Playing it cool with a German RV freezer

Mike and Connie Schmidt are full time RVers I recently met at a military campground in Spokane , Washington. Mike likes having more freezer space so he purchased this WAECO 110 cubic inch freezer. The unit fits nicely in Mike's Country Coach storage compartment in a slide out cargo bay. Made in Germany (known for fine craftsmanship and engineering) it runs on 12 volts or standard shore power. The automatic switch moves to 110 AC shore power when connected. Mike says, "With an unconditional 5 year warranty and half the price of the competition you can't go wrong with this unit." Mike says it's also 20 cubic inches larger than the competition, works great and has an easy to use control panel. You can learn more about this product here: WAECO. The Swedish Dometic Group recently acquired WAECO but the products will remain essentially the same. Keeping it cool in the dog days of summer - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

RVers employ a cool idea for outdoor living

I’m seeing something of a trend in RVing lately that involves the use of apartment sized refrigerators. These units are small enough to take with you and very nice for storing beverages on the patio. This frees up space in the RV refrigerator for more goodies and is convenient for outdoor living. Besides storing beverages, you can prepare a platter of burgers for the BBQ and store them in the outdoor refrigerator while you’re waiting for the coals to heat up. I frequently see these units plugged into the extra 110 outlet at the campsite utility box which frees up the 15 amp circuit in the RV for operating things like hair dryers and coffee pots. If you plan on staying at a park for a few weeks, and enjoy patio living you may want to consider picking up one of these small refrigerators. If you’re camping where there are bears, raccoons or teenagers forget it! Try to keep these refrigerators out of direct sunlight because they work better in the shade. Keeping you posted on cool RV ideas - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

My Refrigerator Works So Why Heed The Recall

During my daily walking adventure I came across this Alpha 5th wheel. It was destroyed by fire. You can tell it began in the refrigerator compartment because the fire burned through the exterior wall at that point. I asked around and found out it was indeed caused by the refrigerator and the owners were away from the trailer when the fire started. There are several causes for a fire in liquid propane gas appliances. Insects building nests in or near the burn tube can cause fire. A routine inspection and a blast from an air compressor should help prevent this from occurring. Loose fittings, improper pilot adjustment and LPG line leaks are other causes. At RVtravel.com we tell you about refrigerator recalls because we understand not everyone receives a recall letter from the manufacturer. If they send it to the original owner of the RV you might not receive the notice. However, many folks tend to ignore these recall notices not thinking it important because, after all, their refrigerator is working fine thank you. Hopefully these photos will encourage you to take the time to have your recall item inspected and fixed. It could save your life and your RV. Putting your safety first - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

Microwave Lemon Magic in Your RV

Do you have “splatter matter” in your RV microwave? Crud build-up can be tough to remove especially if you’ve “cooked it” into your microwave/convection oven. The Professor found this tip at wikiHow to pass on to you. Cut a lemon in half. Squeeze the juice into a microwave safe container along with one cup of water. Put it in the microwave and cook it on max power for 10 minutes. Allow the steam to fill the microwave and enjoy the fresh lemon aroma while it cooks. Carefully open the door being careful not to burn yourself with the steam and remove the hot container (I recommend using a hot pad or oven mitt). I know this sounds elementary, but some bonehead may just reach in, take it out, burn themselves then complain about it or blame me for not giving them complete directions. Wipe down the inside microwave surfaces with a wet towel or sponge. Easy! To prevent small food explosions from splattering in your microwave keep your food covered or use a splatter guard like this.Helping citrus farmers stay gainfully employed - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

What Is That White Plastic Strip On The Metal Fins Inside My Refrigerator?

I never thought much about that little strip of plastic on the metal fins inside my refrigerator except when I tried to clean around it. It slides up and down on the fin and has a wire attached to it. Turns out this little guy is a temperature sensor. It tells your refrigerator to keep working or to relax for a while. Ben Lukacek is a Master Certified RV Technician at Best Buy RV’s and is doing the Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) on our coach. He explained to me that if I want the refrigerator compartment to be cooler I can adjust the temperature by moving this plastic strip up on the metal fin. This way you are able to keep the temperature in your freezer constant while raising or lowering the temperature in your refrigerator compartment separately. Cool! Jim

A Central Vacuum You Can Install Yourself

Want a tidy central vacuum in your RV coach? The Dirt Devil CV 950 may be just right for you. It has an 11.2 Amp motor and comes with 30 feet of hose that retracts to 7 feet. It also comes with a power brush attachment that is small enough to get into tight spots plus all the other standard attachments. This unit also comes with a 3 year warranty.

