Tag Archives: RV Tips

Lightning Crashes – An RV AC unit dies

Posted on by April 3, 2017
(Cue “Lightning Crashes” by Live, from the album “Throwing Copper”. A great song, one of my favs.)

(This is just a short post to let you all know I’m still around. I will be posting about Florida shortly)

The above referenced song title and lyrics were the first thing I thought of as reality set in: Thunder and lightning storm. Lightning crashes directly overhead. Power flickers, TV screen freezes. The smell of burnt plastic, and of electrically charged air (a rather unique smell).

The backup batteries and converter did their jobs so well, quickly bringing the TV back on, it took a few minutes for me to realize I was no longer running on shore (hookup/city) power. But then I noticed some little things weren’t on: the fridge had flipped from electric to gas, the socket where my phone was (no longer) charging, the Christmas lights in the living room, the microwave clock… That’s serious. When the microwave is out, I am NOT a happy camper glamper.

When the rain slowed down, I switched to generator power and began checking my favorite things: TVs – check; microwave – check; fridge – check; toaster oven – check; water heater – check; oven – check; furnace – check; AC unit – …..  AC unit – ……… AC unit – …………..

Ohferfuckssake.

Lightning crashes, an RV AC unit dies.

The blower works, But, wait! There’s more…

RV stuff I fixed all by myself.

Posted on by March 7, 2014

Before I get to the self-stroking RV stuff I fixed, I want to talk about something sort of important, for once…

My Yahoo! editor has fallen off the face of the earth which means I’ve been able to write more on this blog. Lucky you! (No contact in about a month now, and I’ve submitted a great story idea and an article in that time, along with a few reminder emails.Whatever.) So in between writing the next episode of Tales From the RV Park, I checked my blog stats on Google Feedburner and noticed I lost about 20% of my subscribers within the four days after this post: Online Dating: Oh my. Well, this explains a lot. The post may or may not explain a lot about online dating, but I can’t figure out why I lost so many subscribers. I thought the post about the hunter-gather principle would’ve been the one to turn folks off. Or, far more likely, this post, this post, or this post. Was it something I said?

I don’t try to offend anyone on this blog, but I realize it happens. Heck, I do it in my face-to-face life, too… I suffer from “Foot In Mouth” disease all the time. It’s probably that missing filter thing I mentioned in my About page.

Since I brought up the online dating, some of you may be wondering about what’s going on with the Online Dating Chronicles. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Nada. Ziltch. Zero. Concerned I might say something “sans filter” – like I do on this blog – I have been extra cautious when writing back to the few men who’ve sent me a normal email. The conversations always seem to go quite well… and then nothing. They just stop replying, or send one random sentence in reply to our regular email exchange – a sentence that contains no question in which to reply. And, no asking to meet or to talk on the phone.

I do live about an hour and a half (or more) from the ones writing. Maybe that has something to do with it – in the end they just don’t want to bother with the distance. I don’t know, that’s just a guess. Maybe I’m offending the crap out of them, too. 

So,I’m done with the online dating thing. The endless emailing that goes nowhere has taken its toll on my level of interest.

Which means I will continue offending and/or boring the crap out of the few of you dear readers I have left…

Self-Stroking Post RV Stuff I Fixed All By Myself

There is a dichotomy to the RV lifestyle: A lot of stuff needs fixing or regular maintenance, which sucks. But when you fix it all by yourself, it’s an awesome moment of pure pleasure. SPOILER ALERT: If you can tell someone about it and they make all the appropriate facial expressions and comments, the moment of awesome lasts even longer.

Maybe it’s just me, but I get a real thrill out of fixing some, often random, item on my RV. Is that feeling why men love fixing stuff?

*light bulb goes on above my head*

Ohhhh, I totally get it, guys. It makes me want to get frisky, too.

I will now tell you about Stuff I Fixed All By Myself because you are a captive audience that’s really nice to me.

Well, it’s this or you could go back to the work you’re avoiding. Ok, we’ll compromise – I’ll keep it short, kind of. To help with keeping it kind of short, just know the links below are all to previous posts so long-time readers can skip those. Everyone new has to read them. Why? Um, you might learn something. Yeah, that’s it.

