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I've been a full time RVer for a year now and have traveled 6,000 miles. My first trip from Minnesota to Florida was in January 2006. I had plans to stay in Tennessee for a business meeting for two weeks along the way. The car I owned was not towable so I searched 'quickly' to find one that was and sell my other. I called on a friend who found a nice little Honda Civic in Iowa where he lived. Well, I didn't have the time to drive there to look at it so I trusted my friend and bought it "sight unseen". I then made arrangements for the base plate to be ordered and delivered locally at an RV dealership. I had already purchased the tow bar. When I arrive in Iowa, I found it to be the perfect car with brand new tires. I drove it around for a weekend before leaving again. Never had driven and RV nor towed a vehicle before, this was all new to me. I knew to at least put the car in neutral. I had asked the selling dealer three times to be sure I could tow this car and they assured me I could but never offered any further instructions nor did I think to ask. Certainly it must not involve more than putting it in neutral or they would have…
continue the story
Submitted by:
T Wilde,
Pensacola FL
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High Tech Boondocking
Boondocking, or dry camping, involves RVing at locations with no water, electricity, or sewer connections, and in some Bureau of Land Management areas, no roads. It hearkens back to days past when we headed out with a tent, folding propane stove, and a few jugs of water.
RVers, especially out west and in rural areas, get introduced to boondocking because of the lure of the spectacular vistas and outdoor activities available in the National Parks or Bureau of Land Management (BLM) locales, other open Federal or state lands, and utility company areas that offer camping.
Other RVers opt to dry camp for an overnight stay to get a fast start the next day, or arrive at a fully–booked RV resort or campground with no available sites and get directed to an overflow area.
continued…
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Do you have questions about RV technical issues, the RV lifestyle or RV's in general? Ask Mark!
Hi Folks!
This month's column is a grab bag of interesting questions and a couple of clarifications. Thanks for sending in your questions, and for the many nice comments!
Dear Mark,
Exactly what in involved in de–winterizing an RV. We have a Roadtrek RS–Adventurous and will be traveling south in February from upstate New York. Somewhere along the way, when temperatures are warmer, we want to stop and de–winterize. Isn't this something we can do ourselves?
Thank you.
Mark says…
De–winterizing is not difficult, and mainly consists of reversing the winterizing procedures used in the fall. Make sure that anything you disconnected is reconnected and that all hoses and water lines are visually intact and in good condition. Close any open drain valves and replace drain plugs. If you used antifreeze, flush it out according to the antifreeze manufacturer's instructions. Now is a good time to sanitize your fresh water tank and system. To sanitize the tank and the fresh water system, follow your RV manufacturer's instructions or do the following:
- Prepare a chlorine solution using one gallon of water and ¼ cup of Clorox or Purex household bleach (5% sodium hypochlorite solution). Pour one gallon of solution into tank for 15 gallons of tank capacity.
- Completely fill the tank with fresh water. Turn on the pump. Open each faucet and let it run until all air has been released from the pipes and entire fresh water system is filled. You should be able to smell chlorine strongly at each faucet.
- Allow to stand for three hours (or longer).
- Drain and flush the tank and system with potable fresh water.
- To remove any excessive chlorine taste or odor which might remain, prepare a solution of one quart vinegar to five gallons water and allow this solution to remain in tank overnight or longer.
- Drain tank and again flush with potable water.
Replace water filter cartridges with new ones. Make sure the water heater bypass is back into the "normal operation" mode and fill the water heater. Apply pressure to the fresh water system and thoroughly inspect all plumbing connections and fixtures for leaks.
In most cases, your RV owner's manual will have procedures and checklists for winterizing/de–winterizing. For motorhomes, you will also need to place the engine and vehicle systems back into operating mode if they were prepped for winter storage. Ditto with your generator.
Mark
read more questions…
Do you have a question for Mark?
Please submit your question via e–mail to woodalls@escapees.com. Questions should be about RV technical issues, general RV or RV lifestyle.
Please remember, material will be edited. Because of the large volume of material and correspondence submitted, individual replies will not be possible, nor can we acknowledge receipt of your material. Selected questions will be answered in future issues of the Diamond Club newsletter in the Mark, My Words column. The Mark, My Words column also appears in Escapees magazine, a bi–monthly publication of the Escapees RV Club. For more information visit www.escapees.com/magazine
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Create Your Own Personal Travel Website… at woodalls.com.
Announcing a new Diamond Club member benefit! Powered by MyTripJournal.com, your personal travel website will allow you to:
- Plot your own journey with My Trip Journal's custom mapping software,
- Store and display photos and journal entries about your trip,
- Communicate with family and friends who can check out your personal website at their leisure, or even recieve automatic email notifications when you update your site,
- Post internet movie clips,
- Download a personal, high quality archive at the end of your trip!
You can get your free personal travel website for 30 days… if you like it, then sign up for a longer term and save 15%! Aren't you glad you're a Diamond Club member?
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