This is just like a central vacuum system in a stick house. You open the vacuum face plate cover and insert the hose. The switch is activated by the metal collar on the hose and automatically turns the vacuum on. When you remove the hose it turns off. Easy to operate and easy to install. Jim Soukup recently installed this unit in his Tradewinds LTC motorhome.

It will take some time to decide where you will place the unit and drill the holes, but once you’ve decided, it’s really quite simple to install. First mount the motor housing unit. It will install horizontally or vertically in a 10” by 20” space. You can mount it behind a cabinet as shown here. You can also mount it in the basement or storage compartment under the coach. It comes with five feet of hose in the flex connector kit witch is included. A detailed instruction guide is also in the box if you care to read it. Once you’ve mounted the motor housing unit you can drill the holes using a hole saw for the face plate and a small drill bit for the included electric wire. Put the electric wire through the back mounted retaining plate and feed it through the hole you drilled.Now attach the two-pronged electric wire by simply pushing it into the holes on the back of the face plate. Attach the face plate with screws. Now drill a hole in the floor (where you have carefully measured and predetermined will not interfere with cross-members, plumbing, electric wires or international relations).Attach the flex hose to the face plate and run it and the wire down through the hole into the storage compartment. Attach the hose and the wire to the motor housing unit. Here Jim decided to add an additional faceplate (purchased separately) by adding a PVC “Y” adaptor to the motor housing unit. This way he can use it to vacuum his storage compartments. Now you just plug it in and away you go!

Catalytic Heater

Bob Kendall is an avid part-time RVer with two RVs, a 5th wheel toyhauler in which he totes around his Mini Cooper and a regular 5th wheel. Bob has done a unique custom install of a CAT heater in both of his RVs. Here is a view of the platinum catalytic heater installed in a cabinet door. Ingenious! This baby puts out 5000 British Thermal Units and is vented to the outside with a flex hose. A thermostat located in the bedroom controls this unit. The heat is dispersed by an electric fan in the unit. This unit is much more economical to run than a typical forced air heater. It uses less propane and much less electricity! Bob insists on a few safety features when he uses his CAT system. First he makes sure the propane supply line is installed with a shut off valve. Second, he makes sure he “cracks” the ceiling vents before he turns on the heater. This way you have a renewable oxygen supply and it helps reduce condensation. I’m not sure why he “cracks” his vents when he could just use the crank handle.

His cardinal rule is, “Never run an unventilated heater while sleeping.” So “crack” those vents!

Another rule Bob lives by is, “When you are running a heater, always put a portable battery powered CO alarm where you are sleeping.” He doesn’t trust the CO alarm his rig came with because it was bought and installed by an RV manufacturer, and…. well, are you willing to trust you life to a lowest bid item? I didn’t think so.

Bob’s wife made a nice cover with magnets sewn into the corners so it holds itself nicely in place. CAT heaters should be protected from dust when not in use. The infant safety latch helps ensure the door stays closed while traveling. While not in use this space doubles as storage for an additional stand-alone CAT heater. Bob likes to stay nice and toasty! This particular CAT heater is made in limited quantities by Arnie Lund. Contact him and see if he has a batch made up, but check out his website first: http://www.VentedCatHeater.com/

You may email him with questions at platcat@att.net Warm Regards! Jim

RV Central Vacuum

Meet Susan Schlaskohl (holding vacuum wand) and her assistant Martie theiss. These very nice ladies are from Palm City, Florida. It just so happens that Susan and her husband Peter own the company that builds and markets RoadVac a built-in vacuum for RVs. This baby has more power than most upright vacuum cleaners. When it comes to getting dirt out of your carpet suction power is what it is all about and this unit has the goods to keep your RV spotless. This is a built-in unit, but you can install it in such a way that you can move it to your next RV with no problem. Comes in White, Beige or Black and can be installed upright, sideways or on its back. Peter says, “If you can install an under-counter coffee pot, you can install a RoadVac R/V central vacuum cleaner.” This unit is 100% made in the USA! The best part is that these units are individually tested (really tested) before they get sent out so you are guaranteed a solid performing unit. The adjustable telescoping wand is made of aluminum and comes with a 35 foot flex hose (8 feet when stored). It has a 5 year warranty and optional HEPA filtration. The power head feature pictured here on the left is optional (I recommend you get it) and the attachments at the right are standard.You can read more about it here http://www.intervacdesign.com/roadvac.html

