WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT? TIPS AND TRICKS

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WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT? TIPS AND TRICKS (4,305 members)

Share your tips and tricks you have discovered while camping. Hey, we can all use a little help. Post some of your clever ideas you have done to make camping a little easier. Thi... see more

WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT? TIPS AND TRICKS Feed

Sunnybrooke:
4 hours agoWe have a 2011 Sunnybrook Harmony with fiberglass sides and gel coated, any ideas on how to remove oxidation and bring it back to it's look new luster?
- Charlene Houle and 1 other like this.
- John & Diana 3 hours ago Try to WET sand a small area with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper.
  I used to build fglass boats and polished many production moulds.
  Not too much pressure.
  Key words: wet not dry.
- Dennis / Maureen Lendzion 2 hours ago I used these three products on my Winnebago Minnie Winnie using a buffer and it took the oxidation away. I feel the product on left works best. The product on right is what I wash it with. The product in center is ok
- Todd Ramsay 2 hours ago Agree with Dennis and Maureen above. Then once the oxidation is gone, go get Zep floor polish from Home Depot and put several light, light coats, allowing it to dry in between to really get it to shine.
Charlene Houle:
18 hours agoWe’re going to be needing new seals on our bumpouts is this something we should have done by someone who knows what they’re doing cost should be ?? Anyone have this done ??
- M&D&Boo 14 hours ago Yes. And have the installer warranty them that they won't leak!
  
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- John And Debbie Maxson 14 hours ago Are you talking about slide outs ? They look easy to do ,check out Y tube . We bought ours just need to put it on .waiting for weather to cool a bit.
  
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- SGM & Mrs G 8 hours ago real answer is "it depends" upon which brand and style of seals was used on the slide outs. On my Dutchman, each slide has two type of seals. The first and biggest PITA is the wiper seal, which wraps around the wall, inside and outside ( it is screwed AND... more
  
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Dee goodheart:
Tue at 8:13 PMThinking about purchasing a 50amp surge protector...not sure I want hardwire..looks too complicated to hook up...any advice on models? Thinking I want reverse polarity alert, brown out and surge protection....
- Becca Ray and 4 others like this.
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- Tom & Laura Boden’s Adventures 12 hours ago Buy the Progressive Industries EMS, We have the EMS-PT50x which is 50 amp and portable, plugs in at the pedestal and I sure it to the Electrical box with Heavy duty bicycle lock or an Heavy duty bicycle cable and lock. It might cost more but in my eyes ... more
  
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- Bandit455 11 hours ago Hughs Autoformer. You will pay a little more but get A LOT more. Surge protection as well as high AND low voltage protection. Have mine mounted and hardwired for security. I have seen the in-line plug-in ones get stolen even when secured with a padlock. T... more
  
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- modernvardo 9 hours ago Hughes autoformer and Hughes power watchdog, hardwired them both using male/female plugs, pricey but worth it. Has saved us on several low power situations.
  https://hughesautoformers.com/
- Dee goodheart 2 hours ago I have heard if it is as hassle to get to when installing...wont be as ny better when..or if..it needs to be replaced🤔..guess I need to see where mine would go....is there a certain location?
  
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  Seann ( the Canadian) 2 hours ago Best place I found in my RV was where the power cord entered the rig
  
  Bandit455 1 hour ago It all depends on the compartment. In mine, I cut the shore power cord about 18” from my transfer switch, and hard wired both ends of the cord to the Hughes Autoformer. It mounts to the back wall of the compartment my power cord is in. Rule #1 in wiring i... more
- Mike Leslie 1 hour ago Progressive was bought out. They no longer are in NC. They are headquartered in Wisc. And the product is made in Mexico. They still have the life time warranty.
Dennis / Maureen Lendzion:
Tue at 7:35 PMFound a lumbar support for drivers chair and there is one similar to one I purchased on amazon. A real back saver
- EXPLOREAZ and 6 others like this.
- Hank & Shirleen Tue at 8:48 PM Brand name please?
  
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  ColoradoCindy 12 hours ago I don't see any info
- Treece Hall (Patrice) 9 hours ago Where when what who how?
  
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  Dennis / Maureen Lendzion 2 hours ago Sorry tried to attach info but failed. I bought mine at a flea market and doesn’t list a brand name. It is mesh so breathable and has a strap that you can keep it in place around chair. It also has a tension release so you can adjust tension. Amazon has... more
- Treece Hall (Patrice) 2 hours ago Thanks!
Tami and Barry:
Tue at 8:06 AMAsked a RV repair shop, "How much to put our electric jack on". Quoted 2 hrs labor... seriously we did it ourselves in 10 minutes...what happened to integrity? Asked them to put drawers under our dinet and the quote was 1500, a custom drawer he said. WTF... more
- Raptor Pack RVing (Team Wilson) and 15 others like this.
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- RVNomads Tue at 11:13 AM Nearly all of the RV repair shops are so busy I think they try to discourage new jobs
  
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- Doug & Terri Tue at 11:46 AM I always check out YouTube first and usually discover I can tackle it myself and save time and money.
  