Now that we’ve got that settled, I shall commence with the list of Stuff I Fixed All By Myself:

But, wait! There’s more…

Got issues: How can I fix my Norcold RV fridge?

Posted on by February 26, 2014

Got issues with your Norcold refrigerator? You’re not alone!

(Norcold is a brand of refrigerator in many RVs. Feel free to skip this post and go to the next one if you don’t have an RV or aren’t interested in all the crap you have to fix if you own one.)

The glacier of ice that once occupied my freezer.

A portion of the glacier of ice that once occupied my freezer. It’s about two inches thick here, but started as three inches in the center. Yeah, yeah, so I let it go for a while – what of it?

My Norcold fridge doesn’t do well in high heat, the current temperature in south central Texas. I’m hoping you have better solutions than what I’ve tried. Besides, I’m losing interest in the Online Dating Chronicles. Not even the “30 Boyfriend Rules” profile written by two little girls got a response. Perhaps potential candidates suspected my snarkiness in posting it in place of my original profile.

Issue #1: The back of the freezer has accumulated a glacier’s worth of ice.

I suspect the extra weight negatively effects my gas mileage. Global warming is not effecting my RV fridge. If there is such a thing as Global Warming, the world is welcome to use my fridge to help combat it.

I tried to thaw it, only to have my hairdryer die after about two minutes. WTF??? The hairdryer still works, but seems to over heat and shut down when trying to thaw the fridge. It wasn’t making a dent in the glacier anyway.

Next, I chipped at the wall of ice with a knife for another thirty minutes, switching arms, back and forth, as each arm tired out. Thirty minutes and two aching arms later, I had made such little progress it was depressing.

Issue #2: The small drip tray in the top, back of the regular cold area of the fridge freezes over and won’t drain.

But, wait! There’s more…

You Know You’re a Full-time RVer When…

Posted on by July 3, 2016

Disclaimer: I can’t take credit for this, I got it from Facebook. I have no idea who wrote it, nor did those who posted it before me.

After being on the road for over two years, I related to all of these. I’ve added on to the end. Please feel free to add more in the comments!

Home Is Where You Park It

Home Is Where You Park It

You Know You’re a Full-time RVer When…

1) Your GPS is your best friend!

2) You NEVER know where items are in the grocery store.

3) You dump your own sewage and it is no big deal.

4) Your family has to ask you where you are when they call.

5) You keep both winter and summer wardrobes because you don’t know where you will end up.

6) You know what snowbirds are and have seen them in their natural habitat.

7) Your HOME has wheels.

8) You blog so that YOU will remember where you have been.

9) You look in your pantry and see that you have cereal from New Jersey, pasta from Texas, canned goods from Alabama, and crackers from California.

10) You are always the new guy/gal in town.

11) You know where to find the best, most reliable internet.

12) You own very little and are proud of that.

13) You follow the warm weather.

14) You hang pictures and decoration on the wall with velcro.

15) You don’t own any figurines or other cutesy stuff that sits on countertops.

16) You have slept in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

17) You meet up with a family in Virginia that you met in California.

18) You remember friends by what state you met them in.

19) You grocery shop every three days because your refrigerator is so small.

20) You have been to more museums, aquariums, national parks, monuments and zoos than you can remember.

21) You have “pulled chocks”.

22) You look confused when someone asks, “Where are you from?”

23) You get your mail 2-3 weeks late regularly from your mail forwarding service.

24) You have witnessed your toilet “burping” at you.

25) You crave adventure and can not wait to see what is around the next corner!

Here are the additions:

26) You tell your friends and family not to give you “things”, and you only buy items for which you know already have storage space.

27) When someone asks about your out-of-state plates, you have to explain that you don’t actually live in South Dakota/Florida/Texas/Montana. It’s just where your “residency” is.

Please add yours in the comments!

While enjoying the rain I learned I live in a sieve.

Posted on by September 15, 2012

It’s been hot here in central Texas, hotter than a whore on nickle night at the cat house. So when the rains and cool weather came – without terrifying winds – we all enjoyed it immensely. I can’t tell you how wonderful it has been to wear pants and long-sleeved shirts for the first time in over six months.

