RV Advice and WiFi Question

[calsur]

Captain Goddammit,

Age and condition is generally much more important than tread wear. Most people put 20 to 30 thousand miles a year on their cars and how mainy on the RV? The rest of the time the RV tires are rotting in the sun.

safetythird,

The other really good piece of advice given here by others is to use it even if it is only to park it in front of the house and try to live in it over a weekend. You learn how to stow stuff and find out stupid stuff like you need a spatula to flip that pancake. The spatula you do not have. Or it would be really nice to have ….

And a word on propane refrigerators. I really do not know why this is but about 25% of the propane fridges fail to work unless the RV is perfectly level. I have had the friges fail on propane parked at a curb because the street crown for drainage was too high. Just a couple of degrees. I thing it was overactive safety devices but I do not know for sure. My Dad’s RV fridge will not stay lit in front of his house and the tilt is nothing. Find your RV’s limits.

Check into towing coverage at AAA and Good Sams Club also just in case of the worst happens. And know what is covered.

Good luck and I hope you will be kind to people who gave you advice when we ask to use the bathroom.

[Captain Goddammit]

This from http://gasrefrigeration.net./, a great place to learn all about RV refrigerators and how to keep yours alive:

There are only two main failures with gas RV refrigerators (Dometic, Norcold and selected other).

#1 The RV refrigerator is run unleveled causing the cooling unit boiler to overhead, block and crack.

#2 The RV refrigerator cooling unit's steel tubing rusts and the ammonia/hydrogen gas leaks out.

Boiler blocks or cracks - If the refrigerator is run while not leveled for an extended period, the cooling unit water will not flow into the boiler. The boiler as a result gets excessively hot and can bake the rust inhibitor. This will in-turn block the small 1/4" tube in the boiler and all flow will stop. If the refrigerator is kept running under these circumstances the boiler tube will get so hot that it will crack open.  If this happens a yellow powder around the burner area may be visible indicating that the cooling units rust inhibitor is leaking.


 

[safetythird]

I'm a little sketchy about my fridge. Most of the other RV's we looked at had recently replaced their fridges but ours still has the original Norcold unit. It works fine, not as cold as my beer fridge at home but it'll do. I worried that we'll get to the playa and the fridge won't be able to handle the heat and die. We're going to bring a couple ice chests just in case.

The playa is pretty damn flat and level right? We camped one night on the shore of a lake and I couldn't find the right thickness board to get the RV perfectly level (only off by a degree or two) and the fridge worked fine.

A side note on fridges in general: You CAN transport fridges on thier sides. You just have to wait 24 hours before plugging it in to allow the refrigerant to drain back to where ever it needs to be drained back into. I scored this nifty piece of trivia from the guy who delivered our fridge from the appliance store (and no, our's was transported upright). Oh, and they'll last longer if they're plugged in and running (even at their lowest setting) than they will if you just let it sit around doing nothing.

I've seen a couple aux fans for Rv fridges that mount behind the unit and either blow air up throught the cooling fins or pull air up through the cooling fins. Anyone use these? Do they make that much of a difference?

I've also been looking all over my RV for an inverter and it appears that I don't have one. Kind of a bummer after seeing what the good RV grade ones cost. Damn, they want $80 just for the cables to connect to the batteries. I think I'll hit up Costco and the web for a decent sized version that I can hook straight up to the coach batteries but still be able to use it in our other vehicles. Any suggestions or personal experiences?

And yes, I will be kind to all those who provided the excellent advice found on this thread. I may not be able to give you a shower but you're welcome to stop by and have some refreshments with us. No ass, grass or cash needed.

SafetyThird!

[talisen]

Rather unlikly that you have an Inverter (convert DC to AC). However you may have a Converter (convert AC to DC). Inverter setups are more common in larger RV's with large battery capacity (large or multiple deep cycle or even golf cart style batteries).
What would you plan on doing with an inverter anyway?

[Captain Goddammit]

And yes, I will be kind to all those who provided the excellent advice found on this thread. I may not be able to give you a shower but you're welcome to stop by and have some refreshments with us. No ass, grass or cash needed.

SafetyThird!

No problem, I think most of us have RVs (with showers) too.
The playa IS pretty damn flat and level, you likely won't have to block it up.
The little inverters have a reputation for burning out after not too long of a lifespan.
Almost everything in an RV works directly on 12 volts, and most of that which doesn't (like the airconditioner) draws too much power to be practical on batteries.

[Bob A]

I'm a little sketchy about my fridge. Most of the other RV's we looked at had recently replaced their fridges but ours still has the original Norcold unit. It works fine, not as cold as my beer fridge at home but it'll do. I worried that we'll get to the playa and the fridge won't be able to handle the heat and die. We're going to bring a couple ice chests just in case.

I just bought and am repairing a 25-year-old camp trailer and it had the original fridge. I brought it toy a RV place to check out and they ran it both on gas and electric (ac) and gave it a clean bill of health. All it needed was a thermostat for the gas side and the part was easy for them to get. It was all rusty on the back fins and they said that was common and although not ideal wasn't a big deal.

It keeps thing pretty cool just remember to not go in it often and give it plenty of time to cool when starting. They don't recover as fast as home ones.

I also bough a little level you should make sure it is level from the cooling plate usually in the bottom of the freezer. This should be level front to back and side to side. Get 4 leveling jacks from a RV place they are not too costly and you just crank them up to balance everything. Or you can put shims under the fridge if that is off balance and camper is level

Do take the effort to level it, at the least it won't cool as well. At the worst it will boil out and crack leaking ammonia all over the playa.

