Hard Water? Try the Vinegar Trick

Having spent a number of years in the ‘naturally soft water’ country of the Pacific Northwest, it was a shock to us when we learned about the affects of hard water on RV plumbing. In the last few months we’ve helped out with a number of RV plumbing failures in the Southwest, all related to hard water. Seems like the stuff makes deposits inside pipes, and can even eat through fittings.

Some swear by "the vinegar treatment." Once a year, it is said, a solution of white vinegar and water should be pumped through the RV water system, allowed to sit and dissolve hard water deposits. We haven’t tried it yet, so if you’d like to be an RV Guinea Pig, let us know how it works.

First, turn off your "city water" supply and the power or gas to your hot water heater. Drain your hot water tank, and re-close the drain fitting. Next, if there’s water in your fresh water holding tank, drain it out. Now turn on the RV water pump. Open all your water flowing fixtures and run them until air spurts out. Turn off the fixtures and water pump, you’re ready for Phase 2.

You’ll need plenty of white vinegar. We’d recommend dumping about 4 gallons of the stuff into your fresh water tank, along with an equal amount of fresh water. If you can, drive your rig ‘around the block’ to swish the solution around in the fresh water tank. Of course, you took the time to close the fresh tank drain valve before pouring in the vinegar!

Back home, turn on the water pump. Open your valves, one at a time, and let the water flow until you smell that good old strong vinegar odor. Close the valve, and repeat with all the fixtures in your rig. You’ll also be doing the "hot" side too, so your hot water tank will fill with this same solution. Allow the solution to "sit" for several hours--overnight would be good if you can.

Afterwards, drain your fresh water holding tank and hot water tank. Refill the fresh tank with fresh water, and thoroughly run all fixtures until the odor and any color is gone. You may need to do this several times to get all the hard water minerals out of the system.

Photo: Telltale signs of hard water where hot water pressure valve "wept" minerals.

Don't "Drive 'til the Wheels Fall Off"

The old song declared, "I've got three wheels on my wagon, but I'm still rollin' along."

For most of us, having only three wheels on our fifth wheel or travel trailer "wagon" would apt to be a disaster. Sometimes it happens: Neglected axle bearings can lead to getaway wheels, and the results aren't pretty.

Wheel bearing neglect ranks right up there with failure to regularly inspect tire pressure. Both can have disastrous consequences, the kind that can make your RV trip memorable--but not in glowing "Kodak" memories.

The consensus among RV service techs is that trailer wheel bearings should be inspected and repacked every year. It's not a "rocket science" job, but it does require jacking up the trailer, removing parts, and getting a bit greasy. Figure a couple of hours of your labor will be required.

How to? Will point you to a web site that will step you through packing bearings. Mind you it's dedicated to automotive wheel bearings, but the job's the same. But one thing does differ--you've got to be very careful where and how you jack the trailer.

First, make sure you thoroughly block up the tires on the side of the trailer opposite the one you're jacking--chock them so the trailer won't roll either way. Next, you must select a safe jack point. Never use an axle as a jack point! This can quickly goof up your trailer alignment, and possible affect handling, as well as tire wear. Check your owner manual for proper jack point, and lacking that information, use the trailer frame.

Carefully block the trailer so if the jack slips, you won't be caught in a bad way. We only remove one tire at a time to perform the service, so if anything slips, we have the "insurance" of that other tire holding things up.

OK. Here's a link to an excellent page for more information on the 'down and dirty' part of wheel bearing maintenance.

How Much Juice In Your Batteries?

A critical factor for RVers who boondock--camp away from utility hookups--is that of a viable battery bank. Keeping those batteries properly charged can make the difference between an enjoyable experience and a bust. Even more important, a battery that is discharged too much is a battery that will experience a premature death.


How do you know your battery state of charge? Don’t rely on the clever "charge indicators" that most RV manufacturers build into rigs. These "good, weak, charge" meters don’t give you precise enough information. You need an inexpensive digital multimeter. Radio Shack can set you one up for around $20, while Harbor Freight Tools had one on sale today for $2.99--same kind as we use all the time, that’s a WOW!