So there I was, sitting at the computer in cozy sweat-outfit bliss, trying to catch up on email, etc. while listening to the soothing plip-plop of soft rain on the roof.

Then I heard a SPLAT-SPLAT. Huh, I thought, that drip was louder than the others.

I start to go back to my Facebooking typing when I had a second thought (yes, two in less than a minute – we wouldn’t want to tax ourselves).

Uh-oh… My mouth dropped open as my head snapped up and my focus zeroed in on the drips coming from under the entertainment center. (Feel free to insert a stream of your own dirty words.)

The RV sprung a leak, again, and in almost the same spot as last year. Some of you may recall the time when the windows let in rain. Thank goodness I was home this time, too.

While it feels at times like the Universe is conspiring against me lately with several RV issues happening all at once and myriad other things which you’ve likely been subjected to enjoyed reading, the Universe also seems to provide (sometimes) at the same time: The rain stopped while we spent a good two hours caulking the RV, the temperature was neither hot nor cold, and the rangers once again came to my rescue.

Caulking isn't just for breakfast anymore.

With caulk in her hand? Covered in caulk? There’s a joke in there somewhere. Feel free to post a better one in the comments, but remember my mom reads this blog so don’t go all perverted like that one commenter, ok? On an unrelated note, I chose this photo because my butt looks great. Sometimes, gravity works in your favor.

I would like to take this moment to express my gratitude to the wonderfully kind and helpful rangers at the park. Lets all say a nice little prayer of health and happiness and prosperity for them, ok? Seriously, now is a good time.

RV Slide Issues Update

And another Thank You But, wait! There’s more…

Naked people, RV issues, and kitties.

Posted on by February 25, 2014

There is a post coming on the Squirrel Obstacle Course, but I’ve been too busy to edit the video. So all I’ve got for you is a generic update of randomness. Your excitement is palpable, even from here.

You’re really wondering about the naked people, aren’t you? Don’t worry, that wasn’t just a catchy title, they’re coming. Err, umm, maybe they already did? I don’t know, I didn’t get to ask them.

RV Slide-out Issues

The living room slide on my RV has issues. It probably needs therapy, but I can’t find an RV shrink within 100 miles. There is only one, yes ONE, RV technician willing to make the long drive to this town with ten a hundred cows for every human. When describing the problem to him, his answer didn’t exactly exude confidence. I can tell he’s never encountered a problem like this one before. Crap.

I can’t close the slide to drive it to the shop over an hour away in which I have more confidence (it’s Camping World, but they don’t do mobile).

In Winnebagos with a couch attached to the living room slide-out, the carpet under the couch is covered in a sheet of clear, thick plastic (like Visqueen). This wraps around under the slide to protect the other carpet that’s part of the house/coach floor.

Most of this plastic/visqueen has come lose, rolled up under the slide, and is sticking out of the weatherstripping on the outside. (see photo) When I attempted to pull it out all the way, I realized part of it is still attached, AND a glide/slide-out strip (probably used to help glide the slide smoothly) has also come lose.

Winnebago Sightseer Slide-out issue - plastic sticking out.

Well, this just sucks.

But, wait! There’s more…

What you need to know to tow a vehicle behind your RV.

Posted on by September 26, 2016

Not long ago, I wrote Ten Things You Must Know Before Buying A Used RV. Consider this post the sequel.

To Tow or Not to Tow, that is the question.

Two dear friends of mine, J & V, are embarking on the same journey I’m on. They’ve just bought an RV, are selling their house, and hitting the road as full-time RVers.

Yippee!! You can not imagine how excited I am for them! I truly love this lifestyle and highly recommend it.

Naturally, they have questions. Curiously, they’ve asked for *my* advice.

Huh. Perplexing, isn’t it? Well, with displays of such bravery so early on, I know they will surely succeed in their grand adventure.

J wrote to me…

…we are getting ready slowly but surely. Tell me your experience if any with a tow car?

It occurred to me (belatedly, as most things do) that future RV owners and readers may be equally curious about dinghy towing, as it’s formally known, or getting a “toad” as it’s colloquially known. (The following obviously doesn’t pertain to those who’ve opted for a fifth-wheel trailer, or Class B vans/RVs. Or those of you who don’t plan to ever RV. Feel free to go to the next post now.)

