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

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WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT? TIPS AND TRICKS (3,632 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

  • Kathy & Jon
    Kathy & Jon:
    February 13Ok, all roofing and sealant experts your up to bat: I have to replace the outer skylight for our shower. We have a THOR and the roof is TPO. I called Thor about the correct porducts to use. They recomend eturnabond double sided puddy tape first than D...  more
    • Jimmy & Connie Taylor and 1 other like this.
    • Kathy & Jon
      Jim & Sharon Ham February 13 Had to replace broken skylight on my Gulf Stream motorhome with TPO roof.  Used Dicor Lap Sealant applied with caulking gun right out of the tube with generous amount.  Wiped off squeeze-out after screwing down.  Then applied EternaBond roo...  more
    • Kathy & Jon
      Jimmy & Connie Taylor February 14 Lowes has it all. 
    • Kathy & Jon
      Karen & Collins February 14 You can buy eternabond on Amazon.com
    • Kathy & Jon
      Kathy & Jon February 14 Thanks to all especially RS & Jim & Sharon
    • Kathy & Jon
      ed1769 2 hours ago After you get everything sealed, get a small can of Flexseal and cover all you sealings, its great stuff and will double check all of you seal lines.  You can get it white and black.  I have used it for several things that I have done on my roof...  more
  • Rik Serac
    Rik Serac :
    February 7I'm a newbie Class A, actually just plain Newbie to RVing. So how do i improve my antenna for local channels.
    Is there a Good, Better, Best suggestions of Types/Brands??
    • Andy & Maureen T and 3 others like this.
    • Rik Serac
      Jim & Sharon Ham February 7 We are old school and do not have satellite, so we rely on the old style crankup antenna that lays flat on the roof while in motion.  Our model is called:  Winegard RVW-395 Sensar IV White DTV/HD TV Antenna , and is usually standard equipment o...  more
      Hide 1 Reply
      • Rik Serac
        Mo and Sally Langham February 7 I agree with you. I can take tv or leave it. I use the app Antenna Point to help find the local channels. Try it!
    • Rik Serac
      Bruce & Linda (Omnibus) February 9 Really only three things that will help with Over-The-Air (OTA) TV signal reception, not necessarily in this order: 1) A directional antenna that can be aimed (lots of suggestions above for apps to help with this), 2) An amplified antenna (we have an Ante...  more
    • Rik Serac
      Tom and Sandy Raynor February 9 We rarely watch TV when on the road.  There is so much new stuff to see and new people to meet.  Then again I never tire of just watching my wife. 
    • Rik Serac
      Jerry Beasler February 11 All great suggestions.  One thing I have learned is that if you have a amplitfier they do not always pull the most stations.  Best to locate trying with and without amp to determine best performance.  I know this seems strange but true ...  more
      Hide 1 Reply
      • Rik Serac
        charles formby February 11 From state of NY to Pennsylvania to Virginia down to Peigon Forge to Chattanooga to Bham all the way to Opelika down to gulfshores and to Orlando and back to Biloxi , off air works great with amplified services.
    • Rik Serac
      Birdie February 13 My RV came with the King Jack OA8500 HDTV Over the Air Antenna with Mount and Signal Finder with an Amplifer. The one thing I love about it is that I don’t have to raise and lower it. I don’t watch that much TV unless I am parked for 2-3 months. It was or...  more
  • Kim and Phil Eckert
    Kim and Phil Eckert:
    February 6Hi, hope everyone is doing well! I saw something on an RV how to blog...stating to use Fuelly for keeping up with fuel usage and cost...does anyone use that?
    thx, Kim*-)
    • Karen and Steve Veneskey likes this.
    • Kim and Phil Eckert
      Rik Serac February 7 I have to agree with those that do track and especially Rolling Stones who just pumps.  Its interesting to track, but i dont know i have effort to be that disciplined.  After pumping 60-70m gallons of gas, i feel guilty of taking more time, for ...  more
      Hide 2 Replies
      • Kim and Phil Eckert
        Birdie February 7 I just write mileage on the receipt and pitch in the holding box. Sometimes, I write the mileage down in my booklet with the date and location as I usually get a chance to wait on someone else to pump OR (my favorite) for them to come back out to their ve...  more
      • Kim and Phil Eckert
        The Rolling Stones February 7 I’m sitting in the diesel truck lane and rarely have anyone behind me and if I do that driver is going to pump 100 or more gallons just like me. I will ballpark the mileage (6-8) and get right back in the seat and on to the next memory. What good does it ...  more
    • Kim and Phil Eckert
      Liz & Barb - TwoGalsGo February 7 We use Gas Buddy to find best fuel prices and the old keep-mileage-written-on-receipt system.
