Email circulation of this issue: 14,122
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2005 WAL-MART LOCATOR HAS ARRIVED
RVbookstore.com has it -- the 2005 Wal-Mart Locator. Get the driving directions to every Wal-Mart. Good for planning shopping or overnight stays.
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LEARN TO OPERATE EVERYTHING ON YOUR RV
New, 72-minute DVD "RV Walk Thru" shows step-by-step how to operate everything on an RV. It's like getting a personal tour from RV Tech Tips editor Tim Collard.
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WELCOME TO RV TECH TIPS ISSUE 6
Welcome to the 6th edition of RV Tech Tips. This is the last edition we will email to you in its present form. From now on, you will receive an email notice when the issue is posted to our website. Simply click to the web address we provide, where the newsletter will be waiting for your reading pleasure. With so much junk email these days, filters are interpreting a lot of legitimate email as unwanted, and zapping it to the trash folders or simply not delivering it at all, no matter how much a reader wants it. That's been happening to this newsletter much too often. Our new method will help ensure that subscribers who wish to read the issues will be able to do so.
SEND US YOUR TECH TIPS
Have you found a great technique for fixing or modifying your RV? Do you have a neat trick related to RV repair, maintenance or modification that you'd like to share with the readers of this newsletter? If so, please email them to us. We'll pay you $20 for each 100-150 word tip we use. Email your tips to RV Tech Tips care of Jody at jody@seanet.com. Please include your name and postal
mailing address.
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2005 NEXT EXIT
Learn what services & businesses are at Interstate exits.
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THIS ISSUE'S TIPS
DROOPY SHADES
If your day/night shades won't stay up on their own or seem a little tight, here's a way to make them work better. Two small spools are located at the bottom of the blind that anchor the strings to the wall and are used to maintain the proper tension. Adding or removing a wrap or two on each spool will usually make the shade work properly. If you break a string, it's not the end of the blind. The string system inside the shade is complicated and I have found it's better to have a pro fix it. Check your yellow pages for a blind company that repair them.
TOILET ODORS
When a toilet bowl doesn't hold water, it can allow odors in from the tank. If you release the foot or hand flush valve too quickly while flushing, paper or solids can get trapped in the slot or the groove that the knife blade (flapper) runs in. Straighten a metal coat hanger and make an L or right angle on one end (about 3 inches wide) and use it to clean out the groove while you hold the valve open, and the water is running. Make sure not to tear the rubber seal and don't drop your new tool down the hole. When you're done, apply some petroleum jelly or Armor-all to the rubber to soften and lube the seal.
FRIDGE OPERATION
When you're not using your RV or it's in storage, prop the refrigerator door open, put in a box of baking soda and leave the fridge off until the next camping trip. Most experts agree that leaving it run all the time serves no useful purpose: it simply waste power or propane. One of my concerns about leaving a refrigerator on all the time would be its heat might attract nesting rodents and possibly create a fire hazard. And even though it has no moving parts, the electronics that operate it can wear out.
FIX YOUR OWN WATER LEAKS
Until recently, repairing water leaks on your fresh water systems required special tools to install crimp rings or turn locking nuts. Most of the major hardware and RV parts stores now carry products that you just push on to stop a leak. They have a special O-ring and compression seal built into them so if you have a leaking joint, elbow or coupling, you cut out the old one and simply push the new one on. They are very reliable and a permanent fix. It might be wise to carry a few of the more common connectors in your toolbox.
NO COOLING ON PROPANE
If your fridge won't work on propane, before calling the repair guy you should first check to see if the burner is covered with scale. When a fridge is used on propane, it causes a rust colored scale to build up on the inside of the chimney and the scale can fall onto the burner and stop it from lighting. A good cleaning every year with compressed air will prevent this from happening. Remove the metal cover that exposes the burner assembly, and gently blow air up and around the chimney. Make sure to wear safety glasses.
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TECHNICAL GUIDES FROM RV BOOKSTORE
Understand Your Diesel Engine and Save Money
RVers Guide to Solar Battery Charging
The Best of (Trailer Life) Tech Topics. Only $12.95
Managing 12 Volts
Trailer Life's RV Repair & Maintenance Manual
How to Winterize Your RV, DVD
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TECH TIPS AND TRICKS ON THE WEB
RV FIRES: Be aware and not a victim
RV STABILIZING hints and tricks
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2005 WOODALL'S CAMPGROUND DIRECTORIES
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LETTERS
We have an 2003 Islander. The driver's chair has a "swivel" lock in the front of the seat. You pull a lever to allow the chair to rotate. My problem is that the lock has become loose and it won't center properly and has some side-to-side swivel. As far as I can tell, the lever pulls a cable that leads back and then forward, but I can't find the actual lock. I've tried contacting Flexsteel, but they were clueless. Do you have any experience with these seats or maybe a diagram of the mechanism? Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated, as this could be a serious problem if the lock should fail while I'm driving. -- Wil Casanova
Hi Wil,
Have you taken the seat assembly completely out of the vehicle? If you do, I suspect you will find the answer to your problem. I have found that working on the chairs on a park bench is better and easier than in the coach. Your problem may be that the center nut (that allows the seat to swivel) is loose and just needs to be tightened. Sometimes you can get at it without removing the seat. Good luck.
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BOOK & VIDEOS FROM TRAILER LIFE. Great prices!
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This newsletter is brought to you by:
Beginners Guide to RVing
RV Travel
RV Bookstore
RV Tech Tips
Full Time RVer
The advice in this newsletter is that of RV Technician Tim Collard. It is intended to provide readers with advice and education regarding the maintenance and repair of an RV. It is not intended to be the last word on the subject. Please consult with a qualified RV technician for a "second opinion," before undertaking a repair or RV maintenance project based solely on what you have read here.
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