Also a fan is good I've just ordered one of those solar ones and you aim it to cool off the fins that pull the heat away. The cooler they are the better you will be. Solar is good since it is the daytime heat that will make the fridge work harder.

Bob A

[safetythird]

Here's a tip I just got a couple days ago from a veteran rv burner in my camp.

Supplies: 1 Roll of blue painters tape (3M preferred)
2 (or more) space blankets (shiny mylar)


Take one space blanket and starting at the center of the front window tape the blanket to the rv working toward the sides. Wrap around the side to cover the side windows. Repeat for other side and any additional windows.

It's important to do this OUTSIDE the rv as putting it inside would allow the sun/heat inside the window (thus inside the rv) and trap it there.

Since the rv walls already have insulation the whole rig doesn't have to be covered, just the un-insulated windows. Sounds like it should provide some additional protection and it's reported to lower the temp inside quite a bit.


jbelson mentioned some plastic carpet covering but didn't have the name of the product. I did a little googling and found the stuff. It's called Poly-Tak and I guess it comes in different sizes and rolls. I found a place that sells it pretty cheap (a lot cheaper than rv websites). It's not called Poly-Tak but it appears to be the same stuff.

http://www.curtain-wall.com/carpet_barrier.htm

$40 for a 200' roll doesn't sound too bad. I'll be ordering mine today.


Safety Third!

[david_gruenberg1]

The wifi was free and good in 2003. After only a quick search, I did not find anything about it for 2004.

[vic]

You might want to consider some kind of decorations for the outside of your RV. They are nice to live in, but most RVs are butt ugly.

[Cruz'n Connie]

Thanks to everyone who posted all the useful information here! I will definitely follow up on the advice regarding floor coverings, and wrapping the cushions in plastic. I recently heard that the playa is especially dusty this year.

This will be my first trip to Burning Man, and I have rented an RV for myself and my 12-year-old son. I've rented RVs in the past, but it has been several years, and the conditions were not nearly as extreme.

I do have a few more questions to ask of those of you who have prior experience:

I've read that it is advisable to create some kind of shade structure over the RV. What works and what doesn't? Please provide details on the 'what works' part.

This will be a Cruiseamerica RV, and it has logo stuff all over it. What are some effective ways to temporarily cover the logos, that won't get blown away by the wind?

Any other hints for rental RVs?

[spclblend]

- Yes the blue painter tape is great because it holds and it comes up easily
- You will probably use up your grey water space ( I remember when the locals charged $20 to drain your tanks)
- Use your bathroom as sparingly as possible, this is where you might end up putting some of your grey water
- As for people wanting to use your stuff, just say, "Sorry but I have very limited space/resources"
- The cleanest bathrooms are the furthest away, i.e. the walk in camping area have very nice porta potties
- turn your vehicle over every 2 days for 15 minuets or so to recharge your batteries
- don't bather taping up your vents but do close your joint up when you head out
- Cover your front windows to keep the internal temp down
- Bring extra gas
- when washing dishes get a wash basin and reuse your water to do each group of dishes. basicly never contiously run the water.
- bring some wood/ramps (pep boys) to level out your joint if you don't have jacks
- remember there will always be those who have something negative to say about rv's, forget about it.
- No matter how hard you try to keep the dust out, it will get in.

- I miss my RV


Jonathan

[safetythird]

I started my carpet barrier install yesterday and the stuff seems to kick ass. Only time will tell if it works as good as I hope it will.

A couple things I noticed while working with the stuff. It can be a bitch if you're not very cafeful. Think of working with really big pieces of plastic wrap. It starts clinging to itself and creating wrinkles almost immediately. Now imagine working with big ass plastic wrap that has adhesive on one side. I had to toss a few pieces that got really out of control. A handy tidbit when working on the detailed parts is to roll out a piece of appropriate size on the sofa (or bed) then cut it and pull it up. It helps keep to rowdy corners from getting away from you.

The instructions say not to use on upholstery but I wrapped the sofa bed and it seems that the adhesive is not strong enough to do any damage. I'll be working on all the other upholstery today. What's kinda cool that I didn't think of until I was admiring my handy work is that you can put objects, pictures, etc under the carpet barrier and it will still be very visible. Kinda like those bars that have stuff lacquered into them. I already have plans for a couple choice photos to go on the cushions of my chairs before the barrier wrap.

I'm going to be using more blue painters tape to cover the edges and other places too hard to get a piece of carpet barrier on.


Less than a week to go and I can really feel the pressure building. Maybe it's because we're first timers or we're keeping too literal an eye on the weather forecasts but it seems like we are bringing almost everything we own. I'm sure next year wil be a lot easier.

And for all those who graciously helped with my questions and put up some solid advice; I have exactly 200 frozen Otter pops that I'll be bringing. We'll be on the playa Wednesday afternoon. Come by for a cool refreshing treat. I have no idea how long the dry ice will last (or the Otter Pops for that matter) so make sure you get yours before Friday.

Location: Earth & 6:30
Village: Fandango (Home of the Slow Burn Lounge)
Camp: Orbitals

(Bonus - there are JOTS on our corner of Earth and 6:30.)

We'll be staying in the Shaggin Wagon on 6:30 almost at Jupiter (I guess technically we'd be asteroids).

And as the song goes, "... If the house is a rockin don't bother knocking."

See ya on the playa!

Safety Third!