      Hide 1 Reply
    • Kim and Phil Eckert
      Larry Holbrook February 7 When camper is parked, I too use Gas Buddy - great for finding lowest price diesel in unfamiliar, local areas -

      When I'm draggin' my wagon, I use truck stops (Pilot, etc) - I'm certain there are less expensive stations nearby, but I don't kn...  more
    • Kim and Phil Eckert
      Liz & Barb - TwoGalsGo February 9 Like a lot of y’all, we like the occasional tally but... we must also be Rolling Stones. We’re leaving Tx (on 10, 😵) tomorrow and got gas today for $1.84. Not bad. 👍🏻
      Hide 1 Reply
      • Kim and Phil Eckert
        The Rolling Stones February 9 Bring some of the cheap diesel fuel this way. Will be heading west the end of May. Be safe on 10. 
    • Kim and Phil Eckert
      Liz & Barb - TwoGalsGo February 10 Thanks TRSs. The roadbed is so bad we just rattle & clunk as we roll along, ugh. Almost back to sticks n’bricks tho, sowe’re Vbraving the racket and traffic. 
  • Curtis
    Curtis:
    February 4Did you know that every time you update your location, it leaves a flag on your very own "My Places" map? You can even share the map with family and friends with the link under the map, and that map they have gets automagically updated as well. You can al...  more
    • Elaine & James and 21 others like this.
    • Curtis
      Tom & Laura February 4 If the newbies and some of the older members want click on members within 250 miles , we are in Miami Everglades campground and you'll be amazed at how many members are in Florida..... Lol
      Hide 1 Reply
      • Curtis
        Curtis February 4 What's even cooler about that is that we are now only showing pins on the map of people who have been active on RVillage in the last 90 days. 
    • Curtis
      DK4Nature February 4 Thanks Curtis!
    • Curtis
      Tom & Laura February 4 Curtis ,The another change I noticed today was the Message , Remove , Friend , Block and My Notes is in a new format. Very nice.....
    • Curtis
      Nancy & Jonathan February 5 Automagically - love it.
  • Richard / Pamela Foucher
    Richard / Pamela Foucher:
    February 3Question , I just bought a 2006 RPM 27 foot toy hauler . How do I get the water heater to start ? The heat / ac and water pump work fine but after 1/2 hour , no hot water .
    • Karen and Steve Veneskey and 1 other like this.
    • Richard / Pamela Foucher
      Kris and Mark February 3 Is the water heater gas or electric or both? Check the winterize by-pass as that is a great first step. 
      Hide 1 Reply
    • Richard / Pamela Foucher
      Richard / Pamela Foucher February 3 One more , what are the two hoses for ?
      Hide 1 Reply
      • Richard / Pamela Foucher
        TheClearyClan February 3 They look like low point drains used when winterizing to get all the water out.


        For the hot water heater, check both the by pass valve(s) AND make sure the hot water tank is full of water before you buy a new hot water heater. Pull t...  more
    • Richard / Pamela Foucher
      Jimmy & Connie Taylor February 4 Also on mine there is an in the COACH switch. Must have on.
    • Richard / Pamela Foucher
      Richard / Pamela Foucher February 4 Ok folks , I got all the switches, levers , knobs and buttons all in the right place and bingo ! I have hot water . Thanks for all the help . I did tell you I was new at this right ?
    • Richard / Pamela Foucher
      TheClearyClan February 4 Somewhere in your rig you should have a fat envelope, file pouch or a draw filled with manuals and other documentation for your rig and every thing that was installed in it. I refer to it as the bible. At first glance it will give your the warm and fuzzy ...  more
      Hide 1 Reply
  • Grub32
    Grub32:
    January 31Hi all, I wanted to share a blog post that I recently put up with some info on maintenance of the rv and some hacks we have done to make our experiences more enjoyable. This includes winterizing, de-winterizing, sanitizing the water tanks, setting up the ...  more
    RV Maintenance Video Collection – Outdoor Adventurer 360
    RV Maintenance Video Collection – Outdoor Adventurer 360
    RV Maintenance Video Collection – Outdoor Adventurer 360
  • Kathy & Jon
    Kathy & Jon:
    January 31I just saw an add for Blue Ox's rear trac Bar Kit. Does anyone have any experience with these? We have a 2017 Ford E450 under our Freedom Elete class C. When the wind blows it can get white knucklie. I don't think the steering dampers will provide any...  more
    • TheClearyClan and 2 others like this.
    • Kathy & Jon
      Seann ( the Canadian) January 31 A rear sway bar can make a huge difference but when the wind is blowing enough that you're white-knuckling it it's time to consider pulling off the road and parking for the night
    • Kathy & Jon
      RoaminHome January 31 I had a Blue Ox trac bar added to our Class A gasser and it made a noticeable difference in handling. 
