Sanitizing Our Fresh Water System

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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Making Gray Tank Valves Easier to Reach

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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Why is our ceiling wet?

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

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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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. …

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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. …

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