RVeCafe: Love 2 Shop


Products We Like
RV Repair and Maintenance Manual by Bob Livingston: Gwen and I love this book, well maybe me more than Gwen. I have used it to get me out of some tough situations. A few I've already written about and more to come. You will find chapters on Electrical, LP-Gas, Water, Sanitation, Heating, Air Conditioning, and Solar Power systems. In addition you will find chapters on generators, refrigerators, trailer brakes, hitches, ovens and ranges, exterior and interior care, microwaves plus a whole
	bunch of accessories normally found on any RV. I love all the tables, charts and photos which really help when trying to figure out a solution to a repair or maintenance problem. In addition to all this, their are many troubleshooting guides. The book has 390 pages including a complete index. For more information or to order from Amazon.com, click here.

		KISS, Guide to Photography - the Keep it Simple Series by DK Publishing: (Gwen's recommendation) This book has become my photography bible. I love taking pictures, but I have not had any "book learning" knowledge on how to do so. I chose this book over the "Photography for Dummies" because of
	the easy to follow format, the detail given on each topic and the wonderful pictures that demonstrate the topic being discussed. Not only does it contain information about film camera, the book gives plenty of details about digital cameras too. Click here for Gwen's favorite photo book. If you want to learn or improve your photography skills, this is the book to get. I give this book a rating of:

July 21, 2006: We had to try out this little gadget next to our RV couch. Gwen likes to knit and I'm often sitting on the couch with no convenient place to set a drink. That caused me to remember the time we spent with Dave and Ruth Anne at the King on the Road RV Rally. Dave and Ruth Anne had these great little drink holders that folded out of the way when not in use. As it turned out they were really easy to attach to the wall. The package came with double back

tape as well as screws. I decided to do both. I used the tape to hold the holder to the wall while I mounted it with screws.

It not only folds out of the way when not in use but is adjustable to hold several sizes of cups or cans so I can put my morning coffee cup in the holder if I happen to be reading the paper while sitting on the couch. Click here for ordering information.

July 25, 2006: This is something we purchased only about a week ago. It has been one of our best investments. If you are living in an RV, you know how the laundry seems to build and fill the built-in laundry basket very quickly, sometimes to the point you can't close the laundry door any longer. We try to keep up with the laundry 2 - 3 times each week. Even then, it is often a struggle to get all the laundry sorted and taken to the machines. This folding, triple compartment laundry basket makes it easy. Clothes can be sorted before going to the machines, then just unload each compartment into a machine. The bag is very strong and there is an outside pocket

for soap or Spray-n-Wash. The bag has a spring action to keep it in shape when in use but when not in use, it can easily be folded to a compact size for storage as you can see on the left. This is far more convenient that what we used to do. If you want to take a closer look at the triple compartment laundry basket , just click the link. Best of all, it's less than $10 and good quality for that money.

August 1, 2006: Last year, we were having voltage problems at the resort so I purchased a 30 Amp Autoformer to boost the voltage. You can see my report about the autoformer by clicking here. This year, I was still concerned about voltage so I finally purchased the AC voltage meter you see to the right. I wanted to be able to run my air conditioner and not worry about the voltage. The volt meter confirmed my suspicion, the voltage at the resort varies from 106 - 122 even with the autoformer depending upon the number of campers and how many are running their air conditioning. I can imagine what is happening to those campers who choose to run their air conditioning without knowing the voltage, especially to those without an autoformer. Here are some more details for this volt meter and how to order.

August 24, 2006: Last December during our trip down the Oregon coast, we purchased a Dirt Devil Dynamite Vacuum specifically to take care of the dirt, dog and cat hair, food crumbs, etc. that accumulate on the carpet and floors of the fifth wheel. We chose this vacuum because it promises big power from a little machine, light weight, and compact. The handle also slides into the body for easy storage. It has become one of our favorite tools in the fifth wheel.

	Here is a photograph of the bagless dirt chamber after the first time we used the machine. Remember, our fifth wheel has only about 150 square feet of floor space available to vacuum so this is a good amount of dirt and dog hair we were able to get from the first use. If you wish to check this vacuum out further or order one from Camping World, just click the link above or the photo above.

August 25, 2006: If you haven't had the experience of insects (wasps) making a home inside your unused furnace (during the summer months), you don't want that experience. These are some excellent bug screens for the furnace exhaust. These furnace screens are easy to install and will save you plenty of headaches. Just click the link for more information. I've had them on my trailer for about two months during the height of the wasp season and they have kept me out of trouble.

	August 28, 2006: Protect All makes a great product to keep the trailer looking new. It's called: Fiberglass Oxidation Remover and Color Restorer. It is one of the products I use on our fifth wheel to remove black streaks and water marks as well as fiberglass oxidation. Click the photo of the bottle or the link above.

September 27, 2008: This is something I spotted at the recent rally. Can you guess what it is used for. I had to ask. It's an inventive way to hang clothes to dry after washing. It looks like it wouldn't take much to make such a clothes line and it's light weight and portable.

October 4, 2008: While camped at the Balloon RV Rally and practicing our boondocking techniques we learned that even ONE tiny incandescent bulb can pull as much as 1 to 2 amps. Several campers have replaced their incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs which are very expensive. I have purchased several of these "Puck Lights" which are LED lights powered by 3 AAA batteries. This is a method to reduce the drain on our trailer batteries without buying LED bulbs until they come down in price. We purchased (48) AAA batteries at Costco and when those are gone we will likely purchase rechargable batteries. These lights can sometimes be purchased at Costco, Harbor Freight, and Bi-Mart.

March 10, 2009: I've added a pin lock to our fifth wheel. There are times it seems silly, thinking someone might connect to our fifthwheel and drive away. You know, it's a cheap insurance. Hopefully it will slow down anyone who might want to steal our home. I especially think this is a valuable accessory when we park in the desert. We aren't the first to employ this accessory either. Click the photo to enlarge.

My method to know how high to bring the pin to match the hitch

Tuesday, April 6, 2010: What you are seeing here is the open door to my control to raise and lower the front landing gear. It's always a challenge to remember how high to raise (or lower) the gear to match the hitch. To the right of the control is the calibrated level gauge. It has a numerical scale to indicate how far the bubble must travel to zero. When I disconnect, I mark this numerical setting on the door with a whiteboard pen (temporary, erasable ink). Then I know (in this case) to raise the gear until the bubble is at 5.5 to match the hitch. I bought this pen (on the floor of the compartment) at a dollar store. Three pens to the package for $1 and each pen has an eraser on one end. The number is easily erased after each use.

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