Planning for Longer Trips November 25, 2015, 11:44:37 am Yahoo Message Number: 157212We've made several 3-4 day trips in the last few months in preparation for a 5-6 week trip in the Spring. While we continue to learn the basics, we're beginning to feel more capable with maintaining and managing our LD. (We're less of "show" as we enter and leave a camping area.) We seem to have all the basic tools, fittings, and equipment thanks to Martha & Bernie who are the previous owners. Sometimes, I have wished for a small shovel, a few more tools, and so forth. I continue to struggle with the decision about a tire changing jack. I know the lug nuts are torqued to 150 ft.lbs. and that could be a challenge to loosen without a pipe extension. I've read herein that many carry an extra water pump, which seems to make sense.We'd like your help thinking about what extra parts and equipment you've discovered to be helpful as we plan for our longer trips. Thanks in advanceEd & Margee Fort Worth
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #1 – November 25, 2015, 03:42:23 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157215It is a fun adventure to cut ties to home base for extended periods. We have done a few 6+ month trips.I went months without it, but eventually needed to buy an extension for the electric cord while on the road. Ironically, I have always carried about 50' of water hose, and never used more than 25'. Likewise I carry way too much sewer hose. Gonna edit that down, since I only dump when I move, I can forego having a hose attached to the sewer when in a site, and move to the dump station.I carry a full tool box, and have used most of it. Never go without if you know how to use them.I had to change an electric element for a hot water heater, so now have a big socket to fit them. I have never traveled with a spare water pump, never had one fail. I have a plan to deal with a failure.Tire air compressor and a good gauge. Check em every morning I drive.I have an overly elaborate outdoor cook setup that I use, YMMV.Tarp and tie downs to cover bikes or furniture left outdoors for security and weather protection.I carry cleaning supplies, I like to keep the RV clean and waxed.Hobby/ pastime stuff, to make rainy days/weeks enjoyable.For us, a boat of some type- towed, on top, inflatable, is required.We many times go summer to winter climes so clothes require lots of thought to keep the amount reasonable.We carry a bread maker, hardly ever buy bread. Also a crock pot, so when we are on shore power we can make multi day meals to maximize time outside.I am missing many things, but this is what occurs now.
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #2 – November 25, 2015, 04:42:10 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157218Carry road flares, good first aid kit, florescent vest, quality tire pressure gauge like the Slime digital, tools, disposable gloves, weather radio, couple cans of fix-a-flat, good lawn chair, Eternabond tape, Duct tape, leveling blocks, catalytic heater, warm blankets, few gallons of purified water, spare water pump as mentioned, good barbeque unit (I use a Pyromid) and a bottle of Brandy. Sure I have forgotten something but I have all these things on my rig and more. Oh and if your allergic to Poison Oak some calamine lotion.Most of all a good attitude, willingness to explore, and no travel agenda. Roam as you see fit. For some like me its a compelling lifestyle. Oh yeah a good road atlas might come in handy. GPS doesn't always work.bobmoore14Area 51, Nevada
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #3 – November 25, 2015, 05:28:46 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157219Wonderful guidance. We're taking notes and making a list. Some of these suggestions are items that I would not have thought about like cans of Fix a Flat. I thought that stuff was snake oil! I also need to study about 12volt air compressors since I've never owned one. Prices seem all over the place. We've 3-4 tire pressure gages and none are accurate. So I use the most accurate which reads 3-4 lbs low according to Discount Tire's gages. I think I'm going to need more storage. And so it goes.Ed & Margee Fort Worth
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #4 – November 25, 2015, 06:27:06 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157220Be sure to pack a 1/2 gallon of vinegar and a gallon of distilled water. The vinegar is to clear the mineral buildup in the toilet bowl (which makes it lose water "mysteriously") and of course the distilled water for the house batteries.And an extra tube of toothpaste, because you'll always run out before you know it...especially if there's more than 2 on board.TinaP Spending time in Las Cruces NM once again during this season's 7-month ramble
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #5 – November 25, 2015, 06:40:32 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157221Ed, The Fix-A-Flat is no miracle cure But it helped me once. I have a tire repair plug kit I bought way back when I was riding Harleys. I hit a spike or something in my LD that flattened a tire. After plugging it I still had a slow leak. Fix-A-Flat stopped it. It's some kind of glue stuff and very sticky. I drove it over 300 miles that way till I stopped at an Americas tire and they replaced the damaged tire. One thing I failed to mention is carry a big piece of flattened cardboard. I use free Priority Mail boxes from USPS. It's helpful when the ground is wet or dirty and you have to inspect something underneath the rig or when using the dump station. My 12V compressors burned up after a few uses, that's why I went to the Husky 110V unit. This time of year the rain suit is nice when needed. Wishing you and yours safe travel.bobmoore14Bodie Ghost Town for a few...
