What did you do to your RV today?

[LHaven]

You'll have to let us know how they work out. I know the old magnetic sensor were good as fridge magnets to hold the grandkids pictures they drew

Yes, please do. I've only recently heard of this brand. They seem to work the same as a Mopeka, but appear to be offered at a much lower price point. Might make a good present for a relative of mine.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

Today I decided to look into why my four-stack kitchen drawers felt "wobbly". When I removed the drawers, I found that the frame the drawer slides were mounted to was a simple wooden rectangle that was only mounted to the floor, with nothing to secure the top or side. I cut and installed some blocks to secure the top of the frame to the underside of the countertop and also to the side of the adjacent wall of the cabinet. Using proper length screws and high bond adhesive, the frame is now solid and secure.

I also installed my TireLinc TMPS kit and that seems to be working as intended.

The EchoChek sensors seem to be working well so far. They have good Bluetooth range and I have watched the levels fluctuate with the ambient temperature.

 

[LHaven]

Today I decided to look into why my four-stack kitchen drawers felt "wobbly". When I removed the drawers, I found that the frame the drawer slides were mounted to was a simple wooden rectangle that was only mounted to the floor, with nothing to secure the top or side.

Mine are attached the same way.

I really don't understand Keystone drawer design. My kitchen drawers aren't long enough (11") or wide enough for a standard plastic flatware divider (I had to trim one down). Worse, they're not long enough for commonly needed items such as DW's meat knife or her long mixing spoon for tall go-cups -- those hang over the rear of the drawer, and occasionally fall under the sink and have to get retrieved. When I first realized this, I assumed they were purposely made short so as not to interfere with the pull-out faucet hose behind. (In my estimation, there was plenty of margin, and I did consider extending the drawers, but given that rear brace it would have been way too fiddly a job for me.)

However, they did the same with the wardrobe and under-pantry drawers -- put a short drawer in a much longer cavity -- when there was nothing behind them. They could have been made much more useful, they just weren't. The wardrobe drawers are about 14" deep, with another foot of "outer space" behind. (Cue Rob Schneider: "You put your weed in there!")

A lot of wasted space in this manufacturing practice.

 

[Peto]

Happy Sunday! Today I installed the EchoCheck smart tank sensors. Quick and simple install. View attachment 1105437

do they work? I could see puting one on the tank I use last.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

They seem to work pretty good. Considering I had nothing before, almost anything is an improvement. The price was right and the App is easy to use.

I bought a two-pack, but your idea to just use one on your second tank is a great idea. You can set it to alert at various levels so it is easy to create an alert on your second tank to let you know the first is empty and it’s time to refill.

 

[jxnbbl]

Happy Sunday! Today I installed the EchoCheck smart tank sensors. Quick and simple install. View attachment 1105437

I just installed these and found them performing way better than my former - Topeka sensors

​

 

[jxnbbl]

Some inspirations from this thread were added/improved for our trip.

About 3 weeks ago we dug out the trailer and pulled the snow off the roof and started getting ready. "de winterized", sanitized and tested all the systems...

1. Installed bars for the screen doors.
2. Made a new bracket for our water filter system. The former didn't survive a trip where our stabilizing system caught the edge (it protrudes out on uneven ground).
3. Installed the new propane sensors given to me for Christmas...the formers worked OK but I was always fooling with them. Will report back on these after a years worth of use.

So far, had to replace a HW heater board, the vinyl weather stripping one side of the front cap, the retaining bolt/nut on my spare and have to figure out something found rolling around inside after a long drive!

 

[LHaven]

Bought a new 45° clear sewer hose connector today. My old one was so scratched up and baked that it was difficult to see through. Come to find out, the new one doesn't fit to slide inside the bumper with my hose, like my old one did. They're both marked Valterra 1026-1, but my old one has two lugs and the new one has four, with thicker lug attachments. I can't find any two-lug models of any brand for sale anywhere. It's possible that my clear adapter is the original one I bought 26 years ago. I guess it's time to start thinking about an undercarriage storage tube (sigh).

 

[JRTJH]

Or

Bought a new 45° clear sewer hose connector today. My old one was so scratched up and baked that it was difficult to see through. Come to find out, the new one doesn't fit to slide inside the bumper with my hose, like my old one did. They're both marked Valterra 1026-1, but my old one has two lugs and the new one has four, with thicker lug attachments. I can't find any two-lug models of any brand for sale anywhere. It's possible that my clear adapter is the original one I bought 26 years ago. I guess it's time to start thinking about an undercarriage storage tube (sigh).

Or a 50 cal/20mm "ammo box" and mount it either under the trailer or if you have a rear bumper, mount it between the bumper and the rear wall of the trailer...

