Your RV Generator and How it Works - Tips on Maintenance

Many of the larger RV campers today have built-in generators.

These generators will typically operate on the motorhome's fuel system while owners of towed campers will have a portable generator they can use.

Portable Generator - pic by Marion Doss via Flickr

Below is a link to my article on my HubPage site that provides a short history on the evolution of RVs and their use of generators.

It then goes into how Gas and Diesel Generators function differently and provides some tips on the proper maintenance of your RV Generator.

Also, I have included links to a couple of very good YouTube videos that are full of tips on RV Generator maintenance.

The Right Gear for your RV CAMPSITE

by DON BOBBITT

SO, you are planning your first trip in your RV.

And, you're planning on being at this great campground for two whole weeks.

Sounds great, Huh?

Well, right now you need to ask yourself, do you have all of those little things that will make your camping experience a great one?

Click on the link below to read my article on HubPages where I describe the options you should consider to make your camping experience a wonderful one.

Whether you have a Motorhome, a 5th wheel camper, a tag-a-long, or a Pop-Up, this Hub can help you make the right choices in grills, chairs, outside lighting, rugs, tables and more.


Set up your RV Campsite for Fun and Comfort.

How to Balance your RV Power Load on 30Amp Service

An RV AC Power Control Panle typical of most RV's.

Even though many of the Rv's on the market now are designed with 50-Amp power connections and management systems, you can still find many campgrounds that have only 30-Amp power service available.

When this happens to many of us, we are at a loos as to what we can do to operate our RV with all if it's modern appliances on this restricted power source.

Click on the link below to read my article which describes numerous things you can do to balance your power load throughout the day when your camper is in a campground with only a 30-Amp Service.

The article includes numerous tricks and tips which can keep your power usage to a minimum while still enjoying your camping experience.

Balance your RV Power Load on 30Amp Service

Check out this 50-Amp to 30-Amp adapter for your 50-Amp RV.

Replacing your RV TV ANTENNA

Batwing RV TV Antenna with a bent lobe.

All of the RV's I have owned in the past have had a "Batwing" antenna on them.

The older RV's will have the original version that was designed for use during the days of Analog TV transmissions.

The newer Rv's will have an antenna that looks the same and the old design, but the new design will contain an amplifier that will pick up and amplify DIGITAL TV signals.

It is more efficient and should always be the preferred purchase for anyone who needs to replace their older version.

Well, the link below opens an article of mine that recounts my experience with an employee at an RV parts and service center when I needed to replace my TV antenna after it was broken in a campground.


Replacing your RV TV ANTENNA

Hopefully, you will enjoy this little story about my encounter with an authentic, self-proclaimed "expert".

How to keep Warm in your RV

Every RVer will eventually end up in their camper when a surprise cold snap hits on a cold night ,wondering how to keep warmer without having that propane furnace running throughout the night.

For the more experienced camper, careful pre-planning has them sitting cozy in their RV while the Winter cold has a minimal effect on them.

When you travel up North (anywhere north of Florida) you can wake up with this stuff on your car. Pic by Don Bobbitt

But it often ends up that some of us, are just happily camping and when an unanticipated cold snap hits the area, and we are left spending several nights and days, cold and uncomfortable.

How to Get Started in Camping?

The link below will take you to an article I wrote on my HubPages domain for people who want to get into camping but really do not know how or where to start.

How to Get Started in Camping?

This article provides information on such subjects as;

1. the World of Campers or Recreational Vehicles, 
2. the different Types of Campers on the Market, 
3. the proper Accessories and other equipment needed, and 
4. the Capabilities of each type of camper.

Check it out!
DON
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Are you planning on Storing or Using your Camper in the Off-Season?

Dons Camper on its new site, Pic by Don

OK, Fall is in the Air, people. The question is, are you planning on traveling in your camper in cold weather?

Well, I am. My wife and I are doing something a little different this winter.

We placed our fifth-wheel in a campground in Virginia, near where our kids, grandkids and friends live. This way, we will not be towing it anywhere, but we can drive there and use it whenever we want.

We have been storing our RV for the off-season the last two years. And we realized that we were going up to visit and we would stay in hotels, usually for 5-7 days at a time.

But, the problem was that hotel stays has gotten so expensive, in addition to the costs of eating out so much that we decided to place our RV on a site near our family for the off-season, with hookups of course.

Now, we will visit more often, and we will stay quite a bit longer. And, most importantly, we will be in our own cozy camper that, as all campers know, is our second home and is so much better than stay in than some cramped hotel room.

As all of you dedicated campers know, in a camper, you are sleeping on YOUR bedding, sitting on YOUR Sofa, and walking in YOUR carpet. ANd you have no worries about who might have been in the room before you or how healthy or clean a person they were.

