It's Putty Tape Time

If you do much RV maintenance or repair, chances are good you've already encountered "putty tape." This sticky material is a regular performer between windows and walls, roof vents and roofs, and a host of other places where a gasket-like substance is needed to help seal out moisture. Any time you install trim metal, a new roof access ladder, or practically anywhere else you'll penetrate the outside surface of your rig, you'll need this gunk on a roll.

For our purposes, there are two types of "putty tape," in play: Regular putty tape is cheap, easy to work with, but dries out over time. Butyl tape is much more expensive (nearly twice the price as the regular), is harder to work with, but doesn't have the nasty way of drying out. Butyl tape is the only putty tape recommended for use in direct contact with EPDM (rubber) roofing material, as the regular tape oozes petroleum products which can damage EPDM.

How do you decide which to use? When working with EPDM, it's a no-brainer. In other areas, the ease of working with the cheap stuff is a temptation. You can simply score the regular stuff, bend it over the score and break it off. The butyl resists this, and usually requires a knife or shears to cut. When reinstalling windows (after the original putty tape dries out and leaks), we always use butyl tape--popping, cleaning up, and reinstalling RV windows is a real time-consumer!

A few tips with either type of tape: In warm or hot weather the tape may tend to stick to the backing material. Stick the roll in the refrigerator and chill it off. That will make it easier to peel the tape off the roll, and the backing paper off the tape.

Whenever possible, apply the tape to the object, not to the rig. Example: Putty tape the flanges of a roof vent, working the tape down firmly on the flanges before removing the backing paper. Makes the job a whole lot easier, both in terms of eliminating waste, properly locating the tape itself, and getting the backing paper off without a big mess.

If you're not sure if the tape is think enough for the job at hand--particularly true when reinstalling windows on a metal sided RV, add another layer (or more), screw down the object, and trim the excess goop off. When working with "peaks and valleys" in metal siding, this is the time to apply the tape to the RV--fill the "valleys" piece by piece with short strips of tape. Then cover the whole area (right over the top of the short strips) with one large piece.

A plastic putty knife will usually not scratch fiberglass or aluminum siding while doing such trimming. One old technician says he takes a plastic knife ("Check out the pic-a-nic basket, BooBoo"), files off the serrations, and uses that as the tool of choice for working with the stuff.

Find putty tape at RV supply stores and some window glazing suppliers.

Maintain That Expensive Battery Bank

Batteries are black boxes we don't think about much. Not until the rueful day comes when they don't respond as we want them to, and we're off to buy new ones--and maybe driving 50 miles 'out of the dingles' to do so. Maintaining your batteries saves money and frustration, and it doesn't take much to do.


First, the requisite word of caution: Whenever you work with batteries of electrical systems, even "low voltage" ones, take off your jewelry! Watches, rings, and bling-bling things. The potential energy in an RV battery is something to reckon with, and welding your ring to an electrical contact will ruin your whole day. Watch out with tools and other metals. The male of this writing duo once dropped a crescent wrench across a deep cycle battery--fortunately he was able to rescue it before it welded into place--narrowly avoiding a major fire.


Keep 'em Charged: A battery left in a low state is one that deteriorates.


Keep 'em Clean: That "little bit of dirt" across the top of the battery case can actually conduct electricity in the presence of moisture. A slight, but real discharge of juice can occur.


Keep 'em Filled: ALWAYS keep the top plates of "flooded" batteries covered with electrolyte. This means refilling to the "split ring" or about a half inch above the separators. ONLY USE distilled water, NEVER tap water. Don't over-fill.

Keep Out Intruders: Don't add "battery acid" or other additives. Thus far nothing has really proved up in the way of a miracle elixir that will give you more power, more potency, or more life to your batteries. There's no such thing as "Voltage Viagra."


We found a great tool to help us keep our batteries filled up. We have very little "head space" in the compartment above the top of the batteries, and they don't easily come out for service. A solar panel retailer sold us a battery fill tool, the "filler part" of which presses into the battery cell and fills until the correct level is reached. It's real skinny, as you can see, and fits right into those tight spaces. Alas! The retailer went belly up, and we've yet to find somebody else that sells them. They were a lot less expensive than the automated battery fill systems being marketed today. If you know anybody who carries these great tools, please post a reply!

Rotating Holding Tank Vent Really Does the Job

We blogged earlier about dealing with holding tank odors through better tank management. Here's another trick the nose knows works: Those fancy wind-driven rooftop tank vents. Here's the deal: The standard OEM vents are not much more than tricky caps to keep the birds out. The don't allow a great deal of air flow to allow the essence of holding tank to escape; at times pressure actually puffs it back down into the tank, and finding any other escape route--sometimes into the coach.

The model we tested, an RV 360, puts a fin atop a rotating vent cap. As the wind blows, the "emitter" side of the vent cap is on the downwind side, causing the wind pressure to suck those narsty gasses out of the holding tank. Does it work? We found our stink situation really alleviated, as have many other RVers.

These systems are not difficult to install, although they can be a bit messy, depending on the type of sealant you use on install. Be sure to wear grungy work clothes. The instructions included with the system are clear enough, but on one install, the instructions left us high and dry. The existing vent pipe was located right next to the rooftop air conditioner unit--and if the 360 vent were placed at rooftop level, it would have bumped right into the a/c unit. Not only would the wind be cut, in some cases the vent unit would simply not turn freely.

We worked around this simply: Using PVC pipe the same diameter as the existing vent pipe, we glued the "bell" end of the new pipe over the top of the existing vent pipe. With this "extension" in place, we attached the 360 vent to the top of our extension. No obstruction problems, no holding tank stink. Total time? About an hour and a half, including the time it took to figure out the "work around." Tools are easy: Putty knife, screwdriver, and a hacksaw if you need to rig an extension.

You can find the 360 at most RV suppliers, including Camping World.

Silence Those Noisy Water Issues

Boondockers and other folks who get away from "city water" connections sometimes complain of a noise when using the RV water system. Sometimes they're just not used to the additional noise produced by the RV's water pump; at other times there are problems--most of which are easily cured.

For "demand" water pump systems--those in use on nearly all RVs built in the last couple of decades--pull water from the storage tank and pump it through the inside lines. While designed with sound reducing isolation pads, sometimes these little "feet" can get away, or even a mooring screw can loosen up, causing undue vibration.

Locate your RV water pump and first ensure that it's firmly tight to the bulkhead or deck. If a screw (or screws) is loose, retighten. If the noise persists, double check to ensure that rubber isolation feet are under each contact point of the pump--and replace any missing parts.

At times, water systems that make noise can be quieted with the addition of an accumulator tank. The accumulator is nothing more than a simple reservior with a cushion of air. When the water pump operates, it pushes up water pressure against that cushion, often reducing the number of "off-on" pump cyclings and evening out the water pressure flow. Accumulators are fairly easy to install, and cost about 40 bucks. Camping World carries one on their website.

Inexpensive heater keeps RV from getting musty while stored

Ross Brand made this inexpensive heater to keep his RV warm enough that it doesn't get musty and rusty while in storage. There isn't much to the device -- a juice can with both ends cut out over a 100 watt light bulb. The light bulb produces just enough heat that the juice can acts like a chimney and keeps the air moving. "It does not heat much," reported Ross, but he said it works just fine.