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- John And Debbie Maxson Tue at 1:27 PM We do all our repairs that we can unless it’s a safety issue ie brakes tires
  
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- Eric and Kathy Tue at 2:58 PM I've made most repairs myself, including warranty repairs. I took it back to Camping World once. Never again. I agree with John and Debbie about safety issues, but brakes and tires can be done at non-RV facilities. I made leak repairs myself several t... more
  
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- Bandit455 11 hours ago It isn't just RV shops. My toad is a 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. Needs a harness to power up the electric power steering when towing. This is a factory spec'ed harness sold by Jeep, quoted 4 hrs at $624 to install ($150/hr labor rate!). I did it my self... more
  
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Andy and Ellyn Meshel:
Mon at 11:56 AMThe electric tape worked so well on the power cord that I wrapped the water hose in red electric tape . This has helped eliminate a tripping hazard. This also makes the cables easier to see from the side mirror .
- Travelinlady and 17 others like this.
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- Barry & Millie-Ambassadors Mon at 2:21 PM Yep good idea
- Andy & Maureen T Mon at 4:03 PM Done the same for the coax cable.
- Drifter Mon at 4:54 PM Snakes
  
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- Vines Tue at 8:35 AM We will have to use your great idea!
- OurMobileBackPack Tue at 4:42 PM Gotta love a simple fix that works, Thanks
  
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Ronnie & Milt Abrams :
August 18I don’t know where to actually post this but if we recently bought a new Winnebago Adventurer and suspect we may have gotten a “lemon”. Have been having electrical problems since day one. Any suggestions? Any “lemon law” lawyers out there?
- Tom & Laura Boden’s Adventures and 4 others like this.
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- Andy & Maureen T Mon at 4:07 PM Just read where another couple sued Winnebago for the same problems with their Adventurer. They won.
  
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  Barry & Millie-Ambassadors Mon at 5:25 PM You dont have to sue just take it to the factory they will fix it most dealers dont know what they are doing just ask any tiffen how many times they been to red bay. Lol
  
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- Don Estey Tue at 2:09 AM Well from what I see you have a direction and soon it’ll be a journey. Maybe make lemonade 😎
  
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- Tami and Barry Tue at 7:37 AM electrical is a dangerous thing, i would Google lemon law in you're state and get on it, there is a time limit. Wish i was a lawyer.
- Vines Tue at 8:37 AM Oh my! Hope things turn around for you.
- Jim & Sharon Ham Tue at 7:47 PM We recommend a trip to Forest City, Iowa in your future. Winnebago has a very good service department and free campground with hookups while waiting for repairs. You do not say if this motorhome is new or new to you. If under new under w... more
Sunnybrooke:
August 18I know that seasoned RV'rs are aware of this but last year our 2 way frig went out. Talked to camper world about replacing it, Cost was going to be $1800.00 for the frig. plus approx. $1000.00 labor. Too much for us so I went to Home Depot and bought a re... more
- John and Liz Riebe and 14 others like this.
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- LindaLee79 August 18 That is so good to know. A friend of mine purchased a generator from Home Depot for her camper RV.
  
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  Sunnybrooke August 18 Converting our rv frig to a residential frig was the best rv decision we ever made.
  
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- Jerry Beasler August 18 We had same problem Dometic died 12.3 Cu. Ft. Put in Kenmore Elite 23 Cu. Ft. In the same spot. Had to cut down drawers a little and lower shelf. It draws 2 amps and I run off out inverter going down the road
  
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  Sunnybrooke August 18 That was my idea but I found out that a 500 watt inverter was to small to handle the load at start up. Most of our trips are in the 5 hour range so the frig looses very little degrees during transit.
- Benji August 18 You don’t boondocks I assume. I bought s 3 way Norcold 8.4 cu ft for 1400 on EBay to the garage door. I don’t think that dealer was close to being honest! $1000 for labor, it doesn’t take 2 hours to R&R.
  
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  Jerry Beasler Tue at 9:03 AM Yes we do Boondock and have had no issues with the residential fridge and the inverter the longest single run on the inverter was 14 hrs and did not run down the batteries or run the generator. We probably had another 10 hours of run time. The... more
  
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- Steve & Diane Mon at 5:31 AM We have an extended warranty with Wholesale Warranties. It only cost us the $200 deductible to have the back part of the fridge replaced (typically a $2,400 replacement). We chose to have a RV repairman come to our campsite in lieu of taking t... more
  
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- Vines Tue at 8:46 AM We’ve done the same. Worked great
Charles Nelsen:
August 18Hi Folks,
We were traveling and ran into an unexpected hard freeze overnight. It broke the ice-maker water line at the rear of our refrigerator. I need to turn the water off to the ice-maker until I can replace the line so we can turn the water pump on fo... more
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- Ramblers August 18 Have you checked in the outside panel behind the refridgerator?
  
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- Jim & Sharon Ham August 18 Like Brian&Nadine said above, water source is usually just a saddle tee valve punched into the cold water line. After you find it, screw clockwise to turn it off. Turning counter clockwise backs out the center punch pin and allows water to flo... more
  
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- Jerry Beasler August 18 Our Encore has water shut at the outside access panel.
- Don and Pam Cunningham August 18 Have you called customer service at Newmar? We have been very pleased with them.
- Don and Pam Cunningham August 18 On our Newmar the water line is accessible through the storage bay door beneath the refrig.
Charlene Houle:
August 18This are the clips that I used on the back of my cabinets for jewelry ect 👍 works great & no damage to the doors
- Barry & Millie-Ambassadors and 12 others like this.
- Mark & Anneliese (Hicks on the road) August 18 Great idea Charlene, I will have to try that.
  
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- Charlene Houle August 18 These can be purchased anywhere & are ez to install just need to remember to keep the tab on the bottom should you choose to remove them 👍 I use these throughout the camper don’t need to put holes in the walls 👍
  
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