rv maintenance and upgrades

How to Maintain a Healthy Black Tank

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As a mobile RV tech I have addressed many black tank problems, ranging from simple clogs to tanks that have fallen off their supports. An RV black tank has a very important job to do and works well when it is given the proper tools and conditions. The black tank is not complex, and works by breaking down the solid waste into a slurry, allowing it to exit the tank without clogging. The solids are broken down by bacteria and lots of water. Some of those bacteria give off methane, others do not, and methane is one of the chemicals …

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Broken Service door

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On one of our hops across the country while hooking up our fresh water, the door fell off in my hand. The problem turned out to be a broken retracting plastic pin on one side of the door hinge. The door attaches to the utility cabinet with one fixed pin and one spring retracting pin. Both pins are plastic, the retractable one is the one that broke. When it broke, the spring and remaining bits of pin disappeared into the gravel, never to be seen again. I made a few inquiries as to how to get a new one but …

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Ram 2500 Airbag Suspension Installation

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We travel full-time in our Keystone Laredo 335MK travel trailer and pull it with a Ram 2500 pickup truck. Our truck has no problem towing our trailer. We use an Equalizer brand weight distribution hitch to even out the load. While traveling, we have noticed the rear of the truck tends to bounce when we travel over rough roads. Even with the Equalizer hitch, the truck tends to squat in the rear just a bit, this can affect the vehicle stability and reduce the headlight effectiveness. We try not to tow at night but the few times we have we …

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Sanitizing Our Fresh Water System

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How long has it been since you sanitized your fresh water system in your RV? Did you know your fresh water system needs to be sanitized on a regular basis? Even with a good filter, algae, debris, and bacteria can build up in the fresh water tank and plumbing.

The sanitation process can take several hours, and will require access to a fresh water supply.

We have a Keystone Laredo travel trailer with a 43 gallon fresh water tank, and our water cabinet includes the fresh water fill inlet, fresh water tank vent to prevent overfilling, valve for switching between onboard water and city water, black water flush inlet, outside shower port, and the cable TV connections.

View of the fresh water fill cabinet on our Keystone Laredo travel trailer

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Doubling Our Usable Kitchen Drawer Space

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I borrowed this idea from my father. My dad added several pull-out storage areas in their kitchen pantries as well as interior drawers similar to this project. This additional pull-out storage made much better use of the space, making the contents neater and easier to access.

Our utensil drawer is definitely in need of a space utilization improvement project. The standard silverware organizer does do the job, but the drawer itself was never more than half full.

View of the utensil drawer before the project to add an interior drawer started

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Making Gray Tank Valves Easier to Reach

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Waste water tanks are not high on the list of fun things to do while RVing. We have two gray tanks, and the way the manufacturer installed our kitchen gray tank’s dump valve does not make the process any more fun. Basically, they were installed “backwards.” In order to open the gate valve you have to climb under the edge of the slide floor and electrical cables, and the valve must pulled away from you in order to open it.

View of the kitchen waste water tank dump valve with the handle facing away from the viewer
This is the easiest angle to approach the gray tank. Why is the handle on the opposite side?

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Everybody poops! Or alternately: Full-time RVing with cats, and where the heck did we put the litter boxes?

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We have four cats and live in a 35-foot RV. Where do our cats poop? Not gonna lie: this was at the top of our priority list when we were RV shopping. It is extremely important to have a clean and safe area for cats to go to the bathroom, because without that, it can cause all kinds of behavioral problems that could lead to anything from aggression to physical illness.

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Why is our ceiling wet?

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Humidity can a real problem while living in an RV. We have been traveling east, officially leaving the dry desert and entering bayou country. On the first night of 90% humidity, we wondered when we would be dealing with complications of humidity in our RV life.

The next morning, while making my morning tea, I noticed a six inch round spot on the ceiling with condensation forming.

view of condensation formed on the ceiling with an a/c vent close by

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Installing a Laundry Chute in Our RV

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Where do we hide our dirty laundry? With limited space, we needed a place to store it until laundry day. Our rig has a pass-through storage compartment under the front of the trailer, which is under the bedroom closet.

Rather than keeping a hamper for dirty clothes alongside the clean clothes in the closet, I decided to make a laundry chute.

the front of an RV with an arrow pointing to the storage door on the bottom side, and the words "pass-thru storage."

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