What's bugging Me? BUGS

At our current job we have to use those outdoor type lights and boy do they attract the bugs. The moths I can understand but there are some out here that seem to come out in groves.

Our trailer must be some kind of an attraction to them. I have moved the lights further away from the trailer but that doesn't seem to work. They still keep coming. Take a look and see what they have done to the trailer.

 

If you take a real close look you can see that they are all over the trailer. It seems to me that they land on the trailer and somehow die there. They don't fall off either, if you try to brush them off they smear real bad.

Here are some pics up close.

Well the last pic isn't that much of a close up but you get the idea. Last night was really weird. A bunch of winged bugs were all over the ground, it looked like the ground was moving. There had to be thousands of them. All they would do is fly around the ground and then this morning they were all dead. Needless to say when you open the door they are inside and we are swatting them left and right.

Well if the nights are bad enough during the day I have to deal with the pesky gnats. These little creatures fly all around your ears and eyes. Oh yea, one more thing, biting flys. That's right biting flys, they land on your legs and bite you. It stings a bit and annoying.

So what's been bugging me lately, THE BUGS. I need a cold front to come through.

Until Next Time....................Be Safe 

Uh Oh....Water On The Floor!

One of the most terrible things to happen on your RV is to discover water in a place that shouldn't have water there. The plumbing system is of a basic thing and similar to your house. The problem is trying to find where the heck the leak is. I am going to try to break this up into different parts. All of this has potential areas of water leaks.

The Pump and City Water Connection.

Your water pump delivers water to your RV from the water tank. It runs off of your battery so you can have water pressure at any time, as long as there is water in your tank of course. The pump provides about 45 psi of pressure. When you are hooked up to a park's water system you might have too much pressure and a water regulator is needed. The RVs plumbing system is rated usually for no more than 45 psi. (pounds per square inch) Also when hooked up to the park you do not need to run your pump. I do recommend an RV water hose for your unit.

The Water Lines:

The water lines in your RV are made of a durable plastic tube. They may or may not be color coded for hot and cold. The connections are normally hand tighten type and can be found at your local hardware store. At least check them out before heading to the RV store. There's not a lot you have to do here but I would check the tightness of all your connections. If you use your unit frequently the travel may loosen some of your connectors. This happened to us under the bathroom sink. Water is sneaky and can do damage before you even notice that there is a leak.

Funny Looking Gadgets:

I mention this because you might have a leak at this gadget. What I am talking about is a Vacuum Break Diverter Valve. It is used on your toilet when you flush. What this valve does is allow some air into the flow of water after flushing. When you take your foot off the pedal, water will stop flowing and this is when the air is introduced. By allowing air into the system it prevents a suction of water from your toilet. This way your water system will not be contaminated. I have two of them, one for the toilet and one for my flushing of the black water tank.

Freezing:

There might be some confusion on this. If you purchased a "All Season" RV this doesn't mean that your pipes won't freeze. What it does mean is that your gray and black water tanks are not exposed to the elements underneath. They may or may not be heated as well. What you can do to help prevent freezing is to have your cabinet doors open during the night or day when temps drop. What this will do is allow heat to the pipes. In my fifth wheel I sometime will turn on the lights inside the cargo area, aka the basement.

If you experience water leaks the repair is easy, it is finding where the leak is that's tough.

Until Next Time................Be Safe.

 

In All His Glory

Our current job puts us right in the middle of the South Texas desert. We are pretty close to nowhere but not too far from anywhere. Outside our front door lies a rood which takes you back to civilization, which is about 35 miles.

We have seen many roadrunners, bunny rabbits and even coyotes, but no rattlesnakes as of yet. When we compare our last job to this one we don't have to deal with all the dust from the road but still have to contend with the rain.

Yesterday was a very soggy day. The rain started about ten in the morning and didn't stop until five or so. I was able to pull the awning out to keep dry as when I would be inspecting vehicles for proper license plates and such. I didn't have to many to inspect because of the rain. An easy day.

With everything said about our jobs and all the misery that surrounds them it is nice to see something surprising.

This place is pretty barren, small trees or very large bushes, sticker plants and no color, just brown. When I walked out the door this morning I was very surprised to see this little flower. I thought to myself how wonderful to see this little beauty in the middle of nowhere.

God's graces are all around us if we just take time to look. I know I will start looking a bit more often.

Until next Time......................Be Safe.

BRRRRR......It's Cold In Here!

Here in the near future we all might being saying this. This past summer's heat I would think we are all looking forward to this winter. At least I am, I am having dreams of wearing a coat. Some people may not like the cold at all and therefore must have heat to keep them comfortable.

Do you like to go camping in the late fall or winter? If you do then you better check out your furnace before you take off. There is nothing more miserable than to get where you want to be and turn on the furnace and have no heat.