Also, just to let you know, I don’t own stock in RoadVac, am not being paid by RoadVac or have any financial interest in this company – (although I am open to taking bribes – just kidding). Seriously, this unit is good stuff and it will help you avoid this: Jim

Splendide 2100

In order for us to enter the full time RV lifestyle, I had to promise to get a washer and dryer in the rig because my wife does not like doing laundry in a Laundromat. We considered getting a stackable pair, but decided instead on the Splendide 2100. This is an all-in-one combo washing machine and dryer made in Italy. You simply put a small load of clothing in, add the soap, turn it on and walk away. When you return your clothes are washed and dried. Pros: This is a small self leveling unit that allows for use of the space over the top of the machine as a closet. You don’t have to transfer clothing from the washer to the dryer. This unit is very energy (155 kWh/year) and water efficient. If you spill something on your shirt during dinner you can spray it with Shout and throw it right into the wash. Convenience! Cons: You can only do small loads. Here are the examples from the owner’s manual: 1. Three bath towels, a hand towel and two wash clothes. 2. A set of queen sized sheets, top and bottom and two pillow cases. 3. One pair of jeans, a sweatshirt and a hand towel. My wife likes to wash the sheets all together, but then removes one sheet and dries it separately making drying time shorter.

It spins rapidly (up to 1200 rpms) and the vibration of the spin cycle can be felt throughout the rig. My wife doesn’t like the fact that this small drum causes too many wrinkles so I have to break out the ironing board on occasion (On occasion means once a week for church cloths). Like a regular size dryer, if you get the permanent press clothing out right away and hang it up the wrinkles usually hang out. You can’t wash rugs (we do those at the Laundromat).

My wife actually enjoys using this machine and she says the secret is to just keep up with the laundry. She likes to accumulate enough laundry (usually three days worth) to be able to do several loads in a row.

Defrosting Fixed the Problem

I keep a thermometer inside the refridgerator to reassure me that the food is being kept nice and cold. We have never had trouble with any of our refridgerators in all our years of RVing, however one day I noticed that our refridgerator was getting warmer inside. I had a sinking feeling that the control board was failing or I had a leak in the coils or something like that.

My freezer worked great, in fact there was about a half inch of ice on the back wall and around the sides. When this happened we had only been full time RVers a short while. Our prior RV trips never lasted more than three weeks so the freezer never really had a chance to ice up. I always cleaned out the fridge when we came home from a trip and propped the doors open to air out. I thought, “Hmm, I’ll defrost it and if that doesn’t help I’ll take it back to the dealer for repairs.” So I turned off the power, open the doors and let it defrost. Sure enough, that did the trick. The refridgerator ran like a champ after that. So now we routinely defrost the freezer and the refridgerator. We take out all the frozen stuff and put it in this handy insulated food tote that we purchased at WalMart last year. We take the stuff in the refridgerator and just stack it on the counter. Then we turn off the power to the refridgerator and leave the doors open and let nature take its course. The defrosting process doesn’t take very long (especially if you do it every month or so.) Why do we defrost the refridgerator section? Because the aluminum fins in the back can accumulate ice. We take this opportunity to clean all the shelves and wipe down the inside of the unit. Once I sop up all the melted ice and clean the surfaces inside the freezer I turn the power back on and replace the food. So, as it turns out the refridgerator wasn’t broken after all, it was another case of user error. Keep cool. Jim

Electric Appliances Save You $$$

Liquid Propane Gas (LPG) is what we full time RV'ers try to conserve. Lots of things can run off of propane in RV's including the refridgerator, stove/oven, heater, water heater and even the generator. One of the ways to conserve your LPG is to use as many electric appliances as you can. I rarely use the stove unless I am boondocking (dry camping - withoug hook-ups). Instead I use electric appliances like the coffee pot, microwave, electric heater, crock-pot, electric pot and electric skillet. I use the pot and skillet almost every day. I particularly like the pot because it has a vegtable steamer and I like the safety break away magnetic cord. We also switch the refridgerator and water to electric when in a campground with hook-ups. By using appliances we conserve on LPG to the point that we only refill the tanks every three months or so. When we first started RV'ing we were filling the LPG tanks every few weeks. At campgrounds you have already paid for the use of the electricity, so use it and save $$$. Jim