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Determining the Trade in Value for an RV
When preparing to buy a new camper, the questions of: “How much is my camper is worth?” can be really important. This article is about how the dealer determines an RV’s trade in value. I wanted to make this article because I see customers often irritated by what they are offered for their trade in when buying a new camper. An easily avoidable misunderstanding is to know what you owe on your camper. Unfortunately, a lot of people find themselves owing more on their camper than what that camper is worth. This happens frequently when people are wanting to trade in their second camper for their third camper. One reason…
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Guide to Winter Camping
The first thing I need to say is that we live in Minnesota. Temperatures here drop below freezing (not to mention the windchill) in the winter. For the purpose of this article we are going to be talking about temperatures below 32 degrees when we talk about winter camping. Now, because we live in Minnesota we don’t recreational camp during the winter. When we “camp’ in the winter, it is generally for deer hunting or ice fishing in a crank down fish house. That being said, I have worked in every brand camper for the last 10 years in below freezing temps. My experience is that most campers will keep…
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10 Things to know about RV Power & Batteries
Power is probably not something that you think about everyday but when you are camping suddenly it becomes very important. Here are 10 things you need to know about powering your RV and RV batteries! 1. Types of Batteries Deep-Cycle Battery A deep cycle battery is a lead-acid battery designed to be regularly deeply discharged using most of its capacity down to 80 percent (deep cycled) time after time without causing damage. A deep cycle battery could be used and will start a car or boat. It is designed to be drained lower than a normal starting battery. It will not supply as much cold cranking amps as a starting battery and usually costs way more.…
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How to Stop the Beeping in your Camper!
About a month ago I heard a beeping noise coming out of our camper. Now a little side note, my husband’s hearing is not great at certain pitches. We had an alarm (like a watch) going off at our house that was driving me nuts because I couldn’t find the source. He never even heard it! This beep was one of those noises that he can’t hear very well. I went into the house to ask my husband what the beeping was and to make it stop before the neighbors called the police. Of course, since it wasn’t bothering him, he told me to go check it out. It turns…
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RV Roof Maintenance
This article is going to focus on the general maintenance of an RV roof. It sounds much more daunting than it really is. I typically do an inspection of my RV’s roof twice a year. It is important to do this quick inspection because it can save you a lot of time and MONEY later. The rubber roof on a travel trailer is very durable. About the only thing that really damages an RV roof is large hail and tree branches (or you scraping it on something). To do this inspection simply get on a ladder look at your roof. It is always a good idea to give the roof…
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Guide to RV Water Heaters
RV water heaters are really pretty simple. For the purpose of this article we are going focus on water heaters with tanks. There are some tank-less water heaters that are usually on demand style water heaters. I generally don’t see too many of these tank-less water heaters because the manufacturers have found that they don’t work very well and customers often complain about them. Before getting into how to operate an RV water heater, it is important to be sure that you have de-winterized your water heater before operation. In other words be sure that your valves are turned to the correct positions on the back side of the water…
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Getting your RV Ready for Winter
It’s time to start getting your camper ready for winter. The most important part of getting your camper ready for winter is winterizing the water system. This article is going to focus on the things to look out for, and the maintenance to do now, so that you are ready to enjoy your camper in the spring. Exterior Materials Needed 100% silicone should be used on the sides of an RV and around all the protrusions (doors, windows, running lights, brake lights, water hookups, etc). Self-leveling roof caulk should be used on the roof. Silicone will not stick on the roof of an RV. If you use silicone on the…
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Guide to Winterizing an RV
When it comes time to winterizing your water system in your RV please remember to do it before it gets below 32 degrees. If you are not comfortable winterizing your own camper, please bring it to your service technicians. There will be a fee for the RV technician to winterize your camper, but you are going to have an experienced person doing it and usually a warranty. This means that if the tech fails to winterize one faucet on your camper (your outside shower for instance), that dealer will normally warranty it, as long as you didn’t use your water system after they winterized it. First, please use RV Antifreeze. This…
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Guide to RV Furnaces and Air Conditioners
Let’s start this out by saying RV furnaces and air conditioners work very similar to the ones in most houses. They have a thermostat, just like in a home, and you are able to set the room temperature how you like it. There are, however, a couple of differences between an RV furnace and the furnace in your home. The first difference is that an RV furnace heats using propane instead of natural gas. The second difference is that the fan motor on an RV furnace operates on the 12 volt battery that is mounted on the front end of the RV (we will stress the importance of this battery…
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What to Consider When Buying a Camper
So you have decided you want to start enjoying the RV lifestyle! Good for you! There are many different makes and models of RVs. The first decision will be: what kind of RV do you want? The next decisions is: do you want to buy new or used? Here are some things to consider: Types of RVs The 5 main types of RVs are: motorhomes, travel trailers, 5th wheel, pop-ups, and pickup campers. Typically people already have a pretty good idea of what category of RV they are looking to purchase so we are only going to touch on each type of RV in this article. Motorhomes Motorhomes are the…