How and why I decided to get a tow vehicle.

Well-meaning people, most of whom have never RVed let alone full-timed, will tell you to get a moped, or bicycles, or just rent cars everywhere you go. Don’t listen to them unless you’re just a weekender or short-term RVer.

Ok, let’s play that one out: Imagine being But, wait! There’s more…

Ten Things You Must Know Before Buying a Used RV

Posted on by September 26, 2016

After owning my first RV for about eight months, I have compiled a good list of things to know before buying a used RV.

(For my non-RVing readers, feel free to skip this post.)

Buying a used RV

Before buying a used RV, attend a lot of RV shows and visit dealerships. See all of the options available and decide what you want or need.

While the title says “Ten Things”, there are likely many more than ten things you should know before buying a used RV. Below, I’ve included about 15 things to check before buying a used RV or motorhome.

First, it was a LOT easier to get one than I thought. The folks at See Grins RV were great with helping me choose a motorhome, and with financing. But before you start to think this is a commercial, know that my mention of See Grins is unsolicited and not compensated. (In fact, they don’t even know I’m posting this.)

These tips, many from kind fellow RV owners, were immensely helpful to me when buying my first RV. Some I have come to discover on my own.

Here are some things to look for: But, wait! There’s more…

Ten Things: Lessons in Boondocking

Posted on by December 9, 2011

Announcer’s voice: While we await the return of the Sacred Laptop with the Sacred Photos of naked men and Sacred Videos from Kernut’s trip, she’ll share a few tips on boondocking. Regular posts with photos will resume shortly. No posts about naked men will be missed. Ever.

Ten Lessons in Boondocking, or Ten Things I Learned Camping in Slab City

What is this? A “Ten Things Tuesday” post?

Yeah, yeah. I know. I haven’t done one of these in a while.

It’s probably not even Tuesday.

Whatever. 

Boondocking: To stay in a recreational vehicle in a remote, often rural, location, without connections to water, power, or sewer services.

This Glamper (Glamper: a person, often female, who likes “glamorous camping”) learned a few things over the three weeks she spent boondocking at The Slabs, aka Slab City. (The place where the guy died when I was there.)

Mainly, that I like electrical power.

*sigh*

Lesson One: Power. Power is important. Don’t play that DVD when the clouds are coming in at night or you’ll drain your house batteries before your solar panel (as in singular, uno, one) is able to recharge them. Waiting for the sun to recharge your batteries takes a lot longer than you think. This means no power all morning, too.

It sucks to be totally out of power on a cold night and morning. Mittens and a beanie are my new best friends. Yeah, I look hot in the morning.

Two:  If you ignore Lesson One, But, wait! There’s more…

Ten Things I’ve Learned About Living In An RV

Posted on by July 3, 2016

‘Ten Things’?! What randomness is this? Wait, it must be Tuesday! For your reading pleasure, I present an (increasingly) rare Ten Things Tuesday post…

My RV, with the slides out. :)

My RV, with the slides out. 🙂

Believe it or not, in my first week here I’ve already learned Ten Things about living in an RV. Trust me when I say that while I did about eight months of research, there is still some “trial by fire” involved for this newbie in embarking on the full-time RV lifestyle.

1. If it’s not nailed down, it will move when you try to drive. Trust me on this one and nail it down. Whatever it is, just put a nail in it so it can’t move. How did I learn this? You know those little bottles of cooking extracts like vanilla, orange, mint, or almond? They fall and roll when in a moving vehicle. No, really, they do. Individually they smell intoxicating. Mixed together as a puddle in the bottom of your cabinet? Not so good.

2. There are four, yes, FOUR possible power sources for appliances: House batteries, generator, propane, city power/hookups. Generally, an appliance is able to use two of the four sources, but it also depends on the conditions at the time. As my memory is about as good as that of a goldfish (Once around the bowl and I’m saying ‘Oooh, that rock is new!’), I can’t be expected to remember which is which and when.

3. If you want hot water for your first shower in your new RV, you have to turn on the water heater. But, wait! There’s more…