Inexpensive Do-it-Yourself Wind Turbine for Your RV

We love wind power for RVing--used it for years. When we boondock the desert or the beach--or any other area with a good source of wind, we run up our wind turbine and let it complement our solar panels. Still, commercial wind turbine systems aren't altogether inexpensive. But hang on, if you're handy with a few tools and can scrounge a bit, you may be able to build yourself a 100-watt wind turbine inexpensively.

The heart-and-soul of this little machine is a recycled treadmill motor; the designers suggest you may be able to scrap one out of a freebie treadmill; we think you'll be likely to find a used one on a nearby Craiglist sale. In any event, the little treadmill motors put out a lot of juice for a small number of revolutions.

The next question we had was: What about blades? The basic "propeller" as some call it, is generally a three blade operation. On our commercial turbine a set of blades sets us back nearly $100. Not so here, the blades are built out of a chunk of PVC drain pipe. Gimme a break! This obviously isn't rocket science.

Check out the website of the good folks of Vela Creations. They offer a FREE detailed manual on how to build your own Chispito Wind Generator with pretty much common tools and cheap parts.

Grease Fittings for Trailer Axle Bearings?

A friend of ours who's an RV newbie spent a weekend on a busy beach, loaded with RVers. He was having problems with his rig, and like we've all experienced, lots of RV folks were happy to lend him a hand. In a conversation with one, the subject of axle bearing maintenance came up. By the time Mike got home, he was "sold" on the idea of using a boat trailer axle bearing grease system--the kind where you simply pump lube through a zerk fitting, as opposed to hand packing the grease. Think of the savings on maintenance!

Well, those systems aren't all that they're cracked up to be, particularly for RV applications. Bearing Buddy systems are designed for sealed marine applications. The trouble with squirting grease into an RV axle is you don't really have a handle on how much grease is already in there. Push in too much, where will it go? Out into the wheel area, likely onto the brakes, and whoopsie doo, on your next 7% downgrade you'll find out just how mixing grease and trailer brakes is a really BAD idea.

Enter Dexter's "E-Z Lube" system. Dexter builds axles used on a lot of RVs, and some of them have the "E-Z" system--specially designed, it allows the owner to pump grease through the axle spindles and into the bearings. But many RVers who have the system complain they can't pump enough grease to get the old grease out; others say they fear blowing out the rear seals; still others say their RV maintenance guys fear the same problems that are posed by Bearing Buddy system: Grease on the brakes.

There's much to be said for hand-packing your axle bearings: It forces you to take the wheels off the axles, giving you the opportunity to inspect your brakes, brake magnets, and associated hardware. Like one RVer says, "I figure those eight wheel bearings are supporting over 11,000 lbs of very valuable RV and equipment... one afternoon a year [to hand pack the bearings] is a small price to pay."

Yes, it's true that there are RVers who really love their EZ Lube systems, and haven't had any problems with them. We'd add, "at least not yet." I don't know how much I'd want to gamble all my stuff on it.

Diagram courtesy Dexter Axles

"Paint Your Wagon," Maybe, But Leave the Tires Alone

It's the kind of thing that might appeal to the Imelda Marcos among the RV set: Those nice tires we keep under our trailers, tow vehicles, or motorhomes. Everybody likes those "shoes" to look good. But how do you best do it?

A few days ago we heard about an RVer who was told one of the best ways to keep his rig's tires looking good was to give them a good "paint" of transmission fluid. Whoa! "Oh, yeah, shines 'em right up!" Maybe so, but it's an awful expensive exercise tire "makeup." Tires are pretty peculiar beasts, and like the man says, you've got an awful lot riding on them to be making mistakes. Painting your tires with transmission fluid is a definite way to wind up paying dearly. The oil in tranny fluid will cause them to rapidly deteriorate, with possible disastrous consequences.

OK, how about some of those nice silicon containing spray on potions? Years ago we were in the upholstery repair trade--fixing vinyl seats in restaurants and on car lots. A lot of folks got snookered into spraying "Armor All" on their seats. Made them shiny and slick, and it brought us a lot of business because the stuff dried the material out, and cracks are a result of drying out. Tires are somewhat the same: Tire makers put chemicals into their tires to keep them from drying out. Put oils or other chemicals on them to make 'em look nice, but counteract the internal chemicals, the tire dries out, cracks, and pretty soon they deteriorate.

We attended a training seminar at an Escapee's RV convention a couple of years back. The featured speaker was "retired from the tire industry." His advice? When you're sitting put in one place for a while, COVER the tires to keep the UV rays off them. Don't put ANYTHING on them to "treat them." If you don't like how they look, then wash them with soapy water and rinse them off. His years of insider experience taught the lesson, there's nothing on the market that you can spray on or paint on that will preserve them, and most will actually do harm.

Viking courtesy www.phillipmartin.info

Air Pressure Gauges: Dial Me Up or Stick it to Me?

We've often "lectured" on the necessity to caring properly for your tires. 'Take care of your tires and they'll take care of you!' has been our mantra. A major part of caring for those rubber donuts is making sure you've got sufficient air pressure. How do you test yours?

Some folks rely on "built in" gauge on the hose down at the gas station. You may have noticed that those gauges have been becoming fewer and fewer as the days roll along. And even when the hose does have a gauge, after having been slapped around like a TV wrestler, they tend to get a bit punch drunk and don't give reliable information.