My experience with furnaces go way back to our first motor home. We bought it knowing that the fan didn't work on the furnace. I bought a fan for it and replaced it and the furnace worked fine. The next problem occurred in our travel trailer. The fan worked but no heat. A friend of mine and I pulled the furnace out and discovered that the electrode was covered by a mud dobber. Basically no spark. The last problem happened when we purchased our fifth wheel that we have now. Once again the fan worked but no heat. I pulled the furnace out and found that the circuit board was bad. I replaced the circuit board and now we have heat.

The basic operation of the furnace goes something like this:

1. Set your thermostat to the desired temp.
2. The furnace fan will start to clear any propane in the area.
3. The burner will light and you will have heat.

Propane is used to give you heat in your RV. Your furnace uses the most propane in your RV. So if you like it warm and toasty then you will be using bunches of propane. Once the thermostat calls for heat propane will start to flow into the burner and will ignite by way of a spark. The burner area is the heart of the furnace where the air is heated and forced out into your trailer.

You may or may not have a CO (Carbon Monoxide) detector in your unit. If you don't have one, get one. As propane burns it produces CO and this can kill you. The furnace has an exhaust that vents outside your trailer. If your burner is cracked it can leak CO into your trailer and kill you. You will pass out and never wake up. This will ruin your day.

If you are a handy person with tools and have common sense then you can make repairs on your own. All I do is research the model of the furnace that I have and read up on it. Make logical decisions and go for it. It sure pays off in the long run. On the other hand you can always take it to a repair shop and have them fix it. Its just a choice and what you are comfortable with. Myself on the other hand don't have that option do to the fact of where we are and what we are doing at this job.

I hope that I have given you some incite to the operation of a typical furnace. So stay warm this winter and enjoy the cold or heat, depending on how you look at it.

Until Next Time............................Be Safe.

What's So Hot About Water?

AAAHHHHH, the wonders of taking a hot shower. If you had a day that you were sweaty, dirty and sticky from the high humidity, you know taking that hot shower is very relaxing. In the winter I love to just stand there and soak it all in. How do we get hot water in an
RV?

Hot water heaters come in many different sizes for an RV. For this post I will use mine, which is a 10 gallon, direct ignition, propane and electric water heater. Let's take a few minutes and see how this works.

The water heater in an RV is pretty much the same as the one in your house. Water is fed into a tank, made from aluminum, and is heated by way of propane, an electric heat strip or both. When the water heater demands to heat the water an ignition of the propane will start and go off when it hits the desired temp. The desired temp is set at the manufacturer and can not be adjusted on most units. This temp is about 140 degrees, so be careful.

The operation of the electric portion is usually used in combination with the propane. By turning on a switch inside your trailer, this will help with the propane in a faster heating of the water. I normally don't use the electric heater and use only the propane. When using the electric heater it pulls too much wattage especially during the summer when the a/c is running.

The size of the eater heater will determine how much hot water you will have. Remember it is not like at your house where you may have a 40 gallon heater, in an RV they are small. You may have to adjust your shower time based on how much hot water you have. You only have a few items to take care as far as maintenance.

Here is mine without the cover. Yours should look similar. Most of what you need to do will be done outside. There is an Anode Rod that needs to be replaced about once a year. What this rod does is help protect the aluminum tank from corroding. To find where the rod is located can be a mystery. Sometimes they are located where you would drain the tank, located here at the bottom on mine.

Sometimes they can be a bear to get loose so be careful and don't break anything. If you are not sure where to find the anode rod check the internet on your model.

Lighting the propane portion of the water heater can be done in two ways. On mine all I have to do is flip a switch on the inside of my trailer. Some others you may have to light a pilot light to get it started. If you have to light yours manually follow the instruction on the cover or inside of the water heater. Once lit you can see the burner heating up your tank.

Here is the burner on mine so I can see the flame once it fires up. Do you see that pinkish wire looking thing? It is similar to a spark plug wire. This supplies the spark needed to light the propane. This is called "Direct Ignition". Having one of this type does not require a pilot light. I like this type.

Now for safety. When getting ready to travel, make sure that all pilot lights and switches are off. In some states it may be required that the propane be shut off at the tank(s). So go and enjoy that hot shower now.

Until Next Time..........................Be Safe.

 

Staying Put!

Well it appears that this new blog is not working out too well. I think I will just stay here at this blog site and continue like I have before. I tried to customize it and even write something but it just wasn't comfortable and difficult to maneuver in it.

To be honest with you I thought by switching to the other blog site I would get more comments about the items I write about. If you have tried to give me a comment and was unable to publish it try under anonymous and sign your name. This way you don't have to have a google account. If you do have a google account then you will have to sign in. (I Think)

I do have a request to blog about the RV furnace and hot water heater. I will be posting these items in two different posts.

Until Next Time...........................Be Safe.