PortaBoat Stowing Idea

I have a 12 foot PortaBote TM which is a foldable boat convinient for travel. The problem is where do you stow it. I thought about it and decided to stow it under my 5th wheel in the front. I made metal braces and mounted PVC pipe with wooden dowels glued inside them as the guides. These do not hold the weight, but just act to hold the boat up while I attach the the boat to the frame with cargo wratchet straps. Here are the pictures:

Water Filter & Holder

A water filter is a great idea because it keeps impurities from contaminating your water system. There are many different types and degrees of water filtration available to RV'rs. I use a whole house single filter with a combo charcoal filter (purchased at Home Depot - with appropriate brass hose adaptors). This filter gets the debris and also takes out a few harmful bacteria. Unfortunately, the filter will not stay in an upright position without help, so I use an old chlorine bucket because it has a sturdy screw on lid. I cut a hole in the lid for the filter and drilled holes in the bottom of the bucket to allow water to drain. This makes a nice platform for the filter to rest in. It will not blow over (unless you are in a hurricane - in which case water filtration is the least of your worries) and it will rest on any flat surface. It can also be used to store a short length of coiled hose. Here is the picture:

Electric Auxilliary Power

Electric auxilliary power comes in handy in many settings. What is it? It is an extension cord in your kitchen, W/D area, bathroom or anywhere else you need extra electric power. Gone are the days I had to run an extension cord through the window. I drilled a hole with a hole saw into the side of the 5th Wheel and attached an RV electric cord outlet cover that can be purchased at any RV parts store. I then ran a 9 foot male plug through the cover and attached it to an electric junction box. The cord retracts into the cabinet under my kitchen sink. I connected 3 regular duplex recepticle outlets with electric boxes and 14 guage romex wire (available at any hardware store). These outlets are wired by romex wire, run back to a central junction box (pictured below), where they were connected with wire nuts inside the junction box. I did not attach a seporate circuit breaker because the outlets I plug into already have a circuit breaker. The finished product looks professional and it sure comes in handy when you are camped at relatives, a fairground (that only has 15 or 20 amp regular plugs) or when you just want extra power for running extra heaters, hair dryers, washer/dryer, etc. I wish I had done this two years ago :). You will need to think about where to run the wires, I had to drill a hole to run the wire up the wall to the W/D area. Be careful not to cut wires behind a wall or support beams. I strongly recommend you test before you begin cutting holes in the wall. I ran most of the wire in the basement and secured it with electric wire nylon ties that can be screwed into the overhead. I did this myself, but I have experience with electric installation. Use at least a 14 guage external extension cord to attach to the plug comming out of the electric cord cover.

For legal purposes, read and heed the following disclaimer: "Have a qualified RV electrition install this type of electrical system. Attempting to do this yourself may result in damage to yourself or your property. I make no warranties implied or otherwise as to the safety or use of this application. Electrical systems are dangerous therefore, install this system at your own risk."

Portable Step/Landing

Sometimes after leveling your rig you find that your bottom step is too high off the ground or the ground outside your steps is muddy or uneven. Solution - a portable landing. Here are the pictures of one I built myself.

Tank Management

Today I would like to address an important issue – Tank Management. Most RV’s have several tanks, fresh water, grey water, black water, hot water, propane and (for motor homes) fuel tanks. I will deal with each one separately:

Fresh Water Tank: Several times I have been at RV parks when the main water supply was temporarily shut down. After the second time of being caught with little or no water in my fresh water tank, I began making sure my fresh water was topped-off once I was at my destination park. It’s always a good idea to keep it full, especially if you are staying a few days. When traveling I usually have it about half full unless I know I am going to be staying overnight in WalMart or another dry-camp situation.

We are close to our weight limit, so I empty all the waste tanks (except for a few gallons in the black tank) prior to our hitting the road.

Black Tank: This is the human waste tank. I do not use chemicals in my system because the natural enzymes sufficiently break down the waste and I frequently clean out the tank with fresh water. Never had a problem, no odors, no funny chemical smell. I keep a few gallons of fresh water in the black tank after I wash it out to cover the waste. If it is able to be covered by water, the enzymes do their job and odor is kept to a minimum. If your gauges aren’t working properly it is often because toilet paper is hung up on the sensor – to remedy this put about 10 pounds of ice and 5 to10 gallons of water in the tank and drive. The sloshing motion of the floating ice should help clean the sensor. We do not put tissues into the black tank nor do we put in toilet paper that was used for other things other than its primary purpose. This reduces the prospects of clogging. Our rig is equipped with an external hose connector that flushes the tank. I use a clear elbow fitting that attaches to the sewer hose so I can see when the tank is clean and running clear water. With the clean water still running into the tank flush out, I close the main valve and allow about 10 gallons of water to accumulate in the tank then open it up again. This flushes out any excess toilet paper and waste. I then fill it with another 5 gallons of water and close the valve. Following these procedures will give you trouble free service of your black tank.

When camping for extended periods where access to a sewer is not available (like at a relatives house) you can purchase a macerator which attaches to the sewer hose fitting and grinds the waste and sends it through a regular garden hose to a dump site like a cleanout, toilet, washer/dryer drain or outhouse. These run off of 12 volts and have a manual switch.