      With the "stock" chassis, when the coach leans it pulls the chassis frame with it and relies on the leaf springs to counteract the lean. The...  more
    • Kathy & Jon
      Paige McGhee February 3 Hi - I also have a Class C JayHawk with a E450 Ford V10 motor my camper is a 32ft JayHawk - do you say you get a lot of vibration when hauling a car? I am looking into getting a Toad now.. please let me know - any advice of what NOT to do or haul? I am ab...  more
      Hide 1 Reply
      • Kathy & Jon
        Kathy & Jon February 3 No vibration.  Our only issue is when we get strong winds.  We ahve 260 pluss square feet of wind exposure on either side so the wind gets pushie.  Other than that we have no problems.  We tow a 2013 Ford Edge set up with the Blue Ox b...  more
  • Jim & Kathy H.
    Jim & Kathy H. :
    January 30We recently broke one of the pleated shade hold down buttons (1st pic). After seeing the price of these ($2.99 ea./somewhat ridiculous) we looked for an alternative. Second picture is a plastic Singer sewing machine bobbin. Four for 99 cents at Walmart. T...  more
      · via Android App
    • joe young and 38 others like this.
    • Jim & Kathy H.
      TerraGypsy (Phoebe) January 30 I love it someone jerry rigs something that works just as well if not better for way less $. Well done 👍💓
    • Jim & Kathy H.
      John And Debbie Maxson January 31 What a great idea. Thanks a couple of ours are just around the screw going to change that 😁
    • Jim & Kathy H.
      Debbie and Ceceile February 2 I saw this post and checked our hold down buttons. Four of them were loose and about to come out of the wall. Thanks for the heads up!
    • Jim & Kathy H.
      Kim and Phil Eckert February 5 Very cool hack!!! (*)
  • R&R Primmer
    R&R Primmer : January 29
    R&R Primmer
    January 28Okay all, I am getting ready to purchase my first flat tow system and I have been researching the Roadmaster Knighthawk and the Blue Ox Ascent. With all of the great experience out there I was hoping to get some pro's and con's from those of you that have...  more
    • R&R Primmer
      Bounder Travelers January 29 I have had other tow bars and my present choice is the Roadmaster 422 BlackHawk 2 All-Terrain Tow Bar. If you make a turn and have to stop before the towed straightens out behind you and you have to unhook, there is stress on both arms. Some tow bars cann...  more
    • R&R Primmer
      Momdoc January 30 We have used the Blu-Ox system for years and are very happy with it.  Easy to hook and unhook and as have been mentioned when not towing and using the plugs there is no evidence that it is a tow vehicle as you are driving about in the toad.
    • R&R Primmer
      David & Cheryl Scoby January 30 Using the Demco tow bar with the NSA RB 4000 Ready Brake.  I use the NSA RS 5000 Break Away device.  Very robust system and easy to hookup.  Not a single problem after many years of use.  If I had to replace this system, which I don't,...  more
      Hide 1 Reply
      • R&R Primmer
        R&R Primmer January 30 Thanks for the info in the NSA system, it is not one I have looked in to but will definitely research it to find out more!
    • R&R Primmer
      John Aye January 30 We have the Blue Ox tow bar and love it.  We had a RVi2 Breaks system.  We are replacing it with Air Force One
    • R&R Primmer
      Birdie January 30 I have used both the Blue Ox and Roadmaster (not All Terrain). I prefer the Roadmaster All Terrain because I never get stopped straight enough. So it just works better for me. I also, used Blue Ox ends on my Roadmaster tow bar - a long story. That was a s...  more
  • Skylar
    Skylar:
    January 28I have a 2000 Winnebago motor home on a 1999 Chevy 3500 chasis. I tried to unlock the drivers side door. Put my key in & the door lock (the place I put my key in) was gone....fell loose inside door. It looks like you have to take off the inside door frame...  more
      · via mobile
    • The Easterbunnies and 3 others like this.
    • Skylar
      Jo&Ro January 28 Try a locksmith or a body shop it’s an easy fix
    • Skylar
      Seann ( the Canadian) January 29 Bodyshopman is your best bet
    • Skylar
      Larry and Dee January 29 propane , just like e-85 have less energy in a gallon then gasoline does. the advantage is that they are cheaper. So if it becomes cheaper v less mpg then it is worth it.
    • Skylar
      Jim & Sharon Ham January 29 I have a 1996 Gulf Stream on a Chevy chassis, and the same thing happened to me a couple of years ago.  Couple of screws hold on the armrest, and the rest of the inside door panel is held on by plastic tabs that you GENTLY pry loose.  Lock frame...  more
    • Skylar
      Larry and Dee January 30 I am sorry don't know why my post showed up here