Some folks like the "put it in your shirt pocket," "stick" style air gauge. They may have a point, but we've found the "stick" type aren't always accurate, and often have the drawback of having fewer "graduations," making it difficult to ensure what the pressure is within less than five pounds. Here's another case of spending a few more bucks, but spending it wisely. The "dial" type air gauges are more accurate, and usually read down to the precise pound of pressure.

If you spring for the dial style, do take good care of it. Dropping it on the pavement can cause irepairable damage. We carefully put ours away in the "glove box" (who--other than snobs maybe--drive with gloves these days?) when not in use.

Protect Your Investment: Box That Battery

If a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, a battery in the box is worth at least two in the junk pile. Eh? If your rig doesn't provide "inside storage" for your house batteries, leaving them out in the weather, unprotected can be most unprofitable. A lot of older travel trailers have the house battery sit up near the hitch, well exposed to the elements.

What could the problem be? Exposure to the elements just ain't the greatest thing from the electrics. First, battery terminal connectors will oxidize at a much faster rate. Oxidized connectors make for resistance to electrical flow, and that's a real problem when you're trying to charge your battery--you want the best flow possible.

Next, as in the case of our battery illustrated here, road debris, tree leaves and needles, et al, can take up residence on the top of the battery. Add a little water and you have the makings for electrical current leakage. Yes, for real, a small amount of juice can begin to flow from the battery posts across the medium you're growing on the battery. Even small amounts can add up, reducing the available amount of juice for your use, and eventually killing off the battery.

So take the big plunge: Invest in a battery box to protect your leaded investment. For less than $10 a pop you too can liberate your 'lectrics from the fear of exposure.

Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Tighten Those Air Conditioner Bolts

As Federal Highway Administration funds get tight, the condition of America's roads reflects this budgetary bulimia: Potholes and rough roads abound, and you and your RV are the recipients. Those washboard workouts are not only hard on your dentures, but your RV gets thoroughly rattled as well.

One area not often thought about: The RV air conditioner. Sitting up there on the roof, all by its little lonesome, the AC unit is subject to vibration and rattle like everything else. And buried under the "inside cover" are four bolts that hold all that machinery tight on the roof. Those bolts, sadly enough, can get shaken (not stirred) by rough roads and vibration from running. In time they can loosen, and may first make you aware of the situation by allowing the passage of precipitation from the roof to fall into your rig. Not a happy situation!

What's to do? Remove the inside housing of your air conditioner and carefully check the tension of the four bolts that hold the unit in place. Torque them down carefully and live without rain another day. After weeks of frustration, and long days with the rig covered with a blue tarp, the light came on: We torqued ours and a couple of days later, Maw Nature put it to the test: Rain, rain, rain, all night long, and not a drop inside. Now the family RV tech feels like an old fool, but at least he's a dry old fool.

Air Bed Leaks Leave You Flat? Find the Hole!

It must've been about 1:00 in the morning. The "better half" elbowed my ribs and asked pointedly, "Have you hit bottom yet?" My groaning bones should have been all the answer I needed to make. Our "quick and dirty" solution to a worn out RV mattress had been a pump-up "air bed" with a couple of inches of memory foam. At that moment, the memory foam was the only thing keeping us completely from the ravages of old age on a hard board.

In our "regular" rig we have a commercially build air bed, not the off-the-shelf in Walmart variety that folks keep in their closet for when company comes. Don't get us wrong, there's really nothing wrong with "toss it in the closet" air beds, they work pretty well, but they are subject to easy puncture. How do you find that rotten leak?

Next day, we lugged the offending mattress outside, pumped it up with air, and squirted it thoroughly with soap bubbles picked up at ToysRUs. Yes, we could probably have used dish soap in water, but we happened to have a couple of bottles of the bubble makers hanging around from an earlier project. Using the soap bubbles can speed up the finding process considerably over the old "try and stick your ear down and hear it" method.

Sure enough, there was a small poke hole at the corner of the mattress. And no, it wasn't in the area where the cat had tried to hide in the bed. Mission accomplished. Sleep will be easier.

High Tech Propane Leak Finder Beats Bubbles

We all face it: With LP gas such a major supplier of energy in our rigs, sooner or later you'll have to deal with a gas leak. Left "unfixed" as quick as you can say, "Hindenberg!" your dream rig can go up in smoke, taking you with it.


For years the industry standard for leak detection was a bath of soapy water. Paint our pour a stiff solution of dish soap and water on a suspect fitting, and if it bubbles, you found it. Well, technology has its "one upmanship." How about an electronic gas leak detector? A whole lot less mess, and certainly sensitive, we've found "Pocket Air Check" put out by a midwest firm just the thing.


For those with older truck campers, you're still probably using the old style "POL" fitting propane tanks. When you refill these tanks, you have to be extremely careful about firmly tightening the fittings--the least bit of looseness can lead to a leak.
We keep our Pocket Air Check detector handy, and more than once have found the fellows who've tightened the fittings haven't done such a good job.


The detector does more though: Just turn it on, and run it along any gas line or fitting, holding it a quarter inch away. If a bit of gas is found, both an audible alarm and an LED light warn you of the danger. Not expensive either, Camping World sells them for less than $25, an inexpensive way to a lot more safety.