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #6 – November 25, 2015, 10:29:14 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157222Please don't use Priority Mail boxes - they are for mailing things, and you can find plenty of scrap cardboard by asking friends or businesses, or even buy a cheap tarp at Harbor Freight that can be easily folded for storage, and used many times. Let's help the Post Office instead of hurting it.Eric Greenwell [lifewithalazydazerv] wrote on 11/25/2015 4:40 PM:
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #7 – November 25, 2015, 10:46:14 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157223Where tire gauges are concerned, I have had several in the past which have in fact been inaccurate by several pounds. One was a very nice gauge that I put a lot of faith in. That is until I purchased my Tire Minder pressure monitor system. They also manufacture/sale their Tire Minder dual foot pressure gauge that is rated to +/- 1 pound in accuracy. It has proven to put my other gauges to shame. Picked mine up on eBay with free shipping. I'll be using it again in the morning when I leave Big Bear to head home for a delicious Thanksgiving Day feast.Happy Thanksgiving All,Staying warm in Big Bear, CAKent
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #8 – November 25, 2015, 10:53:58 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157224Since I have an account with USPS and do hundreds if not thousands of dollars of business with them each year via EBAY they are only to happy to give me boxes. I use 2 or 3 a year for my LD and I recycle the cardboard. Guess that's a significant hit to their billions of dollar losses each year.When I get my usual Christmas postcard from the inspector general in Pahrump I'll say I'm sorry.bobmoore14Cardboard Stealer
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #9 – November 25, 2015, 11:09:45 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157225Humm ... what to do? First I added cardboard to my list, then I removed cardboard from my list. But now Mr. Moore has made a good point in that he spends a small fortune with USPS and should be able to use his cardboard as he pleases. What to do? I got it, I got the solution! Mr. Moore ... how about you mailing me a couple of your boxes and the next time we meet, I'll return them to you! I great plan if I don't say so myself. Oh, I digress. Back to the list. ; )Ed & Margee Fort Worth
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #10 – November 25, 2015, 11:21:28 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157227"Mr. Moore ... how about you mailing me a couple of your boxes and the next time we meet, I'll return them to you! I great plan if I don't say so myself" I would be happy to send you some new USPS boxes (not mine) at no cost. Just give me the address you want them sent to and how many of each size. I only deal in Priority or Priority Express boxes. Always happy to help a fellow RV'er. No charge.bobmoore14Walker Lake, NV.Get busy livin, or get busy dyin. The Shawshank Redemption
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #11 – November 26, 2015, 12:21:55 am Yahoo Message Number: 157229Good Point!