0.50 Caliber Ammo Box

Amazing deals on this .50 Cal Ammo Box at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[LHaven]

Or a 50 cal/20mm "ammo box" and mount it either under the trailer or if you have a rear bumper, mount it between the bumper and the rear wall of the trailer...

I actually do have a larger ammo crate for all my black water parts, but I was hoping for a solution that wouldn't require me detaching and reattaching the clear elbow to the hose every hookup, because I keep snapping ears off the hose end adapter (did it again just this week taking the roughed-up adapter off).

I was putting together a parts list for the undercarriage carrier you designed, but that 6" sleeve is hard to find anywhere. 5" is more widely available, and it looks like everything will fit, including a 5" half-round gutter "drawer," so I'll probably pursue that. Your I-beam clamp mounting trick solves the rest of my issues (particularly the one where my coroplast bulges down a bit in the mounting area). Now I just have to drive all over the valley to collect the parts I need.

 

[jonahex2099]

Trying to figure out a better way to enclose the water pump in my passthrough so stripping out the sloppy bent panel and building a box to enclose it that doesn't take up four feet of space of no reason.

 

[LHaven]

Today we had 110°. Came back to the rig to find the A/C breaker popped. Reset it. It popped again after about 10 min. Breaker was pretty warm. trained a fan on it and tried again. Got another 10 minutes. Thought to check the intake filter -- it didn't look too dirty, but flushed and toweled it anyway. What a difference -- dump air was noticeably cooler, breaker held, didn't get hot. Never realized how little dust it took to make your A/C go inefficient and draw big amps. Word to the wise!

 

[NH_Bulldog]

Today we had 110°. Came back to the rig to find the A/C breaker popped. Reset it. It popped again after about 10 min. Breaker was pretty warm. trained a fan on it and tried again. Got another 10 minutes. Thought to check the intake filter -- it didn't look too dirty, but flushed and toweled it anyway. What a difference -- dump air was noticeably cooler, breaker held, didn't get hot. Never realized how little dust it took to make your A/C go inefficient and draw big amps. Word to the wise!

We learned that lesson ourselves a few years ago. Fortunately we came back before it got dangerously warm inside. Having two dogs generates a lot of dust and a reliable working AC is a matter of life and death for them. After that event, we began a regular filter cleaning schedule and now we carry several spare filters just in case.

 

[flybouy]

Like Rob, we have always had from 1 to 3 dogs with us. The hair and dander is a constant maintenance necessity. We to keep spare filters handy. We've been in some cases where the dust from the gravel roads, nearby construction, heavy pollen times or farming cancause the filter to require frequent cleaning. Replace the dirty filter with a clean one then blow out the dirty one and wash it. Hang it outside to dry. Repeat.

Bear in mind that the converter fan and furnace fan if you camp in cooler weather are likely dirty as well. I'll use compressed air from my truck to clean these as well as the back of the fridge, water heater, and outdoor kitchen coils depending on circumstances. Another advantage to having on-board air in the truck bed. I also keep a can of computer dust off for small things like cleaning the thermostate, the tv, stove controls, etc.

 

[JRTJH]

Today we had 110°. Came back to the rig to find the A/C breaker popped. Reset it. It popped again after about 10 min. Breaker was pretty warm. trained a fan on it and tried again. Got another 10 minutes. Thought to check the intake filter -- it didn't look too dirty, but flushed and toweled it anyway. What a difference -- dump air was noticeably cooler, breaker held, didn't get hot. Never realized how little dust it took to make your A/C go inefficient and draw big amps. Word to the wise!

Have you gone on the roof, pulled the cover from the air conditioner and used "coil cleaner" to clean the dust/dirt from the evaporator/condensor coils? If not, you may try that and find that your air conditioner works like it did when it was new. I do mine about every third season. Between the cottonwood "silk" and the dust/dirt seems like I get a good "bucket full of grunge" off the coil fins when I clean them. I use a can of spray cleaner from Lowes to do mine. Easy to use, and cleans off with just a LOW PRESSURE garden hose (I remove the nozzle and just "free flow the hose output over the coils).. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Purafilter-Purafilter-Coil-Cleaner-19-oz/5005875521

 

[LHaven]

Have you gone on the roof, pulled the cover from the air conditioner and used "coil cleaner" to clean the dust/dirt from the evaporator/condensor coils? If not, you may try that and find that your air conditioner works like it did when it was new.

I asked my mobile tech to do the coils last fall when I had him do roof caulking checks. He said it was factory clean (after five years!), nothing more to do.

The filter on my unit is just a frame of some stretched nylon grid, looks like bird netting, nothing fancy. I can spray the dirt off in the kitchen sink, pat it down with a towel, and reinstall it in about two minutes flat, so no spares needed.

 

[LHaven]

It took us only five years to figure out that the factory covered the buttons on our microwave with a plastic film. We clued in when the START button developed a hole over it.