While driving through the middle of nowhere Texas, I noticed several cars slow down while passing our trailer. We stopped at a rest stop along the way I did a walk around… and I found the trailer wheel well covers were both very loose.
rv maintenance and upgrades
Have you checked your brakes? You should stop and read this if you can.
Before we left Phoenix, I spent some time crawling under our trailer inspecting its brakes, suspension, and axles. Until now, we had only hauled our house for a few very short trips, so thankfully things were still fairly clean down there. The trailer has an electric brake system on all four tires. One of the first things I noticed was the electrical feeds to these brakes were not protected in any way, and they could rub on the metal surfaces: a potentially dangerous situation down the road. I purchased plastic wire loom and wire ties to cover and protect the wires. …
Our Furnace Wouldn’t Light!
I know it’s August and we haven’t had to think about our furnace in months, but winter is just around the corner. It was time to do some maintenance. Much like moving into a sticks-and-bricks home, there is always something to work on. Last winter we were having periodic issues with our furnace not lighting, especially on the coldest nights. I checked the air intake and exhaust ports to make sure there were no blockages, since bees and wasps like to make their homes there from time to time. The other appliances that use propane fuel (stove, hot water heater, …
Bedside Cabinets
While we still lived in a sticks-and-bricks home and I had my wood shop, I did some last-minute cabinetry for our RV. Above the windows on each side of the bed was a space that had the potential for a small cabinet. The existing cabinets above the headboard had vertically-opening doors that were several inches away from the wall on each side. If I kept the cabinets shallow enough, they should fit. First, I drew up a plan for two cabinets, and then I made a wood cut plan. I chose poplar for the cabinets to keep the weight down, …
We finally hit the road! Does That Mean Major Truck Repairs or Just a New Battery?
Those of you who’ve followed our Instagram might’ve seen that we’ve officially left Arizona (for now) and are on the road. We have a schedule to keep to get to our Florida destination on time (more about that in a future post!), but not such a tight schedule that we can’t stay 2-3 nights in each spot, and we’ve limited our travel to 200 miles per day. So here is what happened when we landed in El Paso: The truck wouldn’t start! At least it waited until we were settled into an RV park, rather than the middle of nowhere. …
Medicine Cabinet Remodel
The medicine cabinet in our RV was generously sized (in our opinion), but it only had one shelf. There was a lot of wasted space. While we could have stored about 16 super-tall cans of 80’s Aqua Net, we’ve both outgrown that phase and our toiletries are a bit smaller these days. The cabinet itself is made of a light ¼ inch plywood, so it is not a good base with which to attach a shelf. However, I did this, I wanted to avoid visible screws. I chose some light hardwood lumber that could be stained to closely match the …
Finding Unused Space Under Our Bathroom Sink
As we continue our quest for space optimization, we discovered some wasted space in the cabinet below the sink. Only the top half of the total cabinet space was usable as a cabinet when we bought it. The lower half of the space was closed off with a panel, in order to hide the plumbing connections and electrical runs. The area below the sink was opened for a previous project where I found myself tracking down a water leak. The space was closed off with a ¼ inch plywood panel to protect the water lines, drain, and some electrical feeds. …
Our Grey Water Mystery Leak
Shortly after we moved in, we started noticing water on the ground under the dump valve for the black tank and one of the gray tanks. Thankfully, the water appeared to be either fresh water or gray water! But it was a concern and needed fixing. Our unit has an all-weather sealed underbelly, so the water leaking could have been coming from any number of places and traveling along the underbelly to the drain valve area. We were really concerned, because water can do a lot of damage when the leaks are not addressed quickly. During the course of troubleshooting, …
Roof Care
Have you thought about your RV’s roof lately? So many things can affect the life of your RV, and having a good roof is one of the most important ways to protect your RV. Our Keystone Laredo travel trailer has a single-membrane rubber roof, and rubber roofs need regular maintenance and protecting. We are currently staying in Arizona, so our roof has to withstand blistering sun, sweltering heat, blowing dust, monsoons, frequent bird visits, and… you get the idea. While we duck inside our RV to escape the sun, our roof is taking the brunt of it, day after day. …
Our Maxxair 7500K Fan Install
The following walk-through and review were not sponsored by any of the manufacturers mentioned. This review is based purely on my research and experiences, in the hopes that it might be interesting or helpful to you. Like most off-the-shelf travel trailers, ours came with a tiny little bathroom exhaust fan. It was fine when we wanted to vent steam from the shower but that is about it. The original fan had a few big drawbacks: the air draw rate was poor for assisting with ventilation, the vent cap needed to be cranked open with a crank that was mounted flush …