To properly test an RV "house" battery (the one that powers stuff like inside lights, water pump, furnace motor, etcetera), the battery needs to be at rest. This means not charged within the last hour or so, and with nothing drawing power from it. Since you’ve now read your multimeter instructions, hook the probes up to the battery (best to observe polarity), set the meter from the appropriate voltage range, and check the reading. Now compare to this information:


Volts --- Remaining Capacity
12.63 --- 100%
12.54 --- 90%
12.45 --- 80%
12.36 --- 70%
12.27 --- 60%
12.18 --- 50%
12.09 --- 40%
12.00 --- 30%
11.91 --- 20%
11.82 --- 10%


In our photo, the meter shows 12.30 volts, between 60 & 70 percent of full capacity. The trick is to try and never let your remaining capacity fall below 50%. If you keep it at 50% or more, your batteries will have many more "charge, discharge" cycles before croaking. Print this little chart and tape it on the inside of your battery compartment door.

Battle of the Mini Generators

Spring is on the wing--or so it seems in the southwest. Yes, it’s true our friends in the plains and elsewhere are ‘wishing they were here,’ but truth be told, summer will eventually get here. With summer comes the camper’s complaint: It’s too hot!

Got an air conditioning unit on your RV, but want to camp away from the hookups? Having a portable generator can really make life a lot more enjoyable. But how much "gen" muscle do you need? Plenty of RVers have been enamored by those ‘cute little red (or blue) generators.’ Yes, those Honda and Yamaha generators are popping up all over.

How much muscle do you need to fire that a/c? Here’s the bottom line: While your air conditioning unit’s power consumption is measure in watts, and oft’ times those watts are less than the rated output of the moderately sized, 2,000 or so watt generators, they take a LOT more in the ‘start up cycle.’ Simply put: The popular Yamaha EF200iS and Honda’s EU2000i probably WON’T operate your RV air conditioning.

What’s to do? The next size up for the "Red Boy Toy" is the Honda EU3000iS or Yamaha’s EF3000i. Yep, they cost more than the smaller versions. Some RVers say the only time they need a 3,000 watt generator is when they’re powering the roof air unit. To them, that much muscle is a waste, so they opt to buy two identical smaller units. When less power is needed, they simply run one of the generators, and when a/c is called for, they link the two smaller units together with the manufacturer supplied (optional) bridge cables.

Well, it’s a hard call for some. Two of the smaller units do cost more than one of their larger bretheren. And if you’re cramped for space, you may only have room for one. And consider noise: These little guys are indeed pretty quiet, but oddly enough, the larger models actually do make less noise than their tiny brothers. What about weight? Can you "horse" a generator out of the pickup bed? Some come equipped with rollers and can be ramped out. Others make the wheels an accessory--wherein some RVers have been known to buy a pressure washer frame and wheel kit for less money than OEM accessories.

It may just come down to, ‘You pays your money, and you takes your choice.’

Sticky 5th Wheel Hitch Cowboy? Slick 'em Up!

One of the most neglected areas for fifth wheels, the hitch, can be one of the most cantankerous. Having a "stuck" hitch release can really take the joy out of the lifestyle, yet it’s easy to care for problems before they come up.

Fifth wheel hitches having moving parts, and the locking assembly that prevents your king pin from sliding out of the saddle usually has plenty of steel parts that mesh together. They need lubrication. If you’ve misplaced (or like most of us who bought used) never had a manual, here’s a quick routine.

Where it’s possible, rotate your hitch up and around so you can see the "underside" of the assembly where the gear works and other moving parts are hiding. You can see by the photos here that things don’t hide from the rain too well, and rust is a stalking enemy. How to lube ‘em? Unless you’re directed otherwise, use white lithium grease, available from auto parts stores. It doesn’t take much, a small tube should do you up right. Catch an meshing parts, and be sure to lube where your jaws or locking bar slides through.

Once you’ve put the lube in, open and close the fifth wheel mechanism several times to thoroughly move the lube through the system. After our last lube job, we found it oh, so much easier to hitch up and unhitch with that mechanism freely moving.