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #12 – November 26, 2015, 02:56:54 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157240I bought a $12 foam kitchen mat at Costco some time ago. Works wonders, cleans easily and is great insulation. BTW the USPS billions in losses are because they are the only organization that has to fund their retirement system up front.Joel
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #13 – November 26, 2015, 05:29:09 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157243I just spent a few minutes replying to this and then lost it. Using this websit or trying to reply from email has not worked very well at all for many months using a three year old ipad.Anyhow I was on the fence but brought some of my large socket wrench collection and have used them many times as well as a pretty decent tool colection.I bought a spare water pump. I am thinking maybe some toilet and dump valve spare parts might be good, but so far I have not aquired them.I have used all three of my water hoses when washing the RV.Jay Carlson
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #14 – November 27, 2015, 04:20:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157257The mineral build up is a problem. Do you have enough experience with the vinegar or have the knowledge to know for sure that it won't damage the seal? What concentration do you use? How long do you let sit in the bowl. Do you use the lemon fresh Pledge like my manual recommends on the seal?I just replaced my seal and scrapped the mineral buildup off the ball valve and I don't want to do that again anytime soon.Bob '01 RK
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #15 – November 27, 2015, 05:30:18 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157259These are not critical, but have turned out to be quite handy to reduce noise while on the road...roll of velcro strapping - of course, sticky back is useful but I've been amazed at how many things can be snugged up together to reduce rattling - e.g.window shades and folding chairs.left-over pieces of bubble wrap, maybe from some of Bob's UPS mailings - I keep various shaped cleaning supplies and so forth in buckets/plastic pans to minimize their rolling around while we're on the road. The bubble wrap is an easy way to keep things from rattling in the buckets. Overkill, maybe. But what the heck. It's recycling and that's a good thing, right?Susie 07 MB
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #16 – November 27, 2015, 06:15:48 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157260I use those bags of air they put in boxes to pad things. They eventually deflate but good for awhile to pad things, and they weigh nothing. If you make a donation of stuff like old clothing at the bigger Goodwill offices they sometimes give you that hard foam like stuff, and the dreaded Styrofoam peanuts which seem to go everywhere. But its free and protects fragile things like cameras, computers, and some personalities.I need to get some more of those plastic containers at Walmart to organize things better.bobmoore14In search of the perfect chicken sandwich.
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #17 – November 27, 2015, 07:34:01 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157262Hello Bob. We haven't yet used vinegar to deal with mineral buildup in the toilet. However, I think we should start to include a vinegar treatment in our toilet maintenance. If you don't mind, what is the ratio of water & vinegar for a single treatment? We have used Pledge for several seals to include the toilet as recommended by the LD manual. Thanks in advance for your help.Ed & Margee Fort Worth
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #18 – November 27, 2015, 07:51:22 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157263About once a month, I put perhaps an inch of white vinegar in the toilet bowl after flushing all water. Thus, it is 100% vinegar. I let it sit until the next time I need to use the toilet, but usually for hours. I then take a brush and using the vinegar, swipe it up to the rim along the bowl, scrub the bowl and the underside of the rim. I then work the bristles against the seals at the flush dome. I then flush and rinse, scrub the seal edge with the flush dome open, rinse the brush and done. Fulltiming, my seals are lasting 2 to 3 years with this treatment.Ken F in NM
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #19 – November 27, 2015, 08:35:26 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157264I like the idea of using Velcro to keep items together to keep them from rattling. Hadn't thought of that use for it. I use rubber bands a lot on small items that I don't want to become separated from each other. Unless you are firm with your belongings, sometimes they seem to have a mind of their own, and are not above playing Hide 'n' Seek.Plastic dishpans and cardboard boxes are very handy for containing items and keeping them in order. I keep three dishpans in the bin over the dinette with various things in them. This makes it easy to take down to see what is in there, whilst keeping things from falling all over. I put a bunch of Lock & Lock containers (used as you would canisters), mostly with kitchen food pantry items in them, at the left-hand end and then snug them up against the dishpan(s).I put a hanging "closet" gizmo in the left side of the wardrobe in our RB and then partitioned off parts with various sizes of heavy cardboard boxes - mostly from Bob's Red Mill products. They