seems that you are constantly turning the steering wheel left and right, try lifting your head and looking further down the road. You will find that you will be moving the steering wheel much less, and still maintaining your position in your lane.

• Looking Ahead: Try getting into the habit of looking 10 to 12 seconds down the road, so you will have more time to react to situations that arise that might require you to slow down, change lanes, etc.

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Organize your RV information for quick and easy access.

ORGANIZE or PAY the PRICE LATER:

It really doesn't matter if you have a Pop-Up Camper or a Motor Home, or whether it is shiny new, or one of the great old units on the road, you must put together a plan to organize all of the information on your unit. Please understand, THINGS WILL BREAK or STOP RUNNING! It is just a matter of time!

You can be prepared, or you can be that guy on the side of the road performing repairs, or even worse, you can be the guy in the campground begging tools to patch up his/her unit while their family and friends are all having a blast at the pool or whatever.

NEW UNIT:
With a new unit, the manufacturer have provided the sales people with a package including all of the RV documentation in a bundle (large portfolio, or box, etc), and they hand it to you at the time of the sale. The better ones will walk you through the documents quickly, but remember, many RV sales people do not have an RV, nor do they have a clue what all of the documents mean so they are often of little real help if you have questions.

I purchased my last RV in Florida, from on of the largest RV dealers in the country. They have people that work for them, who come to you after your purchase, and walk you through the RV, and explain how to operate pretty much everything on and in your RV.

If I could do it over, I would have filmed everything he said and kept it for later reference. He spent a little over an hour, spewing invaluable information about my RV, and my memory retention level is not good enough to remember everything he said. And I already had 2 other RV;s before this last one!

When you get time later to open and go through the package, I guarantee you will be intimidated by the number of different reference documents on all of the appliances, accessories and gadgets included in your RV.

USED UNIT:
With a used unit, be sure to ask for this same package, as it is going to be invaluable to you. But, it is sad to say, many previous owners end up not having the package of documents when they trade or sell their unit.

If this is the case, you must go on a campaign to get copies of this documentation. Every piece of paper is valuable for your future reference. TRUST ME!

I suggest that you try the following methods: First, try to intimidate the dealer to; 1-find you a package for your year model, 2-copy someone elses document package for you, or 3- copy one from a similar model but from a different year.

Second, If the dealer is of no real help, get the manufacturers technical support or customer service phone number and contact them for any documents they can give you, or at least ideas on where you might find them. The next step that I suggest is to go to eBay, Yahoo, CraigsList, or any other web sales site and search for someone smart enough to realize they can get a few bucks for such documents.

Finally, the last two desperation ideas are; 1-whenever you go camping, hope to find someone in the campground with a similar model to your own, and introduce yourself and ask if you can copy whatever documents he/she might have, and/or 2-join the manufacturers club (almost all manufacturer has a club magazine or web site), and advertise tghere for a copy of the documents you need.

The real and final desperation move, is to write down the Model and Serial numbers on everything that you can find in the RV, and start web searching the appliance and accessory manufacturers, then request any manuals or documens they might have available. Some have good sites and are very supportive, and some have nothing but a phone number and expressions of sympathy.

Set up your own little Library Reference System:
Once you accept the fact that you might need the documented information, you should start looking for a way to manage it all for fast and efficient reference wen needed.

You will soon note that you have a lot of;

1. important company names, address', and phone numbers
2. web site address' with logins and Passwords
3. Service schedules and part numbers
4. and a pile of different sized appliance, engine, chassis, etc. documents
5. many, many hand-written notes you have taken when talking with others that you need.
   

Now ..... I have met a lot of campers, many are older and set in their ways, and resist change, and especially technology, like Computers. Even if they are new to camping, they generally have their own ideas on how to do things, and more power to them.

I, myself am too old to tilt against windmills and change a world of stubborn old farts.
BUT ................... I strongly suggest the following procedures for the most efficient way to keep reference information stored and easily at hand. Take it and "Prosper" as Spock used to say, or do your own thing, or the scariest of all .... Do nothing!

Personal Computer:

I have a PC and I use it often. While at my home, or on the road, I pay my bills, I communicate with family and friends, I research information, I keep up with the news, I edit my photographs, and I have my own web site for my photography.

I can use spreadsheets, so I do have several spreadsheets that I use to;

1. organize special web site address', phone numbers, passwords, etc. for quick reference,
2. track my fuel consumption and mileage,
3. record preventive maintenance schedules and parts and materials on everything,
4. store photos that I have taken of my RV; behind every service door, the Engine compartment, the Generator, and all appliances for reference,
   
5. and in addition I have scanned copies of many of the large and small appliance service documents.

Yes, I said I scanned documents.
With the price of today's printer/scanners, I even have a separate one in my RV, and a good rainy day project is to scan your documents on appliances and other RV equipment, and keep them stored on my hard drive in an organized folder. Of course,I keep the old documents, but I can add notes and pictures to my scanned documents that help me tremendously.

This Library System really helps me by having a quick digital reference when on the road, for almost everything I need when traveling.

Also, another advantage is that I can quickly print a paper copy of anything I have scanned/stored, and; take it with me to stores when; looking for parts, looking for help in a Campground, or to just lie beside me when I am working on something myself.