In out camper, we have everything we want, for our lifestyle, and we are so much more comfortable.

Also, we already have our own clothes in the camper, so we haul less "stuff" back and forth when we do visit.

SO, I suggest that you, my fellow camper owners who are just storing your camper for the off season, consider placing it at a site, somewhere, that you can use it as your second seasonal home.

We love having this new option for our lifestyle and we are getting some off-season use from our camper.

DON

PS. Here is a link to my article on How to keep Warm in your RV. Click on it for some great tips on keping comfortable in your camper during Cold weather.

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Towing Connector Wiring Reference

RV Towing Cart

With the many methods of towing in the RV world, you must have an electrical connection between the RV and the towed vehicle for lights turn signals brakes etc.. 

Pre-made cables are available at most Camper part stores, as well as kits for wiring into the wiring harness of vehicles.

RV Coaches have the 6-pin or 7-pin connector mounted near the Hitch. Some of the wiring systems are simpler than others, but there are standards for the connectors and wiring. 

Here is a short overview of the connectors:

4-Pin Tow Connector

The standard 4-pin connector is a flat plastic connector, with 3 pins either male or female, and the 4th pin the opposite sex. The connector shown is for the wiring of the towing vehicle. The pins and their usage are;

PIN-1=Ground (male pin) White wire,
PIN-2=Tail Lights (and license plate light and side lights)= Brown Wire,
PIN-3=Left Turn & Stop Lights (Yellow Wire),
PIN-4=Right Turn & Stop Lights (Green wire).

6-pin Connector

The standard 6-pin connector is a “Keyed” round metal connector with the following connections. Those shown are from the wiring side of the towing vehicles connector. The Pins and their usage, are;

PIN-A (center pin = 12V (and is either red or Black),
PIN-TM -(at the guide) = Tail Lights (usually Brown wire),
PIN-GD =Ground (usually White),
PIN-LT=Left Turn Signal (usually Yellow),
PIN-RT=Right Turn (usually Green), and
PIN-S= Electric Brakes (usually Blue). This pin is used to provide a variable voltage to the electrical brakes of larger tow trailers and campers to assist in stopping them.

7-Pin Connector

The standard 7-pin connector is a “Keyed” round metal connector with the following connections. Those shown are from the wiring side of the towing vehicles connector. The pins and their usage, are;

-->

PIN-1=Ground (usually White),
PIN-2=Electric Brakes (usually Blue),
PIN-3=Taillights (usually Green),
PIN-4=12V (usually Black),
PIN-5=Left Turn (usually Red),
PIN-6=Right Turn (usually Brown), and the
Center PIN= Auxiliary Power or Backup Lights (can be wired for either)



by DON BOBBITT

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TRIP Preparation - You and Your RV - Prepare for the Worst and Enjoy the Best

TRIP Preparation - You and Your RV - Prepare for the Worst and Enjoy the Best

This article is designed to remind you of all of those little things that you need to do to make sure that your vacation trip will be fun and you will avoid those nasty roadside accidents and problems that haunt so many other campers.

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Here is a great online vendor whose products are high quality and often are available at reduced pricing and Shipping.
Like almost all campers, the right clothes, and sporting equipment are necessary for that next level of camping fun. Check the site out.



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An RV Buying SCAM - Look Out

An RV Buying SCAM - Look Out

I have my RV listed for sale, and I was contacted by a potential buyer, or so I thought.

Luckily, I went to my bank and learned how to handle a sale properly, and it turned out that I was actually dealing with a Scam artist. read this to protect yourself.

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Check out this link to my SHOPIFY STORE where I design and sell Quality name brand T-Shirts with custom designs such as this one for the RV OWNER:

NULIVIN4U Shopify Store

Thanks for viewing this Blog Post by Don Bobbitt.

If you liked the content of this Blog, I would appreciate it if you give me a +1 by clicking on the symbol below:

On the Road .... Again

IT feels SO GOOD to be on the road again!

Helen and I spent all day yesterday loading the RV up with our stuff.  It actually turned into a bit of a challenge.

You see, we both have a lot of Family and many old Friends in Lynchburg VA.  We were both born and raised in the area, and sad to say, we do not get back there as often as we should.  So, we will try to get in all of our Holiday visiting with people early, before we head to Florida.

Because we were going to Lynchburg for a couple of weeks, we needed to pack at least a few strategic pieces of clothing for the Cold, while saving as much of our storage for our warm weather clothing that we will need when we get to Florida.

We finally got the clothing thing done, and then we packed all of those things you believe you will need, but you rarely end up using.  Then late last night we loaded all of the perishables we might want over the next few weeks, and finally finished around 6:30 PM.

We got a good nights sleep, and were up, and at it, this morning at 6:30AM.  You know, doing those last few things that you forgot the day before.