are sturdy and seem to be just the right size to use as dividers. They slide in and out easily, and keep things tidy. If I had the energy, I would cover them with Contact paper so they would all be the same, but as it is, well . . . Bob's Red Mill is advertised in the wardrobe. The rest of the wardrobe has stacking plastic drawers. I keep a few canned goods in the bottom drawer of each unit to help anchor it.I've also saved various sizes of soft foam bits to stick here and there to keep things in place and to prevent the sound of rattles. There was a fair amount of wood floor foam underlayment left from having had our house redone, and that is nice and thick and is great for putting between pans. I'm pretty sure it is sold separately, and for not much money compared to the prices charged for the shaped bits that are sold by RV stores.Mine isn't as grand as this:http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Standard-100-sq-ft-Rolls-25-ft-x-4-ft-x-080-in-Polyethylene-Foam-2-in-1-Underlayment-100779555/203956730?MERCH=REC-_-PIPHorizontal1_rr-_-205129063-_-203956730-_-N>but it does the job. I use it at home, too, where I turn a lid upside down on a frying pan so it doesn't scratch the pan.Hmmmm - a bit of investigation produced this product:http://www.amazon.com/White-Plate-Dividers-12-10-12-4-5/dp/B0000ZLB7G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448676755&sr=8-1&keywords=dish+separators>These are round-shaped felt dividers that might be useful as well. There are 48 of three different sizes in a pack for less than $9.00.There is just no end to the things you will think of as you go along that will make your particular needs easier to deal with. Even when not fulltiming, we have spent three months or more at a time on the road, and new solutions seem to present themselves often.Virtual hugs,Judie http://dorrieanne.wordpress.com As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #20 – November 27, 2015, 09:51:18 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157265White vinegar, full strength or diluted, is an excellent cleaning agent in all sorts of applications, around the house and the motorhome. It's cheap, non-toxic, versatile, and effective.As ever, YMMV.Joan
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #21 – November 28, 2015, 08:52:55 am Yahoo Message Number: 157266Having owned our 2011 TK for almost 4 years and noting we've never had a problem with mineral deposits in toilet or on seals and we live in Az and CA. My solution: 1) always use water from fresh water tank 2) always pretreat water by running untreated water through a unit from WaterKingUSA. Unit cost $349, never any filters to replace or salt added. It does the trick magnetically. You do have to plug it in to 110 AC. We use our generator when shore power is unavailable. If you have to use water in the West, it is the best. We took a 12,000 mile road trip to New England this year. When we were there the water is mineral free and treating it was not necessary. I'm envious.
Re: "magnetic" water softening? Reply #22 – November 28, 2015, 01:15:59 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157267"always pretreat water by running untreated water through a unit from WaterKingUSA. Unit cost $349, never any filters to replace or salt added. It does the trick magnetically."Water-King's website consists of a page saying essentially "Hard water is a problem" (duh!), and a couple of skimpy product pages whose only explanation of how their units supposedly work is this:"[It] transmits a series of low-frequency random sequenced radio waves ranging from 1 to 10kHZ, pre-selected and controlled by micro-chip technology."That's all they say. But as Water-King points out, hard water is primarily caused by dissolved calcium carbonate. This mineral is not affected by either magnetism or low-frequency radio waves, so there is no way that "random sequenced radio waves" could influence it, let alone remove it. Nor does Water-King make any attempt to explain how that could be possible.In fact, magnet- and RF-based water softening schemes appear in many scientists' lists of pseudoscience and marketing scams. I won't argue with your experience, Skysoldier, but I would advise anyone considering a magnetic "water softener" device to research carefully before spending hundreds of dollars.Andy Baird
Re: Planning for Longer Trips Reply #23 – November 28, 2015, 01:23:38 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157268"When we were there the water is mineral free and treating it was not necessary. I'm envious."This is interesting to me because I thought minerals in water were good for you. If you look at the label for fresh water sold by Gerber it says minerals added for taste. I believe it having tasted distilled water. I know it isn't desirable for cleaning though.BTW you can distill water cheaply if you don't have a filter. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Distilled-Waterbobmoore14"I am confused" - Comedian Louis Black
Re: "magnetic" water softening? Reply #24 – November 28, 2015, 01:33:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157269"In fact, magnet- and RF-based water softening schemes appear in many scientists' lists of pseudoscience and marketing scams."Remember the marketing scam of that magnetic device you could buy to clamp around your automotive fuel line. It said you would get better mileage LOL. http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a310/1802932/bobmoore14 4 corners
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