Grey Water Tanks: After I have drained the black tank and have closed the black tank valve I open the grey water tank valves (it is very important to close the black tank valve before opening the grey water valves to avoid odor entering through the sink drains and vents). Opening the grey water valves will wash out any remaining toilet paper and waste left in the sewer hose. We can usually go one or two weeks this way until we have to take a trip to the dump station to empty our black tanks. Grey water tanks fill much faster than the black tank. When two people take showers and do dishes the tanks fill up fast and therefore need to be emptied more often. You can empty the grey water into a portable dump tank. I normally reduce the amount of grey water dumping by showering in the local shower facility if available.

Hot Water Tank: Not much to manage here except to clean it out once or twice a year. You open the drain plug and either hose it out with a strong stream of water or blow it out with high pressure air. This helps clean out the mineral build-up. Some models have anode rods that must be replaced (refer to your user manual for details for your model).

Propane Tanks: I have a 5th wheel so I use two 7 lb. propane tanks. Make sure they are secure for travel (they are not designed to lay on their sides). For safety purposes some people turn them off when traveling – I leave mine on. I also have a spare tank that comes in handy. I purchased a plastic base to hold my spare tank upright in my storage compartment (I have two hooked up to the system and one spare). I have also used this spare tank for the BBQ. With a spare, you can leave one tank hooked up while you fill the two empties.

Fuel Tanks: I carry two plastic 5 gallon fuel containers (one for diesel and one for gas for my portable generator). On diesel engines, it is important to keep your fuel filters clean and try not to run your tank all the way to empty otherwise you may suck up some sludge into your fuel system (like I did somewhere in Indiana last summer) and then you will have a problem on your hands. I have had to use my extra diesel fuel on more than one occasion – you’ll be glad you have it!

Welcome to RV Now

This blog is dedicated to the full time RV lifestyle. It will cover all the issues near and dear to the hearts of full time RV'rs and those who wish to be. I will cover economic issues, internet on the road, boondocking (camping without hookups), places we've visited and a host of other RV related topics. I will also strive to give you links to other sites so you can gather as much information as possible via the internet on RV related issues. Blessings! Jim

RV Lifestyle

(Note: This is a reprint of an article I submitted to the outstanding Charles Hughes Smith's web blogg http://www.oftwominds.com/blog.html)
My name is Jim. My wife and I raised 5 kids and when the last one finished college in 2005, we sold our house, put the money in the bank and hit the road as full time RV’rs. We live in our 36 foot 5th Wheel trailer with three slide outs. We have all the conveniences of our old stick house and more. Things like a microwave oven, refrigerator freezer, central heat and air and modern plumbing. We use satellite internet and TV, we have a combination washer/dryer, roomy bathroom facilities, comfortable bed (my wife prefers having her own bed when traveling – she can’t stand hotel beds). We use a cell phone as our only telephone and we have a mail forwarding service. We pay most of our bills on line and with the ubiquitous ATM machine we have access to cash whenever we need it.

We are able to visit friends and family members all over the country and we get to do and see things we never dreamed of prior to taking up this lifestyle. We consider ourselves full time RV’rs and not campers as one is a lifestyle and the other is temporary recreation. As RV’rs we are environmentally friendly as we only have one vehicle and actually use less fuel now than when we both worked and drove cars in a daily commute. You see, we don’t drive every day, we don’t have too. We find a nice RV park and stay a few weeks and explore the local area around the park. We are fully self contained (which means that during a power outage we still have full electrical power, water and sewer.) We consume less water and power and are therefore much more friendly to the environment than when we lived in our stick house. Full time RV’rs are fun and friendly people. We have a great time together, and it doesn’t take us long to make friends. I can honestly say that in one day’s time I get to know more people in a new RV park than I knew in our old stick house neighborhood.

Currently it is estimated that there are over one million full time RV’rs in the US. Many, like us, are fully retired (some with only Social Security and others with pensions) and others are “workcampers” who make good wages while living in their RVs. They can follow the work and many are raising children in this lifestyle through home-schooling. It’s one thing to read about the Alamo, but when your parents actually take you to all the places you read about, I think it makes history come alive for these kids. I wish I would have been raised this way! There is even a publication and website for “workcampers” that lists hundreds of job openings all over the country.

When people start getting evicted from their property because they had mortgages they couldn’t possibly afford, they will have limited basic living choices. Most will move in with relatives or rent if they can find a landlord willing to take the risk. But what if they did something entirely different? What if they took on an entirely different lifestyle and became full time “workcamper” RV’rs? Realistically you can purchase a nice used RV (there are many nice RVs on the market that are inexpensive) and become full time RV’rs. OK, where are they going to get the money to do that? You can do it for less than getting into a rental (first and last and security deposit and pet fee). It beats the heck out of living with your relatives (your relatives will like you better if you just visit and use some of their electricity for your RV from time to time than if you just flat out move in with them). And hey, maybe the relatives would be willing to loan or sell their RVs to these folks just so they won’t move in with them. J Your readers and their friends need to know that foreclosure is not the end of the world – in fact it may be a new lease on life, the beginning of a bright new world of adventure for them as full time RV’rs. Here are a couple of web sites where you can obtain more information about the full time RV lifestyle: http://www.rvtravel.com/, http://www.escapees.com/, http://www.workamper.com/ and http://www.trailerlife.com/.
See you on the road. Jim