We said our Goodbyes to our friends, and hit the road.

It was a pretty uneventful trip, except for the last couple of hours as we neared Lynchburg.  The wind had gotten up, and I was doing some of that White-Knuckle driving.  But all ended well and we are now all hooked up at our daughters house.

One thing that might be of interest to you RVers.

We retired to the Myrtle Beach area of SC, and our previous most efficient trips were up some back roads, over to US-95, and then onto US-40, and then taking NC-86 from Hillsborough over to Danvile VA, where we took US-29 to Lynchburg.

I had been told that US-74 was completed from Lumberton, NC over to Rockingham,NC.  so I put it into my GPS software, and boy was it a nice drive.

So our new route will be from our home over to Chadbourn, NC (about 35 miles of 2-lane).  At Chadbourn, we took US-74, all the way to Rockingham, where we then took US-220 to Greensboro, NC.

Greensboro itself has about 6 miles of dangerous driving (narrow roads, heavy traffic, several lane swaps, etc.), but you are out of there in just a few minutes, and then it is smooth sailing all the way to Lynchburg.

And, according to my Garmin, it was about 15 minutes quicker than the old way.

Starting Out in Camping ------ AGAIN!

Helen and I are in our sixties, and we worked hard all of our lives, saving what we could along the way, while raising three kids.  Finally, our physical conditions forced us to retire several years ago, and we sold our home, and bought a nice retirement home in the Myrtle Beach area of SC, and settled down to enjoy ourselves and enjoy the good life, as they say.

We did all of the things new retirees do the first year or so of our retirement, and after a while we began to tire of most of them. And, it did not take very long before we developed a case of "cabin fever" and we both knew that we had to come up with something productive and interesting to do, or we would go crazy.

Considering both of our physical limitations, we finally settled on getting back into camping.  This was something we did for a number of our early years of marriage, that we and the Kids had really enjoyed.

Once we decided on camping, we started to research the world of camping and campers to pick what level and type of camping we really wanted to do, and that could we afford!

So, with both of us on the web daily, and subscribing to camping-centric magazines, it only took us about six-months to settle on what we really wanted, and those were:

• we wanted a Class-A or Class-C Motorhome
• we wanted minimal setup and shutdown labor involved
• we wanted nice day-to-day comforts --- no HE-MAN wood chopping, mud, cold, etc. (Been There and Done That in our younger years!)
  
• we wanted something that we would drive, and be able to take advantage of the Wal-Marts, rest areas and parking lots of America when traveling and feel safe and comfortable when we pulled over to rest and eat.
• we wanted a nice Kitchen so we could prepare and eat our favorite meals, and continue to experiment with new foods and new recipes, as we are avid cooks and LOVE Good Food.
  
• Oh, Yeah, and we needed room enough for my wifes clothes!

We felt we could get these and others of our needs filled with a Class-A, and then the big "BUT" slapped us in the face.  You know -------"BUT we knew nothing about Class-A RVs; not manufacturers, not models, not pricing, not values, NOTHING!"

What to do?  What to Do?

How To TRADE YOUR RV

How To TRADE YOUR RV

This article goes through explanations on the proper procedures and the pitfalls of trading your RV or Motorhome, on your terms. It explains how to deal with the dealers and sales people  and taking advantage of how they do their jobs. Check it out!

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!

A Typical RV Pull Out?

A Typical RV Pull Out?

This is a great and funny little story about us pulling out on one of our trips in our RV, and our problems with some vendors at a fuel stop.

RV Driving Tips for On the Road

RV Driving Tips for On the Road

This is a great Hub full of reminders for the driver of RV's Motorhomes, fifth wheels, tag alongs, and even pop-ups.  It includes many common sense tips for the driver to keep in mind when they are on the road.

Looking Back at my RV Preventive Maintenance

Looking Back at my RV Preventive Maintenance

I take a look at waht maintenance I have recently performed on my RV and what I really need to get doen before my next trip.

RV Towing and Electrical

Electrical towing connector by Don Bobbitt

RV Towing and Electrical

This Hub includes excellent reference data and tips on wiring your tow connector as well as providing explanations of the different towing methods.

Adjusting your RV MIRRORs

by DOn BOBBITT

Adjusting your RV MIRRORs

Reading this Hub is a necessity for every RV Motorhome driver.  It details a step by step procedure, with pictures, on how to set up your mirrors for maximum coverage while driving.

Your RV TV and Wireless TV services

by DON BOBBITT

Your RV TV and Wireless TV services

This Hub provides an explanation of how Wireless TV works and how to provide this service in your RV, Motorhome, 5th Wheeler, Tag-a-long, or even Pop-Up camper. After reading this you should be more knowledgeable on what Wireless is and how it can work for you.